Monday 4 September 1665

Writing letters all the morning, among others to my Lady Carteret, the first I have wrote to her, telling her the state of the city as to health and other sorrowfull stories, and thence after dinner to Greenwich, to Sir J. Minnes, where I found my Lord Bruncker, and having staid our hour for the justices by agreement, the time being past we to walk in the Park with Mr. Hammond [L&M say “Mrs.” P.G.] and Turner, and there eat some fruit out of the King’s garden and walked in the Parke, and so back to Sir J. Minnes, and thence walked home, my Lord Bruncker giving me a very neat cane to walk with; but it troubled me to pass by Coome farme where about twenty-one people have died of the plague, and three or four days since I saw a dead corps in a coffin lie in the Close unburied, and a watch is constantly kept there night and day to keep the people in, the plague making us cruel, as doggs, one to another.


19 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"it troubled me to pass by Coome farme where about twenty-one people have died of the plague, and three or four days since I saw a dead corps in a coffin lie in the Close unburied, and a watch is constantly kept there night and day to keep the people in, the plague making us cruel, as doggs, one to another."

It was more days than that and accompanied by the same rueful judgment about the moral degradation caused by the plague -- see 22 August: "I went away and walked to Greenwich, in my way seeing a coffin with a dead body therein, dead of the plague, lying in an open close belonging to Coome farme, which was carried out last night, and the parish have not appointed any body to bury it; but only set a watch there day and night, that nobody should go thither or come thence, which is a most cruel thing: this disease making us more cruel to one another than if we are doggs." http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

***
Whence the figure of speech, "cruel as dogs"? and how old is it?

cape henry  •  Link

“...cruel as dogs” to one another. Plague not required, really, for that, but I imagine it made things even worse as Pepys indicates.

Carl in Boston  •  Link

I don't care, we're going to have a party.
Pepsyians all, lurkers too, you are all invited to The Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Mass, USA on Saturday Sept 13 at 2 PM. Remember last year about this time? Well this year, it's the same. Some people have fretted, what about a quorum. I am a quorum of one, and if you show up, that makes two. Just come. Look for me in a bright red Western shirt with black shoulders and silver piping all over. You just might find me out.
I called the Wayside Inn and they are busy with a wedding and numerous parties on that afternoon, but there's no huge outdoor event outside. The Sudbury Muster with all that musket firing and black powder smoke is a few weeks away, so there will be peace and quiet and we can get into The Auld Bar for munchies and drinkies, there should be no problem. We might go into Ye Tavern Roome for a light dinner. Come on over, we'll figure it out.
Long Live The Memory Of Samuel Pepys
Carl Wickstrom (Carl in Boston) cell phone 978 521-4272

jeannine  •  Link

"you are all invited to The Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Mass, USA on Saturday Sept 13 at 2 PM"
Thanks Carl -last year was a lot of fun and I'll be there!

Ralph Berry  •  Link

Thank you Carl for the invitation. I would love to be able to come but it is a little short notice to enable travel from New Zealand. Hope you, Jeanine and whoever else turns up have a great time. One of the interesting points that comes from reading the annotations is the wide geographic spread of commentators, all interested in London of 1665.

mary k mcintyre  •  Link

Carl, greetings from Toronto -- I have family in Sherborn, wish I could have figured out a quick way to ditch work and get down there.

Please give us a post-event report (in honour of our inspiring diarist!).

Salut and slainte,
Mary

Peter Last  •  Link

From Adelaide, South Australia,have a good dinner, and I too wish I could be there. I never miss this fascinating site, for which I am very grateful, but temperamentally I'm not one to send anything unless I can genuinely contribute, as so many do and with such fascinating material. (Sorry about too long a sentence.)

Peter Last

Wim van der Meij  •  Link

From The Netherlands: I too am sorry not to be able to go to your party and I also wish you a lot of fun and good talk and food.
In the meantime I'll raise a glass of claret to drink to 'our' Samuel and all readers of this great blog.

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"Coome Farm"
In the US,it is not unheard of that the Plague breaks out in Zoos because of the rats looking for food;I wonder if the same thing might be happening here.

Margaret  •  Link

From Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Thanks for the invitation, Carl. Wish I could make it. Have a good time!

rob van hugte  •  Link

Hi Carl,

Thanks for the invitation but I'm afraid I will have to take a raincheck.

Have a nice dinner with everybody that will turn up.

Take care,
Rob
The Netherlands

Res Ipsa  •  Link

Now, if you could guarantee a venison pasty, some of us might be tempted to get on Travelocity & look for a good rate.....

Hugh Harris  •  Link

Carl in Boston, thanks for the invite but even though I'm in the same country, it's not the same state!
Best wishes for a great dinner from Marion, Indiana.

Pedro  •  Link

More prizes.

Sandwich says that when they gathered in the Mary, Plymouth and divers others of the separated ships and prizes there was a ship from Lisbon, another from the Straits and one from Malaga, and 3 or 4 other smaller vessels.

The Pembroke brought news that she had seen the Dutch fleet on Sunday and that at 6 in the evening between the Well Bank and the White Water they were 80 sail. Also that they saw a Straits ship of the Dutch burn and blow up in the sea, being forced to it by the Ruby’s chasing her and nearly taking her.

(Summary from the Journal of Montagu edited by Anderson)

Australian Susan  •  Link

I wish I could come from Brisbane, but will raise a glass of good South Australian wine to toast you all!

Second Reading

The Greenwich Patriot  •  Link

Combe Farm continued through the centuries, including being photographed on 11th August 1858. The farmhouse was eventually demolished in 1901.

Interesting that Pepys refers to Woolwich as "home" in this entry.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Interesting that Pepys refers to Woolwich as "home" in this entry."

He lodged there during the Plague.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Interesting that Pepys refers to Woolwich as "home" in this entry."

Home is where you hang your hat, or in this case, red silk suit and periwigg. Since all the staff had now moved to Woolwich, Pepys must follow the cook and laundry maid -- and the locked trunk -- like it or not.

He was more dependent on others than we are today. They lived cooperatively -- shared food, beds, housing and horses, considering the staff as family. Even dressing himself correctly for a day at the office (which could easily lead to a visit with the Duke of York at St. James's Palace) was probably impossible.

The Greenwich Patriot  •  Link

Yes, sorry, did not express myself well. He had completely moved to Woolwich to join his household on 31st August, just four days before.

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