Wednesday 7 December 1664
Lay long, then up, and among others Bagwell’s wife coming to speak with me put new thoughts of folly into me which I am troubled at. Thence after doing business at my office, I by coach to my Lady Sandwich’s, and there dined with her, and found all well and merry. Thence to White Hall, and we waited on the Duke, who looks better than he did, methinks, before his voyage; and, I think, a little more stern than he used to do.
Thence to the Temple to my cozen Roger Pepys, thinking to have met the Doctor to have discoursed our business, but he came not, so I home, and there by agreement came my Lord Rutherford, Povy, Gauden, Creed, Alderman Backewell, about Tangier business of accounts between Rutherford and Gauden. Here they were with me an hour or more, then after drinking away, and Povy and Creed staid and eat with me; but I was sorry I had no better cheer for Povy; for the foole may be useful, and is a cunning fellow in his way, which is a strange one, and that, that I meet not in any other man, nor can describe in him. They late with me, and when gone my boy and I to musique, and then to bed.
15 Annotations
First Reading
Pedro • Link
"the Duke, who looks better than he did, methinks, before his voyage;"
You cannot beat a course of Speleotherapy!
jeannine • Link
“Journal of the Earl of Sandwich” edited by R.C. Anderson
7th. Wednesday. Capt. Smith observed the Blazing Star from Cauda Leonis --39° 20’, Spica Virginis - 25° 34’, Arcturis - 56° 40’, being then near the head of Corvus, ¼ before 4 oclock in the morning.
JWB • Link
An Astronomical Description of the LateComet or Blazing Star; As it appeared inNew-England in the 9th, 10th, 11th, andin the beginning of the 12th Moneth,1664. Together with a Brief TheologicalApplication thereof. (1665) An OnlineElectronic Text Edition.Samuel Danforth∗Paul Royster (editor)
http://209.85.207.104/search?q=ca…
Terry Foreman • Link
"thinking to have met the Doctor to have discoursed our business"
The settlement, as L&M note, of the debt owed by the tailor Tom Pepys, at his death, to his cousin Dr. Thomas Pepys. Om 14 March we were told that Uncle Fenner "believes [Tom] owes...Dr. Thos. Pepys 30l., but that the Doctor confesses that he is paid 20l. of it" http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… so today's "business" had to do with £10.
Mary • Link
"my boy and I to music"
We've heard no more of that diagnosis of 'the stone' for the lad. Perhaps it was just a touch of colic?
Pedro • Link
The Blazing Star.
Over the next forty eight days or so Montagu records sightings on average about every two days, given measurements as shown in today's entry. He seems to have a great knowledge and interest in the heavens, and mentions many of the lesser known constellations and many individual stars.
(If any are interested in the sightings I can enter them, and save Jeannine the trouble.)
Robert Gertz • Link
"...among others Bagwell’s wife coming to speak with me put new thoughts of folly into me which I am troubled at."
Fight the Dark Side, Samuel...Fight it, I say.
Say, for a lady who is so troubled by what the fiendish CoA is about Mrs. B. sure keeps plying away at him...
"Well?"
"Put me off again."
"Damn...You did wear the lace frill? And the red bow?"
"I did. And they did well enough...But he had that nervous, shifty, bug-eyed look he gets with me sometimes when folks are about. I think he's scared for chance his clerks and such are catching on."
"Well, get him to try that alehouse again. Moll, we've got too far to let him weasel me out of my promotion now, the little...You did touch his sleeve and all..."
"'Oh, Mr. Pepys...'" gentle touch of sleeve...Wistfully pleading, yet alluring open-eyed stare "'...you know we do so look to you as our one friend.'"
"That should've done it. Well, have to try again when he's alone."
"You mean go back through those streets again at night? Will, there are limits, laddie."
"Now, Moll..."
"Perhaps you should talk to his uncle again. After all, this is as much his business as ours."
"Moll, Mr. Wight specifically said we was to leave him out of it...No contact at all till he's ready for him and Pepys' missus to catch you two together."
"Wish he'd get on with it then...Don't like having that little fellow hoppin about, all over me. God, how does a man like that win a beauty like that poor wife of his?"
Robert Gertz • Link
A useful fool...
Too bad Sir William Warren seems to be thinking otherwise about Sam himself these days.
I suppose the sad truth of the matter is poor Sam gets nearly as much in daily cuts and petty humiliations from his betters as praise, is well aware that the friendship of men like Penn and Warren in his case is usually interested and comes with strings (and stings), and so can't resist the chance to hammer away at a good-natured, generous (and perhaps not overly honest, as Sam has noted) fellow like Thomas Povey when that chance comes.
Paul Royster • Link
The working URL for the annotation above re Samuel Danforth's work on the Comet [JWB on Sat 8 Dec 2007, 01:59am] is: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/lib…
CGS • Link
blazing star; today one can at home see the nebulae of interest at;
http://earth.google.com/sky/skyed…
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
Another electronic edition of the Danforth text (JWB's URL having expired)
An astronomical description of the late comet or blazing star, as it appeared in New-England in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and the beginning of the 12th moneth, 1664. : Together with a brief theological application thereof. / By S. Danforth. ; [Seven lines of Scripture text]
Danforth, Samuel, 1626-1674.
Cambridge [Mass.]: Printed by Samuel Green,, 1665.
Evans Early American Imprint Collection
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans…
Terry Foreman • Link
"Tangier business of accounts between Rutherford and Gauden"
Rutherford was the son and heir of the late Governor of Tangier [ whom Pepys often referred to as Teviot ]. He received £7000 in September 1665: http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… (Per L&M footnote)
Robert Harneis • Link
‘I was sorry I had no better cheer for Povy; for the foole may be useful, and is a cunning fellow in his way, which is a strange one, and that, that I meet not in any other man, nor can describe in him.’
It is a long lane that has no turning. The ‘foole’ turned out to be very useful indeed at a crucial moment during Sam’s adventures at the height of the Popish plot. Sam was falsely accused of treason and being a Catholic. James, Pepys former butler was a key prosecution witness who had been suborned by one of the Earl of Shaftesbury’ s shadier hangers on, Colonel Scott. In February 1680, James unexpectedly fell mortally sick and, in a religious age, wanted to clear his conscience before death of the wrong he had done Pepys. He was prepared to make a deathbed confession but only to Thomas Povey who had always treated him kindly. In a dramatic late night appeal, Sam wrote to Povey asking him to go to James’ death bed and take down his confession, which Povey did. As a result Sam was cleared and James died happy, or at least happier, shortly afterwards.
When I have five minutes I will add the letter from Sam to Povey which is in the 1935 edition of Samuel Pepys Letters & the Second Diary 1656-1703 Ed. R.G.Howarth Dent & Sons.
I apologise to readers who already know the story but I was struck by the irony of today’ s entry.
Terry Foreman • Link
On 8 February 1665 Pepys was proposed as a Fellow by Thomas Povey FRS, a financier and colleague on the Tangier Committee. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Gerald Berg • Link
Robert, I for one love all that kind of stuff.
Speleotheraphy! Who knew that was a thing? I only heard of black lung.
"put new thoughts of folly into me..."
What fresh folly could this be? Hiring Bagley? Maybe secret assignations at the Cotton On Inn?