Annotations and comments

David G has posted 83 annotations/comments since 22 January 2016.

Comments

Second Reading

About Sunday 23 October 1664

David G  •  Link

I wish he had told us how he managed to talk his uninvited guest Mr Fuller into leaving right after the meal so the afternoon could be devoted to looking at plates with Mr Cooper.

About Friday 3 June 1664

David G  •  Link

The back pain is yet another kidney stone symptom. Sam must realize that from his consultation two days before with Mr Hollyard.

About Tuesday 31 May 1664

David G  •  Link

In response to the first question posed on this diary entry, ten years ago, Sam is experiencing classic kidney stone symptoms.

About Sunday 3 April 1664

David G  •  Link

In response to Terry's question of last December, in the U.S., one goes "back East" (even if one is not from the Eastern U.S.) and "out West." There's no particular rhyme or reason to directions, now or in the 1660s.

About Tuesday 15 March 1663/64

David G  •  Link

Rereading this entry, it appears that Sam wrote the first four sentences right after they happened -- they are in the present tense and comparatively upbeat -- and then completed the entry the following day after his brother died and Sam had spent an unhappy and restless night. This makes me wonder whether Sam kept the diary on an ongoing basis, adding bits to the diary as the day progressed, rather than recording the day's events in one fell swoop. If so, the entries in which he talks about catching up with the diary reflect exceptions rather than the rule.

About Wednesday 6 January 1663/64

David G  •  Link

In response to San Diego Sarah's question, Sam has occasionally referred to visits from the barber, including (at least on one occasion) twice in the same week. It's reasonable to assume that when he wanted a shave, he called in a barber.

About Monday 23 November 1663

David G  •  Link

Insurance. I am fairly certain that Sam wanted to sell someone an insurance policy, not buy an insurance policy, and that the annotations from 2006 misunderstood the proposed transaction. That is, before the enactment of Stat. 19 George II in 1746, a person purchasing insurance did not need to have an "insurable interest" in the property that was the subject of the insurance policy. ("Insurable interest" means, in simplest terms, that the person purchasing the insurance had an interest in keeping the property safe.) In the absence of an "insurable interest" requirement, a person could, for example, insure the cargo of any ship against loss, even if the person buying the insurance didn't own the cargo -- which meant that insurance sometimes became a form of gambling (how likely is it that this particular ship will sink?) and led to serious moral hazards (such as hiring pirates to seize the ship so that one could collect on the insurance). Back in the days before Lloyd's of London, anyone could sell insurance and my guess is that if Sam was thinking about selling an insurance policy to someone who wanted to insure the ship under the mistaken impression that this was close to a "sure thing," and that Sam assumed he could have charged a premium of £100 for the policy.

About Thursday 8 October 1663

David G  •  Link

Sam's condition probably was related to his kidney stones. Feeling bloated is a common symptom when a stone is going to pass. It's surprising that Holliard didn't know that.

About Thursday 1 October 1663

David G  •  Link

Since he came home by water from Deptford, I picture Sam buying the eels from a fishing boat coming up the river. Sounds nice, anyway.

About Thursday 1 October 1663

David G  •  Link

I can't help but wonder about the cooking arrangements chez Pepys. Did Bess say, "Sam, if you're going to Deptford, please pick up a couple of eeles on the way home and we'll have them for supper," or did Sam arrive home and surprise Bess with the eeles and she was annoyed because she and the cook had spent hours making pies, or is their household so used to Sam's unpredictable schedule that Bess's practice was to wait until Sam got home (if he got home) before thinking about what to serve for supper?

About Tuesday 15 September 1663

David G  •  Link

I can't help but wonder why Hinchingbrooke was short of beds -- an extremely large house party? -- and why the housekeeper decided to borrow beds from Mr. Pepys -- was he the closest neighbor? because he is a (distant) relation? -- and why, when Sandwich and his "company" left for Boughton, the beds weren't returned.

About Thursday 3 September 1663

David G  •  Link

I had the same reaction to today's entry as Australian Susan ten years ago. If Sam was up early practicing his viall for an hour but thinks that the rest of the house slept through it, either he's deluding himself or people slept a lot more soundly in 1663 than they do today. As Australian Susan says, a dialogue about people who practice musical instruments at 5:00 am would have been fun.

About Saturday 15 August 1663

David G  •  Link

"So to my office and there by candle light doing business." Sam is surely commenting on the changing seasons as summer comes to a close. It can't be unusual for him to work late.

About Friday 31 July 1663

David G  •  Link

This entry appears to be either the first time or one of the first times that Sam complains about his eyesight when trying to read -- a consistent complaint later in the diary.

About Saturday 11 July 1663

David G  •  Link

It's sad to think that the medieval almanac probably burned in the Great Fire three years later.

About Saturday 6 June 1663

David G  •  Link

It seems likely that Sam got out of bed at 7:00 thinking it was still 5:00 and only discovered his mistake at noon rather than that he stayed in bed until noon. If nothing else, he had his "morning draft of whay" on the way to York House, after an unpleasant meeting with Carteret, so unless he had a morning draft in the afternoon, he must have been up and about well before he discovered his mistake about the time.

About Wednesday 6 May 1663

David G  •  Link

It's easy to understand why Minnes is so upset with Parliament -- many of the leading figures in the army and navy (starting with Albemarle and Sandwich) would have been disqualified from service, unless excepted from the bill (though those two surely would have been).

About Saturday 28 February 1662/63

David G  •  Link

I assume that docquet is the same as docket, i.e., the Penn's additional position is on the docket for consideration. If so, it's interesting how little has changed in the way that bureaucracies function.