Skip navigation

Tuesday 12 August 1662

Up early at my office, and I find all people beginning to come to me. Among others Mr. Deane, the Assistant of Woolwich, who I find will discover to me the whole abuse that his Majesty suffers in the measuring of timber, of which I shall be glad. He promises me also a modell of a ship, which will please me exceedingly, for I do want one of my own. By and by we sat, and among other things Sir W. Batten and I had a difference about his clerk’s making a warrant for a Maister, which I would not suffer, but got another signed, which he desires may be referred to a full board, and I am willing to it. But though I did get another signed of my own clerk’s, yet I will give it to his clerk, because I would not be judged unkind, and though I will stand upon my privilege. At noon home and to dinner alone, and so to the office again, where busy all the afternoon till to o’clock at night, and so to supper and to bed, my mind being a little disquieted about Sir W. Batten’s dispute to-day, though this afternoon I did speak with his man Norman at last, and told him the reason of my claim.

Wednesday 13 August 1662Monday 11 August 1662

Also on this day

Temperature: 15°C / 59°F

  • (Average for August 1662)

(About this data)

Annotations

  • “I will stand upon my privilege.”

    L&M refer to Thursday 12 June 1662: “I did get a vote signed by all, concerning my issuing of warrants, which they did not smell the use I intend to make of it; but it is to plead for my clerks to have their right of giving out all warrants, at which I am not a little pleased.” http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1662/06/12/index.php
    and see Cumgranissalis’ annotation:
    http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1662/06/12/index.php#c31921

  • “… I would not be judged unkind, and though I will stand upon my privilege.”

    Sam’s taken the next step in any successful career-be gracious to your defeated enemies when possible, they may be useful allies-or minions one day.

  • “I did what I could to keep myself unconcerned in it, having some things of my own to do before I would appear high in anything.” — 12 June again.

    This concered a difference that got angry between “Sir G. Carteret and Mr. Coventry, about…whether Sir George is to pay the Victualler his money, or the Exchequer” — which is what Cumgranissalis

  • “…that his Majesty suffers in the measuring of timber…” I am wondering if the issue here is the amount of timber purchased prior to harvest and the amount actually milled and delivered? I and a fellow ranger are in the process of replacing the old steps of a foot bridge that was made of “true measure ” timber. We find we’ll have to pay a bit more for a few lengths of true cut 8 by 12 oak.

  • Be there some one taking his vigorish for book ends? “We find we

  • O salty one - take a tape measure and hie thee to thy local lumberyard.

    Measure the dimensions of a 2 by 4 and a 1 by 12 (just for a couple of examples) and see how far they are from “true measure”. The lengths are just fine. It’s the cross section that’s lacking.

  • What’s also interesting is the number of decent, honest folk Sam keeps running into in his work. People at serious risk for losing their jobs (and risk starvation, or even worse if a Sir W. Batten or some other of the type who does not take whistleblowers kindly wins out), who yet who give a damn and are eager to step forward and tell Sam what’s what in part at least out of sheer desire to do the right thing. And that kind of thing continues to our day.

    Heartening really…And maybe one of the things that makes you want to stick around and have hope.

  • who yet who? Hmmn…watch those shifts of thought in midsentence

  • “I find all people beginning to come to me”
    True sense of wonder, and not a little self-satisfaction, in that phrase.
    I am somebody now, all people begin to come to me …

  • “busy all the afternoon till to o

  • “till 10 o’clock at night”

    is the L&M reading. Presumably a scanning error in the on-line edition.

Post an annotation

Before posting an annotation please read the annotation guidelines.
If your comment isn't directly relevant to this page, try the discussion group for other Pepys-related topics or the social group for general chat.

(required)

(required)

(optional)


No HTML in annotations. URLs will be turned into links. About copyright