Thursday 10 July 1662

Up by four o’clock, and before I went to the office I practised my arithmetique, and then, when my wife was up, did call her and Sarah, and did make up a difference between them, for she is so good a servant as I am loth to part with her. So to the office all the morning, where very much business, but it vexes me to see so much disorder at our table, that, every man minding a several business, we dispatch nothing. Dined at home with my wife, then to the office again, and being called by Sir W. Batten, walked to the Victualler’s office, there to view all the several offices and houses to see that they were employed in order to give the Council an account thereof. So after having taken an oath or two of Mr. Lewes and Captain Brown and others I returned to the office, and there sat despatching several businesses alone till night, and so home and by daylight to bed.

Friday 11 July 1662Wednesday 9 July 1662

Also on this day

Temperature: 15°C / 59°F

(Average for July 1662)

In Earls Colne, Essex

Marriage register 1653 to 1679

(About this data)

Annotations

N Terry Foreman on Mon 11 Jul 2005, 02:42am

“despatching…businesses…till night, and so home and by daylight to bed.”

This recurrent turn of speech says to me that the suggestion that “night” = too dark to read, and “daylight” = something like dusk, with enough light to forego a link, is correct.
N Terry Foreman on Mon 11 Jul 2005, 02:48am

” before I went to the office I practised my arithmetique”

I wonder how he did that? Recite the multiplication tables, then check the answers? I can’t recall how I learned them when I was 10, over a half-century ago.
N Stolzi on Mon 11 Jul 2005, 01:03pm

What sort of oaths
would he take?
N Australian Susan on Mon 11 Jul 2005, 10:51pm

If Sam in practising his arithmetique really was chanting “six sixes are thirty-six, seven sixes are forty-two, eight sixes are forty-eight” as I used to do aged about six - even if he was muttering, must have made the other inhabitants of the(rather cramped?) office ropable.
N Australian Susan on Mon 11 Jul 2005, 10:52pm

Bet the clerks at the Victuallers office were jumpy! Sam’s reputation as a stirerr-upper has almost certainly preceeded him. Interesting that Batten is getting involved in this “new broom” business.
N Nix on Mon 11 Jul 2005, 11:14pm

Oaths —

Perhaps Samuel was requiring people to swear to the accuracy of claims and accountings being submitted to him for approval and payment.
N Australian Susan on Tue 12 Jul 2005, 02:13am

Oaths
I think this is more likely to be oaths of loyalty. Anyone with L&M have any notes on this?
N dirk on Tue 12 Jul 2005, 03:12am

oaths

Could these be the “Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance”?
See:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/10/02/index.php#c7617

Sam has told us what he thinks about these oaths in his diary entry for Saturday 11 February 1659/60:

“…many in the House that do press for new oaths to be put upon men; whereas we have more cause to be sorry for the many oaths that we have already taken and broken.”
N Cumgranissalis on Wed 13 Jul 2005, 03:11am

Sam be a JP, and now that Parliament et al., want only loyal Crown supporters , no RC’s, no Presby’s, Shakers or Quakeing ones, or tother disagreeable ones to participate in spending of the monies wrought by chimneys places and other methods of bringing revenues to the crown, they only be for the use of mistresses, and princely toy Yachts . Returning to the old ways, oh! how easily one forgets the power of the previous freespending ways self rightous ones.