Thursday 11 September 1662

Up, but not so soon as I have of late practised, my little trouble of mind and the shortness of the days making me to lie a little longer than I used to do, but I must make it up by sitting up longer of nights. To my office, whither my brother Tom, whom I chide sufficiently for yesterday’s work. So we sat at the office all the morning, some of us at Deptford paying the ordinary there; at noon Sir W. Pen took me to his lodgings to dinner, and after dinner I to my office again, and now and then to see how my work goes on, and so to my office late, and so to my lodgings, and after staying up till past 12 at night, at my musique upon my lute, to bed. This night Tom came to show me a civil letter sent him from his mistress. I am pleased well enough with the business.

Friday 12 September 1662Wednesday 10 September 1662

Also on this day

Temperature: 13°C / 55°F

(Average for September 1662)

In Earls Colne, Essex

Diary of Ralph Josselin

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Annotations

N Glyn on Sun 11 Sep 2005, 11:25pm

“paying the ordinary there”

That is, going to a tavern in Deptford and paying for a fixed-price set meal:

http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/1199.php
N A. De Araujo on Mon 12 Sep 2005, 12:05am

“and after staying up till past 12 at night,at my musique upon my lute”
Bach’s Goldberg Variations are said to have been comissioned by an insomniac.
N Terry F on Mon 12 Sep 2005, 02:10am

SP creates for himself the length of a diurnal day.

“the shortness of the days making me to lie a little longer than I used to do, but I must make it up by sitting up longer of nights.” — less and less to do with “making hay while the sun shines,” as the saying is on a farm.

Urban work and artificial light make possible another kind of “day” — see also SP’s role in
N Terry F, on Mon 12 Sep 2005, 03:01am

“diurnal day” is redundant; it’s the diurnal work period that seems to be at stake for our Sam’l.
N brian on Mon 12 Sep 2005, 07:48pm

“paying the ordinary there”
According to L&M on Sept. 8, the Navy Board was in Deptford for several days doing “the quarterly pay of the officers of the yard, their clerks, the watchmen, boatswains et al.” I suspect that this is the “ordinary” (regularly scheduled) event referred to here, especially since Sam ate dinner in Sir William Penn’s lodgings.
N ellen on Mon 12 Sep 2005, 10:27pm

Ordnance (no i) is military hardware and ammunition.
N Pedro on Mon 12 Sep 2005, 10:50pm

And for the farmers, Ralph Josselin notes
N Joe Phelan on Mon 12 Sep 2005, 11:56pm

“my little trouble of mind and the shortness of the days”

SP assigns more than one reason for his late rising. As daylight shortens, so do many tempers. It is interesting that what he feels compelled to catch up on is not sleep, but waking time.