"Up betimes and among my joyners": The relaying of the floors intrigues me. Were the old planks pulled up? Were they tongue and groove, or butt cut? Did they use wide or narrow planks (the latter considered more affluent)? Were they pegged or nailed down? The planks being of differing thicknesses would have required either planing or shimming to produce a flat surface. Pepys's wonderful descriptions never extended to construction.
@Rich: Besides his delight in the actual instruments, his measuring rule is a good management tool. Recall how he checked the incoming wood (07 Aug) at Deptford on-the-spot, to the consternation of Pet and others.
I take issue with your comment, Beth. I may not have ridden for 20y but I still remember saddel-sores. Pepys also rides on whatever saddle is on the horse, rather that his own.
The journey of the honeymen -- today they use a honey truck to clean out (outdoor) septic tanks -- hints at what we take for granted nowadays in many urban areas. As usual, further information found in Jane Picard (and see also Rose George, "The Big Necessity".
It is not uncommon to smear a bit of menthal rub inside a stallion's nose to keep him from being distracted by mares. The disguising cloth ear-covers may be fly ear covers, in use today, or decorative covers often displayed on Arabians in shows.
Amusing story of the Bishop and I presume that the Bishop's coat-tails were pinned down. Having attended numerous breeding episodes, I cannot picture the forelegs extending far enough to reach the rider.
No mention of whether Pepys Pere ate of the meat on the table, as food poisoning comes to mind. It seems once the toxin-producers were vacated, matters improved.
Corporal punishment meted out to youngsters was accepted in society then (and part of many societies now) and has been discussed many times in the annotations. (On this and many other topics, Picard's wonderful book on Restoration London should definitely be read by all Pepysians.) The "strap" was common in my grade school in the mid-sixties and some of my school chums were whipped by their fathers. It was horrifying then and the memory still horrifies me.
"[The Court's] design and consultation was, I could overhear them, how to proceed with the most solemnity, and spend time, there being only two businesses to do, which of themselves could not spend much time." L&M add a footnote that their lavish-lunch money was later taken away.
Bufflehead ducks are lovely but argumentative birds, especially the drakes. We once lived in a port of Lake Ontario and would watch them diving under the ice for food. Not something I would associate with Sam' Lord Mayor.
Wells are common in rural North America. Municipal water closest to us is 10km away. We have a deep drilled well for house and barn. Though potable, we still put our water through an iron filter, water conditioner, and UV light before house use. The barn receives unfiltered well water. Two dug wells near the pond were decommisioned years ago.
One's reaction varies, Sasha. A friend told me of a coroner asking an intern to stop eating his apple during autopsy; this out of respect than any sort of queasiness. Interesting that in a time when death was not a stranger, Sam is disturbed by the sight of the corpse (but curious enough to touch it).
Here in Canada, the previous gov't earned some opprobrium for proroguing parliament on several occasions, once to avoid telling parliament how monies were spent.
All the commentary on book binding has made me somber. I have a 30-year old Dover catalogue that is signature sewn, as were Dover paperbacks then. Now all are glued ("perfect" bound). My most patronised publisher, Springer Verlag, no longer makes signature-sewn tomes but prints glued ones on demand.
The family's complete dependence on Sam has often come up in this journey. My assumption has always been that Bess was not (fully) aware of either the precarious nature of Sam's position or of their finances. I often wonder what would have been her behaviour had she known.
Comments
Second Reading
About Friday 21 August 1663
john • Link
"Up betimes and among my joyners": The relaying of the floors intrigues me. Were the old planks pulled up? Were they tongue and groove, or butt cut? Did they use wide or narrow planks (the latter considered more affluent)? Were they pegged or nailed down? The planks being of differing thicknesses would have required either planing or shimming to produce a flat surface. Pepys's wonderful descriptions never extended to construction.
About Thursday 20 August 1663
john • Link
Wooden lice combs (including mummified lice) have been found in Egyptian tombs 5000 BP.
About Monday 10 August 1663
john • Link
@Rich: Besides his delight in the actual instruments, his measuring rule is a good management tool. Recall how he checked the incoming wood (07 Aug) at Deptford on-the-spot, to the consternation of Pet and others.
About Monday 27 July 1663
john • Link
I take issue with your comment, Beth. I may not have ridden for 20y but I still remember saddel-sores. Pepys also rides on whatever saddle is on the horse, rather that his own.
About Thursday 16 July 1663
john • Link
The journey of the honeymen -- today they use a honey truck to clean out (outdoor) septic tanks -- hints at what we take for granted nowadays in many urban areas. As usual, further information found in Jane Picard (and see also Rose George, "The Big Necessity".
About Saturday 4 July 1663
john • Link
SPQR: For the longest time, I thought the R was Romae (genitive) before learning it was the masculine nominative adjective.
About Sunday 7 June 1663
john • Link
@Lurker -- if you are still around -- when matters are tense, the most banal triviality will set off a row.
About Monday 25 May 1663
john • Link
"The Merck" has moved to here: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm…
About Friday 1 May 1663
john • Link
It is not uncommon to smear a bit of menthal rub inside a stallion's nose to keep him from being distracted by mares. The disguising cloth ear-covers may be fly ear covers, in use today, or decorative covers often displayed on Arabians in shows.
Amusing story of the Bishop and I presume that the Bishop's coat-tails were pinned down. Having attended numerous breeding episodes, I cannot picture the forelegs extending far enough to reach the rider.
About Wednesday 29 April 1663
john • Link
No mention of whether Pepys Pere ate of the meat on the table, as food poisoning comes to mind. It seems once the toxin-producers were vacated, matters improved.
About Friday 24 April 1663
john • Link
Corporal punishment meted out to youngsters was accepted in society then (and part of many societies now) and has been discussed many times in the annotations. (On this and many other topics, Picard's wonderful book on Restoration London should definitely be read by all Pepysians.) The "strap" was common in my grade school in the mid-sixties and some of my school chums were whipped by their fathers. It was horrifying then and the memory still horrifies me.
About Friday 20 March 1662/63
john • Link
Bess could very well have had uterine fibroids, which would definitely put her abed. On this, as other times, Pepys kept her company.
About Tuesday 17 March 1662/63
john • Link
"[The Court's] design and consultation was, I could overhear them, how to proceed with the most solemnity, and spend time, there being only two businesses to do, which of themselves could not spend much time." L&M add a footnote that their lavish-lunch money was later taken away.
Bufflehead ducks are lovely but argumentative birds, especially the drakes. We once lived in a port of Lake Ontario and would watch them diving under the ice for food. Not something I would associate with Sam' Lord Mayor.
About Tuesday 10 March 1662/63
john • Link
Wells are common in rural North America. Municipal water closest to us is 10km away. We have a deep drilled well for house and barn. Though potable, we still put our water through an iron filter, water conditioner, and UV light before house use. The barn receives unfiltered well water. Two dug wells near the pond were decommisioned years ago.
The reference to Dirks is still available and the text may be found here: https://archive.org/stream/exactr…
About Friday 27 February 1662/63
john • Link
One's reaction varies, Sasha. A friend told me of a coroner asking an intern to stop eating his apple during autopsy; this out of respect than any sort of queasiness. Interesting that in a time when death was not a stranger, Sam is disturbed by the sight of the corpse (but curious enough to touch it).
About Wednesday 18 February 1662/63
john • Link
Here in Canada, the previous gov't earned some opprobrium for proroguing parliament on several occasions, once to avoid telling parliament how monies were spent.
About Friday 13 February 1662/63
john • Link
"it being a monstrous thaw [..], so that there is no passing but by coach in the streets, and hardly that."
Indeed, that I can well understand lving on unpaved roads. One keeps snow tires on until after the thaw as snow tires make good mud tires.
About Friday 6 February 1662/63
john • Link
All the commentary on book binding has made me somber. I have a 30-year old Dover catalogue that is signature sewn, as were Dover paperbacks then. Now all are glued ("perfect" bound). My most patronised publisher, Springer Verlag, no longer makes signature-sewn tomes but prints glued ones on demand.
About Wednesday 21 January 1662/63
john • Link
DavidG, Look at the entry (and comments) of 25 May 1662 when he starting shaving himself with a pumice stone.
About Sunday 18 January 1662/63
john • Link
The family's complete dependence on Sam has often come up in this journey. My assumption has always been that Bess was not (fully) aware of either the precarious nature of Sam's position or of their finances. I often wonder what would have been her behaviour had she known.