"Is it normal for people to be so lenient with their servants back then?" No -- corporal punishment was the norm and Pepys has doled out his fair share to Will. But Will has become more than servant and closer to son. (I would recommend obtaining a copy of Lisa Picard's wonderful summary of Pepys.)
"Thirty absentees were dismissed on the following day." We are beginning to see why naval business was in such a mess -- thirty workers absent and probably not the first time.
Carmichael: There have been several discussions over this (most of which I cannot find). The work week is described in the annotations of 12 July 1662 but Pepys was an "executive" with little distinction between work and non-work. Remember that his lodgings were at pleasure and he was expected to be on call all the time.
Bill, I still have my slide rules, though idle for the past several decades.
Napier is noted in the slide rule entry but not his "bones", his log-based analogue calculator. It is unknown to me whether Pepys ever used "Napier's Bones".
Ah, the continual frustration of not having a good description of the work on his house. Having done a fair bit of work on century-old houses, I would love to read of this work.
"I was afeard to ride, because of my paine in my cods" (L&M) I do not think that they rode two-point then, probably because their stirrups were so far ahead of the girth (as one sees from paintings of the day).
I do not find Sam's entry today to be priggish or self-satisfying but rather expressing exasperation at finding a project so out of sorts. Things are no longer "business as usual".
In these days of easy photocopying, we ought not forget that copying back then meant copying by hand. (Copiers were well established when I was a student, of course, but some of the older faculty recounted how they copied information from journals by hand.)
Pepys, Imprimatur of Principia: I am tickled pink learning this -- I remember looking at Principia as a graduate student long before I knew of the diary.
There is the matter of how these holes would have been drilled. One would need a hefty wimble and a long bit to drill through the oak-panelled walls. This is not something Pepys would have on him or even easilly available. I do not really think that he drilled the holes himself.
Since I asked about arising early ten years ago, I have noticed several people, my wife amongst them, who have well-tuned internal clocks for rising early, especially on days with important appointments. I agree that shutters would be kept closed to keep out night vapours.
Oh my, I am trying to imagine riding in petticoat breeches. I suppose that walking or cantering would be fine but posting with all that fabric would seem to lead to fabric becoming between leg and saddle. I gather not much posting was done.
Annotaters have oft remarked on Pepys leaving out the commonplace and recording the uncommon. Here may be a case: "musique in my chamber alone at night".
Comments
Second Reading
About Thursday 4 September 1662
john • Link
Clark: doggerel indeed as the Wife of Bath (and others) rode astride.
About Thursday 28 August 1662
john • Link
"Is it normal for people to be so lenient with their servants back then?" No -- corporal punishment was the norm and Pepys has doled out his fair share to Will. But Will has become more than servant and closer to son. (I would recommend obtaining a copy of Lisa Picard's wonderful summary of Pepys.)
About Monday 25 August 1662
john • Link
"Thirty absentees were dismissed on the following day." We are beginning to see why naval business was in such a mess -- thirty workers absent and probably not the first time.
About Saturday 23 August 1662
john • Link
"to see what is done and design more." Design as you go, presumably once the framework is done. Do any construction manuals of thie era survive?
About Saturday 23 August 1662
john • Link
Carmichael: There have been several discussions over this (most of which I cannot find). The work week is described in the annotations of 12 July 1662 but Pepys was an "executive" with little distinction between work and non-work. Remember that his lodgings were at pleasure and he was expected to be on call all the time.
About Friday 22 August 1662
john • Link
tc wrote: "a not-so-subtle hint to get the busybody fops out of the Storehouse so some work can get done..."
Some work or some thievery?
About Monday 18 August 1662
john • Link
Bill, I still have my slide rules, though idle for the past several decades.
Napier is noted in the slide rule entry but not his "bones", his log-based analogue calculator. It is unknown to me whether Pepys ever used "Napier's Bones".
About Saturday 16 August 1662
john • Link
Ah, the continual frustration of not having a good description of the work on his house. Having done a fair bit of work on century-old houses, I would love to read of this work.
About Saturday 2 August 1662
john • Link
"I was afeard to ride, because of my paine in my cods" (L&M) I do not think that they rode two-point then, probably because their stirrups were so far ahead of the girth (as one sees from paintings of the day).
About Thursday 31 July 1662
john • Link
I do not find Sam's entry today to be priggish or self-satisfying but rather expressing exasperation at finding a project so out of sorts. Things are no longer "business as usual".
About Friday 25 July 1662
john • Link
In these days of easy photocopying, we ought not forget that copying back then meant copying by hand. (Copiers were well established when I was a student, of course, but some of the older faculty recounted how they copied information from journals by hand.)
About Tuesday 22 July 1662
john • Link
Eliizabeth being chateline, the loss of her keys would be serious.
About Sunday 13 July 1662
john • Link
Gerald, see the entry here: http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
About Thursday 10 July 1662
john • Link
"that, every man minding a several business, we dispatch nothing." Then, as now, multi-tasking redueces productivity.
About Friday 4 July 1662
john • Link
Pepys, Imprimatur of Principia: I am tickled pink learning this -- I remember looking at Principia as a graduate student long before I knew of the diary.
About Monday 30 June 1662
john • Link
There is the matter of how these holes would have been drilled. One would need a hefty wimble and a long bit to drill through the oak-panelled walls. This is not something Pepys would have on him or even easilly available. I do not really think that he drilled the holes himself.
About Sunday 29 June 1662
john • Link
Since I asked about arising early ten years ago, I have noticed several people, my wife amongst them, who have well-tuned internal clocks for rising early, especially on days with important appointments. I agree that shutters would be kept closed to keep out night vapours.
About Thursday 12 June 1662
john • Link
Oh my, I am trying to imagine riding in petticoat breeches. I suppose that walking or cantering would be fine but posting with all that fabric would seem to lead to fabric becoming between leg and saddle. I gather not much posting was done.
About Friday 6 June 1662
john • Link
How often did Pepys trust Will to deliver money? Is this a matter of growing trust in Will to be noted?
About Tuesday 27 May 1662
john • Link
Annotaters have oft remarked on Pepys leaving out the commonplace and recording the uncommon. Here may be a case: "musique in my chamber alone at night".