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Wednesday 4 December 1661

To Whitehall with both Sir Williams, thence by water, where I saw a man lie dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday. To the Temple, and thence to Mr. Phillips and got my copy of Sturtlow lands. So back to the 3 Tuns at Charing Cross, and there met the two Sir Williams and Col. Treswell and Mr. Falconer, and dined there at Sir W. Pen’s cost, and after dinner by water to Cheapside to the painter’s, and there found my wife, and having sat a little she and I by coach to the Opera and Theatre, but coming too late to both, and myself being a little out of tune we returned, and I settled to read in “Mare Clausum” till bedtime, and so to bed.

Thursday 5 December 1661Tuesday 3 December 1661

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Annotations

  • N PHE on Sat 4 Dec 2004, 11:30pm

    “myself being a little out of tune”
    I presume he means: ‘myself being in a bit of a sour mood’. A very nice phrase - which I can sympathise with. Another example of how Sam’s day-to-day experiences so neatly reflect our own.

  • N dirk on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 12:43am

    Evelyn’s diary today:

    “I had much discourse with his highnesse the Duke of York concerning strang Cures. He affirmed that a Woman who swallow

  • N dirk on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 12:57am

    “and thence to Mr. Phillips and got my copy of Sturtlow lands”

    I’m a little confused here. Is there a connection with what Sam mentioned in his diary entry for sunday 21 July 1661?

    “Old William Luffe having been here this afternoon and paid up his bond of 20l., and I did give him into his hand my uncle

  • N vicenzo on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 03:54am

    I do believe it means, Luffe can now work the Land, but Sam is in Legal ownership [haveing the updated copy], but he can not lease it to a higher guzumpter, as the the man has legal use of lands [until death doth come] as long as he pays his interest & abides by the rule of the day, wheres as modern renter can be terminated on minor infractions of the common law, and no sense of long term security ???

  • N vicenzo on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 03:55am

    “myself being a little out of tune” I love it.

  • N Pauline on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 05:54am

    Sturtlow lands

    All the inheritance annotations are now here—Background/People/(the very bottom of the list of people)Sam’s ongoing themes:
    http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/3384.php
    “The executors had no trouble about the Stirtloe land, which was sold immediately in 1661 to the tenant to pay debts.”

  • N Pedro. on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 10:08am

    From Dirk’s entry “the Bish: of Cap-Verde now going in the fleete to bring over our new Queene:”

    Cap-Verde (Cape Verde Islands, Cabo Verde)
    The man mentioned, not actually the Bishop, was Richard Russell Cannon of the English Chapter see…

    http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13231b.htm

  • N David A. Smith on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 06:00pm

    “dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday”
    So much about a society can be gleaned by these edge effects, not just *what happens* but *how people react to it.* A dead man, who has been there for a day, is something to remark, but only on a par with a visit to the opera and theater.

  • N Bob T on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 06:27pm

    Dead Man
    I suppose that they left him there so that he could be identified, and his family could come and collect his body.
    They couldn’t mention it on the evening news, or put his picture on the internet. This was probably the standard operating procedure.

  • N Philip on Sun 5 Dec 2004, 07:49pm

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Thursday 5 December 1661Tuesday 3 December 1661