Tuesday 16 February 1663/64

Annotations

• N jeannine on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 12:39am

  “wherein the poor man is mightily troubled, and I pity him in it, but hope to get him some ease”

  Sam wrote the following letter to Commissioner Pett, dated today, February 16, 1664 on Barrow’s behalf:

  In answer to that one clause in your last letter touching Mr Barrow, I do assure you I judge him a most well-meaning man, and one whose aptitude to a little peevishness I am so far from accounting any ill circumstance in him, that even in that very respect I should prefer him before another of less mettle that might be frightened or flattered to a breach of his trust. To this I consider his being now better able to perform his place than either himself was two years since, or another is that probably upon his removal would succeed him. Nor am I alone in this opinion of his integrity and usefulness (besides yourself); Mr Coventry owns the like, and in order to his preserving him in the Navy hath cast about with some solicitousness how to render his present place contentful to him, and by his advice I have spent some time in reasoning with Mr Barrow about it, who besides his complaint of so hard dealing from some of the Board (which I doubt is not easily to be mended and therefore must be borne with) declares that unless he may have one instrument more at 2s. or 2s.2d. per diem to serve him as a clerk, and an addition of one or 2 more in the nature of labourers to attend wholly to the stores, he cannot safely to himself or honestly for the King undertake the charging himself with all the stores under his hand, or balancing of them, but with such an addition of help will at least do his endeavor to the utmost to so what is to be done in that business. Now I tell you I look upon performing the work of the storekeeper well to be worth 10 times such an increase in instruments, and have told Mr Coventry so too, who concurs in the granting him it rather than either not have the thing done or lose his endeavor in the doing it…..

  “Further Correspondence of Samuel Pepys”, edited by J.R. Tanner
  

• N cumsalisgrano on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 03:12am

  Thanks Jeannine, quite erudite;
  

• N Lawrence on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 10:22am

  Having read this letter last night, in Further Correspondence by J.R. Tanner. I’m glad you had the patience to copy here for the rest of the group, well done Jeannine

• N Lawrence on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 10:44am

  Mr Maes came to me,
  Iudoco Maes,a Portyguese Jew, imprisoned for evaion of the duties, had tried to escape from England in December 1663. L&M…..Sam mentions this storey earlier, on the 10th of this month.

• N Bardi on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 03:00pm

  Thanks, Jeannine - that must contain one of Sam’s longest run-on sentences - 165 words!

• N Terry F on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 06:04pm

  “I to my Vyall a little, which I have not done some months, I think”

  The last time SP recorded having taken his Vyall up seems to be 2 November 1663:
  http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1663/11/02/index.php

• N Pedro on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 08:15pm

  And to the annotating a little, which you have done for a month, I think.

  Welcome back Terry!
  

• N jeannine on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 10:42pm

  A heartfelt welcome back Terry F! We’ve missed you!

• N Bradford on Sat 17 Feb 2007, 11:05pm

  And we welcome your Vyall back to the Consort.

• N Australian Susan on Sun 18 Feb 2007, 08:53am

  Welcome back Terry! Much more missed than Sam’s vyall.

• N language hat on Sun 18 Feb 2007, 08:04pm

  I add my welcome!

• N Robert Gertz on Sun 18 Feb 2007, 08:42pm

  Too long Terry, glad to have you back!

• N Andrew Hamilton on Sun 18 Feb 2007, 11:03pm

  Bentornato, Terry

• N Ruben on Mon 19 Feb 2007, 01:47pm

  Briut shlema, Terry!
  

• N dirk on Thu 22 Feb 2007, 03:30pm

  Also glad to have you back, Terry — althought I’m in somewhat of a (technological) pickle myself…