Terry: It is good to see that Parliament is concerned with the cost of the Navy, but why is Parliament is concerned with Naval financial records 20 years old and older? How old were the ships?
The Lobster is not necessarily "fancy food", which Sam is failing to share with Elizabeth. In New England at this period, there were clauses in the indentures of servants, that said they would not be fed Lobster more than twice a week. Whether it was fancy food or not depended on local availability. I assume the lobster was alive, which means fresh! Bottled Beer: I had no idea that this blessing was available at so early a date. What did the bottles look like? Who made them, and how? Presumably they were corked, not capped. Portuguese cork? If not, who supplied the cork? Did the house have an "Off License"? (i.e. take home beer) If you drank there, presumably they would re-use the bottles on site, and they might even wash off the outsides of the bottles. Did they charge you extra if you broke one?
In today's English, the British call a "torch" what Americans call a "Flashlight". Presumably, the borrowed "torch" was some kind of device to hold fire. Has the term "lantern" changed over time?
What happened to the poor horses? If they were too spent to pull a coach with people in, were they able to pull the empty coach back to their stable? Or did the coachman have to abandon his vehicle, take these horses to a stable and return with another team to retrieve his coach? Or did one or more literally die in harness? Sam doesn't know, and can't tell us. And did link boys lounge about the streets, looking for trade? How hard was it to find one when you wanted one?
"... which I put in some forwardness..." I understand this phrase to mean that Pepys started writing the requested certificate, and made some progress with it, but did not finish it. Please correct me if I misunderstand: The Earl of Sandwich is now one of the Four Clerks of the Privy Seal. There are lots of documents which require the seal. Sandwich has no intention of reading and sealing them himself. Pepys is going to do it for him, and, each time he uses that seal, he gets to collect a fee from the guy who wants the seal, unless that guy is the King, or Duke of York, or one of their very dear friends. They have lots of dear friends. Very dear. Very friendly.
A promise unsupported by consideration is unenforceable at common law, unless under seal, though it might be enforceable in chancery if detrimental reliance can be shown. Who says lawyering ain't fun?
To answer Vincent, one common way was to make an "Indenture". Two copies would be written on one piece of parchment, and after the parties agreed they were the same, the two copies would be sliced apart, with a wiggle or two given to the knife making the cut. Subsequently, the two pieces of parchment could be lined up and they would match perfectly. This would be hard to match, in a forgery.
Re: yesterday's entry. In the 17th Century, they thought they had to regulate commerce closely, and that the way to do it was to license a monopoly. There was a paper-making monopoly operating at Depford, in Kent. The monopoly had expired, however, so competitors were springing up just in time to supply the skyrocketing demand for newsprint. They used water wheels to operate the mills. Suddenly scores of people were printing pamphlets and handbills. Literacy rates were sharply increasing. So, there was a paper industry able to supply Pepys' office and the Navy, but to bring in some foreign competition from France was probably a good thing.
There must have been some paper-making industry in Britain at this time. Does anyone know where it was centered, or the different processes used to make newsprint, book paper, stationery, and the fancy stuff for certificates? Pepys' office, and the Navy, are going to need paper goods, and Pepys is on the board that has to buy it.
Pepys had arms? When did that happen? A few months back, he was tickled to be addressed as "Esquire". He is entitled to a coat-of-arms, but I would assume that getting one would require a bureaucratic run-around with the College of Heralds certain to be mentioned in the diary. As for being "trimmed in the street" - Consider the lighting available in shops of that era. Having a shave and a haircut in the open-front of a barber shop would give the barber enough light to see what he was doing. Sure, Sam might have meant that he was trimmed at a barber shop in Fenchurch Street -- but he could also mean that he was trimmed out-of-doors, in the street, where the barber had decent light.
He's got it! He is Clerk of the Acts and he has all the finished official paperwork to prove it. Of course, Barlow has a similar patent, and Sam might have to buy the old boy off, but that should pose no great problem. If the King should fire Sandwich, Pepys remains Clerk of the Acts. If the King should fire Pepys, his successor would have to buy the office from Pepys. But our boy Sam is still insecure. He is now one of the Principal Officers of the Navy, entitled to full participation in the work of the Navy Board, and with all the perquisites that come with that post. However, there is a tendency for the other members of the Board to say "We will meet, confer, and make decisions; you take notes and keep records, you are just our clerk". Sam has to assert himself, to participate. The main perk of the office is the right to occupy one of the houses. Sam is nailing that one down, too. By getting Board approval to make a door to the leads, the Board tacitly approves Pepys' occupancy of the house. By the way, the British pronunciation of "clerk" rhymes with ark, bark, shark, lark. Americans rhyme it with jerk, cirque, Turk, lurk. Sam probably used the British pronunciation. Unencumbered by thought or evidence, I think "leads" here refers to the roof, perhaps a roof garden, some benches or so. I can't think that a ground-level garden in Seething Lane would do anything but stink something awful.
Bill, we are talking about meaning number 6. I practiced law for 30 years, and how anybody did it before the invention of the Xerox machine in a mystery to me. Everything had to be in triplicate at least. Here, we get glimpses of how things were done in Pepys' day. He seeks legal advice and gets an expert to draft his patent. He gets the King to sign it, but that's not enough. He gets special paper for the document. Then he has to go from clerk to clerk getting it copied and sealed with the proper seals, and this final copy "engrossed" -- written large, with special lettering, and re-sealed. The original reasons why are lost in antiquity. Now "It is done this way because this is the way it is done!" And now the reason for doing things this way is to engross (meaning #3) the clerks.
Pepys calls it his "bill". I think today we would call it a Commission, or a Warrant, or an Appointment, or such. The King has signed it. Now Pepys is having it sealed. Next it must be delivered. I think he went home to get some good paper, perhaps for a copy of his bill, and borrowed two sheets of paper from Will Howe. Then he went back to the Navy Office, and to establish some sort of claim or right, he stayed there overnight with Will Hater as a witness, in Commissioner Willoughby’s quarters. Willoughby was on his way out of office, and would be leaving his house, too. Perhaps Thomas Crapper would have called it a "House of Office"!
Did Capt. Holland and Mr. Browne put Pepys under any sort of obligation to them, by feeding him lunch? (late afternoon. Tea time, except, they didn't do that, then) Or were they trying to ingratiate themselves with a man who might someday send naval contracts their way?
The new Navy Board has taken possession of their offices. One wonders if they found clerks at work there, or a janitor, or what. Next they have to take possession of their houses, which are next to or adjoin the offices. Who has been living in them? Will they have to eject squatters? Is Barlow lurking under the stairs? Or maybe they have been standing empty since the Old Navy Board members decided to stop work.
In the footnote it says "Forty brace of bucks were that day spent in the City of London." Does anyone know what this means? If a "brace of bucks" means a "pair of male deer", how are they "spent"? Anyway, male deer do not come in pairs, or braces, and in season, they try to kill each other.
Comments
Second Reading
About Saturday 4 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Terry: It is good to see that Parliament is concerned with the cost of the Navy, but why is Parliament is concerned with Naval financial records 20 years old and older? How old were the ships?
About Wednesday 1 August 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
The Lobster is not necessarily "fancy food", which Sam is failing to share with Elizabeth. In New England at this period, there were clauses in the indentures of servants, that said they would not be fed Lobster more than twice a week. Whether it was fancy food or not depended on local availability. I assume the lobster was alive, which means fresh!
Bottled Beer: I had no idea that this blessing was available at so early a date. What did the bottles look like? Who made them, and how? Presumably they were corked, not capped. Portuguese cork? If not, who supplied the cork? Did the house have an "Off License"? (i.e. take home beer) If you drank there, presumably they would re-use the bottles on site, and they might even wash off the outsides of the bottles. Did they charge you extra if you broke one?
About Monday 30 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
In today's English, the British call a "torch" what Americans call a "Flashlight". Presumably, the borrowed "torch" was some kind of device to hold fire. Has the term "lantern" changed over time?
About Saturday 28 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
A "panegyrique " in poetry is Exactly what Charles II needs! The King has such a low opinion of himself, his ego needs a boost.
About Friday 27 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
What happened to the poor horses? If they were too spent to pull a coach with people in, were they able to pull the empty coach back to their stable? Or did the coachman have to abandon his vehicle, take these horses to a stable and return with another team to retrieve his coach? Or did one or more literally die in harness? Sam doesn't know, and can't tell us. And did link boys lounge about the streets, looking for trade? How hard was it to find one when you wanted one?
About Tuesday 24 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
"... which I put in some forwardness..."
I understand this phrase to mean that Pepys started writing the requested certificate, and made some progress with it, but did not finish it.
Please correct me if I misunderstand: The Earl of Sandwich is now one of the Four Clerks of the Privy Seal. There are lots of documents which require the seal. Sandwich has no intention of reading and sealing them himself. Pepys is going to do it for him, and, each time he uses that seal, he gets to collect a fee from the guy who wants the seal, unless that guy is the King, or Duke of York, or one of their very dear friends. They have lots of dear friends. Very dear. Very friendly.
About Monday 23 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
A promise unsupported by consideration is unenforceable at common law, unless under seal, though it might be enforceable in chancery if detrimental reliance can be shown. Who says lawyering ain't fun?
About Sunday 22 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
And Abe Lincoln should NEVER have gone to the theater on Good Friday.
About Saturday 21 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
To answer Vincent, one common way was to make an "Indenture". Two copies would be written on one piece of parchment, and after the parties agreed they were the same, the two copies would be sliced apart, with a wiggle or two given to the knife making the cut. Subsequently, the two pieces of parchment could be lined up and they would match perfectly. This would be hard to match, in a forgery.
About Monday 16 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Re: yesterday's entry. In the 17th Century, they thought they had to regulate commerce closely, and that the way to do it was to license a monopoly. There was a paper-making monopoly operating at Depford, in Kent. The monopoly had expired, however, so competitors were springing up just in time to supply the skyrocketing demand for newsprint. They used water wheels to operate the mills. Suddenly scores of people were printing pamphlets and handbills. Literacy rates were sharply increasing. So, there was a paper industry able to supply Pepys' office and the Navy, but to bring in some foreign competition from France was probably a good thing.
About Sunday 15 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
There must have been some paper-making industry in Britain at this time. Does anyone know where it was centered, or the different processes used to make newsprint, book paper, stationery, and the fancy stuff for certificates? Pepys' office, and the Navy, are going to need paper goods, and Pepys is on the board that has to buy it.
About Saturday 14 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Pepys had arms? When did that happen? A few months back, he was tickled to be addressed as "Esquire". He is entitled to a coat-of-arms, but I would assume that getting one would require a bureaucratic run-around with the College of Heralds certain to be mentioned in the diary.
As for being "trimmed in the street" - Consider the lighting available in shops of that era. Having a shave and a haircut in the open-front of a barber shop would give the barber enough light to see what he was doing. Sure, Sam might have meant that he was trimmed at a barber shop in Fenchurch Street -- but he could also mean that he was trimmed out-of-doors, in the street, where the barber had decent light.
About Friday 13 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
He's got it! He is Clerk of the Acts and he has all the finished official paperwork to prove it. Of course, Barlow has a similar patent, and Sam might have to buy the old boy off, but that should pose no great problem. If the King should fire Sandwich, Pepys remains Clerk of the Acts. If the King should fire Pepys, his successor would have to buy the office from Pepys.
But our boy Sam is still insecure. He is now one of the Principal Officers of the Navy, entitled to full participation in the work of the Navy Board, and with all the perquisites that come with that post. However, there is a tendency for the other members of the Board to say "We will meet, confer, and make decisions; you take notes and keep records, you are just our clerk". Sam has to assert himself, to participate. The main perk of the office is the right to occupy one of the houses. Sam is nailing that one down, too. By getting Board approval to make a door to the leads, the Board tacitly approves Pepys' occupancy of the house.
By the way, the British pronunciation of "clerk" rhymes with ark, bark, shark, lark. Americans rhyme it with jerk, cirque, Turk, lurk. Sam probably used the British pronunciation.
Unencumbered by thought or evidence, I think "leads" here refers to the roof, perhaps a roof garden, some benches or so. I can't think that a ground-level garden in Seething Lane would do anything but stink something awful.
About Thursday 12 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Bill, we are talking about meaning number 6. I practiced law for 30 years, and how anybody did it before the invention of the Xerox machine in a mystery to me. Everything had to be in triplicate at least. Here, we get glimpses of how things were done in Pepys' day. He seeks legal advice and gets an expert to draft his patent. He gets the King to sign it, but that's not enough. He gets special paper for the document. Then he has to go from clerk to clerk getting it copied and sealed with the proper seals, and this final copy "engrossed" -- written large, with special lettering, and re-sealed. The original reasons why are lost in antiquity. Now "It is done this way because this is the way it is done!" And now the reason for doing things this way is to engross (meaning #3) the clerks.
About Wednesday 11 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Pepys calls it his "bill". I think today we would call it a Commission, or a Warrant, or an Appointment, or such. The King has signed it. Now Pepys is having it sealed. Next it must be delivered. I think he went home to get some good paper, perhaps for a copy of his bill, and borrowed two sheets of paper from Will Howe. Then he went back to the Navy Office, and to establish some sort of claim or right, he stayed there overnight with Will Hater as a witness, in Commissioner Willoughby’s quarters. Willoughby was on his way out of office, and would be leaving his house, too. Perhaps Thomas Crapper would have called it a "House of Office"!
About Tuesday 10 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Hi Bill. For Knights who say NI! follow this link and see where it gets you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI…
About Tuesday 10 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
I wonder what color this suit was. Any ideas?
Also. How do you pronounce "Neot's"? Has Montague joined The Knights Who Say "Neot's"?
About Monday 9 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
Did Capt. Holland and Mr. Browne put Pepys under any sort of obligation to them, by feeding him lunch? (late afternoon. Tea time, except, they didn't do that, then) Or were they trying to ingratiate themselves with a man who might someday send naval contracts their way?
About Friday 6 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
The new Navy Board has taken possession of their offices. One wonders if they found clerks at work there, or a janitor, or what. Next they have to take possession of their houses, which are next to or adjoin the offices. Who has been living in them? Will they have to eject squatters? Is Barlow lurking under the stairs? Or maybe they have been standing empty since the Old Navy Board members decided to stop work.
About Thursday 5 July 1660
Dick Wilson • Link
In the footnote it says "Forty brace of bucks were that day spent in the City of London." Does anyone know what this means? If a "brace of bucks" means a "pair of male deer", how are they "spent"? Anyway, male deer do not come in pairs, or braces, and in season, they try to kill each other.