Sunday 23 October 1664

(Lord’s day). Up and to church. At noon comes unexpected Mr. Fuller, the minister, and dines with me, and also I had invited Mr. Cooper with one I judge come from sea, and he and I spent the whole afternoon together, he teaching me some things in understanding of plates. At night to the office, doing business, and then home to supper. Then a psalm, to prayers, and to bed.


20 Annotations

First Reading

Terry F  •  Link

"Then a psalm, to prayers, and to bed."

Does anyone else suppose the psalm-singing was prompted by Mary Mercer's presence?

JWB  •  Link

May I here reiterate that I think Sam means charts when he writes plates. I don't think a one-eyed sailing master & friend just returned from the sea would be discussing subdivision lots.

James in Illinois  •  Link

"Plates:" L&M have "plats," which squares with the modern meaning of a chart of a piece of land (NCD7). Perhaps this refers to plats of naval fortifications, such as the mole at Tangier, or, as JWB surmises, the meaning is really a "chart," of land and sea. L&M also note that Cooper taught Sam'l the multiplication tables and some naval architecture in 1662--a good man to know for our rising expert on all things naval.

djc  •  Link

Plats or Plates a chart would be engraved on a copper plate for printing. The illustrated pages of a book, especially when, as in days of old, printed separately and tipped in, are still referred to as plates.

Terry F  •  Link

"PLAT(T): plate, plan, chart, map; arrangement; level; (flower) plot." (L&M Select Glossary)

One precedent for todays use was on last November 20:
"late at the office alone looking over some plates of the Northern seas, the White seas, and Archangell river, "
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Australian Susan  •  Link

This sounds like one boring day for Elizabeth. Or did she and Mercer kick up their heels and go off on the gad.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...also I had invited Mr. Cooper with one I judge come from sea..."

"Sam'l..." tense hiss. Quick bland smile to the unexpected guests.

"Dear?"

"What do you mean you think the other fellow 'come from the sea'? Don't you know the man? Are you inviting any one-eyed sailor's..." Another blandly pleasant smile to ole Cooper offering a friendly toast to their hostess... "...drinking mate to dinner now? He could be a pirate, some kind of maniac..." Nervous glance, followed by yet another blandly friendly smile, at the object of conversation. "He certainly looks it."

"Nonsense, Bess..."

"He makes me nervous, Sam'l."

"Darling, please. Captain Sparrow may be just a bit eccentric but..."

Pedro  •  Link

Cooper’s Plates.

My guess is that they are charts of the coastal sea areas.

Cooper is Master of the flagship Prince in which Sandwich is sailing, and probably has travelled with Sandwich, who came from Pompey on the 17th of October. Cooper is recorded later in the Sandwich Journal as taking depth soundings amongst other measurements.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Oh, Robert, I now have wonderful mind pictures of the inimitable Capt Jack Sparrow talking with Elizabeth - to Sam's increasing consternation. Thank you!

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

plates, psalms, prayers, Pepys

Sam's been unusually laconic the last couple of days. No scenes of gentry at Church, no ogling, no following lovely ladies home, no gossip -- and nothing at all on his unexpected visitor via the one-eyed Cooper except "one I judge come from sea" (Capt. Sparrow as good a name for the nameless as any). Wonder what's weighing on Sam's mind?

cgs  •  Link

In Samuell's day plate could be any metal flat/sheet or even a vessel container [ for whatever], that was uniform substance, for instance it could have been a Spanish coin

OED 1. a. A coin, esp. a gold or silver one; (from the 16th cent.) spec. the Spanish coin real de plata, worth an eighth of a piastre. Obs.
c1250

or even a horse race trophy
OED
6. orig. and chiefly Horse Racing. A silver or gold trophy given to the winner of a race or other sporting contest; (hence) a contest, esp. a horse race, in which such a trophy is awarded.
1639

then Pepys has used plate before as in :

OED:
1662 S. PEPYS Diary 27 Apr. (1970) III. 72 A salt-sellar of silver,..one of the neatest pieces of plate that ever I saw.

So it would be nice if the spelling be verified.

cgs  •  Link

"...he teaching me some things in understanding of plates..."
As it be an old salt that be a showing, besides showing a map it could be also be showing how to use a rope. And as Sam loves to best his nautical comrades and know why he they need all rope and also he could outwit Bagwell.

OED: Plat

2. Naut. A flat braided rope placed around or against a cable to prevent chafing; = PLAIT n. 1c. Obs.

1620-3 H. MANWAYRING Nomenclator Navalis 188 Platts, are flatt Roapes made..to save the Cabell in the Hawse from galling.
1678 E. PHILLIPS New World of Words (ed. 4), Plats [1706 Platts], (in Navigation) are certain flat Ropes, by which the Cable in the Hause, is preserved from Galling.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

" ... understanding of plats"

One relevant example of contemporary use:-

A description & plat of the sea-coasts of England, from London, up all the river of Thames, all along the coasts to Newcastle, and so to Edinburgh, all along Scotland, the Orchades, and Hitland, where the Dutch begin their fishing. As also: all those parts over against us, as Norway, Denmarke, the Sound, Holland, and Zealand. VVith the depths and showlds about these places, in what depths men may see the land. Of the tides and courses of the streams about these foresaid places, with the courses and distances, and how these lands doe lye one from the other, and from other lands. ... Unto which is added: a list containing the monethly wages of all officers, sea-men, and others serving in the states ships at sea: ... Usefull not onely for sea-men and marchants, but for all that desire to know where our fleets lye, ... and where the land armies did lye.
London : printed by M.S. for Tho: Jenner at the south-entrance of the Royall Exchange, 1653.
[6], 41 [i.e. 45], [1] p., [2] leaves of plates : map ; 4⁰.
Wing (2nd ed., 1994), D1139

cgs  •  Link

Cooper be the chappie that got Samuell from reckoning to arithmetique, now he be showing him more naval knowledge of running a ship.

Second Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Elizabeth must be giving him the silent treatment. Better apologize for hitting her, and then forgetting your anniversary.

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.

Jon  •  Link

Samuel records no comment about Cooper's relationship with Sandwich. Since Cooper was removed as master at Holmes' instigation, Sam must have an interest in how Cooper and Sandwich are getting along.
Sandwich's journal gives no clues as it merely records how Cooper and Sandwich exchange astronomical observations. Cooper may have kept his "fuddling" to the confines of his cabin and Sandwich may have restricted his gambling with the officers to low stakes only.
They have been aboard the London for about three months now. Time enough to observe the other's frailties I think.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Re: ’ . . understanding of plates. . .’

‘plat, n.3 < Probably originally a variant of plot n., reinforced by association with plat adj. and probably also plat n.2 Compare plat n.5
. . II. A diagram, outline, scheme, etc.
. . 2. A plan, a diagram, a design, esp. a ground plan of a building or of an area of land; a map, a chart; = plot n. 3b.. .
. . 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. iv. xv. 196 To prick the same down in a Blank Chart or Mercator's Plat.
. . 1756 R. Rolt New Dict. Trade Plat, a popular term, among mariners, &c. for a sea-chart . . ‘

(OED)

Bill  •  Link

Perhaps SP was using "Mr. Cooper ... one I judge come from sea" to learn more about nautical cable and its uses?

PLATTS [in a ship] Rope made of Rope Yarn to keep a Cable from galling.
PLATTS [among navigators] Brass Compasse made use of in Map or Charts.
---N. Bailey. An universal etymological English dictionary (20th ed.), 1763

PLAT. A name formerly given to what seamen now call foxes.
FOX. A seizing made by twisting together two or more short lengths of rope yarn with the hand. 'A Spanish fox is made by untwisting a single yarn and laying it up the contrary way.' (Dana's Seaman's Manual)
---A. Young. Nautical Dictionary, 1863

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Yes, this does sound like a boring day for Elizabeth -- it was her 24th birthday.

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