Don, I expect that passage and others like it were copied from the original with an optical scanner, and no one took the time and trouble to go through and correct all the false "f"s.
"though I would have my father live, I would not have him die Treasurer of the Navy"
This passage is a little puzzling on its face, since John P. is not a likely candidate to become Treasurer of the Navy, and the relevance of his survival to the point under discussion is unclear.
I interpret it as follows: Sam is agreeing with and supporting Carteret's desire to quit the position, and says in effect, "even if it were my own father, I would be happy to see him be Treasurer of the Navy while alive, but wouldn't want him to die in that position, because it could have seriously bad effects on his estate."
"drove hard towards Clerkenwell,1 thinking to have overtaken my Lady Newcastle, whom I saw before us in her coach, with 100 boys and girls running looking upon her but I could not"
Fascination with celebrities is not a modern invention. The Duchess would have understood Lady Gaga well.
distrain: to seize and hold (property) as security or indemnity for a debt [several online dictionaries all give essentially the same definition]
I gather what happened here is that the Exchequer put a lien on the Navy's property (surely not Sam's personal property) for 70,000L, presumably as surety for the money that is being given them for operations. "Matter of form," Sam says, but can't help but be troubled by it, as I think anyone would be. Seems a strange way of doing business for a government - if this money isn't used for its intended purpose, we'll take away your office space and your furniture.
"He told me to my face that I was a very good clerk"
Damning with faint praise? In the context it sounds like SP is not one of Sir John's "four men (such as he could name) would do the business of both offices," although he might be a valuable staffer for them. Maybe Sir John thinks Sam just doesn't have the clout that is needed to set things right.
" the organ, which is handsome ... and makes me mighty earnest to have a pair at our church"
SP's use of "pair" to refer to an organ caught my attention, so I went a-googling, and found the following passage on page 33 of _The Art of Organ Building_ by George Ashdown Audsley, complete with a reference to today's entry:
The term "pair" has no relation to the number of keyboards, or to the tonal divisions of the instrument, notwithstanding the fact that certain authorities believe it has. The Organ with two keyboards was, in olden time, properly called a "double Organ," or double Regal." Mr. Albert Way, in "Promptorium Parvulorum" (Camden Society publication), remarks: "It appears that the usual term 'a pair of Organs' has reference to the double bellows, whereby continuous sound was produced." He overlooked the fact that the term "pair" was applied to other musical instruments that had no bellows. Douce, an authority quoted by Way, tells us that a pair of Organs means an instrument "formed with a double row of pipes." This is, of course, incorrect; for the term was applied, as in the inventory above mentioned, to both single and double Regals. Pepys, in his "Diary," describing his visit to Hackney Church, on April 20th, 1667, says: "That which I went chiefly to see was the young ladies of the schools, whereof there is a great store, very pretty; and also the Organ, which is handsome and tunes the psalm and plays with the people; which is mighty pretty, and makes me mighty earnest to have a pair at our church, I having almost a mind to give them a pair if they would settle a maintenance on them for it." The use of the singular "it" is significant. Rimbault says: "Some authorities tell us that 'a pair of Organs' meant an Organ with two stops. But this could not have been the case; as, in Henry the Eighth's Household Book, we read of 'a payer of Virginalls with four stoppes.' The truth is, that 'a pair of Organs' meant simply an Organ with more pipes than one. ... Jonson, Heywood, and other of the older poets, always use the term 'pair' in the sense of an aggregate, and as synonymous with 'set': thus we have 'a pair of chessmen,' 'a pair of beads,' 'a pair of cards,' 'a pair of Organs,' &c. When speaking of a flight of stairs, we often say a 'pair' of stairs. Therefore this ancient form of expression, although obsolete in most cases, is still in use at the present day."
Re Terry's quote from John Evelyn's diary, I'm sure all will recall that the Duchess of Newcastle is the notable Margaret Cavendish, who has appeared in SP's journal a couple of times in the past month (30 March and 11 April). Evelyn echoes the general sentiment in noting her "extraordinary fanciful habit, garb, and discourse."
Nix, I've sung a lot of Handel, and don't remember noticing anything askew about the match between the music and the text. Could you give some examples?
As to Sam, I think you're giving him too much credit here. He's not really talking about translations (which I agree rarely work well, as you say); he's making a more radical claim, that Englishmen are always going to like English music better than music from another country. He said something similar a few months ago, to which I commented that there's a reason why Monteverdi is still preferred to his English contemporaries, even in England.
Like Mary, I thought the quantity of wine was maybe supposed to be in "tuns," but I had only the vaguest notion of how much that might be. Thanks to JWB's nice chart and Wikipedia link, we see that a tun is a ton is a tun. 256 gallons, about 2,048 pounds of liquid, about 969 liters.
Yet another bit of knowledge I was happy to glean from this great site.
My reaction is the same as Art's, that SP was referring to intervals, what we would call half-tones today. Again I lament the unavailability of my e-OED, but I *believe* the term "half-note" to refer to a rhythmic value is an American innovation. The British call this symbol a "minim". And in any case, rhythmic half-notes as we understand the term today would present the least possible difficulty to a singer. If rhythm is indeed being referred to, then Sam was probably referring to a rapid succession of notes, as Bradford surmises.
If Michael R. or anyone else can come up with the score for "It is decreed," that should settle the matter quickly.
" ... where I find her within, and her sister [1] and the widow Burroughs. Here I did stay the whole afternoon kissing them and drank; and among other things, did by trick arrive at touching the hair [on] the thing [of][2] the aforementioned widow."
[1] "hermano" is the masculine form, but I don't think Sam would have been kissing her brother (or anybody else with him present).
[2] the last clause is pretty elliptical, but the inserted prepositions represent my interpretation of the meaning.
" ... where I find her within, and her sister [1] and the widow Burroughs. Here I did stay the whole afternoon kissing them and drank; and among other things, did by trick arrive at touching the hair [on] the thing [of][2] the aforementioned widow."
[1] "hermano" is the masculine form, but I don't think Sam would have been kissing her brother (or anybody else with him present).
[2] the last clause is pretty elliptical, but the inserted prepositions represent my interpretation of the meaning.
"it will be impossible to make the Exchequer ever a true bank to all intents, unless the Exchequer stood nearer the Exchange, where merchants might with ease, while they are going about their business, at all hours, and without trouble or loss of time, have their satisfaction"
A prescient observation by Sir John. When the Bank of England, established in 1694, moved to its permanent headquarters in 1734, it was right across the street from the Royal Exchange. Here's a map:
Do unto others ... Despite his clear discomfort at this nasty practical joke, Sam was willing to join in doing the same to Sir William Penn. That annoys me.
Larry Hill, I had the same first reaction, but on studying the context, I decided that the phrase about the parson's-dress related to the previous sentence, not the following one, so no snobbery intended. Terry Foreman's report of L&M's punctuation indicates that they interpreted the passage in the same way.
I would hazard a guess that the phenomena mentioned by Mary and by LH are insertions of a velar stop rather than retention of a final velar that is dropped in other dialects. But that would have to be confirmed or refuted by someone with more knowledge of the relevant data than I have.
Comments
First Reading
About Wednesday 5 June 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
Don, I expect that passage and others like it were copied from the original with an optical scanner, and no one took the time and trouble to go through and correct all the false "f"s.
About Monday 3 June 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
"so much reputation got and preserved by a rebel that went before him"
Is this a reference to Oliver Cromwell?
About Sunday 19 May 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
"though I would have my father live, I would not have him die Treasurer of the Navy"
This passage is a little puzzling on its face, since John P. is not a likely candidate to become Treasurer of the Navy, and the relevance of his survival to the point under discussion is unclear.
I interpret it as follows: Sam is agreeing with and supporting Carteret's desire to quit the position, and says in effect, "even if it were my own father, I would be happy to see him be Treasurer of the Navy while alive, but wouldn't want him to die in that position, because it could have seriously bad effects on his estate."
About Friday 10 May 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
"drove hard towards Clerkenwell,1 thinking to have overtaken my Lady Newcastle, whom I saw before us in her coach, with 100 boys and girls running looking upon her but I could not"
Fascination with celebrities is not a modern invention. The Duchess would have understood Lady Gaga well.
About Saturday 4 May 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
"Returned as untrue." I love it. Wish I'd thought of that during my working days.
About Thursday 25 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
distrain: to seize and hold (property) as security or indemnity for a debt [several online dictionaries all give essentially the same definition]
I gather what happened here is that the Exchequer put a lien on the Navy's property (surely not Sam's personal property) for 70,000L, presumably as surety for the money that is being given them for operations. "Matter of form," Sam says, but can't help but be troubled by it, as I think anyone would be. Seems a strange way of doing business for a government - if this money isn't used for its intended purpose, we'll take away your office space and your furniture.
About Wednesday 24 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
"He told me to my face that I was a very good clerk"
Damning with faint praise? In the context it sounds like SP is not one of Sir John's "four men (such as he could name) would do the business of both offices," although he might be a valuable staffer for them. Maybe Sir John thinks Sam just doesn't have the clout that is needed to set things right.
About Tuesday 23 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
"Then was the banqueting-stuff flung about the room profusely." (Evelyn - thanks TF)
Food fight? Among the topmost elite of the kingdom, on a solemn occasion? I do think times have changed in some respects.
About Sunday 21 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
" the organ, which is handsome ... and makes me mighty earnest to have a pair at our church"
SP's use of "pair" to refer to an organ caught my attention, so I went a-googling, and found the following passage on page 33 of _The Art of Organ Building_ by George Ashdown Audsley, complete with a reference to today's entry:
The term "pair" has no relation to the number of keyboards, or to the tonal divisions of the instrument, notwithstanding the fact that certain authorities believe it has. The Organ with two keyboards was, in olden time, properly called a "double Organ," or double Regal." Mr. Albert Way, in "Promptorium Parvulorum" (Camden Society publication), remarks: "It appears that the usual term 'a pair of Organs' has reference to the double bellows, whereby continuous sound was produced." He overlooked the fact that the term "pair" was applied to other musical instruments that had no bellows. Douce, an authority quoted by Way, tells us that a pair of Organs means an instrument "formed with a double row of pipes." This is, of course, incorrect; for the term was applied, as in the inventory above mentioned, to both single and double Regals. Pepys, in his "Diary," describing his visit to Hackney Church, on April 20th, 1667, says: "That which I went chiefly to see was the young ladies of the schools, whereof there is a great store, very pretty; and also the Organ, which is handsome and tunes the psalm and plays with the people; which is mighty pretty, and makes me mighty earnest to have a pair at our church, I having almost a mind to give them a pair if they would settle a maintenance on them for it." The use of the singular "it" is significant. Rimbault says: "Some authorities tell us that 'a pair of Organs' meant an Organ with two stops. But this could not have been the case; as, in Henry the Eighth's Household Book, we read of 'a payer of Virginalls with four stoppes.' The truth is, that 'a pair of Organs' meant simply an Organ with more pipes than one. ... Jonson, Heywood, and other of the older poets, always use the term 'pair' in the sense of an aggregate, and as synonymous with 'set': thus we have 'a pair of chessmen,' 'a pair of beads,' 'a pair of cards,' 'a pair of Organs,' &c. When speaking of a flight of stairs, we often say a 'pair' of stairs. Therefore this ancient form of expression, although obsolete in most cases, is still in use at the present day."
About Thursday 18 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
Re Terry's quote from John Evelyn's diary, I'm sure all will recall that the Duchess of Newcastle is the notable Margaret Cavendish, who has appeared in SP's journal a couple of times in the past month (30 March and 11 April). Evelyn echoes the general sentiment in noting her "extraordinary fanciful habit, garb, and discourse."
About Sunday 7 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
Nix, I've sung a lot of Handel, and don't remember noticing anything askew about the match between the music and the text. Could you give some examples?
As to Sam, I think you're giving him too much credit here. He's not really talking about translations (which I agree rarely work well, as you say); he's making a more radical claim, that Englishmen are always going to like English music better than music from another country. He said something similar a few months ago, to which I commented that there's a reason why Monteverdi is still preferred to his English contemporaries, even in England.
About Wednesday 10 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
Like Mary, I thought the quantity of wine was maybe supposed to be in "tuns," but I had only the vaguest notion of how much that might be. Thanks to JWB's nice chart and Wikipedia link, we see that a tun is a ton is a tun. 256 gallons, about 2,048 pounds of liquid, about 969 liters.
Yet another bit of knowledge I was happy to glean from this great site.
About Tuesday 2 April 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
My reaction is the same as Art's, that SP was referring to intervals, what we would call half-tones today. Again I lament the unavailability of my e-OED, but I *believe* the term "half-note" to refer to a rhythmic value is an American innovation. The British call this symbol a "minim". And in any case, rhythmic half-notes as we understand the term today would present the least possible difficulty to a singer. If rhythm is indeed being referred to, then Sam was probably referring to a rapid succession of notes, as Bradford surmises.
If Michael R. or anyone else can come up with the score for "It is decreed," that should settle the matter quickly.
About Sunday 24 March 1666/67
Paul Chapin • Link
Todd, here's a stab:
" ... where I find her within, and her sister [1] and the widow Burroughs. Here I did stay the whole afternoon kissing them and drank; and among other things, did by trick arrive at touching the hair [on] the thing [of][2] the aforementioned widow."
[1] "hermano" is the masculine form, but I don't think Sam would have been kissing her brother (or anybody else with him present).
[2] the last clause is pretty elliptical, but the inserted prepositions represent my interpretation of the meaning.
About Sunday 24 March 1666/67
Paul Chapin • Link
Todd, here's a stab:
" ... where I find her within, and her sister [1] and the widow Burroughs. Here I did stay the whole afternoon kissing them and drank; and among other things, did by trick arrive at touching the hair [on] the thing [of][2] the aforementioned widow."
[1] "hermano" is the masculine form, but I don't think Sam would have been kissing her brother (or anybody else with him present).
[2] the last clause is pretty elliptical, but the inserted prepositions represent my interpretation of the meaning.
About Friday 29 March 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
What Nix said.
About Wednesday 27 March 1667
Paul Chapin • Link
"it will be impossible to make the Exchequer ever a true bank to all intents, unless the Exchequer stood nearer the Exchange, where merchants might with ease, while they are going about their business, at all hours, and without trouble or loss of time, have their satisfaction"
A prescient observation by Sir John. When the Bank of England, established in 1694, moved to its permanent headquarters in 1734, it was right across the street from the Royal Exchange. Here's a map:
http://www.candicehern.com/images…
About Thursday 21 March 1666/67
Paul Chapin • Link
Do unto others ... Despite his clear discomfort at this nasty practical joke, Sam was willing to join in doing the same to Sir William Penn. That annoys me.
About Monday 18 March 1666/67
Paul Chapin • Link
Larry Hill, I had the same first reaction, but on studying the context, I decided that the phrase about the parson's-dress related to the previous sentence, not the following one, so no snobbery intended. Terry Foreman's report of L&M's punctuation indicates that they interpreted the passage in the same way.
About Wednesday 13 March 1666/67
Paul Chapin • Link
I would hazard a guess that the phenomena mentioned by Mary and by LH are insertions of a velar stop rather than retention of a final velar that is dropped in other dialects. But that would have to be confirmed or refuted by someone with more knowledge of the relevant data than I have.