Tuesday 3 March 1662/63

(Shrove Tuesday). Up and walked to the Temple, and by promise calling Commissioner Pett, he and I to White Hall to give Mr. Coventry an account of what we did yesterday. Thence I to the Privy Seal Office, and there got a copy of Sir W. Pen’s grant to be assistant to Sir J. Minnes, Comptroller, which, though there be not much in it, yet I intend to stir up Sir J. Minnes to oppose, only to vex Sir W. Pen. Thence by water home, and at noon, by promise, Mrs. Turner and her daughter, and Mrs. Morrice, came along with Roger Pepys to dinner. We were as merry as I could be, having but a bad dinner for them; but so much the better, because of the dinner which I must have at the end of this month. And here Mrs. The. shewed me my name upon her breast as her Valentine, which will cost me 20s. After dinner I took them down into the wine-cellar, and broached my tierce of claret for them. Towards the evening we parted, and I to the office awhile, and then home to supper and to bed, the sooner having taken some cold yesterday upon the water, which brings me my usual pain. This afternoon Roger Pepys tells me, that for certain the King is for all this very highly incensed at the Parliament’s late opposing the Indulgence; which I am sorry for, and fear it will breed great discontent.


34 Annotations

First Reading

TerryF  •  Link

"my tierse of claret"

tierce (tîrs) n.
1 .also Tierce (tîrs) or terce or Terce (tûrs) Ecclesiastical.
-- The third of the seven canonical hours. No longer in liturgical use.
-- The time of day appointed for this service, usually the third hour after sunrise.
2. A measure of liquid capacity, equal to a third of a pipe, or 42 gallons (159 liters).
3. Games. A sequence of three cards of the same suit.
4. Sports. The third position from which a parry or thrust can be made in fencing.
5. Music. An interval of a third.
[Middle English, from Old French, from feminine of tiers, third, from Latin tertius.]
http://www.answers.com/main/ntque…

Clear it is 2.

Bradford  •  Link

"And here Mrs. The. shewed me my name upon her breast as her Valentine".

As it's not liable to be a tattoo, what exactly has she done? Inscribed a bit of paper with "Samuel Pepys, Esq.," and pinned it to the bosom of her dress, over her heart? ("Hello! My Name Is Theophila Turner" who seems to be, at this writing, about 11 years old.) 20 shillings---why, that's a pound, innit? Think of all the Holland cheeses that could buy.

And this is the distinguished company he worried about yesterday?---and now fobs with a poor meal, "so much the better"?

"though there be not much in it, yet I intend to stir up Sir J. Minnes to oppose, only to vex Sir W. Pen": beware, intriguer! "Those to whom evil is done / Do evil in return." Especially in the office.

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"And here Mrs. The.shewed me my name uopon her breast as her Valentine,which will cost me 20s."
LMAO

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Conflict:"...This afternoon Roger Pepys tells me, that for certain the King is for all this very highly incensed at the Parliament’s late opposing the Indulgence; which I am sorry for, and fear it will breed great discontent...."
The House of Commons dothe say:
That he gave us hearty Thanks for our many Thanks; that never any King was so happy in a House of Commons as he is in this; that the Paper and Reasons were long, and therefore he would take Time to consider of them, and send us a Message; that we could never differ but in Judgment; and That must be when he did not rightly express himself, or we did not rightly understand him; but our Interest was so far linked together, that we could never disagree."
And then the House adjourned till Thursday Morning next, Eight of the Clock

From: 'House of Commons Journal Volume 8: 28 February 1663', Journal of the House of Commons: volume 8: 1660-1667 (1802), pp. 443-44. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…. Date accessed: 04 March 2006.

Joe  •  Link

Conflict:”…This afternoon Roger Pepys tells me, that for certain the King is for all this very highly incensed...."

There did seem to be some menace behind the King's assertion that "he doubted not but he and they should agree in all things" ( http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… ). Those silly childlike Commons couldn't possibly have thought that he, Charles II, God's Annointed, was going to change his position to suit them, could they?

(And thanks for the restoration of the Links, Phil. Hope that means you're feeling better.)

Stolzi  •  Link

Whew!

That's a lot of claret!

Alastor  •  Link

Parliament is in the wrong on this one. The King promised religious toleration in the Declaration of Breda three years ago, and now that he's restored Parliament is forcing him to reneg on his promise.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Theophilia Turner...

I've always suspected the bright and bratty Mrs. The had a strong girl's crush for Sam. I wonder if Mrs. Turner knew her 11 year old daughter had put a "Samuel Pepys" (The equivalent of "Property of (fill-in adored rock or film star or more rarely spouse)" T-shirts.) note on her front or if she sneaked off to show it to Sam in private?

Saul Pfeffer  •  Link

Mac Aulay has this “tolerance business” right. The King’s aim is not really tolerance for all religions but he hopes to get some leverage for Catholics out of all this. Charles couldn’t care less about the various Protestant sects that are in hiding all around the country. He hopes one day to be able to practice his own religion openly. His foolish brother York, later James II does so and brings the Stuart line to an end.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I have to sympathize with Charles' feelings this time. However disguised his motives about the Indulgence Act are, it's a just act and he has good reason, besides his inclination towards Catholicism, to hate and despise the intolerance of Parliament.

***
Geesh, Sam...Jane Turner saved your life.

Speak of Jane I can't help wondering about Bess' feelings toward her. A strong, dominating character who cowed her husband into letting her stay at her own house in London for lengthy periods and who clearly felt a powerful attachment to Sam. Yes, she played a major role in saving Sam during the stone surgery by nursing him but surely Bess can't help but feel a little inadequate and perhaps a bit resentful and jealous as well as grateful.

Maybe she didn't feel all that inclined to knock herself out on this dinner. Washday could've been rescheduled.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...took them down into the wine cellar..."

Hmmn? When did Sam start referring to it as a wine cellar?

17th century Yuppism creeping in... A perriwig, coach with footmen, and silver walking cane to follow soon no doubt.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Say, what do you suppose constitutes a "bad" dinner for Sam by now? Less than seven courses and an ok, but not really up to the mark, claret?

"That dinner of cousin Sam'l sucked Mama."

"The!"

"I'm just saying...You saved his life and all and he gives us a crappy dinner like that. Lord, I hope he manages me a half-decent Valentine's gift."

"Theophilia..."

"And the house smelled bad. He ought to divorce that Elisabeth if she can't keep the place better. I mean she's cute in her Frenchie way and all, but not really his intellectual equal."

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

"...When did Sam start referring to it as a wine cellar..." Samuell has visited the best of Londons private and publick collection of hogsheads. The King for one, which Cromwell kept hidden. So like most, that be his secret wish to collect wines of the world, slowly stacking them up and then as most cellars, be of the temperate kind not too hot nor too cold [called a good cellar].
Diary only records the unusual not the mundane, unless it becomes a cause celeb.

E  •  Link

Hmmm, to what extent are people still feeling their way about how to celebrate Lent under the altered regime?

We have presumably all heard the story that Pancake Day (or Fat Tuesday) was when people ate up all the fresh stuff that would go to waste becuase it couldn't be eaten in Lent. It doesn't sound as though the Pepys household was able to buy lots of goodies cheap. Was this because Londoners were not expecting this Lent to be very strict? Is this lack of cheap supply why the household hasn't gone all out to avoid presenting a "bad" dinner -- everybody knows that prices have unexpectedly not dropped? Yet last week Elizabeth spent all that money...

Sjoerd  •  Link

Valentine

The site "kissmegoodnight.com" has some interesting stuff,apart from "ugly, fat, bald: how to date any woman you want" they have:

"In the Middle Ages young men and women would pick up chits scribbled with names from bowls to see who their Valentines would be. They would then wear these names on their sleeves for one week to convey their feelings. Men with the name of a girl up their sleeve would have to protect her during the following year and both the girl and the boy would exchange love tokens throughout the year."

http://www.kissmegoodnight.com/va…

Jacqueline Gore  •  Link

"...referring to it as a wine cellar..."

Well, Robert. Our Sam has never been slow to adopt whatever he can of the lifestyles of the rich and famous asap. Plus by now he must have enough stored down there to actually make it worthy of the name.

The Theophilia bit was great. After reading Tomalin I imagine whatever Bess thinks of Jane Turner, at times she'd like to drown dear little The.

[OT: Robert. When's Ch. 14 of SDSP coming? Waiting breathlessly]

TerryF  •  Link

"When did Sam start referring to it as a wine cellar?"

Not before today in the Diary. Of the other references to a wine cellar, the first appears to be Milord's, four others to those of the King. http://www.gyford.com/cgi-sys/cgi…

Has Sam risen a bit in his own esteem?

TerryF  •  Link

(Sorry to ask the question to which you pose an answer, Jacqueline - I was slow to post....)

dirk  •  Link

Wine cellar

Terry, don't forget Mr Povvy's wine cellar on 19 January!

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I actually mean Sam using the term "wine cellar" to describe his own holdings in the cellar (still next to that neighbor's house of office?) rather than general use which I think is also used to describe Lord Sandwich's holdings earlier as well as Mr. P's.

To me its use is a sign Sam feels himself rising in the world and a prelude of things to come.

jeannine  •  Link

"Wine cellar?”
You too can be like Sam....In celebration of his new wine cellar, I too now have one of my own. I just took a bottle of fancy pants wine and brought it down to the basement. I crawled over the piles of tools, kids toys, exercise equipment, yard sale wanna be "stuff", bikes, etc. I passed the furnace, the plant potting bags of dirt and finally located a free space of about 1 square foot. I perfectly positioned the bottle on a little rack in a very impressive manner.I am planning to invite you all over to see it so I can show it off, but it won't be until I've increased my homeowner's insurance policy as the trip through the basement to gaze at my "collection" could be life threatening.

jeannine  •  Link

On a more serious note.. how many of us can look back ten or more years in our life and see a change in our own tastes, etc.? Do you still drink the same wine, beer (whatever) that you drank in college, do you still like the same meals, have the same hand me down furniture, etc. Growing up, gaining a little earning power, etc. and access to the "finer" things in life (whatever they be for each of us) is part of a process that he's accomplishing from hard work. Granted his "invitation" into the world of finer things and his position at the Navy came via Sandwich, but, if he was a loser, Sandwich would not have given him the slot to begin with. From there he has applied himself and achieved, so, a toast of claret to him, and HIS WIFE for all they have accomplished together.

Pedro  •  Link

"access to the “finer” things in life"

Claret and Gouda cheese? I'll stick with me working class pint of real English ale, and real English regional cheeses!

jeannine  •  Link

“access to the “finer” things in life”
You never know, maybe someone's idea of the finer things in life is having a chance to visit London to try some of that English ale and cheese! So while Sam works for his dreams maybe others are contemplating some of their own. Of course, now you'll be stuck treating!

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Note this day be for the Queen, it be Terça-feira "...After dinner I took them down into the wine-cellar, and broached my tierce of claret for them..." so on the third day but not at the third hour he dothe open his third of a pipe, but no 3 card monte, but will not parry his epee, his viol not be in third notes. But it dothe seem that he be in a tierce group.
this be thirsty work.

Pedro  •  Link

And the third day of the week for the King?

What Is the First Day of the Week?

The Bible clearly makes the Sabbath the last day of the week, but does not share how that corresponds to our 7 day week. Yet through extra-biblical sources it is possible to determine that the Sabbath at the time of Christ corresponds to our current 'Saturday.' Therefore it is common Jewish and Christian practice to regard Sunday as the first day of the week (as is also evident from the Portuguese names for the week days). However, the fact that, for example, Russian uses the name "second" for Tuesday, indicates that some nations regard Monday as the first day.

In international standard ISO-8601 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has decreed that Monday shall be the first day of the week.

http://webexhibits.org/calendars/…

Roll on the weekend!

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Meanwhile there lies in a Bedford Jail the future writer of Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan aged 34, incarcerated for three months but ends waiting for a Good lawyer to get an Indulgence as he will not give up his thoughts, unlike many others, it lasts for twelve years.
What a differing life for two young men that leave some
scribblings for the world to chew on.

Patricia  •  Link

Pepys' hatred of Sir W. Penn, if I remember rightly, dates back to a time when Penn made some attempt to demote him to a junior Clerk or something, with the titled Sir Ws as his seniors. This was months ago. Pepys can sure hold a grudge!

Second Reading

Louise Hudson  •  Link

"And here Mrs. The. shewed me my name upon her breast as her Valentine, which will cost me 20s."

What an odd custom. If it was MRS. The. she couldn't have been 11 years old. I see nothing that would imply that it was Mrs. The's daughter, rather than Mrs, The. who showed Sam's name upon her own breast. She's a married woman and he's a married man! What, pray tell, are the 20 shillings for? Blackmail?

What strange goings on are these.

Beth Meacham  •  Link

"Mrs." is the abbreviation for Mistress, the honorific given to an unmarried girl. Mrs. The. is 11.

Bryan  •  Link

"And here Mrs. The. shewed me my name upon her breast as her Valentine, which will cost me 20s."

Yes, the precocious daughter is definitely Theophila (The).
Why the expense? St Valentine's day often involved the exchange of small gifts, sometimes gloves. And sometimes (for a favorite coz) lots of gloves.
I think it's safe to assume that SP was referring to the front of The's dress rather than part of her anatomy.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"Mrs" started out as an abbreviation for "Mistress", just as "Mr" did for "Master". I wonder when the spoken abbreviations "Mister" & "Missis" came into general use? Certainly after Shakespeare's time; one thinks of Mistress Quickly of the Boar's Head tavern in Eastcheap for example. I suspect that the modern usage started with the lower classes and spread upwards.

As for Mrs The, 'Honi soit qui mal y pense': this site's family tree makes it quite clear who she is. Remember that Pepys also called Sandwich's eldest daughter "Mrs Jem", before Sandwich received his Earldom, and his daughters acquired the title "Lady".

Despite their closeness, the blood relationship between Sam and Jane is quite distant. According to the family tree, Jane (10 years older than Sam) is from the most senior line of the Pepyses, and Sam is from a rather more junior line. They share one pair of great-great-great grandparents, and are actually fourth cousins. The closeness might seem strange, but sometimes one does find a closer relationship with more distant relatives. I have third cousins who feel like siblings: we even look alike - and like our common great-great grandparents: (I have a photo of them together c 1880). The throw of the genetic dice produces all sorts of diverse results.

Clark Kent  •  Link

As to Sam being capable of bearing a grudge--some of us pride ourselves on our good memories and bad attitudes. Helps one go far.

Louise Hudson  •  Link

If Mrs. The is 11, it t sounds as if she is being trained to be a prostitute!

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