Gerald Berg

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Gerald Berg has posted 323 annotations/comments since 4 March 2013.

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About Monday 28 October 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

"as they come into my mind now, I shall set down without order"

So in the never ending discussion on the reasons Pepy's keeps his diary; himself or public. Does this phrase indicate a record setting event for others to read?

About Thursday 24 October 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Maybe compass is range but I feel more likely to do with pitch. Brass instruments of the time could only play one harmonic series (key) at any one time. To change keys required changing crooks. Not so with string instruments. Hence compass. Brass will always have a limited range compared to strings. Then as now.

About Sunday 29 September 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

A wink is good as a nod to a blind bat. The domestic bliss is more like the quiet before a storm.

After fantasizing about 17 yo Deb Willet for 2 days Pepys is sated from anticipation. Deb is the staked goat and two different predators are stalking two different sorts of meals.

About Friday 13 September 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Does Mrs. Lowther’s bloodied nose have a play in this affair? Pepys is made uncomfortable:

“which made me I could not look upon her with any pleasure”

That the coachman cursed implies brotherly collusion with the boss. ie habitual.

As for the cauldrons- how much money we talking? Didn’t sound like much to me.
And why the:

“for I believe we shall be glad to sell them for less“

Sam happy with less?

About Tuesday 27 August 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Paul C brings up a good point. Writing in plain English may induce circumspection rather than candour. Perhaps shorthand allowed Pepys a little more freedom? A bit like Beckett writing in French.

Speaking of candour, I was always wondering whether Pepys pidgin Latin/French/Spanish liaison tidbits were written in full or, shorthand?

About Monday 26 August 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Debt/sex along side desperation can only lead to Britannia ruling the waves?

The fear, the remorse! So exciting!

About Wednesday 7 August 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Noble? All this time I thought we were lovable!

"I was loveable, Jocie was loveable, the Senator was loveable, the days were loveable, the nights were loveable, and everybody was loveable - except, of course, my mother."

Raymond Shaw
Manchurian Candidate

About Monday 5 August 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

"all that pains should have been taken upon so bad an instrument."

So says the flageolet player...

Is this the same Nell that Sam dallied with in his home just weeks ago? And she's a gossip? Sounds very risky. A parting shot as she scoots out the door to ruin both boss' day?

About Monday 29 July 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Yes, gossip high and low. Am I mistaken in the impression that the gossip Pepy's relays is (most days) largely erroneous?

About Saturday 20 July 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

So much for SP's correcting his nature! His are not thought 'crimes' but rather the opposite and an illustration of what was wrong with the friar's formulation Moore was writing about. Pepy's thought was to correct his nature -- not worth much more than that it seems. Failure being the norm.

About Friday 5 July 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

I am with you on this Louise. Only Nan is now married and so presumably no longer a 'whore' whereas Sam is and remains a whoremonger.

About Sunday 30 June 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

"...and troubled that Creed did see so much of my dalliance, though very little." Good thing SP is a good judge of what is "fit time and place". Otherwise Creed might have had a real "raree-show" to talk about!

About Friday 28 June 1667

Gerald Berg  •  Link

A horse can gallop for around 2 miles before being fatigued. Unlikely to be galloping while pulling a coach even though John Ford films indicate otherwise!