Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
Singing-master came to me this morning; then to the office all the morning. In the afternoon I went to the Theatre, and there I saw “The Tamer Tamed” well done. And then home, and prepared to go to Walthamstow to-morrow. This night I was forced to borrow 40l. of Sir W. Batten.
Thursday 1 August 1661Tuesday 30 July 1661
per L&M the loan was repaid Mar 1 1662.
Just try to guess which Elizabethan dramatist wrote “The Woman’s Prize or the Tamer Tamed.” Yes, it’s that Restoration favorite, John Fletcher, who contrived this sequel to “The Taming of the Shrew.” Here’s an excellent, clear, concise scholarly page devoted to the play, complete with synopsis:
http://emsah.uq.edu.au/drama/fletcher/ff/prize/prizeindex.html
“This night I was forced to borrow 40l”
I thought Sam was rolling in it. Guess I haven’t been following the cash flow closely enough.
Shame, we do not have his little morrocan leather bound accounts book. That is that the little book in which he really keeps his real secrets, LSD and farthings. But it does go to show that if the pence [mod: pea, pee] are not kept watch of. the pounds will so disappear.. Speculation!? Mam Ma [mother she was out a spending the nest egg that was not there], Pall or the wifey, or has Sam been down to the coffee shop and buying a piece [a stake] of a ship and not saying? He is one not for talking about 3 card monte, he may have spent too much on Jem? and not saying .
LSD [pound shilling and pence or Libra solidus , denareus ] [ Pund of solidos?]
Playing with a Bladder: Sam doth miss another meeting of the boys: From Evelyn J. 31 july 1661. “… To our Society, where a bladder blowne up onely raised a weight of 24 pound; it was at first flaxid & welted on purpose, & the weight hanged at its bottome, then the wind conveyd thro a pipe that had a valve &c:..” [wind not from peter]
40 pounds!? Zounds! A short time ago the bulk of his year’s salary under Mr. Downing.
Can’t believe it was Ms. Beth Pepys’ fault, he’d be raging for three entries at least. No, maybe Mum overspent but I’d bet it was Sam and his fine new suits and big renovation plans.
Batten must be rolling in it…
Battens income, I read is 900L per annum basic plus side benefits. Sam ‘tis 300L I do believe, but the benefits oh! ah! la! la!. ‘tis still reason that one spends a few mill to get a 200,000 blahs public service job.
gleened from history [official, ‘tis better than memory]
Slingsby in 1660 earnt 500L as controller
the Clerk of the Acts did earn 350L [Our ladd Sam]
Batten earnt 490L
Penn also got 500L
according to
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=16833
“This night I was forced to borrow”
Rather sudden. Perhaps not to pay off existing debts but to have some hard cash for the trip (“prepared to go to Walthamstow to-morrow”) and other expenses coming up.
borrowing £40.
Pepys hasn’t mentioned being paid recently …. neither for work at the Privy Seal nor for his Navy Office duties…. though earlier in the diary he was quite punctilious about noting what had been paid/what was due. Looks like cash-flow problems.
Sam only gets 250 pds per annum as CofA as he must give over 100 to Mr. Barlow, the former CofA. (Who Sam liked on meeting but no doubt would not regret seeing 6ft under) As one of Downing’s clerks he made 50 pds per annum, a nice salary. Hard to imagine the look on Elizabeth’s face (if he told her) that they were nearly a former year’s salary in arrears and now in debt for same to Batten. “For-for-for…Forty? Forty pounds?! Mon Dieu! Samuel?!!” “At midnight, my wife being somewhat trouble at the size of our debts, I did race to the office, shutting all doors against my insanely raging wife’s coming…”
When Sam borrows 40 quid what does he borrow ? Coin ? Is there folding money in circulation ? We know that there was a paucity of ATMs at that time : what was the state of money circulation? Can one you inform me on this vital issue please.
Money.
There’s lots of information in the Background ‘Money’ site.
40L
Mr. Moore was waiting for him at home yesterday.
40L
And Sam wrote a letter to Montagu that night.
“was forced to borrow…”
A clear illustration of the difference between solvability and liquidity (accountancy concepts):Sam was clearly “worth” more than 10 times the 40£ borrowed, but he just didn’t have the cash…