Saturday 24 October 1663

Up and to my office, where busy all the morning about Mr. Gauden’s account, and at noon to dinner with him at the Dolphin, where mighty merry by pleasant stories of Mr. Coventry’s and Sir J. Minnes’s, which I have put down some of in my book of tales. Just as I was going out my uncle Thomas came to the with a draught of a bond for him and his sons to sign to me about the payment of the 20l. legacy, which I agreed to, but he would fain have had from me the copy of the deed, which he had forged and did bring me yesterday, but I would not give him it. Says [he] I perceive then you will keep it to defame me with, and desired me not to speak of it, for he did it innocently. Now I confess I do not find any great hurt in the thing, but only to keep from me a sight of the true original deed, wherein perhaps there was something else that may touch this business of the legacy which he would keep from me, or it may be, it is really lost as he says it is. But then he need not have used such a slight, but confess it without danger.

Thence by coach with Mr. Coventry to the Temple, and thence I to the Six Clerks’ office, and discoursed with my Attorney and Solicitor, and he and I to Mr. Turner, who puts me in great fear that I shall not get retayned again against Tom Trice; which troubles me.

Thence, it being night, homewards, and called at Wotton’s and tried some shoes, but he had none to fit me. He tells me that by the Duke of York’s persuasion Harris is come again to Sir W. Davenant upon his terms that he demanded, which will make him very high and proud. Thence to another shop, and there bought me a pair of shoes, and so walked home and to my office, and dispatch letters by the post, and so home to supper and to bed, where to my trouble I find my wife begin to talk of her being alone all day, which is nothing but her lack of something to do, for while she was busy she never, or seldom, complained … [She hath also a pain in the place which she used to have swellings in; and that that troubles me is that we fear that it is my matter that I give her that causes it, it never coming but after my having been with her. – L&M]

The Queen is in a good way of recovery; and Sir Francis Pridgeon hath got great honour by it, it being all imputed to his cordiall, which in her dispaire did give her rest and brought her to some hopes of recovery.

It seems that, after the much talk of troubles and a plot, something is found in the North that a party was to rise, and some persons that were to command it are found, as I find in a letter that Mr. Coventry read to-day about it from those parts.1

33 Annotations

First Reading

Terry F  •  Link

L&M fill in the ellipsis thusly:

"while she was busy she never, or seldom, complained. She hath also a pain in the place which she used to have swellings in; and that that troubles me is that we fear that it is my matter that I give her that causes it, it never coming but after my having been with her."

A. De Araujo or DrCari?

Terry F  •  Link

(Of course, there is a vast body of experience among us!)

thomas smith  •  Link

I would like to quote the OED definition of ANNOTATION:"A NOTE BY WAY OF EXPLANATION OR COMMENT"

I personally find many of the comments found within the annotation to be more appropriate to a discussion forum. I would hope the host of this site will define specific rules for ANNOTATION.

Kent Kelly  •  Link

Thomas Smith: don't read the annotations at all, or, skip over the names of the folks whose comments you frequently don't like which is what I do.

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Anybody know anything about "Harris"?
Presumably a theatrical person, but I don't remember hearing him referred to before, and the linked reference is blank.

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Harris
Sorry, should have looked before I posted. Per Pauline's posting on 2 March 2005 under Davenant, Harris played Romeo in the first post-Restoration performance of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Davenant. http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

That leaves open the question of what the issue was between him and Davenant that caused the Duke to intervene, and whether it's Harris or Davenant that will be "high and proud" as a result - I'm guessing it's Harris, because Davenant was already high and proud enough.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...which I have put down some of in my book of tales."

May it be found and published one day.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"Says [he] I perceive then you will keep it to defame me with, and desired me not to speak of it, for he did it innocently. Now I confess I do not find any great hurt in the thing, but only to keep from me a sight of the true original deed, wherein perhaps there was something else that may touch this business of the legacy which he would keep from me, or it may be, it is really lost as he says it is. But then he need not have used such a slight, but confess it without danger."

Sam, you display admirable tolerance. But you do seem to hold all the cards, including, if I understood yesterday's entry rightly, the support of your cousin, rascally uncle Tom's son, who stands to lose his share if dear father's fraud succeeds.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Given Terry F's unveiling of matters mysterious and personal between our boy and girl, I suspect we'll be hearing of a visit to Mrs. Lane shortly.

Terry F  •  Link

Or a visit to Dr. Hollier.

Patricia  •  Link

I don't want to say anything gross, BUT...
in matters of intimacy, personal hygiene is extremely important to prevent various sorts of infections and irritations, and here we have Sam (as no doubt was common in his time) wearing the same undergarments day in and day out, and probably not washing his privates much, if at all. And Liz no doubt much the same. He blames his "matter" but it may have been him, himself.

DrCari  •  Link

The recurrent painful swellings in Beth's vulva might well be an irritated or blocked Bartholin's gland that has evolved into a cyst. (Oversimplified it is an excruciatingly tender boil inside the inner labia.) This is a fairly common gynecological complaint even today in an age of good hygeine. The friction from intercourse tends to aggravate a blocked gland and cause painful inflammation and swelling. Treatment today is simple...lancing and drainage with a course of antibiotics. Untreated, these glandular blockages will tend to recur.

Xjy  •  Link

Annotations
Explanation and comment is what is found here, in rich profusion. And from various angles and perspectives and in various styles. A daily dose from a cultural cornucopia. Making post-revolutionary London, England and Europe a lot more concrete for most of us.
And just for the record, there are in fact guidelines for the annotations, which we follow slavishly.

Justin  •  Link

Mrs Pepys pain sounds like she has a simple yeast infection which becomes agitated after sex. (I speak from sad personal experience with an ex-gf).

This may also tie in with his 'slyme' of yesterday of course. Eww.

Modern cure: Canesten, with 100% effect. Ancient cure: yoghurt with 50-75% effect.

Martin  •  Link

Beth's boredom
I see another storm brewing. Sam goes out early in the morning, has a busy day, comes home at night, shows off his new shoes, shares with Beth at supper some of the pleasant tales heard from Minnes and Coventry, hits the sack pretty contented, and Beth plays the "I'm so alone" card. And mentions a gynecological complaint, to boot. His solution, "you just need something to do," doesn't cut the mustard. No doubt this costs our boy several hours of sleep being "troubled" and remembering that last time around, the loneliness issue led to the entire ill-fated Ashwell episode.

andy  •  Link

Remember his pain on ejaculation a few days ago? Urethritis? Cloudy urine? Sam giving Bess a STI?

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I wonder what exactly constitutes a "rising". Is an attack by some group on a public office or official required or could any meeting of armed men (and/or women) be taken as such a thing? Say for example my Lord High Sheriff Andy Taylor likes his neighbor Barney's land and wife and decides that today's gathering of Barney, Floyd, Gomer, and (sad betrayal) Opie at Barney's is a "rising"...Requiring the maximum penalty. Be interesting to know how easily an official could claim such a thing. (I assume very easily.)

Terry F  •  Link

Barry - very nice catch, well worth the read.

Maurie Beck  •  Link

Sam giving Bess a STI?

Sure sounds like it. If true, it won't be clearing up anytime soon. According to Kevin Siena, it was extremely prevalent in London in the 17th century and was probably the most common disease seen by medical practioners of the day (see the url of the Siena pdf below).

According to Wikipedia,there was no effective treatment for VD until the 20th century (e.g. 1910 the use of an arsenic compound and use of antibiotics just after WWII). Mercury was used to treat syphilis, but it is toxic and often caused more harm than good. It may have been effective, but no proper studies were ever conducted. It was also used as a diuretic, which might explain its use as a treatment for syphilis. Guaiacum, a gum resin from a number of plant species was also used. In addition, there were all sorts concoctions (i.e. snake oil) offered by people treating the disease that supposedly cured not only VD but many other diseases as well.

Does anyone know what was done to cure or alleviate the symptoms in those days, long before antibiotics? Perhaps it was one of those many medical complaints that one had to live with.

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/bull…

Australian Susan  •  Link

In the 16th century, it was thought that if you peed vigousoursly after intercourse that this would flush out any nasties you may have picked up from your visit to the local brothel. Although we have been talking about STIs, we have to remember that Sam, lecherous little man that he was, usually did not have full intercourse with his conquests, so he isn't likely to have picked up an STI and we know that he was positively frightened of prostitutes!

Australian Susan  •  Link

Not only is Sam faced with a bored Beth, but, as she has pain in a tender area, he cannot cheer her up with "enjoyment" in the early morning. Wonder what he will do about this boredom problem? Beth obviously either can't or won't make girlfriends of Mesdames Batten and Penn, but she doesn't seem to be visiting Jane Turner nor Lady Sandwich. She does seem to be isolating herself.

Bradford  •  Link

Perhaps a short course of dancing lessons. . . . No, wait. . . . More extensive instruction in the globes? French romances? Fancywork? She cannot attend the theatre unattended, and her husband's oaths. . . . The plight of the intelligent woman of parts with no outlet for her energies: here we are again. Even had she started a clandestine diary of her own, it would not most likely have been in cipher, and after her death, . . .

Robert Gertz  •  Link

As I've always said, the solution for Bess was sitting...Or laying out owing to hunger...Right at the Naval Office door. Having Bess visit the personnel (properly chaperoned of course) and collecting seamen's and their wives' complaints and info on their working/living conditions as Sam's unofficial delegate would have given her much to do and benefited him enormously. And it's not unheard of even at the time (slight spoiler)...

...among others, Sir John Robinson (Tower superintendent)'s wife will be noted by Sam as involved in the care of Dutch POWs.

Nix  •  Link

Elizabeth's complaint --

Psychosomatic symptoms brought on by seeing Pembleton show up at church with that hussy of a wife?

Pedro  •  Link

"the Farneley Wood Plot."

The site that Barry quotes above describes one of the components of what became known as the "Northern Plot". The site puts forward two theories, one being Royalist entrapment.

Also on the 12th of October late on the evening ...

Captain Robert Atkinson led a party near the Westmorland and Durham border where they hoped to link up with larger forces. They found themselves alone on the moors and as they neared Kaber-Rigg there numbers began to dwindle and they dispersed. The authorities were already aware of this rebellion and took action to arrest the would-be rulers of England...thus putting an end to the Kaber-Rigg Plot.

(Intelligence and Espionage in the reign of Charles II by Alan Marshall.)

The above book is worth reading if anyone is interested in the pure espionage of CII's reign. Atkinson had escaped to the Westmorland Hills and after news reached him of the collapse of the rebellion in Yorkshire he gave himself up. The fact that he survived until 1667 and took part in other activites may help the entrapment theory?


pepf  •  Link

Harris
"...leaves open the question of what the issue was..."

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Thence homewards, and in the way first called at Wotton’s, the shoemaker’s, who tells me the reason of Harris’s’ going from Sir Wm. Davenant’s house, that he grew very proud and demanded 20l. for himself extraordinary, more than Betterton or any body else, upon every new play, and 10l. upon every revive; which with other things Sir W. Davenant would not give him, and so he swore he would never act there more, in expectation of being received in the other House;

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"my uncle Thomas came to the with a draught of a bond for him and his sons to sign to me about the payment of the 20l. legacy"

The bond (24 October) is in PL [The Pepysian Library of Magdalene College, Cambridge] (unoff.), Freshfield MSS no. 13. Pepys was now secured from any action for the recovery of the £20 by Mary Pepys or her husband, and any charge of having improperly paid a legacy not payable according to the will during the lives of her parents. (L&M footnote)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"my uncle Thomas came to me with a draught of a bond "

So L&M transcribe.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Farnley Wood Plot was a conspiracy in northern England in October 1663. Intended as a major rising to overturn the return to monarchy in 1660, it was undermined by informers, and came to nothing.[1]
The major plotters were Joshua Greathead and Captain Thomas Oates, operating primarily in Farnley, West Yorkshire, but also with links to Gildersome, Morley, West Yorkshire and Leeds. The aim was to capture and overthrow the Royalist strongholds of Leeds city centre. The plot was disbanded on 12 October 1663. Twenty-six men were arrested, imprisoned and then hanged, drawn and quartered as traitors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far…

Louise Hudson  •  Link

At least Pepys wasn't blaming Liz's complaint on Pembleton.

Life was hard for everyone in those days, given the conditions of sanitation, disease, medicine and housing, especially for women. It was bad enough for Liz who was relatively well off, imagine what it was like for poor women living in shacks or in the streets.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Uncle Thomas is lucky, both that Sam is relatively relaxed about his forgery, and the time he lived in. Forgery, and uttering forgery (Passing off a forged document as genuine) were currently only Common Law offences. In the following century, after the founding of the Bank of England, Forgery and Uttering became felonies subject to capital punishment under what became known as the "Bloody Code".

https://hauntedpalaceblog.wordpre…

StanB  •  Link

Went through Farnley today, i live about 2 miles from there in a place called Seacroft famous for the Battle of Seacroft Moor 30 March 1643 where about a Thousand Parliamentarians were cut down, Sir Thomas Fairfax was quoted at that time saying it was "the greatest loss we ever received".I'm very much a Civil War enthusiast and count myself incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much History relating to it , Hoping to get a Metal Detector soon and take my interest a step higher, for more info on the Battle of Seacroft Moor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat…

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