Friday 2 February 1665/66

Up betimes, and knowing that my Lord Sandwich is come to towne with the King and Duke, I to wait upon him, which I did, and find him in very good humour, which I am glad to see with all my heart. Having received his commands, and discoursed with some of his people about my Lord’s going, and with Sir Roger Cuttance, who was there, and finds himself slighted by Sir W. Coventry, I advised him however to look after employment lest it should be said that my Lord’s friends do forsake the service after he hath made them rich with the prizes. I to London, and there among other things did look over some pictures at Cade’s for my house, and did carry home a silver drudger for my cupboard of plate, and did call for my silver chafing dishes, but they are sent home, and the man would not be paid for them, saying that he was paid for them already, and with much ado got him to tell me by Mr. Wayth, but I would not accept of that, but will send him his money, not knowing any courtesy I have yet done him to deserve it. So home, and with my wife looked over our plate, and picked out 40l. worth, I believe, to change for more usefull plate, to our great content, and then we shall have a very handsome cupboard of plate. So to dinner, and then to the office, where we had a meeting extraordinary, about stating to the Duke the present debts of the Navy, for which ready money must be had, and that being done, I to my business, where late, and then home to supper, and to bed.


19 Annotations

First Reading

cgs  •  Link

AH! baksheesh, how to grease the wheels of commerce.

Favor begets favour.

cape henry  •  Link

"...we shall have a very handsome cupboard of plate."
Brought back for me a vivid memory from a hundred years ago of spending money we didn't have on [junk] we didn't need to fill a cabinet no one saw and which was never opened. O how delighted we were!

cgs  •  Link

clean the silver no brasso so how??

baking soda [sodium bicarbonate]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodi…

Clean your silver often, and clean it promptly after use. Silver that is frequently used rarely has tarnish problems. When tarnish is not yet present, or when it's just beginning to develop, simply wash your silver in warm (not hot) water with a gentle, phosphate-free detergent.
http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Silv…

cgs  •  Link

Samuell do not chafe thy maid until you use thy chafing dish and it be duly cleaned then thee may chafe her if Eliza not be present: otherwise Elizabeth will chafe thee.

antique [f. CHAFING vbl. n. + DISH n.]

A vessel to hold burning charcoal or other fuel, for heating anything placed upon it; a portable grate.
1483

modern..
Definition: a utensil for keeping food warm, especially at the table or on a buffet that usually consists of a large pan with a cover, sometimes raised or footed to provide a spot for a small warming candle underneath

chafe, v.
[ME. chaufe-n, a. OF. chaufe-r, mod. chauffer to warm = Pr. calfar, It. calefare:{em}late L. or Rom. *calef{amac}re, contr. from L. calefac{ebreve}re to heat, make warm, f. cal{emac}re to be warm + fac{ebreve}re to make. In Eng. the diphthong au was, as in other AF. words, reduced to long (a{lm}), and this in regular phonetic course to (e{shti}): cf. gauge, safe, Ralph, chamber.]

I. Transitive senses.

1. To warm, heat. Obs.
1382

[
I. Transitive senses.

1. To warm, heat. Obs.
1382 ..

2. fig. To inflame (the feelings), excite, warm, heat. Obs.
c1325 ...
4. To rub so as to abrade or injure the surface; to fret, gall.
1526

5. fig. To heat or ruffle in temper; to vex, irritate.
?a1400

6. To scold. Obs.

b. slang. (See quot.; an ironical use of 1 or 3 or other prec. sense: cf. ANOINT.)
1673...
7. To become warm or hot. Obs.
1393..
8. ?To spoil by heating, to undergo decomposition (? by heating or rubbing). Obs.
?a1400
9. To rub; to press or strike with friction (on, upon, against). (Often with mixture of other notions: cf. 10c.)
1605 SHAKES. Lear IV. vi. 21 The murmuring Surge, That on th' vnnumbred idle Pebble chafes.

10. fig. To wax warm (in temper); to be angry, to rage; now usually, to display irritation of temper and impatience of restraint or obstacles, by fuming, fretting, and worrying oneself or others.
1525

b. with complement.
a1561 G. CAVENDISH Wolsey (1825) I. 220 He had an occasion greatly to chafe or fret the heart out of his belly.

c. Of the sea, etc.: To fret, rage, or fume. (Sometimes with a tinge of sense 9.)
1611 SHAKES. Wint. T. III. iii. 89, I would you did but see how it chafes, how it rages, how it takes vp the shore.
3. To rub with the hand; esp. to rub (a person's limbs, etc.) in order to restore warmth or sensation.
c1440

Terry Foreman  •  Link

John Evelyn's Diary

2d February, 1666. To London; his Majesty now come to White-hall, where I heard and saw my Lo. Maior (and breathren) make his speech of wellcome, and the two Sheriffs were knighted.

Australian Susan  •  Link

It was only in the late 17th century that silver tarnished with polluted air and needed cleaning.

Surely the "drudger" is a silver mug-like piece with a lid with holes in it for sifting sugar onto your fruit or whatever.
For example http://www.walshbrothers.co.uk/St… (I know this is a 21st copy of a 19thc original)

Paul Chapin  •  Link

"It was only in the late 17th century that silver tarnished with polluted air and needed cleaning."

Susan, that's a very interesting claim, which I never heard before. I tried to find out more on Wikipedia, but found no reference. Can you provide a source?

Mary  •  Link

Silverware.

L&M gloss 'drudger' as 'dredger, container for sweetmeats'.
OED quotes this entry of Pepys's diary in illustration of the definition " a box with a perforated lid for sprinkling powder over anything".

As for that tarnish, the widespread use of coal in 17th century London would certainly have led to an increased rate of tarnish, but since sulphur dioxide is one of the components of woodsmoke I doubt that pre-17th century silver remained completely tarnish-free.

Lawrence  •  Link

Being someone who collects old coins, recently I bought a George III emergency issue,(5 shillings, 1 dollar 1804) a coin that was over struck of a Spanish 8 reale coin! which was legal tender in the USA, until 1857, being quite unsightly with blackening marks, had to you a slice of lemmon to remove, now like many other coin collectors, I look forward to getting that tarnish back, except we call it toning!

JWB  •  Link

Silver sulfide tarnish

The amino acid cysteine contains an -SH group. You cook meat, your silver will tarnish. Onion's will do it, so will the flatulence of the cook.

jeannine  •  Link

“…we shall have a very handsome cupboard of plate.”
Brought back for me a vivid memory from a hundred years ago of spending money we didn’t have on [junk] we didn’t need to fill a cabinet no one saw and which was never opened. O how delighted we were!

Cape Henry --as I read today's entry I was wondering if Sam and Elizabeth actually used these plate items in their daily life (?), or entertaining (?) and then I read your annotation and thought -how true!

I am not sure if Sam's collection of plate was ornamental or really useful --any thoughts anyone?

Mary  •  Link

Sam's sense of decorum.

Gratifying to see that Sam distinguishes clearly between the outright inducement to grant putative future favour and the proffering of a suitable 'thank-you' for a favour done. Mr. Wayth has overstepped the mark.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

" ... but I would not accept of that, but will send him his money, not knowing any courtesy I have yet done him to deserve it. ..."

I wonder if in this instance Waith is too close to home for comfort, being paymaster to the Navy Treasurer, or SP is anxious still following Albemarle's comment, noted on January 30th., or perhaps he is now feeling sufficiently prosperous that he is not 'sweating the small stuff.' In the past SP has knowingly accepted similar inducements to grant favours, Gauden for example:

"This morning to the office comes Nicholas Osborne, Mr. Gauden’s clerke, to desire of me what piece of plate I would choose to have a 100l., or thereabouts, bestowed upon me in, he having order to lay out so much; and, out of his freedom with me, do of himself come to make this question. I a great while urged my unwillingnesse to take any, not knowing how I could serve Mr. Gauden, but left it wholly to himself; so at noon I find brought home in fine leather cases, a pair of the noblest flaggons that ever I saw all the days of my life; whether I shall keepe them or no I cannot tell; for it is to oblige me to him in the business of the Tangier victualling, wherein I doubt I shall not; but glad I am to see that I shall be sure to get something on one side or other, have it which will: so, with a merry heart, I looked upon them, and locked them up."
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Mary  •  Link

You could have a point there, MR. There is also the remaining atmosphere that hangs around in the wake of the prize goods affair, so perhaps Sam has decided to err on the side of discretion in the current climate.

cgs  •  Link

tarnished silver and tarnished reputations.

language hat  •  Link

I will be curious to see if Sam does actually pay for the plate himself, or if having stated his impeccable intentions he somehow fails to get around to actually doing anything about them.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"he was paid for them already, and with much ado got him to tell me by Mr. Wayth, but I would not accept of that, but will send him his money, not knowing any courtesy I have yet done him to deserve it."

Contrary to regulations, Robert Waith, Paymaster to the Navy Treasurer, supplied canvas to the navy office. An order to pay him over £720 was signed on 20 February. (Per L&M footnote)

Log in to post an annotation.

If you don't have an account, then register here.