CGS says homemakers have gone the way of the buggy whip, but he means female homemakers who have found there are better things to do than be burdened with all the food preparation and clean up. You can be sure it’s a rare man who will step up to the plate, so sharing meals at home with others has become a rarity. Such a shame, how “homemakers” have dropped the ball.
Funny how words get changed over the centuries and from country to country. We always sang “Ring around the rosie(s), a pocket full of posies.” We had no idea what ”rosies” or “ashes” meant and took it literally as ashes from a coal furnace or fireplace. It made no sense, of course, but that hardly mattered. I was much older before I heard that it was in reference to a disease such as small pox or plague. I don’t think adults would have wanted to frighten little kids by telling them what the song really meant. Whar’s amazing to me is that the song was still being sung in the 20th century in America.
Ruben wrote: “In spite of all our exhortations, Samuel still writes this short entries from time to time...”
I suspect Sam often failed to write on the day in question. On this day when he had been working until midnight, there was probably nothing he could do but fall into bed, exhausted. He probably filled in the missing entries days later. Note the lack of detail about his activities.
I was never one to constantly look at my watch, but when my watchband broke I took to putting it in my handbag, from which I would have to deliberately retrieve it to see the time, which I did relatively rarely. So I didn’t get my watchband repaired and carried it in my handbag or occassionally a pocket for a couple of years. Sam, of course, wouldn’t have had a wristwatch and would have carried hos watch n his pocket. Too accessible for Sam, apparently. Now we have cell phones and need watches even less.
Brian M wrote, “we can see here that Liz has the means to be quite generous to the messenger. Five shillings is about a month’s wages for one of the maids.”
Of course it’s impossible to make comparisons about money because of myriad factors, but a poorly paid house cleaner in the US could expect at the very least $10 an hour, $400 for a 40-hour week, $1,600 for a month. Imagine giving a messenger a tip of an American maid’s monthly wage of $1,600! A very generous tipper, indeed. In addition, housemaids in Pepys’ time most likely worked far more than 40 hours a week for their measly 5 shillings a month.
Jesse wrote: “I'm assuming the shop is a husband/wife operation.”
I doubt there were many husband/wife operations in Pepys’ time. The wife may have done most (or all) of the work, but the business would have belonged to the husband. I think Pepys was trying to say the shop of the husband of the “most pretty woman” but used an awkward sentence structure.
Bradford asked if she could sew. I suspect Pepys was not the least bit concerned with her sewing abilities.
I wonder how Sam knew that Mrs. Martin planned to stay “monogamous” until her husband returns. I can imagine this scenario. Sam came sniffing around and Mrs. Martin was not interested so she gave him a good line about how she was remaining faithful.. She may well have had another bedmate and it wasn’t Sam. She found the perfect way to get rid of him and not hurt his feelings too much—and make herself look respectable at the same time.
“Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts which do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the sun; rather, its date is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated a number of controversies. It has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March,[10] but calculations vary.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E…
Most likely the “light colored locks” were a hairpiece or wig. There were hairpieces and wigs in those days, made of human hair. Women would sell their hair to wigmakers, especially if they were down on their luck.
Todd Bernhardt: “I wonder why Sam so often makes such a point of not eating a substantial meal until dinner?”
Don’t forget it’s Lent. But if he does it often, it may be what most people did in 1664/65. It wasn’t so easy to grab a snack. It was a big deal to get even one meal on the table.
“Mrs. Bagwell is, at the very least, playing hard-to-get. Sam's comments about the general misconduct at Court definitely fall into the 'mote and beam' category.”
I wonder if one of his paramours bit it or bent it back. It would have served him right.
“Terry’s link to the Dogger Bank includes a link to the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4. Many people including myself without any nautical knowledge, and living as far from the sea as you can in England, regarded this as compulsive listening even after the midnight news.”
Anyone outside GB who is interested can get a sample of the Shipping Forecast here:
Graham T wrote, “The USA is the only major country still using Fahreheit - which is now defined as a sub-standard of Celsius/Kelvin rather than a standard in its own right.”
I beg your pardon, Graham! Fahrenheut IS the standard in the US. Except in scientific circles, temperatures are given in Fahrenheit almost everywhere in the US (or it’s occasiinally given in both Fahrenheit and Celsius) . Having used Fahrenheit my whole life, I have never been able to get my head around Celsius. I have to look it up every time to find out what the “real” temperature is. Everybody knows that 32 degrees is the freezing point of water, and 212 degrees is the boiling point! My sons, on the other hand, who have careers in the sciences, know Celsius like the back of their hands and often give me whithering looks.
Comments
Second Reading
About Tuesday 27 June 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
CGS says homemakers have gone the way of the buggy whip, but he means female homemakers who have found there are better things to do than be burdened with all the food preparation and clean up. You can be sure it’s a rare man who will step up to the plate, so sharing meals at home with others has become a rarity. Such a shame, how “homemakers” have dropped the ball.
About Sunday 25 June 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Jointure appears to be a pre nup.
There is nothing new under the sun.
About Wednesday 24 May 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Funny how words get changed over the centuries and from country to country. We always sang “Ring around the rosie(s), a pocket full of posies.” We had no idea what ”rosies” or “ashes” meant and took it literally as ashes from a coal furnace or fireplace. It made no sense, of course, but that hardly mattered. I was much older before I heard that it was in reference to a disease such as small pox or plague. I don’t think adults would have wanted to frighten little kids by telling them what the song really meant. Whar’s amazing to me is that the song was still being sung in the 20th century in America.
About Thursday 25 May 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Ruben wrote: “In spite of all our exhortations, Samuel still writes this short entries from time to time...”
I suspect Sam often failed to write on the day in question. On this day when he had been working until midnight, there was probably nothing he could do but fall into bed, exhausted. He probably filled in the missing entries days later. Note the lack of detail about his activities.
About Wednesday 24 May 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
I was told “Ring Around the Rosie” referred to smallpox rather than the plague.
About Saturday 13 May 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
I was never one to constantly look at my watch, but when my watchband broke I took to putting it in my handbag, from which I would have to deliberately retrieve it to see the time, which I did relatively rarely. So I didn’t get my watchband repaired and carried it in my handbag or occassionally a pocket for a couple of years. Sam, of course, wouldn’t have had a wristwatch and would have carried hos watch n his pocket. Too accessible for Sam, apparently. Now we have cell phones and need watches even less.
About Thursday 11 May 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Sam would have called his mother “Mum”, not “Mom”.
I agree, he was probably slipped in short notes for the entries he didn’t make on the day.
About Wednesday 10 May 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Is there any reason to think Pepys mother came “out of the country” alone? Some kind soul could have accompanied her.
About Wednesday 3 May 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Vert astute observation, Arby.
About Monday 17 April 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Brian M wrote, “we can see here that Liz has the means to be quite generous to the messenger. Five shillings is about a month’s wages for one of the maids.”
Of course it’s impossible to make comparisons about money because of myriad factors, but a poorly paid house cleaner in the US could expect at the very least $10 an hour, $400 for a 40-hour week, $1,600 for a month. Imagine giving a messenger a tip of an American maid’s monthly wage of $1,600! A very generous tipper, indeed. In addition, housemaids in Pepys’ time most likely worked far more than 40 hours a week for their measly 5 shillings a month.
About Wednesday 12 April 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
The women must have known he’d like it and not take offense or they wouldn’t have done it. They know Pepys.
About Tuesday 4 April 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
Jesse wrote: “I'm assuming the shop is a husband/wife operation.”
I doubt there were many husband/wife operations in Pepys’ time. The wife may have done most (or all) of the work, but the business would have belonged to the husband. I think Pepys was trying to say the shop of the husband of the “most pretty woman” but used an awkward sentence structure.
Bradford asked if she could sew. I suspect Pepys was not the least bit concerned with her sewing abilities.
About Thursday 30 March 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
I wonder how Sam knew that Mrs. Martin planned to stay “monogamous” until her husband returns. I can imagine this scenario. Sam came sniffing around and Mrs. Martin was not interested so she gave him a good line about how she was remaining faithful.. She may well have had another bedmate and it wasn’t Sam. She found the perfect way to get rid of him and not hurt his feelings too much—and make herself look respectable at the same time.
About Saturday 25 March 1665
Louise Hudson • Link
“Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts which do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the sun; rather, its date is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated a number of controversies. It has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March,[10] but calculations vary.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E…
About Monday 13 March 1664/65
Louise Hudson • Link
Most likely the “light colored locks” were a hairpiece or wig. There were hairpieces and wigs in those days, made of human hair. Women would sell their hair to wigmakers, especially if they were down on their luck.
About Saturday 4 March 1664/65
Louise Hudson • Link
Todd Bernhardt: “I wonder why Sam so often makes such a point of not eating a substantial meal until dinner?”
Don’t forget it’s Lent. But if he does it often, it may be what most people did in 1664/65. It wasn’t so easy to grab a snack. It was a big deal to get even one meal on the table.
About Tuesday 21 February 1664/65
Louise Hudson • Link
Mary wrote:
a mighty pain in my forefinger...."
“Mrs. Bagwell is, at the very least, playing hard-to-get. Sam's comments about the general misconduct at Court definitely fall into the 'mote and beam' category.”
I wonder if one of his paramours bit it or bent it back. It would have served him right.
About Sunday 19 February 1664/65
Louise Hudson • Link
Nice! Today they’d both be arrested and charged with child abuse,as they should have been.
About Monday 13 February 1664/65
Louise Hudson • Link
Pedro wrote of the Shipping Forecast.
“Terry’s link to the Dogger Bank includes a link to the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4. Many people including myself without any nautical knowledge, and living as far from the sea as you can in England, regarded this as compulsive listening even after the midnight news.”
Anyone outside GB who is interested can get a sample of the Shipping Forecast here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Q…
About Monday 6 February 1664/65
Louise Hudson • Link
Graham T wrote, “The USA is the only major country still using Fahreheit - which is now defined as a sub-standard of Celsius/Kelvin rather than a standard in its own right.”
I beg your pardon, Graham! Fahrenheut IS the standard in the US. Except in scientific circles, temperatures are given in Fahrenheit almost everywhere in the US (or it’s occasiinally given in both Fahrenheit and Celsius) . Having used Fahrenheit my whole life, I have never been able to get my head around Celsius. I have to look it up every time to find out what the “real” temperature is. Everybody knows that 32 degrees is the freezing point of water, and 212 degrees is the boiling point! My sons, on the other hand, who have careers in the sciences, know Celsius like the back of their hands and often give me whithering looks.