Thursday 10 October 1661
At the office all the morning; dined at home, and after dinner Sir W. Pen and my wife and I to the Theatre (she first going into Covent Garden to speak a word with a woman to enquire of her mother, and I in the meantime with Sir W. Pen’s coach staying at W. Joyce’s), where the King came to-day, and there was “The Traytor” most admirably acted; and a most excellent play it is. So home, and intended to be merry, it being my sixth wedding night; but by a late bruise … . [One cannot help curiosity of where a bruise could be that had to be censored out. D.W.] I am in so much pain that I eat my supper and in pain to bed, yet my wife and I pretty merry.
John Simmons Link to this
"A LATE BRUISE..."
According to Robert Latham's
"Shorter Pepys"..."a late bruise in
one of my testicles"...
dirk Link to this
The Traytor
"The Traytor a Tragedie, Written by James Shirley. Acted By her Majesties Servants." 1631, publ. 1635.
Play by James Shirley, see
http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/micro/544...
Shirley was one of the leading playwrights in the decade before the closing of the theatres by Parliament in 1642.
Bradford Link to this
Ouch!
(Surely D.W. could have figured that one out. An Editor's Duty!)
daniel Link to this
*OUCH*
i suppose such a bruise would disincline many of us gents of "being merry", anniversary or not!
upper_left_hand_corner Link to this
"Late" in the sense of recent, of course. It isn't clear when the incident might have happened in the last day or two, though. Wouldn't he have remarked on it?
Mary Link to this
"caused by a late bruise"
L&M quote Dr. C.E. Newman, to the effect that this was probably not a bruise, but an episode of inflammation consequent upon a latent infection left by Pepys' operation for the stone. The inflammation could have been provoked by a temporary constriction, e.g. sitting with the legs crossed for a period of time.
Too much sitting around in theatres, Sam?
Bob T Link to this
"caused by a late bruise”
Thanks for the explanation Mary. Without these explanations, one’s imagination is apt to run wild.
JWB Link to this
"caused by a late bruise”
With due respect to Dr. Newman, I think it more likely that Sam was bruised getting in/out or helping lady get in/out of one of the coaches he’s been using lately. Without adequate brakes and a couple of burley footmen to hold a fractious team, stepping up into a coach on a busy city street was an adventure.
Todd Bernhardt Link to this
re: "a late bruise"
Could someone with access to L&M please fill in the entire phrase? I appreciate John's contribution above (and am working with all my might to avoid making a joke about the information's inclusion in "The Shorter Pepys"), but it doesn't seem as if the sentence is complete.
FWIW, things unrelated to Sam's operation could cause the same pain ... for example, chlamydia (a sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacteria called chlamydia trachomatis) can, in men, cause inflammation of the reproductive area near the testicles (a condition known as epidydimitis).
Uncross your legs, gents.
j.simmons Link to this
"A late bruise"
Sorry Todd...all Robt. Latham
shows, just insert his section of
the quote. Robt. being a Fellow of
Magdalene College, Cambridge, where
he had charge of The Diary itself,
and has "devoted the past thirty
years to the study of the diary and,
in addition to his work on the
eleven volume edition, is the editor
of "The Illustrated Pepys."...Hmmm,
no pictures for Oct. 10 in that! Makes
you wonder.
vicente Link to this
There be I thinking of that frolique in that bumpy coach and ...."...but by a late bruise ..." only to be disappointed in the true meaning of 'late' 'bruise' and 'frolic' and he being warned by Bragge that some one be after his bag of loose change that he ties in his english sporran under his inner covering. Oh! well ye live? and ye learn.
Louis Link to this
"So home and entended to be merry, it being my sixth wedding night; but by a late bruise in one of my testicles I am in so much pain that I eat my supper and in pain to bed; yet my wife and I pretty merry."
Ipsissima verba, Todd!
Pauline Link to this
"Ipsissima verba, Todd!"
Louis, I think the rule is that you don't do this without immediate translation--lest you wax snobbish and subject to our stones.
"yet my wife and I pretty merry"
I do like our Sam!
Ruben Link to this
Ipsissima verba
from Google:
The Latin term "Ipsissima verba" means, in a UK legal context: "the very words of a speaker."
Peter Link to this
I can never tell the difference between my ipsissima verba and my horse's mouth.
Todd Bernhardt Link to this
My sympathies to your horse, Peter! :-)
Merci, Louis (and j.simmons, and others).
Peter Link to this
Todd,....It's why he has such a long face!
Mary Link to this
"yet my wife and I pretty merry".
Now, how do Sam and Elizabeth contrive to be pretty merry when Sam is in so much pain? Perhaps because both are intimately aware of exactly how he got the bruise (if bruise it be) and both manage to find some enjoyment in the memory of the occasion, despite its painful consequences.
Robert Gertz Link to this
"yet my wife and I pretty merry."
Sam valiantly does his Duty on the 6th.
Poor Pepys duo...She with her unmentionable ulcers and he with his censored bruise...But they get by.
I begin to see why she came back to this guy, even when stuck in the miserable Montague garret that year.
I suppose the person truly miserable in the household this night was one Will Hewer...Though it's hard to be certain from post-Diary events which of the Pepys he was most in love with...
michael j. gresk m.a. Link to this
to: peter, daniel, mary, pauline, ruben, bob t, JWB vincente, louis, et. al. ---- many thanks for the educational & entertaining running commentary --- MJG
David Ross McIrvine Link to this
*The Traitor*
Probably Shirley's *The Traytor* was being put on during the Restoration due to its historical basis--the killing, under at least a republican pretext--of a hereditary ruler. Alessandro de Medici had been made hereditary Duke of Florence in 1532, and was assassinated by Lorenzino (or Lorenzaccio) de Medici, who wrote an apology for the murder in which he justified it as an attempt to restore a republic to Florence.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/s...
In the 19th century, Alfred de Musset also wrote a play on this subject, titled *Lorenzaccio*.
Michael N Hull Link to this
It sounds to me like Pepys was suffering from orchitis.
cum salis grano Link to this
The late bruise, it be a mystery, medical cause be the most likeliest, stone removal and opportunities to get infection, but could not help but wander if there could involve a defensive hat pin , judging by one of Pepys' MO, although riding in an unsprung horse drawn vehicle can cause new sensations and Pepys' newly gained regular mode of travel versus previous popular mode, shank's pony could also explain his pain.