Odd that Sam would not have seen Elizabeth ride before now. I know no one who has ridden side-saddle (including me, of course) but, Australian Susan, have you actually ridden so and for so long?
Whilst Charles probably rode three-point (or even two-point), I imagine many of the party leaning back, slapping their horses' backs on every stride. That sort of pounding will tire out a horse very quickly.
Ah, vincente, your comments on haying reminds of the days of my youth, standing on a stooking sled pulled behind a baler, hoisting bales to make 6-bale pyramids, which were released by press of a pedal. (Eventually, the farmer could afford to put a motorized conveyer on the baler.) I also recall many a farmer taking chances putting steaming-hot bales in the loft.
Renting out land also allows the landowner to pay agricultural tax rates.
If the gnats were biting gnats (here boringly but descriptively called Little Black Flies and belies their nastiness), they would be very bothersome indeed.
Eric, it is not so much that medicine is inexact as its practitioners do not heed warnings. In his Nobel lecture (1945), Fleming said: "The time may come when penicillin can be bought by anyone in the shops. Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non‐lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant."
@A. Hamilton (if you ever read this a decade later), the delay may have been for several reasons: Sam was not a good estimator; or the hole between floors may have been awkward (requiring unforseen collaring and so on, even given the redundancy of that time period).
Up to now, I assumed that "dirt" meant plaster dust and sawdust. Given that the house is old and behind the walls of century-old houses one finds all manners of rodent and insect detritus, dirt may have been dirty indeed.
Martin, in his well-written comment: "but you can still encounter it in some places, e.g. the House of Lords,"
Indeed, I recall being a bit bemused when I first read certain legal judgements that started wih "My Lords!" and sometimes noted what "their Lordships" would think.
@Terry: Thank you -- that provides me with a good starting point. (In the process, I found an interesting animation of Pepys' London may be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP… )
What is known about building practices of that day and what sort of directions would he have given to his workman, who seem to start quite early and require constant guidance? I suspect their directions were mostly Sam pointing and saying that a staircase should go here. Does anyone have a reference?
"his master fell about his ears and beat him so, that it put the whole house in an uprore." To answer jack's question, methinks this another example of the commonly accepted violence of the time; they laughed.
Homely as reported in the OED (alluded to by Mary , supra): Def'n 4.b.5. Of persons, etc.: Of commonplace appearance or features; not beautiful, ‘plain’, uncomely. (Said also of the features themselves.) [With quotations from the 16th and 17th centuries.]
The day's events makes me wonder how Sam kept enough wits to accurately record the events. Did he scribble down the events just before bed?
Comments
Second Reading
About Thursday 19 September 1661
john • Link
Today's entry made the OED:
horse, v. [f. prec. n.]
2. intr. To mount or go on horseback.
1661 Pepys Diary 19 Sept., Then we all horsed away to Cambridge.
About Tuesday 17 September 1661
john • Link
Odd that Sam would not have seen Elizabeth ride before now. I know no one who has ridden side-saddle (including me, of course) but, Australian Susan, have you actually ridden so and for so long?
About Sunday 15 September 1661
john • Link
@Louise: Of course, he was a snob. That was the accepted manner of behaviour in 17th century society.
About Sunday 11 August 1661
john • Link
"the King tired all their horses ..."
Whilst Charles probably rode three-point (or even two-point), I imagine many of the party leaning back, slapping their horses' backs on every stride. That sort of pounding will tire out a horse very quickly.
About 16, 17, 18, 19 July 1661
john • Link
Ah, vincente, your comments on haying reminds of the days of my youth, standing on a stooking sled pulled behind a baler, hoisting bales to make 6-bale pyramids, which were released by press of a pedal. (Eventually, the farmer could afford to put a motorized conveyer on the baler.) I also recall many a farmer taking chances putting steaming-hot bales in the loft.
Renting out land also allows the landowner to pay agricultural tax rates.
About 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th July 1661
john • Link
If the gnats were biting gnats (here boringly but descriptively called Little Black Flies and belies their nastiness), they would be very bothersome indeed.
About Saturday 6 July 1661
john • Link
A corpse in the garden would be fair game for many scavengers (pigs, canids, birds).
About Wednesday 19 June 1661
john • Link
Eric, it is not so much that medicine is inexact as its practitioners do not heed warnings. In his Nobel lecture (1945), Fleming said: "The time may come when penicillin can be bought by anyone in the shops. Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non‐lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant."
About Monday 13 May 1661
john • Link
@A. Hamilton (if you ever read this a decade later), the delay may have been for several reasons: Sam was not a good estimator; or the hole between floors may have been awkward (requiring unforseen collaring and so on, even given the redundancy of that time period).
About Sunday 12 May 1661
john • Link
Lancing abscesses back then was risky due to infection but leaving them risks collateral damage.
About Thursday 9 May 1661
john • Link
Up to now, I assumed that "dirt" meant plaster dust and sawdust. Given that the house is old and behind the walls of century-old houses one finds all manners of rodent and insect detritus, dirt may have been dirty indeed.
About Thursday 2 May 1661
john • Link
With respect to dead links, I have faith that the Wayback Machine will still be around in 2024.
About Tuesday 30 April 1661
john • Link
"This morning, after order given to my workmen"
Methinks this entry hints at why Sam was so much amongst his workmen, namely to arrange for the day's work in the absence of architectural plans.
About Monday 22 April 1661
john • Link
JWB wrote: "If you've ever ridden gussied-up horses, you know they're as vain as Sam in his velvet coat."
They also rode stallions, not mares or geldings, so the analogy fits well.
About Saturday 20 April 1661
john • Link
Martin, in his well-written comment: "but you can still encounter it in some places, e.g. the House of Lords,"
Indeed, I recall being a bit bemused when I first read certain legal judgements that started wih "My Lords!" and sometimes noted what "their Lordships" would think.
About Friday 12 April 1661
john • Link
@Terry: Thank you -- that provides me with a good starting point. (In the process, I found an interesting animation of Pepys' London may be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP… )
About Friday 12 April 1661
john • Link
What is known about building practices of that day and what sort of directions would he have given to his workman, who seem to start quite early and require constant guidance? I suspect their directions were mostly Sam pointing and saying that a staircase should go here. Does anyone have a reference?
About Saturday 23 March 1660/61
john • Link
"his master fell about his ears and beat him so, that it put the whole house in an uprore." To answer jack's question, methinks this another example of the commonly accepted violence of the time; they laughed.
About Saturday 16 March 1660/61
john • Link
Our Will seems to be far more numerate than the average servant at the time. And no answer to vincent's decade-old question.
About Friday 8 March 1660/61
john • Link
Homely as reported in the OED (alluded to by Mary , supra): Def'n 4.b.5. Of persons, etc.: Of commonplace appearance or features; not beautiful, ‘plain’, uncomely. (Said also of the features themselves.) [With quotations from the 16th and 17th centuries.]
The day's events makes me wonder how Sam kept enough wits to accurately record the events. Did he scribble down the events just before bed?