Saturday 25 July 1668
Up, and at the Office all the morning; and at noon, after dinner, to Cooper’s, it being a very rainy day, and there saw my wife’s picture go on, which will be very fine indeed. And so home again to my letters, and then to supper and to bed.
Terry Foreman Link to this
Methought this miserable wet day was one to stay inside the office or home in the Navy compound in Seething Lane; but Pepys is curious enough to leave Elizabeth and make a postprandial dash across the as-yet-unbuilt London to Samuel Cooper's shop in Henrietta St., Covent Gardens, to have a look at her in-small.
Phoenix Link to this
Postprandial? Thank you Terry.
Carl in Boston Link to this
Preprandial dash, I believe, as this happened before supper. Usually "preprandial" is matched to "cocktail".
LKvM Link to this
For what it's worth, prandium means "late breakfast."
Terry Foreman Link to this
The ancient Roman "prandium" was the second breakfast at midday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prandium#Meals Pepys's dash might have been designed as a wake-up activity in the normal metabolic postprandial dip. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postprandial_dip (Consider the somnolent hour or two after the midday meal when at school or work?!) However, "postprandial" has come to mean "after eating a meal." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postprandial
Mae Link to this
Is Coopers portrait of Elizabeth to be found anywhere nowadays?
Jenny Link to this
Mae, it appears to be lost forever. Such a terrible shame.
Robert Gertz Link to this
A greater pity none of Bess' pictures survive...If only Sam had tucked one or two in among the pages...