Difference between Ale and Beer: Officially beer is hopped and ale isn't, but that distinction isn't strictly observed. Hops preserve beer, as well as giving it its bitter flavour. Kent is the region of England famed for its hops, but Pepys talks of Margate (in Kent) ale as though it is famous, so the difference seems already to have been lost by 1660. (why brew a hopless ale in a hop growing region?) Nowadays ale is used to refer to top fermented bitter (British) beers, as compared to bottom fermented lager (American, German, Australian, etc.) beers. That meaning would not have been valid in Pepys' time as true lagers only appeared in the 19th century
This sounds like an early process to make "smokeless coal" Like all such processes, it moves the problem from the family hearth to the industrial site. (the sulphur, as dioxide, has to go somewhere) Newcastle coal is fairly high in sulphur. It wasn't until Welsh coal started being mined in the next century that very low-sulphur coal became available. The ability to make large quantities of coke from coal, which is an evoloution of this process, made the smelting of iron from coal instead of charcoal a possibility, and thus "fuelled" the industrial revolution. See: http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~rsteph…
Ninepins/Skittles is a very old game: Apparently there is a picture in the pyramids of people throwing balls/stones at sticks stuck upright in the sand. David Bell is quite correct about local variations. One variation has the kingpin longer than the other 8 pins; the object being to knock it down without disturbing the others. Scoring being the opposite of the normal game: the more pins knocked down, the worse the score. I have heard of the flattened ball or disc being thrown or rolled, as well as different sized round balls also being thrown or bowled, and variations in the number of pins. The (1979) trophy I won shows symmetrical barrel shaped pins with the ball about the same diameter as the widest part of the pin. I remember the pins were about a foot high varnished wood, most of which had big chips missing and dents through over enthusiastic (i.e. drink fuelled) play. We used a compressed rubber ball, but often (as in Pepys time) a wooden ball is used. When only two teams played, the non-bowlers set up the pins, else the next team to play did it. Three balls bowled was a turn. If all pins were knocked down on the 1st or 2nd ball, the pins were set up again, so one could score 27 on a turn. Maximum score was thus 270 (30 strikes) I never saw this happen! Even between two pubs less than 20 miles apart (in Middlesex and Berkshire) there are variations in rules, equipment and scoring.
Update on "Perspectives": I just heard a programme on Radio 4, where they were talking about 17th century optics. A perspective was described as a metal ring (not tube) with a handle, and containing a lens (not lenses) that was used to enable near sighted people to see at distance, like spectacles today. Often they were of gold or diamond studded, and used at theatres or in public places. Spectacles existed, but were for private wear, only appearing in portraits around 1690. Certainly by the time Swift wrote Gulliver's Travels (1726) 'perspective' also referred to a telescope.
Slightly OT: Can I suggest that anyone that is enjoying Pepys should read Jonathan Swift's (unexpurgated) "Gulliver's Travels" It was written about 60 years later but uses much of the same vocabulary. The footnotes to my edition (1967 Penguin) give some backgound to the post-restoration shenanigans and provide continuity. After all, Gulliver was a sailor in the Navy that Pepys helped to build.
I was waiting for someone to debunk the joke above: Surely it should be dated April 1st, not 14th! Eggs were eaten at the spring festival because that is when the chickens started laying again after their winter lay-off. (sorry for the pun) The eggs in the Shrove Tuesday pancakes are the last of the old eggs stored in waterglass, and none were available between then and the start of the new laying season. (i.e. Lent - the lean time) Hares and rabbits start gambolling around the meadows in spring (Mad March Hares) so are associated with the spring festival. As for ham, is this an American thing? I have never heard of it in (protestant) Britain nor (catholic) France. We have ham at Christmas/New Year. As for ham being associated with the end of a Jewish festival... well! In Europe we would associate lamb, not ham, with Spring/Easter as the spring born lambs are now the right size for the roasting tin. Hot cross buns are unheard of in France so seem to be an Anglo-Saxon thing and certainly not biblical!
Ninepins is still played in Britain: Usually called skittles and played in older style pubs. Now quite rare as it needs a lot of space for the alley, but I have played in the last 10 years. More dificult than tenpin bowling as the ball is smaller than the gap between the pins. The centre pin of the diamond is called the "kingpin", which is now used metaphorically to mean the main character in an organisation. Bar or table skittles uses the same ninepin diamond layout in miniature, (pins 4-6 inch high) with the ball suspended on a string from a pole. The ball is swung around the pole to knock down the pins. This is also becoming very rare in pubs. Bar skittles can be played anywhere, even on a ship. By the way, "bowling" in Britain (as in Francis Drake's bowling/armada story) means lawn bowls, in which there are no pins. American "bowling" is invariably referred to here as "tenpin bowling" to diferentiate it from nine-pin and lawn bowls.
Buying commissions: The £5 SP receives from Captain Jowles is apparently to pay for the commission of master of the Wexford. The subject of paying for commissions has been covered so I won't labour that, but what I find interesting is that Pepys sends his boy to get the note cashed straight away. Previously we read of notes that had been held and traded for months. Is this new found impatience because a) SP thinks he himself might not return to cash the note? b) he thinks Jowles might not live to honour the debt? c) he doesn't trust Jowles?
Hiding equestrian statues in London: John Rivett was a brazier, and as such would have a large yard/garden for casting of statues and smelting brass and bronze. He would probably also have a workforce to help with the task as a single man could not manhandle a large bronze statue probably weighing several tons. The plinth that the statue now stands on was created separately and was possibly not buried, making the task slightly less daunting, but still impressive.
Breaking iron bars: CAST iron is brittle, Wrought iron is tough and malleable. A latch would be wrought, not cast, so what is this bar? Is it just a cast iron bar fitted against the "window" to hold it shut or to bar it against intruders? A task it doesn't seem very good for if a pressure wave can break it. Interesting that landlubber Pepys uses the sea term scuttle, but not porthole for window.
Perspective Glass: Could this by a pair of binoculars? i.e. telescopes that show perspective? The name binocular only came into use in the 18th century, so what were they called before? (Hans Lippershey, the inventor of the telescope, apparently made a binocular version at about the same time: 1608)
Scotoscope: It is easy to find out what it does: It allows one to see things clearly in a dimly lit room, but how it does it isn't clear, especially as this is centuries before photomultipliers and infra-red night scopes. My theory is that it is like a telescope, probably with a magnification of one, but with a large objective lens. This would gather what light there was and concentrate it in the eyepiece. An objective of focal length 1" (25mm) and diameter 2" (50mm) would have a light gathering power of f0.5 (=1"/2") and would thus deliver 4 times the light (twice the diameter = 4 times the light-gathering area) of an instrument where focal length and lens diameter were the same, or than the unaided eye, There would be some losses in the instrument, so this is approximate. This would be a very simple, but maybe cumbersome, 2 or 3 lens instrument. Are there any optical instrument specialists that know if this is how a scotoscope worked?
Exit tyrannus... I'm not a Latin scholar, but I read: "Exit tyrannus, Regum ultimus, anno libertatis Angliae, anno Domini 1648, Januarie xxx" as: "The tyrant has gone, the last of the kings, in the year of the liberation of England, 30th January 1648 A.D." Perhaps someone can give a better translation.
The Speaker without his mace: ...that which lies on the table in the House of Commons when the Speaker is in the chair, viewed as a symbol of the authority of the House (SOED). So, the speaker, without the mace, lacked his symbol of office and Parliament its symbol of authority.
Huntsmore/Huntsmoor Huntsmoor Park is between Iver and Uxbridge, (at the side of Chris Rea's "Road to Hell": the M25) on what is now the western edge of Greater London. See: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/street… for a map. Zoom out to see it in relation to Heathrow and London. There is also an aerial photo of Huntsmoor Park farm.
Band The Shorter OED has on meaning of band as: b spec. The neckband or collar of a shirt, a collar, a ruff, (now arch. or Hist.); So I would guess that he is dressed down, without his collar as he is busy packing. In the days of removable shirt collars, (pre 1960/70's) it would be unthinkable to be seen without a collar on Sunday, because it was a day of rest, and you removed the collar and tie when doing manual work. Similarly, this might be why he thought it worth mentioning.
Private Eye: For those who may not be familiar with this great British institution, it is a satirical magazine that has a section called Pseud's corner. This section pillories pseudo-intellectual, patronising, overblown windbags by quoting their words from other magazines or media. I wonder who here would fall into that category? (clue: it's definitely not Phil!)
Comments
First Reading
About Ale
Grahamt • Link
Difference between Ale and Beer:
Officially beer is hopped and ale isn't, but that distinction isn't strictly observed. Hops preserve beer, as well as giving it its bitter flavour. Kent is the region of England famed for its hops, but Pepys talks of Margate (in Kent) ale as though it is famous, so the difference seems already to have been lost by 1660. (why brew a hopless ale in a hop growing region?)
Nowadays ale is used to refer to top fermented bitter (British) beers, as compared to bottom fermented lager (American, German, Australian, etc.) beers. That meaning would not have been valid in Pepys' time as true lagers only appeared in the 19th century
About Inventions
Grahamt • Link
This sounds like an early process to make "smokeless coal"
Like all such processes, it moves the problem from the family hearth to the industrial site. (the sulphur, as dioxide, has to go somewhere)
Newcastle coal is fairly high in sulphur. It wasn't until Welsh coal started being mined in the next century that very low-sulphur coal became available.
The ability to make large quantities of coke from coal, which is an evoloution of this process, made the smelting of iron from coal instead of charcoal a possibility, and thus "fuelled" the industrial revolution. See: http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~rsteph…
About Banned user
Grahamt • Link
[Comment deleted at Hhomeboy's request, 11 May 2003. See below.]
About Ninepins
Grahamt • Link
Ninepins/Skittles is a very old game:
Apparently there is a picture in the pyramids of people throwing balls/stones at sticks stuck upright in the sand.
David Bell is quite correct about local variations. One variation has the kingpin longer than the other 8 pins; the object being to knock it down without disturbing the others. Scoring being the opposite of the normal game: the more pins knocked down, the worse the score.
I have heard of the flattened ball or disc being thrown or rolled, as well as different sized round balls also being thrown or bowled, and variations in the number of pins.
The (1979) trophy I won shows symmetrical barrel shaped pins with the ball about the same diameter as the widest part of the pin. I remember the pins were about a foot high varnished wood, most of which had big chips missing and dents through over enthusiastic (i.e. drink fuelled) play. We used a compressed rubber ball, but often (as in Pepys time) a wooden ball is used.
When only two teams played, the non-bowlers set up the pins, else the next team to play did it. Three balls bowled was a turn. If all pins were knocked down on the 1st or 2nd ball, the pins were set up again, so one could score 27 on a turn. Maximum score was thus 270 (30 strikes) I never saw this happen!
Even between two pubs less than 20 miles apart (in Middlesex and Berkshire) there are variations in rules, equipment and scoring.
About Saturday 28 April 1660
Grahamt • Link
Re: Ninepins
See link: http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
About Friday 23 March 1659/60
Grahamt • Link
Update on "Perspectives":
I just heard a programme on Radio 4, where they were talking about 17th century optics. A perspective was described as a metal ring (not tube) with a handle, and containing a lens (not lenses) that was used to enable near sighted people to see at distance, like spectacles today. Often they were of gold or diamond studded, and used at theatres or in public places. Spectacles existed, but were for private wear, only appearing in portraits around 1690.
Certainly by the time Swift wrote Gulliver's Travels (1726) 'perspective' also referred to a telescope.
About General literature reference
Grahamt • Link
Slightly OT:
Can I suggest that anyone that is enjoying Pepys should read Jonathan Swift's (unexpurgated) "Gulliver's Travels" It was written about 60 years later but uses much of the same vocabulary. The footnotes to my edition (1967 Penguin) give some backgound to the post-restoration shenanigans and provide continuity. After all, Gulliver was a sailor in the Navy that Pepys helped to build.
About Easter
Grahamt • Link
I was waiting for someone to debunk the joke above:
Surely it should be dated April 1st, not 14th!
Eggs were eaten at the spring festival because that is when the chickens started laying again after their winter lay-off. (sorry for the pun) The eggs in the Shrove Tuesday pancakes are the last of the old eggs stored in waterglass, and none were available between then and the start of the new laying season. (i.e. Lent - the lean time)
Hares and rabbits start gambolling around the meadows in spring (Mad March Hares) so are associated with the spring festival. As for ham, is this an American thing? I have never heard of it in (protestant) Britain nor (catholic) France. We have ham at Christmas/New Year. As for ham being associated with the end of a Jewish festival... well! In Europe we would associate lamb, not ham, with Spring/Easter as the spring born lambs are now the right size for the roasting tin.
Hot cross buns are unheard of in France so seem to be an Anglo-Saxon thing and certainly not biblical!
About Ninepins
Grahamt • Link
Ninepins is still played in Britain:
Usually called skittles and played in older style pubs. Now quite rare as it needs a lot of space for the alley, but I have played in the last 10 years. More dificult than tenpin bowling as the ball is smaller than the gap between the pins. The centre pin of the diamond is called the "kingpin", which is now used metaphorically to mean the main character in an organisation.
Bar or table skittles uses the same ninepin diamond layout in miniature, (pins 4-6 inch high) with the ball suspended on a string from a pole. The ball is swung around the pole to knock down the pins. This is also becoming very rare in pubs.
Bar skittles can be played anywhere, even on a ship.
By the way, "bowling" in Britain (as in Francis Drake's bowling/armada story) means lawn bowls, in which there are no pins. American "bowling" is invariably referred to here as "tenpin bowling" to diferentiate it from nine-pin and lawn bowls.
About Saturday 31 March 1660
Grahamt • Link
Buying commissions:
The £5 SP receives from Captain Jowles is apparently to pay for the commission of master of the Wexford. The subject of paying for commissions has been covered so I won't labour that, but what I find interesting is that Pepys sends his boy to get the note cashed straight away. Previously we read of notes that had been held and traded for months. Is this new found impatience because
a) SP thinks he himself might not return to cash the note?
b) he thinks Jowles might not live to honour the debt?
c) he doesn't trust Jowles?
About Thursday 29 March 1660
Grahamt • Link
Hiding equestrian statues in London:
John Rivett was a brazier, and as such would have a large yard/garden for casting of statues and smelting brass and bronze. He would probably also have a workforce to help with the task as a single man could not manhandle a large bronze statue probably weighing several tons. The plinth that the statue now stands on was created separately and was possibly not buried, making the task slightly less daunting, but still impressive.
About Tuesday 27 March 1660
Grahamt • Link
Breaking iron bars:
CAST iron is brittle, Wrought iron is tough and malleable. A latch would be wrought, not cast, so what is this bar? Is it just a cast iron bar fitted against the "window" to hold it shut or to bar it against intruders? A task it doesn't seem very good for if a pressure wave can break it.
Interesting that landlubber Pepys uses the sea term scuttle, but not porthole for window.
About Friday 23 March 1659/60
Grahamt • Link
Perspective Glass:
Could this by a pair of binoculars? i.e. telescopes that show perspective? The name binocular only came into use in the 18th century, so what were they called before? (Hans Lippershey, the inventor of the telescope, apparently made a binocular version at about the same time: 1608)
About Richard Reeve
Grahamt • Link
Scotoscope:
It is easy to find out what it does: It allows one to see things clearly in a dimly lit room, but how it does it isn't clear, especially as this is centuries before photomultipliers and infra-red night scopes.
My theory is that it is like a telescope, probably with a magnification of one, but with a large objective lens. This would gather what light there was and concentrate it in the eyepiece.
An objective of focal length 1" (25mm) and diameter 2" (50mm) would have a light gathering power of f0.5 (=1"/2") and would thus deliver 4 times the light (twice the diameter = 4 times the light-gathering area) of an instrument where focal length and lens diameter were the same, or than the unaided eye, There would be some losses in the instrument, so this is approximate.
This would be a very simple, but maybe cumbersome, 2 or 3 lens instrument.
Are there any optical instrument specialists that know if this is how a scotoscope worked?
About Friday 16 March 1659/60
Grahamt • Link
Exit tyrannus...
I'm not a Latin scholar, but I read:
"Exit tyrannus, Regum ultimus, anno libertatis Angliae, anno Domini 1648, Januarie xxx" as:
"The tyrant has gone, the last of the kings, in the year of the liberation of England, 30th January 1648 A.D."
Perhaps someone can give a better translation.
About Friday 16 March 1659/60
Grahamt • Link
The Speaker without his mace:
...that which lies on the table in the House of Commons when the Speaker is in the chair, viewed as a symbol of the authority of the House (SOED).
So, the speaker, without the mace, lacked his symbol of office and Parliament its symbol of authority.
About Friday 16 March 1659/60
Grahamt • Link
Neat's Tongue:
Neat: A bovine animal; an ox, a bullock, a cow, a heifer
About Monday 12 March 1659/60
Grahamt • Link
Huntsmore/Huntsmoor
Huntsmoor Park is between Iver and Uxbridge, (at the side of Chris Rea's "Road to Hell": the M25) on what is now the western edge of Greater London. See: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/street… for a map. Zoom out to see it in relation to Heathrow and London. There is also an aerial photo of Huntsmoor Park farm.
About Sunday 11 March 1659/60
Grahamt • Link
Band
The Shorter OED has on meaning of band as:
b spec. The neckband or collar of a shirt, a collar, a ruff, (now arch. or Hist.);
So I would guess that he is dressed down, without his collar as he is busy packing. In the days of removable shirt collars, (pre 1960/70's) it would be unthinkable to be seen without a collar on Sunday, because it was a day of rest, and you removed the collar and tie when doing manual work. Similarly, this might be why he thought it worth mentioning.
About What do you want from a discussion forum?
Grahamt • Link
Private Eye:
For those who may not be familiar with this great British institution, it is a satirical magazine that has a section called Pseud's corner. This section pillories pseudo-intellectual, patronising, overblown windbags by quoting their words from other magazines or media.
I wonder who here would fall into that category? (clue: it's definitely not Phil!)