Sunday 6 January 1666/67

(Lord’s day). Up pretty well in the morning, and then to church, where a dull doctor, a stranger, made a dull sermon. Then home, and Betty Michell and her husband come by invitation to dine with us, and, she I find the same as ever (which I was afraid of the contrary) … [not withstanding what yo haze ella hazer cum ego the last Sunday but one when we were abroad together. – L&M] Here come also Mr. Howe to dine with me, and we had a good dinner and good merry discourse with much pleasure, I enjoying myself mightily to have friends at my table.

After dinner young Michell and I, it being an excellent frosty day to walk, did walk out, he showing me the baker’s house in Pudding Lane, where the late great fire begun; and thence all along Thames Street, where I did view several places, and so up by London Wall, by Blackfriars, to Ludgate; and thence to Bridewell, which I find to have been heretofore an extraordinary good house, and a fine coming to it, before the house by the bridge was built; and so to look about St. Bride’s church and my father’s house, and so walked home, and there supped together, and then Michell and Betty home, and I to my closet, there to read and agree upon my vows for next year, and so to bed and slept mighty well.


20 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

• January 6th, 1667
Lords day. Up pretty well in the morning; and then to church, where a dull doctor, a stranger, made a dull sermon. Then home, and Betty Michell and her husband came by invitation to dine with us; and she I find the same as ever (which I was afeared to the contrary) notwithstanding what yo haze ella hazer cum ego the last Sunday but one when we were abroad together. Here came also Mr. How to dine with me. And a good dinner ­ and good merry discourse, with much pleasure, I enjoying myself mightily to have friends at my table.”
http://www.pepys.info/bits5.html

"and then Michell and Betty home, and I to my closet, there to read and agree upon my vows for next year" -- You betchya!

cape henry  •  Link

A pleasant and interesting Sunday, one like many of us have experienced over the years, except maybe for the part where you go for a walk with the husband of the woman you are groping at every opportunity. Note that Pepys was worried that his groping days with Mrs. Mitchell were possibly over and was relieved to discover they seem not to be. As TF so aptly puts it: You betcha.

Carl in Boston  •  Link

Betty Michell and her husband came by invitation to dine with us
I can't believe Elizabeth didn't suspect something, seeing this pretty woman at her table. I'm sure Elizabeth had a clear view of who had what money, and that Elizabeth was in control, so there.

CGS  •  Link

'tis wot makes the world an interesting place , nutin' is wot it seems, 'tis, every one is wearing 'is sheeps clothing, wool that be for the final day.
ritin' in agua sin gas.

Ruben  •  Link

from today's Times on Line:
"Firefighters needed a boat to rescue two teenagers trapped on an island in the middle of an icy pond in Southborough, Kent. The boys had walked across the frozen water but could not return because the ice had started to crack.".
How far is the Thames this days from freezing, as it did in Pepys days?

Michael Robinson  •  Link

@ Ruben 'How far is the Thames this days from freezing, as it did in Pepys days?'

The Thames of today is an entirely different river from that of Pepys; it was embanked and narrowed in the mid C 19th., which speeds the flow substantially, and the slower flow was blocked by the partial barrier of Old London Bridge whose many narrow arched piers were sufficient to maintain a difference in water level of about 6ft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tham…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lond…

Australian Susan  •  Link

Oh I do *so* wish we could have known what Betty and Bess talked about whilst their menfolk perambulated! RG can you oblige?

Are we to understand by this walk (which seems to be to survey the burned areas) that Sam's father's former home in Salisbury Court burnt down? Did the Pepyses own this or was it leased? I cannot now recall what happened after poor Tom died.

martinb  •  Link

Strictly speaking, Pepys doesn't really grope Betty M, he forces her to grope him. The dynamics of this newly discovered pastime seem to say something about his growing understanding of the advantages that power can bring?

djc  •  Link

"before the house by the bridge was built; and so to look about St. Bride’s church and my father’s house"

The bridge in this case would not be London Bridge but the bridge over the River Fleet at the bottom of Ludgate Hill. St Brides and Salisbury Court being on the other side by Fleet Street.

Mary  •  Link

According to an L&M footnote, this was the footbridge built by Henry VIII when he acquired Bridewell. In Tudor times Bridewell was a royal palace.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I don't believe Bess knew at this point though certainly she must have been somewhat suspicious. Apparently Sam was (at last) geniunely afraid Betty might have taken serious offense...Perhaps spoken of his groping to her husband? However he seems to have felt secure from any possibility of a public upbraiding.

Very likely Betty'd had to deal with the same from other sources and found Sam's attempts relatively tame, poor kid.

martha  •  Link

It's interesting that we all assume that Bess would be offended. Perhaps this sort of groping behavior was not uncommon, sort of like the butt-pinching that went on before the advent of women's lib? Maybe she knew, but just took a "boys will be boys" view of the matter.

Don McCahill  •  Link

I notice that there is an ellipse within Robert's posting. Could someone please fill me in on the naughty bits that were left out of it?

:)

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Serious offense...

"Last time I got him angry, I spent Xmas at home with a black eye. The only way out for us both is to kill the little bug-eyed freak, Betty." Bess notes. "He'll never suspect all his Elisabeths are in on it. There's enough money in his chests alone to make us all rich women."

"Indeed." Betty Pierce, having slipped in as Mitchell had led Sam off to view scenes of the Great Fire, "And while I've never let him lay a finger on me, I think it's time we dealt with his lewd behavior...Permanently."

"The way he traipses all over London, it ought to be quite easy." Bess nods.

"Must it be murder?" Betty Martin sighs. "He has been a fun lad at times. Couldn't we just have him bashed and see what he learns from it?"

Bess, Betty P, Betty Mitchell, Betty Burrows, Betty Knipp all stare at her.

Ummn...

"We can always bring in Mrs. Bagwell, you know." Bess frowns.

***

"Did they actually buy it?" Sam asks.

"Martin did hold out a mo." Bess notes. "But in the end she went along. Whereas Mitchell, Pierce, and Knipp can't wait to see you floating in the Thames."

"Knipp, too? Now that hurts...I thought I'd brought a little sunshine into her bleak existence."

"She offered to have her husband bring in a horse sure to kick you in the head. I tole you they'd all go along..."

"So we set up my murder...I play dead...Freeing me from the current Parliamentary investigation...And then haunt all my ole girls, finally terrorizing them into paying through the nose, afterwhich we skip off to France to enjoy our ill-gotten gains? Bess, you are...Diabolical."

"Just French, love."

Carl in Boston  •  Link

Robert and your Arrestible Offense:
You've done it now, you've done it now, with all the many Bettys. Well spotted. And Elizabeth at the end to grab the money. But wait, here comes Betty Boop with a derringer in her garter, and she's got a wild look in her eye. She's a wild card.
Yes, it's off the topic, but the many Bettys is too good to leave alone. I won't leave it alone, I won't.

Jacqueline Gore  •  Link

Diabolique twist indeed, Robert. But don't let Uncle Wight escape.

Many thanks for all your bits this year, especially the Christmas pageant. As Uncle Wight says "What a Christmas. Heh-hem."

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

" to Bridewell, which I find to have been heretofore an extraordinary good house, and a fine coming to it, before the house by the bridge was built"

L&M say of this bridge it was a footbridge built when Henry VIII acquired Bridewell (in a note provided by the late Prof. Thomas F. Reddaway).

The 'extraordinary good house and a fine coming to it" was surely the manor house / palace converted to a prison/hospital lost in the Great Fire described in Bill's annote:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bri…

Of the "house by the bridge" that spoiled the prospect coming to Bridewell, there is no note.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

10 years ago Don McCahill said:
"I notice that there is an ellipse within Robert's posting. Could someone please fill me in on the naughty bits that were left out of it?"

He'd missed that Terry had done that in the very first annotation, and gave the link to http://www.pepys.info/bits5.html .

Being lazy, I Google the fractured French and get a good idea of what Pepys is trying to hide.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Are we to understand by this walk (which seems to be to survey the burned areas) that Sam's father's former home in Salisbury Court burnt down? Did the Pepyses own this or was it leased?"

The only reason I'm sure Salisbury Court burned was because Jane Turner lost her house there which she had inherited from her father. The Pepyses recently went to her "goodbye" party before she left to join her husband, John, a wealthy Yorkshire lawyer.

We know John Sr. had a lease on the property from its landlord, Edward Franke, and it was sub-let to another tailor after his brother died. A leaseholder has more rights - and obligations - than a tenant, which is why Pepys is paying attention to the House of Commons ruling on who is responsible for paying to rebuild.

Salisbury Court http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Edward Franke http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

The Pepys house was next to St. Bride's Church.

John G  •  Link

Tried to find Don's ellipse but only found an ellipsis!
John G, Sydney

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