Wednesday 4 December 1661
To Whitehall with both Sir Williams, thence by water, where I saw a man lie dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday. To the Temple, and thence to Mr. Phillips and got my copy of Sturtlow lands. So back to the 3 Tuns at Charing Cross, and there met the two Sir Williams and Col. Treswell and Mr. Falconer, and dined there at Sir W. Pen’s cost, and after dinner by water to Cheapside to the painter’s, and there found my wife, and having sat a little she and I by coach to the Opera and Theatre, but coming too late to both, and myself being a little out of tune we returned, and I settled to read in “Mare Clausum” till bedtime, and so to bed.
PHE Link to this
"myself being a little out of tune"
I presume he means: 'myself being in a bit of a sour mood'. A very nice phrase - which I can sympathise with. Another example of how Sam's day-to-day experiences so neatly reflect our own.
dirk Link to this
Evelyn's diary today:
"I had much discourse with his highnesse the Duke of York concerning strang Cures. He affirmed that a Woman who swallow'd a whole Eare of Barly, had it worke out at her side. I told him of the knife swallow'd, & the pinns: &c: I tooke leave of the Bish: of Cap-Verde now going in the fleete to bring over our new Queene:”
dirk Link to this
"and thence to Mr. Phillips and got my copy of Sturtlow lands"
I'm a little confused here. Is there a connection with what Sam mentioned in his diary entry for sunday 21 July 1661?
"Old William Luffe having been here this afternoon and paid up his bond of 20l., and I did give him into his hand my uncle's surrender of Sturtlow to me before Mr. Philips, R. Barnwell, and Mr. Pigott, which he did acknowledge to them my uncle did in his lifetime deliver to him.”
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1661/07/21/#ann...
vicenzo Link to this
I do believe it means, Luffe can now work the Land, but Sam is in Legal ownership [haveing the updated copy], but he can not lease it to a higher guzumpter, as the the man has legal use of lands [until death doth come] as long as he pays his interest & abides by the rule of the day, wheres as modern renter can be terminated on minor infractions of the common law, and no sense of long term security ???
vicenzo Link to this
"myself being a little out of tune" I love it.
Pauline Link to this
Sturtlow lands
All the inheritance annotations are now here--Background/People/(the very bottom of the list of people)Sam's ongoing themes:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/3384/
"The executors had no trouble about the Stirtloe land, which was sold immediately in 1661 to the tenant to pay debts."
Pedro. Link to this
From Dirk's entry "the Bish: of Cap-Verde now going in the fleete to bring over our new Queene:"
Cap-Verde (Cape Verde Islands, Cabo Verde)
The man mentioned, not actually the Bishop, was Richard Russell Cannon of the English Chapter see...
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13231b.htm
David A. Smith Link to this
"dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday"
So much about a society can be gleaned by these edge effects, not just *what happens* but *how people react to it.* A dead man, who has been there for a day, is something to remark, but only on a par with a visit to the opera and theater.
Bob T Link to this
Dead Man
I suppose that they left him there so that he could be identified, and his family could come and collect his body.
They couldn't mention it on the evening news, or put his picture on the internet. This was probably the standard operating procedure.
Philip Link to this
"dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday"
Isn’t it likely that the body washed onto the stairs during the night after having been in the water since the man fell in and drowned the previous day? Pepys makes his observation from the water as he is traveling by boat in the morning. The presence of the body probably was not then generally known. I doubt that it had been deliberately left there for a day.