Does anyone else think it odd that Mrs. Hunt asks Sam to speak for her husband, John? Why doesn't John ask Sam to speak for him? I assume that there is some good reason why John can't speak for himself, like, maybe, he has already made some application or other and needed someone to second the application? The Hunts appear to have been friends and neighbors of both Sam and Elizabeth Pepys.
With so many different types of coinage in use, Gresham's Law was dreadfully effective in driving relatively more valuable coinage out of circulation and into places like Pepys' cellar.
So: " England became a global power on the back of a 'drink made with dried leaves in boiling water' ..."
My ancestors contemporary with Pepys were in Virginia, busy shipping dried leaves which you set afire to suck the smoke into your lungs. It was a source of finance and fortune from then until just about now.
I believe Vincent was on the right track. Mail was delivered to a post office which frequently was at the bar of a local tavern or some such establishment. There it would sit until the next time the addressee happened to visit. But if a sender wrote HASTE-HASTE-HASTE above the address, then the landlord might send a boy to tell the addressee that he had important mail to be collected, or he might send a boy to deliver it, in hopes of a modest tip.
I suspect an error in reading the shorthand or some such, when it comes to "and intends to make a George of it". I think he means "Gorge" or "Gorget", instead of "George" -- in other words, he plans to make a necklace of it. The "jewel" appears to have been some sort of locket. Putting a gold ring on it would allow it to be suspended at the throat from a chain around the neck. Alternatively, it could have been pinned to the lapel of a coat at the collar; that is, at the gorge of the coat. It might well have been an error made by Pepys in writing the shorthand, or in spelling "gorge".
Who will go to sea with Sandwich? Creed? Perhaps Sam should nominate Will Hewer to accompany Sandwich as his Secretary at Sea, just to keep the patronage close to home.
According to a TV show just broadcast, "Who do you Think you are?", one of Blake's officers at Taunton was Thomas Towbridge, an ancestor of Cindy Crawford, the model.
as between: "Mr. Turner doth intend" "Mr. Turner do intend" "Mr. Turner intends" The meanings are the same. The first is obsolete. The second is old-fashioned. The third is current usage.
Will Hewer's aunt's kinswoman died in the morning and was buried that night?! Very quick, that. Yes, I would say it was reasonable for Will to stay out late, there. Of course the entry could mean that she had died yesterday or the day before, maybe. But it sounds abrupt. Bill: That's the way I understand it. "bred up"=trained from an early age.
One may buy pigs feet at the local supermarket, as well as at specialty butcher shops, year round. They are frequently served on New Years Day in the Southeastern US, with collard greens.
Hi Tonyel. Having never heard the phrase "all my eye and Betty Martin", I googled it and came up with "World Wide Words: All my eye and Betty Martin". The phrase expresses extreme skepticism or disbelief of a report or story. I have, however, used the American form of this expression: "my eye!", with exactly the same meaning. I never knew where it came from. It is not 300 years old. It is not Pepys' Betty Martin. It is 200 years old, and nobody know who she was, or if she existed.
Asking why Pepys records his "dalliances" in his diary, is to bring up another, larger question: Why did Pepys keep a diary at all? I think he wrote it for himself, as an aid to memory. He intended to come back to it and read it, or parts of it, himself, someday. Usually he lapses into some sort of mishmash of Spanish/French when he writes of his infidelities. This is unlikely to be a method of "extra security", because probably, Elizabeth's French was better than his. If she figured out the shorthand of the rest of the diary, she could read these parts, too. Rather, I think it is his way of recording mischievous, randy, naughty bits, rather like a smirking schoolboy. I think he intended to someday re-read these sections, and to chuckle over them.
The working hours of domestic servants and assistants, like Hewer, seem to be awful. It appears that he was supposed to be in attendance on Pepys when his master awoke in the morning. He was to work all day and be there when Pepys went to bed. Only then could he crash. He must have worked a 16 hour day, every day.
It was a common Episcopal financing system: One might buy a pew. The money would go to the church's endowment fund, and earnings of the fund used to pay current operating expenses. Or, one might rent a pew, with the rent being used to pay current operating expenses. Or, neither -- there were places to sit, or to stand, during services. Sinners of all stations were welcome. Many parish churches had "Glebes" -- farm fields which could be rented out for money to defray expenses, or which a poor curate might work himself.
Comments
Second Reading
About Tuesday 2 October 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Does anyone else think it odd that Mrs. Hunt asks Sam to speak for her husband, John? Why doesn't John ask Sam to speak for him? I assume that there is some good reason why John can't speak for himself, like, maybe, he has already made some application or other and needed someone to second the application? The Hunts appear to have been friends and neighbors of both Sam and Elizabeth Pepys.
About Wednesday 3 October 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
And of course it never occurred to anyone to ask the Africans.
About Monday 1 October 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
With so many different types of coinage in use, Gresham's Law was dreadfully effective in driving relatively more valuable coinage out of circulation and into places like Pepys' cellar.
About Tuesday 25 September 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
So: " England became a global power on the back of a 'drink made with dried leaves in boiling water' ..."
My ancestors contemporary with Pepys were in Virginia, busy shipping dried leaves which you set afire to suck the smoke into your lungs. It was a source of finance and fortune from then until just about now.
About Monday 24 September 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Sorry, but the starter motor on my autodidact seems to be on the fritz.
About Tuesday 18 September 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
I believe Vincent was on the right track. Mail was delivered to a post office which frequently was at the bar of a local tavern or some such establishment. There it would sit until the next time the addressee happened to visit. But if a sender wrote HASTE-HASTE-HASTE above the address, then the landlord might send a boy to tell the addressee that he had important mail to be collected, or he might send a boy to deliver it, in hopes of a modest tip.
About Monday 3 September 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
I suspect an error in reading the shorthand or some such, when it comes to "and intends to make a George of it". I think he means "Gorge" or "Gorget", instead of "George" -- in other words, he plans to make a necklace of it. The "jewel" appears to have been some sort of locket. Putting a gold ring on it would allow it to be suspended at the throat from a chain around the neck. Alternatively, it could have been pinned to the lapel of a coat at the collar; that is, at the gorge of the coat. It might well have been an error made by Pepys in writing the shorthand, or in spelling "gorge".
About Friday 31 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Who will go to sea with Sandwich? Creed? Perhaps Sam should nominate Will Hewer to accompany Sandwich as his Secretary at Sea, just to keep the patronage close to home.
About Thursday 30 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
The flurry of legislation, yesterday and today, might mean gainful employment for our boy at the Privy Seal office.
About Gen. Robert Blake
Dick Wilson • Link
According to a TV show just broadcast, "Who do you Think you are?", one of Blake's officers at Taunton was Thomas Towbridge, an ancestor of Cindy Crawford, the model.
About Saturday 25 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
According to Miriam Webster, a half-shirt was a man's shirtfront or a woman's chemisette worn in the late 17th century.
About Friday 24 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Maize We.
About Wednesday 22 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
as between:
"Mr. Turner doth intend"
"Mr. Turner do intend"
"Mr. Turner intends"
The meanings are the same. The first is obsolete. The second is old-fashioned. The third is current usage.
About Tuesday 21 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Will Hewer's aunt's kinswoman died in the morning and was buried that night?! Very quick, that. Yes, I would say it was reasonable for Will to stay out late, there. Of course the entry could mean that she had died yesterday or the day before, maybe. But it sounds abrupt.
Bill: That's the way I understand it. "bred up"=trained from an early age.
About Friday 17 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
One may buy pigs feet at the local supermarket, as well as at specialty butcher shops, year round. They are frequently served on New Years Day in the Southeastern US, with collard greens.
About Sunday 12 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Hi Tonyel. Having never heard the phrase "all my eye and Betty Martin", I googled it and came up with
"World Wide Words: All my eye and Betty Martin". The phrase expresses extreme skepticism or disbelief of a report or story. I have, however, used the American form of this expression: "my eye!", with exactly the same meaning. I never knew where it came from. It is not 300 years old. It is not Pepys' Betty Martin. It is 200 years old, and nobody know who she was, or if she existed.
About Sunday 12 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Asking why Pepys records his "dalliances" in his diary, is to bring up another, larger question: Why did Pepys keep a diary at all? I think he wrote it for himself, as an aid to memory. He intended to come back to it and read it, or parts of it, himself, someday. Usually he lapses into some sort of mishmash of Spanish/French when he writes of his infidelities. This is unlikely to be a method of "extra security", because probably, Elizabeth's French was better than his. If she figured out the shorthand of the rest of the diary, she could read these parts, too. Rather, I think it is his way of recording mischievous, randy, naughty bits, rather like a smirking schoolboy. I think he intended to someday re-read these sections, and to chuckle over them.
About Saturday 11 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
The working hours of domestic servants and assistants, like Hewer, seem to be awful. It appears that he was supposed to be in attendance on Pepys when his master awoke in the morning. He was to work all day and be there when Pepys went to bed. Only then could he crash. He must have worked a 16 hour day, every day.
About Friday 10 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
So Pepys says "Hi friends! I've got diarrhea and a back-ache, so let's all go for a carriage ride in the Park!"
About Sunday 5 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
It was a common Episcopal financing system: One might buy a pew. The money would go to the church's endowment fund, and earnings of the fund used to pay current operating expenses. Or, one might rent a pew, with the rent being used to pay current operating expenses. Or, neither -- there were places to sit, or to stand, during services. Sinners of all stations were welcome. Many parish churches had "Glebes" -- farm fields which could be rented out for money to defray expenses, or which a poor curate might work himself.