Sunday 20 May 1666

(Lord’s day). With my wife to church in the morning. At noon dined mighty nobly, ourselves alone. After dinner my wife and Mercer by coach to Greenwich, to be gossip to Mrs. Daniel’s child. I out to Westminster, and straight to Mrs. Martin’s, and there did what I would with her, she staying at home all the day for me; and not being well pleased with her over free and loose company, I away to Westminster Abbey, and there fell in discourse with Mr. Blagrave, whom I find a sober politique man, that gets money and increase of places, and thence by coach home, and thence by water after I had discoursed awhile with Mr. Yeabsly, whom I met and took up in my coach with me, and who hath this day presented my Lord Ashly with 100l. to bespeak his friendship to him in his accounts now before us; and my Lord hath received it, and so I believe is as bad, as to bribes, as what the world says of him. Calling on all the Victualling ships to know what they had of their complements, and so to Deptford, to enquire after a little business there, and thence by water back again, all the way coming and going reading my Lord Bacon’s “Faber Fortunae,” which I can never read too often, and so back home, and there find my wife come home, much pleased with the reception she had there, and she was godmother, and did hold the child at the Font, and it is called John.

So back again home, and after setting my papers in order and supping, to bed, desirous to rise betimes in the morning.


26 Annotations

First Reading

Lawrence  •  Link

"straight to Mrs. Martin’s, and there did what I would with her, she staying at home all the day for me; and not being well pleased with her over free and loose company"
That's right Mr Pepys, you show and tell her how to be moral?

JWB  •  Link

"...which I can never read too often..."

Martin Luther, in his "Table Talk", advised reading a few good books again & again rather than many books just once.

cape henry  •  Link

"...and my Lord hath received it, and so I believe is as bad, as to bribes, as what the world says of him."
This may be one of the most unintentionally funny lines in the diary (if you discount the one mentioned above by L. of course).

Bryan M  •  Link

"to be gossip to Mrs. Daniel’s child"

From the Online Etymology Dictionary:
'gossip O.E. godsibb "godparent," from God + sibb "relative" (see sibling). Extended in M.E. to "any familiar acquaintance" (1362), especially to woman friends invited to attend a birth, later to "anyone engaging in familiar or idle talk" (1566). Sense extended 1811 to "trifling talk, groundless rumor." The verb meaning "to talk idly about the affairs of others" is from 1627.'

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...and not being well pleased with her over free and loose company, I away to Westminster Abbey, and there fell in discourse with Mr. Blagrave, whom I find a sober politique man, that gets money and increase of places..."

And darn that Diana Crisp for not being as good as she should be...And that Bagwell for letting you 'vanquer' her...And that Mercer for letting you feel her breasts. What is wrong with these women, eh Sam? Why can't they be sober and politique like Blagrave and get money and increase of place...And well, like you and Lady Castlemaine...

***
"...after I had discoursed awhile with Mr. Yeabsly, whom I met and took up in my coach with me, and who hath this day presented my Lord Ashly with 100l. to bespeak his friendship to him in his accounts now before us; and my Lord hath received it, and so I believe is as bad, as to bribes, as what the world says of him."

I know...For a Lord to sell himself for 100Ls. Shocking...When you yourself, an untitled commoner are becoming reluctant to sell for less than 400L.

Of course Lady Castlemaine holds out for 10,000+...But then you aren't quite willing to do what she does, eh Sam? Sam?

***

cgs  •  Link

influence peddler??

".... Mr. Yeabsly,...

...who hath this day presented my Lord Ashly with 100l. to bespeak his friendship to him in his accounts now before us; and my Lord hath received it, and so I believe is as bad, as to bribes, as what the world says of him...."

bribe n
interesting origins.
another entree for SP
1. A thing stolen or robbed; theft, robbery; spoil, plunder. Obs. (The Chaucer quotation is doubtful: if the n. is right, it might perh. have the sense of ‘an alms’, as in OF.)
c1386 CHAUCER Friar's T.

2. ‘A reward given to pervert the judgment or corrupt the conduct’ (J.). a. The earlier sense probably regarded it as a consideration extorted, exacted, or taken by an official, a judge, etc.; i.e. as the act of the receiver: cf. BRIBER.
1535..
1611 BIBLE 1 Sam. viii. 3 His sonnes..tooke bribes, and peruerted iudgement.
..
b. But it is now applied to a consideration voluntarily offered to corrupt a person and induce him to act in the interest of the giver, e.g. a consideration given to a voter to procure his vote.
1555 ...

1667 PEPYS Diary (1879) IV. 340 His rise hath been his giving of large bribes.

3. (perh.) Rascally or execrable behaviour; clamour. Cf. BRIBER 1b, quot. a1400. Obs.
a1560..
4. Comb., as bribe-broker, -brokerage, -monger; bribe-free, -worthy adjs.; bribe-service, a service done for a bribe. Also BRIBE-TAKER, -TAKING.

Bribe v

1. trans. To take dishonestly; to purloin; to steal, rob; to obtain by abuse of trust, or by extortion; to extort. Obs.
c1386 CHAUCER Cook's T...

1. trans. To take dishonestly; to purloin; to steal, rob; to obtain by abuse of trust, or by extortion; to extort. Obs.
c1386 CHAUCER Cook's T..

2. To influence corruptly, by a reward or consideration, the action of (a person); to pervert the judgement or corrupt the conduct by a gift. Const. with a consideration, to an action, to do a thing.
1528..
3. trans. To purchase or obtain by bribery. arch.
1718

4. fig. To gain over by some influence.
1595 SHAKES. John II. i.

briber
1. A vagabond, strolling vagrant; = F. bribeur, It. and Sp. bribon. Obs. (The last quot. belongs doubtfully here.)
1483

b. Hence: Scoundrel, wretch, rascal. (Cf. a similar use of beggar, vagabond, thief.) Obs.
1387 ..
b. Hence: Scoundrel, wretch, rascal. (Cf. a similar use of beggar, vagabond, thief.) Obs.
1387 ..
3. A judge or other official who levies ‘blackmail’ upon those to whom he should administer justice; one who exacts or accepts bribes; a bribee. Cf. BRIBE-TAKER. Obs.
1520 WHITTINTON Vulg. (1527)

4. One who offers or gives a bribe.
1583..

5. A thing that bribes, a price paid. Obs.
1607

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"For a Lord to sell himself for 100Ls. Shocking…When you yourself, an untitled commoner are becoming reluctant to sell for less than 400L."

Indeed. L&M agree: "The story of the bribe is probably untrue....Ahley ...was not corrupt and in any case was too rich to be corrupted by the gift of £100. Yeabsley had paid Pepys £300 p.a. since getting the contract...." Yeabsley may have known Pepys played a bit fast and loose with tales about ££, so why shouldn't he?

Michael Robinson  •  Link

" ... all the way coming and going reading my Lord Bacon’s “Faber Fortunae,” which I can never read too often, ... "

Thought for the day ...

" ... And certainly there be not two more fortunate properties, than to have a little of the fool, and not too much of the honest. ..." Bacon, 'Of fortune ...' (1601)
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/p…

Firenze  •  Link

Ah, the 17th century gentleman's Sunday: bit of church-going, bit of adultery, bit of hypocrisy, read a good book.

Tony Eldridge  •  Link

"Bribes" is another of those words that changes with the user. You take a bribe, I accept commision.
Or, in the case of our UK MP's, I am caught robbing the till, they are claiming expenses.

Albatross  •  Link

Here in the States, we call it "lobbying."

Mary  •  Link

"at noon dined mighty nobly"
but, presumably, not on large quantities of lobster.

Paul Dyson  •  Link

"and not being well pleased with her over free and loose company"

What is Sam not pleased about? Does he mean she is "over-free" (i.e. too free) with him? Surely that's why he visits her! And this visit was evidently pre-arranged to fit in with Bess' trip to Greenwich. Or does "over" mean "about" and he is jealous that she also has other gentleman callers and is not his exclusively (not counting Mr Martin of course)? It does seem another case of double standards with a strong touch of snobbery thrown in.

cgs  •  Link

“over-free”
all the Toms may participate

language hat  •  Link

Yeah, I think he wants to be the only vice in her life.

Second Reading

psw  •  Link

Free and loose company: no, he wants to protect her from mal influences which may harm her... which may harm his access to her. Yes, if is for him, but many do like those they cuckold with.
How much do we wonder he pays per tryst? Purlease do not tell me these are freebies.

Mary K  •  Link

Has Samuel encountered another "out of hours" customer at Betty Martin's Westminster place today? Sunday observance regulations with regard to day-to-day activities were not relaxed after the Commonwealth period, so Betty's normal drapery business can hardly have been open to trade today and I suspect Samuel would have mentioned having encountered another man at her premises if that had been the case. Perhaps she has been a little too free (boastful?) about mentioning others of her gentleman customers and this has displeased him. If she gossips about them perhaps she gossips about him, too.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Mrs. Daniel’s child"

John, son of John Daniel. Mrs Daniel was the daughter of Pepys's Greenwich landlady, Mrs Clerke.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I had discoursed awhile with Mr. Yeabsly, whom I met and took up in my coach with me, and who hath this day presented my Lord Ashly with 100l. to bespeak his friendship to him in his accounts now before us; and my Lord hath received it, and so I believe is as bad, as to bribes, as what the world says of him. "

L&M: Yeabsley and his partners mane an annual payment fir the Tangier victualing annual contract, were claiming demurrage [a charge to a shipper for a delay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dem… ] and a rebate by for the loss of a ship by capture. (see Pepys to Lanyon, 29 January 1666) The story of the bribe is probably untrye : Ashley (Shaftesbury) was not corrupt and in any case was too rich to be cirrupted by the fuft of £100. Yeabsley had paid Pepys £300 p.a. since getting the contract
( https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… ) and, according to Professor;s guess, may well have invented the story of thew bribe in order to Pepys t9 continue his support. Pepys's relations with the Tangier victualers gad nit been frank -- in 1665 he had put about a quite ubtrue story that he had lent money on his own credit to two Tangier contractors: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… Perhaps Yeabsley had discovered the truth.

Marquess  •  Link

I wonder if Sam went to Mrs Martin's in his own coach? If so, surely he would have been advertising his presence to all and sundry?

Mary K  •  Link

Samuel's own coach.

He doesn't have a coach of his own at this date so that particular question doesn't arise.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

'"Mrs. Daniel’s child"

'John, son of John Daniel. Mrs Daniel was the daughter of Pepys's Greenwich landlady, Mrs Clerke.'

There are 8 links saying that Samuel Daniel is married to Mrs. Daniel.

John Daniel is mentioned once, on June 4, 1666 and may well have been related to Samuel Daniel, but nowhere is that stated in the Diary that I have found.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Johns and Samuels Daniel

'John, son of John Daniel. Mrs Daniel was the daughter of Pepys's Greenwich landlady, Mrs Clerke.' is the L&M footnote to "Mrs. Daniel's child".

The L&M index (p. 79) lists Daniel, [Samuel] and Daniel, Mrs ______, of Greenwich, wife of Samuel.

The Mr. Daniel mentioned on June 4, 1666 is identified in a footnote as "John Daniel, once a seaman, now a lieutenant on the Royal Charles: known to Pepys because he was the son-in-law of Mrs Clerke, Pepys's landlady when he lodged at Greenwich in 1665-6."

The L&m Index has no entry for a John. Today's entry suggests Mrs. Daniel was probably NOT the wife of a Samuel, but of a John.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Thanks for the clarifications, Terry. Another case of "we will never know for sure."

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Let us not forget what Pepys said about Chancellor of the Exchequer Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the Lord Ashley MP:
“Lord Ashly will rob the Devil and the Alter, but he will get money if it be to be got.” – Diary, September 9, 1665

Fund raising is the function of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I have not seen any reports that it was to further enrich the already wealthy Lord Ashley. But Pepys appears to have thought it was for personal enrichment, as you'll see in the future.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

One Friday soon there will probably be a commemoration service held at noon at St. Olave’s church.

Since 1927 (allowing for some years’ interruption for bomb damage and pandemics) St. Olave’s has held an annual service to commemorate its most illustrious former parishioner, Samuel Pepys.
The service is organized in association with The Samuel Pepys Club. The service traditionally features an address on aspects of “Pepys, his life and times” and the church has welcomed many distinguished speakers over the years. The service is open to everyone.

You never know -- some other annotators might be there!
https://www.britainexpress.com/Lo…
http://pepys-club.org.uk/about-th…

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