Saturday 6 October 1660
Col. Slingsby and I at the office getting a catch ready for the Prince de Ligne to carry his things away to-day, who is now going home again. About noon comes my cozen H. Alcock, for whom I brought a letter for my Lord to sign to my Lord Broghill for some preferment in Ireland, whither he is now a-going. After him comes Mr. Creed, who brought me some books from Holland with him, well bound and good books, which I thought he did intend to give me, but I found that I must pay him. He dined with me at my house, and from thence to Whitehall together, where I was to give my Lord an account of the stations and victualls of the fleet in order to the choosing of a fleet fit for him to take to sea, to bring over the Queen, but my Lord not coming in before 9 at night I staid no longer for him, but went back again home and so to bed.
Mary Link to this
Sam is late home again.
It would be interesting to know what Elizabeth does with all these evenings on which she is left to her own devices. Sam's hours are, in their nature, extremely irregular and evenings of quiet domesticity seem rare.
Paul Brewster Link to this
All this morning Collonell Slingsby and I at the office getting a catch ready
L&M insert "All this morning"
Paul Brewster Link to this
for whom I wrote a letter for my Lord to sign
L&M substitute "wrote" for "brought". Shorthand probably looks similar.
Jenny Doughty Link to this
At first I wondered if 'catch' was a mistranscription for 'coach', but since nobody's picked up on it does anybody know what else it might mean in this context?
Paul Brewster Link to this
well bound
L&M point out that SP has in the past shown an inclination toward judging books by their covers.
"bought for the love of the binding"
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1660/05/15/
Paul Brewster Link to this
Catch
My guess is that the Prince is sending his things away by boat (i.e., catch). http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/1282/
Ann Link to this
Catch, from OED:
A strongly-built vessel of the galiot order, usually two-masted, and of from 100 to 250 tons burden; = KETCH.
1481-90 Howard Househ. Bks. (1841) 397 Rede oker to send be watyr with the sayd hoppes, in Ferdes cache of Brekemlynsey. 1561 EDEN Art Navig. Pref., Fyshermen that go a trawlyng for fyshe in Catches or mongers. 1580 SIR R. BINGHAM in Spenser's Wks. (Grosart) I. 468 A small catch or craer of Sir William Wynters. 1624 CAPT. SMITH Virginia II. 23 The river..is navigable..with Catches and small Barkes 30 or 40 myles farther. 1625 SIR J. GLANVILLE Voy. Cadiz (1883) 116 Catches, being short and round built, bee verie apt to turne up and downe, and usefull to goe to and fro, and to carry messages between shipp and shipp almost with anie wind. 1642 NICHOLAS Let. in Carte Coll. (1735) 89 Sir John Hotham hath lately apprehended..one of the King's caches. a1693 URQUHART Rabelais III. lii. 429 Catches, Capers, and other Vessels.
JWB Link to this
The Pepys-Creed rivalry most enjoyable subplot of the diary so far. You've got to smile at this entry's episode.
seadog Link to this
"Catch"
Perhaps an early spelling of ketch, that is, a two-masted vessel, with the forward mast (the mainmast) being taller than the after mast (the mizzen), and with the mizzen being stepped forward of the rudder post (as opposed to a yawl, whereon the mizzzen is stepped aft of the rudder post.)
vincent Link to this
"catch" the ketch back 'ome with 'is things yer know, didnae ye understand Our man SP is spreckenzee Latin c=k a=o or u so one gets the ketch of the day. Oh this English, middle or vulga or common 'tis tough to make out. Oh well back to mid atlantic and the BBC. chow
Dirk Van de putte Link to this
Catch vs. ketch
Don't forget spelling at the time was almost absolutely free. Even in Shakespeare you often find the same word spelled in two or three different ways not even a page apart! - And let's be honest: "catch" and "ketch" do sound the same in careless pronunciation, don't they?
vincent Link to this
J. Evelyn "I paied the greate Tax of Pole-mony, levied for the disbanding of the army, 'til now kept up; I paid as an Esquire 10 pounds & 1s: for every Servant in my house &c: "
Linda Camidge Link to this
Catch and ketch sound the same in what we would call a "very posh accent" (somewhere to the right of Prince Cahrles). Interestingly, I'm sure I've read that there are other indicators suggesting that pronunciation - at least among the educated middle classes - was very much of this order in the 18th and into the 19th centuries. The early recordings of such as Tennyson bear this out. But how did other people speak? Could people from different social classes and regions actually understand each other? Or was it like me trying to understand the dialogue from "The Wire"?
Australian Susan Link to this
Can't resist: what's a creche? A car accident in Kensington.
Or: Prince Charles pronounces "yes" as "Ears"
GrahamT Link to this
..and sex is what Kensington people have their coal delivered in.