Wednesday 6 February 1660/61
Called up by my Cozen Snow, who sat by me while I was trimmed, and then I drank with him, he desiring a courtesy for a friend, which I have done for him. Then to the office, and there sat long, then to dinner, Captain Murford with me. I had a dish of fish and a good hare, which was sent me the other day by Goodenough the plasterer.
So to the office again, where Sir W. Pen and I sat all alone, answering of petitions and nothing else, and so to Sir W. Batten’s, where comes Mr. Jessop (one whom I could not formerly have looked upon, and now he comes cap in hand to us from the Commissioners of the Navy, though indeed he is a man of a great estate and of good report), about some business from them to us, which we answered by letter.
Here I sat long with Sir W., who is not well, and then home and to my chamber, and some little, music, and so to bed.
24 Annotations
First Reading
Todd Bernhardt • Link
re: "Goodenough the plasterer"
Now *there's* some honesty in branding, eh? "When it's got to be good enough, call Goodenough. When it's got to be the best, well ... call us anyway, and we'll try."
Love the remark about Mr. Jessop and the shift in social strata.
Lawrence • Link
I had a dish of fish and a good hare, which was sent me the other day by Goodenough the plasterer. I know we go over the top these days with food hygiene, but "golly sam" was that smelly fish that good that you were still prepared to woof it down?
Barbara • Link
Perhaps the dish of fish was freshly bought, and only the hare was a present from Goodenough.
Nix • Link
The fish --
if not fresh, it might have been smoked or salted.
vincent • Link
"...while I was trimmed..." It does seem that he is living the Gent's life Barber is doing the short back and sides and scraping of chops in the the house?
Reading this, I do get the feeling his daily commute is like that of the Prime Ministers. No braying 'orses and cussing Draymen on a daily basis.
Emilio • Link
More commissioner fun
Never mind the man behind the curtain, or the link above. These aren't the commissioners of the Navy Board but the parliamentary Commissioners that have been confusing everyone for the last week and more.
In today's episode, we meet Mr. Jessop, more or less Sam's opposite number with the parliamentary Commissioners. As Our Man notes with satisfaction, Jessop has an impressive resume; the L&M Companion calls him "one of the most important public officials of the Commonwealth". Previous situations include:
Clerk to the Admiralty Committee 1645-53
Clerk to the Council of State 1654-60
Deputy-Clerk for the duchy of Lancaster (almost a separate kingdom within England, from what I understand) 1648-present
Now he is also acting as secretary to the Commissioners. How satisfying to receive him asking for favors, and how more so to respond to the Commissioners' personal visit with a letter. It seems that the experts in Navy matters are getting proper deference once again.
Glyn • Link
Possible slogans? How about "Goodenough for Government work"
roberto • Link
"he comes cap in hand"
This may be the first recorded instance of this cliche. To come "cap in hand" means to come before someone showing outward signs of humility or subservience.
The Bishop • Link
"Let him go hence, and with his cap in hand"
---Shakespeare>King Henry V>Act 4. Scene V
vincent • Link
"cap in hand " sign of pecking order, see Quakers and others about doffing ones' ***, along with bended knee etc.. my dreaded sires.
language hat • Link
cap in hand:
Even before Shakespeare:
There was no man would crouch or creepe to Judge with cap in hand,
They lived safe without a Judge, in everie Realme and lande.
Arthur Golding, The Fifteen Books of Ovid's Metamorphoses, 1567 (I.107-8)
http://www.elizabethanauthors.com…
Second Reading
Sasha Clarkson • Link
Sam might think that the Sir Williams are rogues, but he always seems happy to keep them company when they aren't well.
Chris Squire UK • Link
Roberto 7.2.04:
‘ . . 4.h. From the custom of uncovering the head (abridged to ‘raising’ or merely ‘touching’ the cap) in sign of reverence, respect, or courtesy, come many expressions, such as to come with cap in hand . .
1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis i. f. 2, No man woold crowche..too judge with cap in hand.
. . 1675 T. Brooks Word in Season 50 in Paradice Opened, O the caps, knees, and bows that Haman had.
. . 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 29 Mar. 109/1 A more militant approach is called for and an end to this cap-in-hand begging for fair play.’ [OED]
Pandora • Link
I once walked past a Goodenough College near Grays Inn, in London.. I am curious to know if there is a relation there. It is very close to Holborn and Chancery lane, which are locations our man Sam seems to frequent!
Doug Quixote • Link
Cap in hand - a translation from Ovid's Latin by Golding, 1567 (Golding was Edward De Vere's uncle, and Latin tutor - De Vere was then 17 years old) and the same phrase used by Shakespeare in Henry V . . . how many coincidences does it take to amount to a certainty?
Third Reading
MartinVT • Link
Here's a nice bit on the background of the name Goodenough: https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname…
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Called up by my Cozen Snow, who sat by me while I was trimmed, and then I drank with him, he desiring a courtesy for a friend, which I have done for him."
L&M: John Snow - Pepys' relative. Of Blackwall; in 1666 occupying a house taxed on 6 hearths.
So he's a well-to-do relative -- and now we know why the Pepys were invited to lunch last Sunday. He wanted a favor -- things never change.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
San Diego Sarah • Link
The "Commissioners of the Navy" in this case were Members of Parliament assembled for the sole purpose of paying off the Army and Navy and therefore had no servants/clerks assigned for the work. Pepys made a mistake.
As I recall this Commission included William Prynne MP
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Col. John Birch MP
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
and the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Richard Browne MP
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
They all had brief experience in dealing with the sailors and paperwork, but have discovered it's not as simple as it appeared when they were just helping.
Now we can add another name:
William Jessop, as their clerk -- probably an equal to Mr. Hayter. What a step-down for a former Admiralty official (secretary to Warwick 1642-5 and to the Admiralty Committee 1645-53), after which he moved to the Council of State (as Assistant Clerk in 1653, and Clerk 1654-9, 1659-60). But from the Parliamentary Committee's point-of-view, he's an educated person to have behind the scenes to get The Navy Pay done, once and for all.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Rev. Ralph, in nearby Essex, says the weather "Feb. 10: from the 6. to this night most misling, but dark weather, ..."
Noun: misle (uncountable)
A fine rain or thick mist; mizzle.
Verb: misle (third-person singular simple present misles, present participle misling, simple past and past participle misled)
To rain in fine drops; to mizzle.
Etymology 2: From misled, the standard irregular past tense of mislead, being misconstrued as *misle + -ed.
[Too bad, Pepys -- the laundry will be drying all over the house for the next few days. Stoke the fires.]
Then Rev. Ralph reports his daughter's ague is giving her problems. So far, so good. But then he lapses into one of his what I think to be a Puritan example of non-logical/magical thinking:
"god sanctify his dealing to the parents, and then remove the stroke from the child. god good in the word, awakening to me(,) the lord sanctify my heart to fear his name, my cattle were lousy, it proceeds from the blood, lord keep putrefying corruption out of my heart."
My guess on this: He prays God to not punish the children for their parents' errors. He asks a good God for inspiration and help as his cattle are "lousy" [not producing milk? Got hoof rot? Hiding in the bottom of the creek?] which he thinks is God's judgment on the recent [by implication Royalist] bloodshed. Then he asks for God to remove his inpure thoughts.
He's a Cambridge University-educated man, and in the 1650s was considered a Greek scholar. Yes, this is his personal Diary, and not written for our edification. But it is an example of how "lousy cattle" were taken to be a sign from God about current events or the Rev. Ralph's own behavior, he's not sure which.
Pepys' education both at University and from the Montagu family, has been broadminded enough for him to grow out of that sort of Puritan dogma. He seems to now be a Presbyterian-trying-to-understand-the-Church-of-England (hence his dislike of lazy sermons). He no longer believes things are preordained or signs to be interpreted. He thinks conscientious work and plain dealing will make him successful; there's nothing magical or unlogical about that.
Maybe growing up around a tailor's shop helped -- measurements, the cause-and-effect of cutting things correctly or incorrectly, was enough? Also, being exposed to Montagu running his estates and at sea, reacting successfully to the elements, taught Pepys logical thinking.
It's a fact that many Early Modern philosophers were also mathemeticians. After you accept that 2 plus 2 always equals 4, your ability to organize thought follows. When enough people independently got their thoughts organized, the Enlightenment followed. That will take another 100 years,
JayW • Link
‘Lousy cattle’. Could mean infested with lice.
San Diego Sarah • Link
HayW -- you are right! That obvious answer never occurred to me, but I found this article which confirms your point:
'Lice are a common winter problem in cattle, especially in cold climates. Heavy infestations can rob valuable nutrition when cattle need it most, decreasing gain and leaving cattle more susceptible to disease.' (In calves, moderate-to-heavy lice infestation has led to a 0.21 lbs/day reduced weight gain, according to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln study.)
https://www.beefmagazine.com/catt…
Not being a farm girl, that is outside my experience. What we learn from Pepys' Diary!
Yes, the article is about American cattle, but the fact that lice are a winter problem means the information can be applied to Britain.
The article continues further down 'Lice are spread by direct contact; calves pick up lice from their mothers or herdmates. Lice can infest cattle all year round, but their numbers are typically low in summer because most lice shed off in spring with winter hair, says Jack Campbell, a University of Nebraska professor emeritus and veterinary entomologist.
'Maintaining cattle on a high plane of nutrition is the first step in lice control. “You need to ensure they’re healthy going into winter and well fed,” Williams says. Healthy cattle in good body condition have more resistance to lice and rarely carry heavy loads, he adds.'
Treatment today is with insecticides -- who knows what Rev. Ralph used.
The Royalists are definitely to blame!
GrahamT • Link
"Treatment today is with insecticides -- who knows what Rev. Ralph used."
Prayer!
San Diego Sarah • Link
HAHAHAHA you're probably right, GrahamT. That answer was also too easy for me.
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Diary of John Evelyn (Vol 1)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41…
EDITED FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS by WILLIAM BRAY
M. WALTER DUNNE, PUBLISHER -- WASHINGTON & LONDON
COPYRIGHT, 1901
6th February, 1661.
To London, to our Society, where I gave notice of the visit of the Danish Ambassador-Extraordinary, and was ordered to return him their acceptance of that honor, and to invite him the next meeting day.
@@@
“Our society” = the Royal Society =
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Danish Ambassador Extraordinary, possibly Rosenwing, Henry Wishelme, Danish deputy extraordinary in England in 1661 = https://www.british-history.ac.uk…