Annotations and comments

Chris Squire UK has posted 896 annotations/comments since 16 February 2013.

Comments

Second Reading

About Monday 29 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

This is the sense of ‘some strange and incomparable good clarett ‘ I think:

‘strange adj.
. . 9 b. quasi-adv., qualifying an adj.: Very, extremely. Also strange and —. Now dial.
. . 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 17 The Sea breaks strange and dangerous.
. . 1888 G. M. Fenn Dick o' the Fens 160 I'm straänge and glad you've caught him.’

and this for ‘which methought was very strange for her to do.’:

‘ . . 10. a. Unfamiliar, abnormal, or exceptional to a degree that excites wonder or astonishment; difficult to take in or account for; queer, surprising, unaccountable.
. . 1823 Byron Don Juan: Canto XIV ci. 165 'Tis strange—but true; for Truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction.

b. to think (it) strange of (or concerning) : to be surprised at. Obs.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xvii. 19 b, He had vnderstanding, that the Frigate..was of Malta, whereof he thought very straunge [Fr. ce qu'il trouuoit estrange & mauuais].
1611 Bible (A.V.) 1 Pet. iv. 12 Beloued, thinke it not strange [Gk. μὴ ξενίζεσθε] concerning the fiery triall, which is to try you.’

[OED]

About Sunday 28 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘plaster, n. Etym: In Old English, probably < post-classical Latin plastrum . .
1. a. Originally: a solid medicinal or emollient substance spread on a bandage or dressing and applied to the skin, often becoming adhesive at body temperature (now rare or hist.) . .
. . 1597 W. Langham Garden of Health 90 A plaster of sowre bread boyled in wine, draweth sores passing well.
1638 Mass. Bay Rec. I. 224 Shee is not to meddle in surgery, or phisick, drinks, plaisters, or oyles.
1679 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle iii. i. 59 This furious fiend..Did cut the gristle of my Nose away, And in the place this velvet plaster stands . . ‘

About Anne Monck (Duchess of Albemarle)

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘barb, n.3 . . < Barbarie .
1. A horse of the breed imported from Barbary and Morocco, noted for great speed and endurance.
a1610 J. Healey tr. Theophrastus Characters xxiii. 82 in tr. Epictetus Manuall (1636) , Barbes, Jennets, and other horses of price.
1735 W. Somerville Chace iii. 387 He reins his docile Barb with manly Grace . . ‘

DNB has:

‘ . . on 23 January 1653 . . [Monck] married . . Anne Radford . . [who] on 28 February 1633 . . had wed [a] farrier, Thomas Radford, from whom she separated in 1649. Radford seems then to have disappeared, so that there was no absolute proof of her widowhood when she married Monck.

A whiff of scandal thus hung around their union, and even in view of his status as a landed gentleman, let alone as a republican general, he was marrying beneath his class. John Aubrey stated that she had been Monck's seamstress when he was imprisoned in the Tower, and that they had become lovers then.

As this had been the only period in which George had lived in London hitherto, there is much plausibility in the story. Theirs was clearly a lasting love match, which was formalized when there seemed reasonable presumption that Radford had gone permanently missing . .

On 7 July 1660 he was created Baron Monck of Potheridge, Beauchamp, and Teyes, earl of Torrington, and duke of Albemarle . . ‘

About Thursday 25 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

This is where I came in 10 years ago: allow me to celebrate by posting a longer extract from ’The Armada’:

‘ . . Southward from Surrey’s pleasant hills flew those bright couriers forth;
High on bleak Hampstead’s swarthy moor they started for the north;
And on, and on, without a pause, untired they bounded still:
All night from tower to tower they sprang; they sprang from hill to hill:

Till the proud Peak unfurled the flag o’er Darwin’s rocky dales
Till like volcanoes flared to heaven the stormy hills of Wales,
Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze on Malvern’s lonely height,
Till streamed in crimson on the wind the Wrekin’s crest of light,

Till broad and fierce the star came forth on Ely’s stately fane,
And tower and hamlet rose in arms o’er all the boundless plain;
Till Belvoir’s lordly terraces the sign to Lincoln sent,
And Lincoln sped the message on o’er the wide vale of Trent;

Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burned on Gaunt’s embattled pile,
And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle.’

http://www.bartleby.com/41/570.ht…

About Wednesday 24 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

A second OED hit for SP:

‘nativity, n.
. . 4. Astrol. Birth considered astrologically; a horoscope. Now rare (arch.).
. . c1485 G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1914) 150 For the body of the persone that is borne folowis the nature of the body of the sternis and planetis that concurris in his nativitee.
. . 1660 S. Pepys Diary 24 Oct. (1970) I. 274 Mr. Booker..did tell me a great many fooleries what may be done by Nativitys . . ‘

About Tuesday 23 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘illiterate, adj. and n.
1. a. Of persons: Ignorant of letters or literature; without book-learning or education; unlettered, unlearned; spec. (in reference to census returns, voting by ballot papers, etc.) unable to read, i.e. totally illiterate . .
. . 1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 27 May (1932) III. 1155 The word illiterate, in its common acceptation, means a man who is ignorant of those two languages [sc. Greek and Latin] . . ‘

About Saturday 20 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

‘Montagu [Mountagu], Edward, first earl of Sandwich (1625–1672), army and naval officer and diplomat, was . . the second but eldest surviving son of Sir Sydney Montagu, MP for Huntingdonshire, master of requests, and groom of the bedchamber to James I, and his wife, Paulina, formerly Pepys . .

Pepys's diary presents a picture of his ‘my lord’ almost as a true Renaissance man: the generous patron, the cheerful if sometimes moody companion, the hopeless manager of money, the competent artist and musician. He had an ear for languages, mastering Spanish by the end of his embassy, and his fascination with topography, mathematics, astronomy, and navigation emerges clearly from his manuscript journals, which are still held by his family . . ‘ [DNB]

About Wednesday 10 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

I agree with Jackie that the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which produced the constitutional settlement under which we live happily today, is where all this is leading to:

‘ . . The events of 1688 are known as the "Glorious Revolution" but since an intensified historical interest due to the third centennial of the event, some academics have portrayed the "revolution" as a Dutch invasion of Britain.

The "Glorious Revolution" fulfils the criterion for revolution, being an internal change of constitution and also the criterion for invasion, because it involved the landing of large numbers of foreign troops. The events were unusual because the establishment of a constitutional monarchy (a de facto republic, see Coronation Oath Act 1688) and English Bill of Rights meant that the apparently invading monarchs, legitimate heirs to the throne, were prepared to govern with the English Parliamentt.

It is difficult to classify the entire proceedings of 1687–89 but it can be seen that the events occurred in three phases: conspiracy, invasion by Dutch forces and "Glorious Revolution". It has been argued that the invasion aspect had been downplayed as a result of a combination of British pride and successful Dutch propaganda, trying to depict the course of events as a largely internal English affair . . ‘

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glor…

About Tuesday 9 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘with child in child n.
. . 17.c. fig. (a) Full (of a thing) so as to be ready to burst with it; teeming, pregnant; = big adj. 6b; (b) Eager, longing, yearning (to do a thing). Obs.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. New Test. I. Luke xxiii. 8 The man had of long tyme been with chylde to haue a sight of Iesus.
. . 1660 S. Pepys Diary 14 May (1970) I. 138, I sent my boy—who, like myself, is with child to see any strange thing.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 9 Oct. (1970) I. 262, I went to my Lord... And saw..his picture..and am with child till I get it copyed out . . ‘

About Monday 8 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘stuff, n.1 Etym: < Old French estoffe (feminine), material, furniture, provision . .
. . I.h. The furnishing proper to a place or thing; appurtenances, apparatus. Obs.
. . 1427–9 in W. Greenwell Wills & Inventories Registry Durham (1860) II. 75 And I wyl yat ye stuffe of alle myn howses of offices as kychyn panetre and buttre..remayne to my son.
. . a1616 Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. iii. 87 Oh mercie God, what masking stuffe is heere? What's this? a sleeue?. . ‘

An excerpt from a detailed account of the many and various meanings this word can have and has had.

About Sunday 7 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Bill: no more spoilers, please!

Those who, like me, are reading without foreknowledge do not wish to be told and those who are reading with foreknowledge do not need to be told

About Saturday 6 October 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED explains:

‘ketch, n.1 Etym: Later form of cache, catch n.2, with e for a as in keg, kennel, kestrel, etc. . . ’

‘catch, n.2 Etym: Middle English cache . .
A strongly-built vessel of the galiot order = ketch n.1
. . a1661 J. Glanville Voy. Cadiz (1883) 116 Catches being short and round built bee verie apt to turne up and downe and usefull to goe to and fro, and to carry messages between shipp and shipp almost with anie wind . . ‘

About Sunday 30 September 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

GB: I think sense 2. is meant here:

‘foul, adj., n., and adv.
I. 1. a. Grossly offensive to the senses, physically loathsome; primarily with reference to the odour or appearance indicative of putridity or corruption.
. . 1667 Milton Paradise Lost iv. 840 Thou resembl'st..Thy..place of doom obscure and foule.

II. Opposed to clean adj. II. (The implication of disgust etymologically belonging to the word was formerly often absent in these senses; in present use association with sense A. 1 has commonly restored it, exc. in certain technical or idiomatic expressons.)
2. Dirty, soiled; covered with or full of dirt . . Now arch. or dial., exc. with mixture of sense A. 1: Disgustingly dirty, filthy.
. . 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. iii. 4 Take awaye ye foule clothes from him.
. . 1700 S. L. tr. C. Schweitzer Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 341 One of the Washers, came..to fetch People's foul Linnen . . ‘ [OED]

About Saturday 29 September 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

' . . Rupert in his middle age was a difficult man to like. He had the sardonic, even embittered, air of an ageing dandy and was thought to be more saturnine, severe, and short-tempered than ever . . He was dogged by court and party faction during every stage of his career, and he was temperamentally incapable of overcoming it. He was too irascible, tactless, and impatient to be an effective politician, unjustly blaming subordinates for lack of support and the hostility of rival commanders for any failures. A poor judge of character, he was too influenced by disreputable followers, and alienated many who might have helped him . .

He [was] a highly competent, courageous, and energetic soldier, who became an equally successful sailor. The terrifying effect of his thunderbolt charges has entered popular legend. His youth and good looks, well preserved in the early portraits of Van Dyck . . , have prettified the image.' [DNB]

About Saturday 22 September 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘house of office n. now hist. . . (b) a privy, latrine.
. . ?1560 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture (new ed.) sig. Aiii, If he ly in a strange place se his shetes be cleane, then folde down his bed, and warme his night kercher, and se his house of office be cleane.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 292 They..goe first to the house of office, and there purge their bodie.
. . 1764 D. Garrick Let. 5 Aug. (1963) II. 422, I..have regal'd Myself with a good house of Office..the holes in Germany are..too round, chiefly owing..to the broader bottoms of the Germans . . ‘

About Wednesday 19 September 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

MarkS: you are correct but it was not Pepys' Mitre but the one in Fleet St: Mitre Court EC4 Opposite Fetter Lane, on the south side of Fleet Street.
As it takes its leave of Fleet Street by way of a short passage beneath Mitre House, Mitre Court soon opens out into a small but attractive courtyard giving access to Serjeants Inn, within the Temple. Adjacent to the Court with its frontage on Fleet Street was the Elizabethan Mitre Tavern.

'I had learnt that his place of frequent resort was the Mitre Tavern in Fleet Street, where he used to sit up late, and I begged that I might be allowed to pass an evening with him there soon, which he promised I should' . . Alas the Mitre was demolished in 1829 by Hoar's Bank to provide space for an extension to their premises.

http://www.gyford.com/archive/200…

About Tuesday 18 September 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

‘post-horse, n. A horse kept at a post-house or inn for the use of post-riders*, or for hire by travellers.
. . 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 61 In England.., Post-horses are established at every ten miles or thereabouts, which they ride a false gallop after some ten miles an hower.
. . 1688 T. D'Urfey Fool's Preferment iii. iv. 47 Tell 'em, I expect their Attendance. Go, take up Post-Horses, and make haste . . ‘

* ‘n. now hist. a person who carries letters and other mail by horseback; one who rides express with news.’

[OED]

About Thursday 13 September 1660

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

‘Northdown, n.1 Etym: < the name of Northdown, now a district of Margate, Kent, where the ale was first brewed.
Ale of a style originally brewed in Northdown, Margate. Freq. attrib.
1670 T. Culpeper Necessity abating Usury 12 Accustomed to swill in Spirits, Brandy, Sack, Metheglin, Northdown, and Mum.
. . 1723 J. Lewis Hist. & Antiq. Isle of Tenet 94 About 40 years ago..a particular sort of Ale..from its being first brewed at a place called North-down in this Parish went by the name of North-down Ale, and afterwards was called Mergate Ale.
1987 Financial Times 16 May (Weekend) p. xvii, Invited to Samuel Pepys' house to celebrate New Year's Day, you would have sat down to a buffet of oysters, a dish of neats' tongues, a dish of anchovies, wines of all sorts and Northdown ale.’ [OED]