"Sir W. Pen, the Comptroller, and I to the Dolphin, where we found Sir W. Batten, who is seldom a night from hence, and there we did drink..."
I take this to mean that Sir W. Batten hang out at the Dolphin just about every night. He will mention going to see Batten at the Dolphin several more times in the diary.
We've mostly focused on the proximity of the servants, above, but two questions arise from that introductory clause:
First of all, why no ladies? Being seen at worship seems to be important to the gents; why isn't it also important to bring their wives?
Secondly, what would the seating arrangement be, if they did come along? Boy-girl-boy-girl, taking up a couple of rows? Girls in front, boys behind (suggested by Arby, above, but I doubt this)? Boys in front, ladies behind (also doesn't seem likely)? And then, wouldn't the help be seated right behind whoever took up the second row?
Despite yesterday's resolve to make inquiries today about Balty's ill-advised decision to acquire a horse, Sam makes no mention of it. Perhaps Elizabeth (Balty's sister) has urged him not to make waves about it.
[Spoiler, kinda:] Balty will not be heard from in the diary for quite a few months, and the horse, never again. So maybe he pawned it.
I mentioned the other day that in general, Sam might take a carriage to go across town (like we might hail a cab), but not hire a horse to ride for that purpose, due to cost and inconvenience. But Sam does hire a horse when he rides out to some country destination, just as city dwellers today might rent a car for that purpose. This illustrates the cost and value of owning a horse is equivalent to owning a car today. So now, Balty has gone out and bought a horse (car) and is now going to incur the costs of keeping it. And he may have used Sam's name to establish credit. When previously heard from (June 18) Balty came to Sam to say he was in a "bad condition" and asking Sam to "get a place for him." So most likely, Balty is not yet ready to afford a horse of his own; hence both Sam and Elizabeth are "troubled". Stay tuned for tomorrow's inquiries.
Like on Ebay, it is not good strategy to start bidding early during the bidding period. It's like showing your cards. You don't want to be the first bidder. But when it gets down to the last minute, everybody who is interested jumps in. On Ebay, you try to make your final bid in the last second, hoping that time then runs out without someone else outbidding you in the last tenth of a second. This practice is known as sniping.
So I imagine that in the candle auction, "inviting one another" is just a lot of banter going on trying to get someone to start the bidding, "and at last how they all do cry" — as the candle pin is about to drop, or the candle is about to go out, whichever the process is, everybody shouts their bids trying to be the last one.
While this makes for an expeditious auction, it doesn't necessarily get the seller the best price, because some bidders may misjudge the timing and fail to get their final bid in under the wire. So there could have been a few higher bids, if the bidding had continued.
I'm going to agree with Pauline, who wrote in 2003 regarding the L&H footnote for "Much company I found to come to her....", as follows:
"I don't think he is referring to Mrs. Pierce. The description (wanton) just doesn't fit for describing a friend's wife or a friend. The sentence seems to indicate the proprietress or barmaid at The Bell, or something major to its meaning has been dropped or excised."
Sam is out gallivanting with Pierce and Sheply. No one else is mentioned, certainly not Mrs. Pierce. After meeting up at Montagu's, they head over to The Bell, a tavern and stableyard on King Street, Westminster, and after admiring Montagu's new ponies, they belly up to the bar for a few rounds of Hull ale. He means to mention the proprietess or barmaid, but neglects to do so in his hurry to say how very pretty and wanton she is, and how much business that is bringing her.
L&M jump to a conclusion that "her" is "Mrs. Pearse", but that makes no sense, even if she's tagging along, because Mrs. Pierce is not in the business of attracting "much company" to The Bell.
"I want to know who owned the horses and where they were kept. If it was a stable at the back of the Navy Office, why doesn't Pepys ride more often?"
Just a wild guess: The economics of renting horses may have been such that they only made sense for longer trips such as this one out to Batten's. Sort of like if you live downtown in a city, taking cabs makes sense (like Pepys takes a carriage or water taxi), but renting a car to go across town does not, both in terms of expense and convenience, even if you're going to return to where you started. But if you're heading out into the country somewhere, you rent a car, Sam rents a horse.
Dick Wilson 2013: "I'm missing something here. What was the purpose of this visit? Did Pepys & Pen have business with Batten, or he with them, that could not wait until all met at the office? Or did Batten just invite the two to come have drinks with some of his country buddies?"
The purpose appears to have been purely recreational, an all -day bender with lots of mutual entertainment. But at the same time, Sam well knows that he is building up relationships, particularly with Batten, who will be quite important to him going forward.
"he did take us into the King’s closet, and there we did stay all service-time" after dining with my Lady.
Consider the arc of Sam's journey so far this year — on January 1, he was living in a garret, and dined upon "the remains of a turkey, and in the doing of it [Elizabeth] burned her hand." If he dined at Montagu's at all, it was in the servants' hall, not with my Lord or my Lady in the dining room. And now, he's worshiping with gentry in the King's own "closet." He rightly feels honoured.
Linguistic question: Here Sam says he "did give" his father something. Elsewhere (especially when paying for someone's lunch) he says he "gave" them something.
Is there an actual distinction in the meanings between "gave" and "did give", or is the usage just random? Was "did give", even in Sam's day, a bit more formal, reflecting language used in legal settings rather than everyday talk?
"I found a box of Carpenter’s tools sent by my cozen, Thomas Pepys, which I had bespoke of him for to employ myself with sometimes."
Sam and Liz stopped by Thomas's place on October 15 "for some things that we wanted." Perhaps this is when Sam bespoke the set of tools. We shall see how he employs himself with them.
Here in New England, "lights" is still used quite commonly, especially among older rural people, to mean individual panes in a window divided by muntins. A neighbor told me: "Some kid threw a rock at the window and broke one of the lights."
"From thence I took my Lord’s picture, and carried it to Mr. de Cretz to be copied."
After Sam got permission for the copying, I rather imagined that Mr. De Critz would show up at Montagu's to do the copying there, this being a valuable painting and all. But apparently it was OK for Sam to hoist it off the wall and carry it off through the streets (maybe by carriage). Today it would not be transported unless in a crate, by professional art movers.
Again no mention of the 80 quid the boss owes Sam, but presumably he brought it up during their nice evening chat, along with his wish to have the portrait copied, and other topics.
Sam does not mention today whether he discussed with My Lord the 80L that he figured last night he is owed. Presumably a dinner with My Lord and My Lady together was not a good time to discuss business. (And, between turds in the cellar and limbs on the Aldersgate, his mind may have been elsewhere.) Let's see how long it takes him to get reimbursed.
"[My Lord, the 1st Earl of Sandwich] had lately lost a great deal of money at cards, which he fears he do too much addict himself to now-a-days."
This addiction apparently runs in the family for generations to come, and was the reason that My Lord's great-grandson, the 4th Earl, would invent the sandwich.
"I was angry with my wife for her things lying about"
'Twas ever thus. At this point, Elizabeth is still 19 (her 20th birthday is coming up on October 23). Apparently she hasn't quite grown out of that teenage stage where you leave stuff lying around. Sam needs to cut her some slack.
The Leg — one of Sam's favorites. I realize it probably has something like a carving of leg of mutton hanging outside and therefore is so named, but every time the place is mentioned in the diary, I get this vision of a proverbial "hollow leg," meaning a prodigious capacity for alcoholic drinks, something Sam and his friends seem to have.
Comments
Third Reading
About Wednesday 14 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
"Sir W. Pen, the Comptroller, and I to the Dolphin, where we found Sir W. Batten, who is seldom a night from hence, and there we did drink..."
I take this to mean that Sir W. Batten hang out at the Dolphin just about every night. He will mention going to see Batten at the Dolphin several more times in the diary.
About Sunday 11 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
"There being no woman this day"
We've mostly focused on the proximity of the servants, above, but two questions arise from that introductory clause:
First of all, why no ladies? Being seen at worship seems to be important to the gents; why isn't it also important to bring their wives?
Secondly, what would the seating arrangement be, if they did come along? Boy-girl-boy-girl, taking up a couple of rows? Girls in front, boys behind (suggested by Arby, above, but I doubt this)? Boys in front, ladies behind (also doesn't seem likely)? And then, wouldn't the help be seated right behind whoever took up the second row?
About Friday 9 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
Perhaps the lunchtime sport with Mr. Talbot, who does not eat fish, involves the similarity between "turbot" and "talbot".
About Thursday 8 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
Despite yesterday's resolve to make inquiries today about Balty's ill-advised decision to acquire a horse, Sam makes no mention of it. Perhaps Elizabeth (Balty's sister) has urged him not to make waves about it.
[Spoiler, kinda:] Balty will not be heard from in the diary for quite a few months, and the horse, never again. So maybe he pawned it.
About Wednesday 7 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
I mentioned the other day that in general, Sam might take a carriage to go across town (like we might hail a cab), but not hire a horse to ride for that purpose, due to cost and inconvenience. But Sam does hire a horse when he rides out to some country destination, just as city dwellers today might rent a car for that purpose. This illustrates the cost and value of owning a horse is equivalent to owning a car today. So now, Balty has gone out and bought a horse (car) and is now going to incur the costs of keeping it. And he may have used Sam's name to establish credit. When previously heard from (June 18) Balty came to Sam to say he was in a "bad condition" and asking Sam to "get a place for him." So most likely, Balty is not yet ready to afford a horse of his own; hence both Sam and Elizabeth are "troubled". Stay tuned for tomorrow's inquiries.
About Tuesday 6 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
"where I observed how they do invite one another"
Like on Ebay, it is not good strategy to start bidding early during the bidding period. It's like showing your cards. You don't want to be the first bidder. But when it gets down to the last minute, everybody who is interested jumps in. On Ebay, you try to make your final bid in the last second, hoping that time then runs out without someone else outbidding you in the last tenth of a second. This practice is known as sniping.
So I imagine that in the candle auction, "inviting one another" is just a lot of banter going on trying to get someone to start the bidding, "and at last how they all do cry" — as the candle pin is about to drop, or the candle is about to go out, whichever the process is, everybody shouts their bids trying to be the last one.
While this makes for an expeditious auction, it doesn't necessarily get the seller the best price, because some bidders may misjudge the timing and fail to get their final bid in under the wire. So there could have been a few higher bids, if the bidding had continued.
About Sunday 4 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
I'm going to agree with Pauline, who wrote in 2003 regarding the L&H footnote for "Much company I found to come to her....", as follows:
"I don't think he is referring to Mrs. Pierce. The description (wanton) just doesn't fit for describing a friend's wife or a friend. The sentence seems to indicate the proprietress or barmaid at The Bell, or something major to its meaning has been dropped or excised."
Sam is out gallivanting with Pierce and Sheply. No one else is mentioned, certainly not Mrs. Pierce. After meeting up at Montagu's, they head over to The Bell, a tavern and stableyard on King Street, Westminster, and after admiring Montagu's new ponies, they belly up to the bar for a few rounds of Hull ale. He means to mention the proprietess or barmaid, but neglects to do so in his hurry to say how very pretty and wanton she is, and how much business that is bringing her.
L&M jump to a conclusion that "her" is "Mrs. Pearse", but that makes no sense, even if she's tagging along, because Mrs. Pierce is not in the business of attracting "much company" to The Bell.
About Thursday 1 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
"I want to know who owned the horses and where they were kept. If it was a stable at the back of the Navy Office, why doesn't Pepys ride more often?"
Just a wild guess: The economics of renting horses may have been such that they only made sense for longer trips such as this one out to Batten's. Sort of like if you live downtown in a city, taking cabs makes sense (like Pepys takes a carriage or water taxi), but renting a car to go across town does not, both in terms of expense and convenience, even if you're going to return to where you started. But if you're heading out into the country somewhere, you rent a car, Sam rents a horse.
About Thursday 1 November 1660
MartinVT • Link
Dick Wilson 2013: "I'm missing something here. What was the purpose of this visit? Did Pepys & Pen have business with Batten, or he with them, that could not wait until all met at the office? Or did Batten just invite the two to come have drinks with some of his country buddies?"
The purpose appears to have been purely recreational, an all -day bender with lots of mutual entertainment. But at the same time, Sam well knows that he is building up relationships, particularly with Batten, who will be quite important to him going forward.
About Sunday 28 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
"he did take us into the King’s closet, and there we did stay all service-time" after dining with my Lady.
Consider the arc of Sam's journey so far this year — on January 1, he was living in a garret, and dined upon "the remains of a turkey, and in the doing of it [Elizabeth] burned her hand." If he dined at Montagu's at all, it was in the servants' hall, not with my Lord or my Lady in the dining room. And now, he's worshiping with gentry in the King's own "closet." He rightly feels honoured.
About Friday 26 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
"I did give him money to pay several bills."
Linguistic question: Here Sam says he "did give" his father something. Elsewhere (especially when paying for someone's lunch) he says he "gave" them something.
Is there an actual distinction in the meanings between "gave" and "did give", or is the usage just random? Was "did give", even in Sam's day, a bit more formal, reflecting language used in legal settings rather than everyday talk?
About Wednesday 24 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
"I found a box of Carpenter’s tools sent by my cozen, Thomas Pepys, which I had bespoke of him for to employ myself with sometimes."
Sam and Liz stopped by Thomas's place on October 15 "for some things that we wanted." Perhaps this is when Sam bespoke the set of tools. We shall see how he employs himself with them.
About Wednesday 24 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
Light=window
Here in New England, "lights" is still used quite commonly, especially among older rural people, to mean individual panes in a window divided by muntins. A neighbor told me: "Some kid threw a rock at the window and broke one of the lights."
About Tuesday 23 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
"From thence I took my Lord’s picture, and carried it to Mr. de Cretz to be copied."
After Sam got permission for the copying, I rather imagined that Mr. De Critz would show up at Montagu's to do the copying there, this being a valuable painting and all. But apparently it was OK for Sam to hoist it off the wall and carry it off through the streets (maybe by carriage). Today it would not be transported unless in a crate, by professional art movers.
About Monday 22 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
Again no mention of the 80 quid the boss owes Sam, but presumably he brought it up during their nice evening chat, along with his wish to have the portrait copied, and other topics.
About Saturday 20 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
Sam does not mention today whether he discussed with My Lord the 80L that he figured last night he is owed. Presumably a dinner with My Lord and My Lady together was not a good time to discuss business. (And, between turds in the cellar and limbs on the Aldersgate, his mind may have been elsewhere.) Let's see how long it takes him to get reimbursed.
About Tuesday 16 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
"[My Lord, the 1st Earl of Sandwich] had lately lost a great deal of money at cards, which he fears he do too much addict himself to now-a-days."
This addiction apparently runs in the family for generations to come, and was the reason that My Lord's great-grandson, the 4th Earl, would invent the sandwich.
About Saturday 13 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
"I was angry with my wife for her things lying about"
'Twas ever thus. At this point, Elizabeth is still 19 (her 20th birthday is coming up on October 23). Apparently she hasn't quite grown out of that teenage stage where you leave stuff lying around. Sam needs to cut her some slack.
About Thursday 11 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
The Leg — one of Sam's favorites. I realize it probably has something like a carving of leg of mutton hanging outside and therefore is so named, but every time the place is mentioned in the diary, I get this vision of a proverbial "hollow leg," meaning a prodigious capacity for alcoholic drinks, something Sam and his friends seem to have.
About Saturday 6 October 1660
MartinVT • Link
catch/ketch
We still have ketchup/catsup, which according to Wikipedia entered print in English around 1790 as catchup, followed by ketchup in 1711.