Friday 25 April 1662

All the morning at Portsmouth, at the Pay, and then to dinner, and again to the Pay; and at night got the Doctor to go lie with me, and much pleased with his company; but I was much troubled in my eyes, by reason of the healths I have this day been forced to drink.


12 Annotations

First Reading

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"but I was much troubled in my eyes,by reason of the healths.....forced to drink"
Excuses,excuses, besides ethanol does not affect the eyes; methanol doth.

Bob T  •  Link

Our boy has made a joke. It's not much of a joke as jokes go, but at least he has made some sort of effort. I bet that he was a riot at parties.

JWB  •  Link

"...healths I have this day been forced to drink."
They have taken yesterday's text to heart.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: "but I was much troubled in my eyes"

Don't worry, Shammy old boy, jesht do what I do ... close one of yer eyshes like *this*, and you can schee single agin! *hic*

David Quidnunc  •  Link

Perhaps the alcohol dehydrated him, making his eyes dry.

David Quidnunc  •  Link

And maybe the seaside town was windy.

A. Hamilton  •  Link

Just the sort of day that would have thrilled Elizabeth. Was he so mean to leave her behind?

roboto  •  Link

What exactly is the "Pay-house"? (or have I missed it previously?)

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

'pay house' later called Ticket Office, it is THE place where the Jack Tars, line up for their coin of the realm for furling and unfurling of sails and for so many months of eating cheese and hard tact. Relying on the ticket the Captain issued.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"Drink, Pepys! Or we shall denounce you to the King as a closet republican!" Sir William Penn cried.

"Never, sir! I have sworn oaths to both God Almighty and my dearest wife not to touch wine till my vows be out! Should I breech my vows, my soul be accursed!"

"Take him, Commissioner Pett! Force the wine down his throat! By God, we shall all be exposed as staunch Cromwellians should we not all toast the King's health with the whole yard watching!!"

"Mr. Pepys, as the head of England's greatest and monopolistic shipbuilding family, in the name of God, I implore you to drink the King's health!" Pett pleaded. "Surely He (and your she) will forgive this sin in sparing our lives for the King and Country's service! Would you have the Navy handed over to the likes of Prince Rupert and his no-nothing Cavalier ilk?!"

"Heaven forfend!" Pepys cried, grabbing the wine bottle.

Second Reading

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Very amusing Robert! :)

BUT, sorry to be a pedant, the word "closet" was certainly not in use in Sam's time in its modern sense, and I doubt that the word "republic" was used either in the context of the Commonwealth or Protectorate.. Does Pepys use it even once in his diary? I also suspect that the word "denounce" didn't come into general usage until the Terror of the French Revolution. Avoiding anachronism in an historical context is really important.

It's also worth the reminder that discussing past allegiances would have been considered bad taste - especially in the aftermath of the recent executions. Penn, Batten, the Petts, Sandwich had all worked for the other side. Of Pepys closest working colleagues, only Sir George Carteret had an unblemished record as a Royalist - and, at least in the early days of the Restoration, HE was rather resentful of perceived former enemies. Remember that he tried, via Sandwich, to get Pepys to sack Will Hewer because of his connection with Robert Blackburne.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Up to a point, Lady Sasha; OED has:

‘denounce adj. . . 6. a. To declare (a person or thing) publicly to be wicked or evil, usually implying the expression of righteous indignation; to bring a public accusation against; to inveigh against openly; to utter denunciations against.
1664 [implied in: J. Evelyn Sylva (1776) 568, I am no advocate for iron~works, but a Declared Denouncer. (at denouncer n. c)] . . ‘

and

‘closet . . 10. a. In reference to the closet as a place of privacy, the word was formerly almost adjectival = Private. Obs. exc. as in 10b.
1612–15 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. B iv. (T.), There are stage-sins and there are closet-sins.
1657 R. Austen Treat. Frvit-trees (ed. 2) ii. 159 The secret and closet good works of [God's] people.
1706 J. Drake in Earl of Leicester Secret Mem. Pref., That these were not written for closet memoirs appears by the stile and manner of them.

b. Secret, covert, used esp. with reference to homosexuality; closet queen, a secret male homosexual.
1967 W. Churchill Homosexual Behavior among Males ix. 184 The ‘closet queen’ or so-called latent homosexual becomes a menace..to the entire community . . ‘

and

‘republican, adj. and n. 1. a. Of a person or party: favouring, supporting, or advocating the republic as a form of state or government.
1653 T. Brachet Victory of Truth 8 This Republican Parliament..hath not thought any occasion more favourable to their design, than to act the Puritan, that they might come to the execution of their desires.
1695 R. Ferguson Whether Parl. Dissolved 12 Monarchical Men, have suffered themselves to be wheedled by the Republican Whigs, into a Conspiracy and Co-operation with them for the destruction of Regal Government . . ‘

I conclude that a Pepys contemporary could certainly have used the phrase ‘I will denounce you as a closet republican’ in the same sense as today - but ‘as a closet Catholic’ would be much more plausible.

I have often found that my a priori guess as to whether a meaning is new or old is often wrong.

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