This is a subject that has been much discussed by annotators in previous years. Do look at the Encyclopaedia and In-Depth sections for relevant history.
Dr. Johnson commented more weightily on cucumbers.
"It has been a common saying of physicians in England, that a cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing."
It's late May in the south of England, the weather is getting warmer, the streets, paths and byways provide cleaner walking (despite today's sudden and unexpected rain) and a little trip down the river likely to be more appealing than a chillier trip in earlier months of the year.
I cannot be the only wife for whom this little vignette recalls memories of the many times one has had to take a gravy- or sauce-besplattered tie to the dry cleaners. At least Sam's bands won't have been made of silk.
Perhaps treating the whole trip down the river as if it were simply an outing for pleasure UNTIL Deptford is reached and work calls for Samuel's attention. Presumably he was killing two birds with one stone - a call at the yard, preceded by a nice little outing for Elizabeth.
At various points over the years annotators have referred to Elizabeth Pepys as "Bess" - jokingly adopting a familiar diminutive of her Christian name. The fact that the maid is called Besse by Pepys could lead one to infer that if indeed Elizabeth ever acquires a diminutive name from her husband, it is probably not Bess. Whether either Samuel or Elizabeth habitually used any kind of 'pet' names for one another remains a moot point; it was most common for married couple to address one another simply as "husband" and "wife".
(By the 18th century we find couples addressing one another as "Mr. X....." or "Mrs. X...." and this fashion persisted well into the 19th century, particularly in the case of wives addressing their husbands).
This will surely have been Southwark, the other side of the Thames from the City of London. In the mid 17th century it was still an area with a very dubious reputation; somewhere where an unwanted child could easily be "lost." As well as its continuing popularity as an area for bull-baiting, bear-baiting etc. (and the concomitant activities of gambling, thuggery and robbery) it was also viewed by the city authorities as a "nest of fanatiques" much favoured by foreign immigrants of uncertain political aims. In 1664 there was a proposal that a new bridge should be constructed across the Thames so as to enable the soldiery more rapid access to the south bank of the Thames for the quick suppression of "sectaries."
I doubt the Montagu girls went to Tom's funeral as well, not least because women in general simply did not attend funerals; it was "not done." Funeral observance was man's business. This aspect of social etiquette persisted into the 19th century.
I don't think that this is anything to do with professional mourners. Pepys is explaining that, once the 'show' part of the transportation of the corpse had been accomplished, Pepys approached (made up to) the chief persons mourning the deceased who were about to leave London and start their lengthy journey to Norfolk for Edward's burial there.
He had not approached them personally before this; it was more important to get the order of coaches, questions of precedence etc. settled rather than offering personal commiserations.
To make up to someone: to approach them with a degree of deference, caution, hesitation in order to introduce oneself, deliver a private or personal message or greeting. It is a careful move, coloured by circumstance.
This lady is a member of the Walpole family - a very well known and long established Norfolk family. Perhaps she is in Norfolk and the news of her husband's illness and death is taking time to reach her.
Incidentally, I suspect that the earlier reference to her being "handsome" may well refer to her family status as well as to any physical attributes.
The Dunny Man (though called the Sanitary Man) operated in rural Cheshire in the early 1950s. This came as a great shock to this young Kentish child when visiting an aunt's home for the first time.
We still use this term when referring to sheep-worrying. An uncontrolled dog may worry sheep either by simply chasing them or by chasing and savaging them. The owner of such a dog is liable to prosecution and the owner of the livestock may be entitled to shoot the offending dog.
I quote a very recent appalling incident in which 116 sheep were killed.
"The sheep, many of them pregnant, had been herded into a tight group against a fence and a gate bordering woodland, and either died from shock or by being crushed in the flock".
Sam was probably most afraid of being badly bitten.
Castile soap is first recorded as being imported into England via Antwerp in the second half of the Sixteenth Century.
During the Seventeenth Century its use gave rise to controversy in England after its Spanish (i.e. Catholic) producers purchased a monopoly on soap from the cash-strapped English government. A tax on the use of Castile soap persisted into the Nineteenth Century.
No doubt this turned Castile soap into a luxury product during Pepys' time, but it would have been available in London.
Prior to the passing of the Buggery Act in 1533, such cases were handled by the ecclesiastical courts rather than under the civil law. The 1533 act defined buggery as a capital offence. With the brief exception of a short period under Queen Mary, the civil act remained in force essentially until 1861 when buggery ceased to be defined as a capital offence, though it remained a criminal offence.
At some point in the past we had quite a discussion about the change in fashion from "petticoat breeches" (very full in fabric, looking more like a knee-length skirt than any kind of breeches; it was even possible mistakenly to put them on with both legs inside the same leg of the garment) to much closer-fitting breeches that fastened just below the knee. However, a brief troll through the Encyclopaedia has proved unproductive, so perhaps we have lost track of this thread. A look at pictures of Charles II (the supreme leader of fashion, of course) shows how he fairly soon abandoned the flowing breeches for the closed-knee type - and Pepys is dressing in the latest fashion here.
See note above. There was a supply of piped water in the city of London, though supply to individual properties was not always available on all seven days of the week.
In these homogenized days, milk looks and tastes the same throughout the year. When I was young ( late forties/early fifties) winter-time milk took on a slightly thin, blue-ish appearance and only regained its proper creamy colour and flavour once the cows were out to grass again in the spring.
Comments
Second Reading
About Tuesday 7 June 1664
Mary K • Link
Elizabeth's ailments.
This is a subject that has been much discussed by annotators in previous years. Do look at the Encyclopaedia and In-Depth sections for relevant history.
About Sunday 22 May 1664
Mary K • Link
Dr. Johnson commented more weightily on cucumbers.
"It has been a common saying of physicians in England, that a cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing."
About Monday 23 May 1664
Mary K • Link
a trip out for Elizabeth.
It's late May in the south of England, the weather is getting warmer, the streets, paths and byways provide cleaner walking (despite today's sudden and unexpected rain) and a little trip down the river likely to be more appealing than a chillier trip in earlier months of the year.
About Tuesday 3 May 1664
Mary K • Link
I cannot be the only wife for whom this little vignette recalls memories of the many times one has had to take a gravy- or sauce-besplattered tie to the dry cleaners. At least Sam's bands won't have been made of silk.
About Sunday 1 May 1664
Mary K • Link
"playing as it were leisurely..."
Perhaps treating the whole trip down the river as if it were simply an outing for pleasure UNTIL Deptford is reached and work calls for Samuel's attention. Presumably he was killing two birds with one stone - a call at the yard, preceded by a nice little outing for Elizabeth.
About Saturday 16 April 1664
Mary K • Link
my wife and Besse gone over the water......
At various points over the years annotators have referred to Elizabeth Pepys as "Bess" - jokingly adopting a familiar diminutive of her Christian name. The fact that the maid is called Besse by Pepys could lead one to infer that if indeed Elizabeth ever acquires a diminutive name from her husband, it is probably not Bess. Whether either Samuel or Elizabeth habitually used any kind of 'pet' names for one another remains a moot point; it was most common for married couple to address one another simply as "husband" and "wife".
(By the 18th century we find couples addressing one another as "Mr. X....." or "Mrs. X...." and this fashion persisted well into the 19th century, particularly in the case of wives addressing their husbands).
About Wednesday 6 April 1664
Mary K • Link
"the other side of the water"
This will surely have been Southwark, the other side of the Thames from the City of London. In the mid 17th century it was still an area with a very dubious reputation; somewhere where an unwanted child could easily be "lost." As well as its continuing popularity as an area for bull-baiting, bear-baiting etc. (and the concomitant activities of gambling, thuggery and robbery) it was also viewed by the city authorities as a "nest of fanatiques" much favoured by foreign immigrants of uncertain political aims. In 1664 there was a proposal that a new bridge should be constructed across the Thames so as to enable the soldiery more rapid access to the south bank of the Thames for the quick suppression of "sectaries."
About Wednesday 23 March 1663/64
Mary K • Link
I doubt the Montagu girls went to Tom's funeral as well, not least because women in general simply did not attend funerals; it was "not done." Funeral observance was man's business. This aspect of social etiquette persisted into the 19th century.
About Thursday 29 November 1666
Mary K • Link
For Alpha Behr
read: Aphra Behn.
About Wednesday 23 December 1663
Mary K • Link
I made up to the mourners.
I don't think that this is anything to do with professional mourners. Pepys is explaining that, once the 'show' part of the transportation of the corpse had been accomplished, Pepys approached (made up to) the chief persons mourning the deceased who were about to leave London and start their lengthy journey to Norfolk for Edward's burial there.
He had not approached them personally before this; it was more important to get the order of coaches, questions of precedence etc. settled rather than offering personal commiserations.
To make up to someone: to approach them with a degree of deference, caution, hesitation in order to introduce oneself, deliver a private or personal message or greeting. It is a careful move, coloured by circumstance.
About Thursday 17 December 1663
Mary K • Link
Edward Pepys widow
This lady is a member of the Walpole family - a very well known and long established Norfolk family. Perhaps she is in Norfolk and the news of her husband's illness and death is taking time to reach her.
Incidentally, I suspect that the earlier reference to her being "handsome" may well refer to her family status as well as to any physical attributes.
About Tuesday 28 July 1663
Mary K • Link
The Dunny Man (though called the Sanitary Man) operated in rural Cheshire in the early 1950s. This came as a great shock to this young Kentish child when visiting an aunt's home for the first time.
About Monday 11 May 1663
Mary K • Link
Worried
We still use this term when referring to sheep-worrying. An uncontrolled dog may worry sheep either by simply chasing them or by chasing and savaging them. The owner of such a dog is liable to prosecution and the owner of the livestock may be entitled to shoot the offending dog.
I quote a very recent appalling incident in which 116 sheep were killed.
"The sheep, many of them pregnant, had been herded into a tight group against a fence and a gate bordering woodland, and either died from shock or by being crushed in the flock".
Sam was probably most afraid of being badly bitten.
About Saturday 9 May 1663
Mary K • Link
Castile soap is first recorded as being imported into England via Antwerp in the second half of the Sixteenth Century.
During the Seventeenth Century its use gave rise to controversy in England after its Spanish (i.e. Catholic) producers purchased a monopoly on soap from the cash-strapped English government. A tax on the use of Castile soap persisted into the Nineteenth Century.
No doubt this turned Castile soap into a luxury product during Pepys' time, but it would have been available in London.
About Wednesday 1 July 1663
Mary K • Link
Legal position
Prior to the passing of the Buggery Act in 1533, such cases were handled by the ecclesiastical courts rather than under the civil law. The 1533 act defined buggery as a capital offence. With the brief exception of a short period under Queen Mary, the civil act remained in force essentially until 1861 when buggery ceased to be defined as a capital offence, though it remained a criminal offence.
About Sunday 19 April 1663
Mary K • Link
mea culpa
For 'troll' read 'trawl' in the above note.
About Sunday 19 April 1663
Mary K • Link
the new suit
At some point in the past we had quite a discussion about the change in fashion from "petticoat breeches" (very full in fabric, looking more like a knee-length skirt than any kind of breeches; it was even possible mistakenly to put them on with both legs inside the same leg of the garment) to much closer-fitting breeches that fastened just below the knee. However, a brief troll through the Encyclopaedia has proved unproductive, so perhaps we have lost track of this thread.
A look at pictures of Charles II (the supreme leader of fashion, of course) shows how he fairly soon abandoned the flowing breeches for the closed-knee type - and Pepys is dressing in the latest fashion here.
About Tuesday 10 March 1662/63
Mary K • Link
Piped water supply
See note above. There was a supply of piped water in the city of London, though supply to individual properties was not always available on all seven days of the week.
About Wednesday 21 January 1662/63
Mary K • Link
barber before bed.
It's more likely that he's had his hair trimmed. Barbers made house calls in the 17th century.
About Monday 13 October 1662
Mary K • Link
In these homogenized days, milk looks and tastes the same throughout the year. When I was young ( late forties/early fifties) winter-time milk took on a slightly thin, blue-ish appearance and only regained its proper creamy colour and flavour once the cows were out to grass again in the spring.