Saturday 29 July 1665
Up betimes, and after viewing some of my wife’s pictures, which now she is come to do very finely to my great satisfaction beyond what I could ever look for, I went away and by water to the office, where nobody to meet me, but busy all the morning. At noon to dinner, where I hear that my Will is come in thither and laid down upon my bed, ill of the headake, which put me into extraordinary fear; and I studied all I could to get him out of the house, and set my people to work to do it without discouraging him, and myself went forth to the Old Exchange to pay my fair Batelier for some linnen, and took leave of her, they breaking up shop for a while; and so by coach to Kate Joyce’s, and there used all the vehemence and rhetorique I could to get her husband to let her go down to Brampton, but I could not prevail with him; he urging some simple reasons, but most that of profit, minding the house, and the distance, if either of them should be ill. However, I did my best, and more than I had a mind to do, but that I saw him so resolved against it, while she was mightily troubled at it. At last he yielded she should go to Windsor, to some friends there. So I took my leave of them, believing that it is great odds that we ever all see one another again; for I dare not go any more to that end of the towne.
So home, and to writing of letters — hard, and then at night home, and fell to my Tangier papers till late, and then to bed, in some ease of mind that Will is gone to his lodging, and that he is likely to do well, it being only the headake.
11 Annotations
First Reading
Robert Gertz • Link
"...after viewing some of my wife’s pictures, which now she is come to do very finely to my great satisfaction beyond what I could ever look for..."
Sam, you're killing us here. You know that, don't you?
***
Kudos by the way to you for doing what you could for poor Kate.
***
On the other hand...
"...I hear that my Will is come in thither and laid down upon my bed, ill of the headake, which put me into extraordinary fear; and I studied all I could to get him out of the house, and set my people to work to do it without discouraging him..."
"A strong young lad like you doesn't want to be indoors on a fine day like this."
"Mr. Pepys, I'm not feeling..."
"Nonsense. Fresh air's the ticket for you, Will. Lots and lots of it. Take the afternoon off, boy and enjoy yourself outside..." ("Outside." All the staff joins in.) "...and don't waste another precious moment in this stuffy old house." ("Which is to be thoroughly fumigated in ten minutes." hiss to maid.) "Off you go...Now." ("Burn the blankets.")
Australian Susan • Link
"....to the office, where nobody to meet me, but busy all the morning....."
Workaholics like Sam relish time without importuning persons interrupting them! Much harder these days with emails, phones, Blackberries, pagers etc. Although I think if Sam were a busy civil servant today, he would have all the techno toys: he admits to being fascinated by anything new.
cape henry • Link
Interesting to see Pepys expressing some tender concern for Kate Joyce and his apprehensions about her fate.
dirk • Link
"to writing of letters -- hard"
L&M have no "--", but then again punctuation in the diary text is largely editorial.
Mary • Link
"without discouraging him"
i.e. without disheartening him.
"You'll feel much better if you go home straight away and have a good lie down in your own bed. Really, we can manage perfectly well without you today. Don't worry about it."
JWB • Link
Kate Joyce
Twice, earlier in the diary, Sam recorded her having convulsive fits. He may have grown up with a particular concern for his cousin's health. Note he has not been asking after cousin Peg Kite.
JWB • Link
"...for I dare not go any more to that end of the towne."
Cripplegate, if I remember correctly from Mootes' book.
Robert Gertz • Link
Spoiler...
Anthony Joyce is apparently facing some economic woes which will culminate in tragedy following the Great Fire. If Kate is also epileptic it's quite possible he is not being callously indifferent to the risks but desperately anxious to keep an eye on his business and his wife's health at the same time.
Second Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
"I hear that my Will is come in thither and laid down upon my bed, ill of the headake, which put me into extraordinary fear; and I studied all I could to get him out of the house, and set my people to work to do it without discouraging him, and myself went forth to the Old Exchange ..."
Pepys says "my Will" instead of the usual 'Hewer,' indicating he likes the young man ... and then tells the maids to get him out of the house A.S.A.P. while he goes to the Exchange and the Joyce's and anywhere else he can think of for a few hours. If Hewer had had the plague, what were they supposed to do? Put him shivering on the pavement? Thank goodness it wasn't the case, but this is an insight to Pepys' [lack of] character.
JayW • Link
SDS - I think it’s more of an insight into the effects of the plague than ‘Pepys' [lack of] character’. The disease could kill in hours. The house could have been shut up with everyone inside it, probably a death sentence for all of them. If it was just a headache he could go home. If worse, better he died there than in Sam’s bed!
Interesting that he bought new linen for it.
Robert Harneis • Link
I agree with JayW. I imagine the whole Pepys household was in "extraordinary fear" and someone decided to send and ask the boss what to do. Knowledge of the two mens' close friendship and life long links, that lasted until Pepys died in Will's house forty odd years later, tell us that this is nothing to do with lack of character but commonsense in a potentially desperate situation.