Monday 4 February 1666/67
I up, with my head troubled to think of the issue of this morning, so made ready and to the office, where Mr. Gawden comes, and he and I discoursed the business well, and thinks I shall get off well enough; but I do by Sir W. Coventry’s silence conclude that he is not satisfied in my management of my place and the charge it puts the King to, which I confess I am not in present condition through my late laziness to give any good answer to. But here do D. Gawden give me a good cordiall this morning, by telling me that he do give me five of the eight hundred pounds on his account remaining in my hands to myself, for the service I do him in my victualling business, and 100l. for my particular share of the profits of my Tangier imployment as Treasurer. This do begin to make my heart glad, and I did dissemble it the better, so when Sir W. Coventry did come, and the rest met, I did appear unconcerned, and did give him answer pretty satisfactory what he asked me; so that I did get off this meeting without any ground lost, but rather a great deal gained by interposing that which did belong to my duty to do, and neither [Sir] W. Coventry nor (Sir) W. Pen did oppose anything thereunto, which did make my heart very glad. All the morning at this work, Sir W. Pen making a great deal of do for the fitting him in his setting out in his employment, and I do yield to any trouble that he gives me without any contradiction. Sir W. Coventry being gone, we at noon to dinner to Sir W. Pen’s, he inviting me and my wife, and there a pretty good dinner, intended indeed for Sir W. Coventry, but he would not stay. So here I was mighty merry and all our differences seemingly blown over, though he knows, if he be not a fool, that I love him not, and I do the like that he hates me. Soon as dined, my wife and I out to the Duke’s playhouse, and there saw “Heraclius,” an excellent play, to my extraordinary content; and the more from the house being very full, and great company; among others, Mrs. Steward, very fine, with her locks done up with puffes, as my wife calls them: and several other great ladies had their hair so, though I do not like it; but my wife do mightily — but it is only because she sees it is the fashion. Here I saw my Lord Rochester and his lady, Mrs. Mallet, who hath after all this ado married him; and, as I hear some say in the pit, it is a great act of charity, for he hath no estate. But it was pleasant to see how every body rose up when my Lord John Butler, the Duke of Ormond’s son, come into the pit towards the end of the play, who was a servant —[lover]— to Mrs. Mallet, and now smiled upon her, and she on him. I had sitting next to me a woman, the likest my Lady Castlemayne that ever I saw anybody like another; but she is a whore, I believe, for she is acquainted with every fine fellow, and called them by their name, Jacke, and Tom, and before the end of the play frisked to another place. Mightily pleased with the play, we home by coach, and there a little to the office, and then to my chamber, and there finished my Catalogue of my books with my own hand, and so to supper and to bed, and had a good night’s rest, the last night’s being troublesome, but now my heart light and full of resolution of standing close to my business.
17 Annotations
First Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"her locks done up with puffes, as my wife calls them: and several other great ladies had their hair so"
puffs = artificial rolls of hair.
cape henry • Link
Great stuff. Worries; confesses sins; collects enormous payoff; worries less; dodges the hangman; eats a fine lunch; and goes to a play.
Lesson learned.
Robert Gertz • Link
Poor Heraclius, one of the Roman (Byzantine era) Empire's great emperors, who saved the Empire and tragically lived too long, only to see it humbled and he too enfeebled by illness to prevent it.
***
"I had sitting next to me a woman, the likest my Lady Castlemayne that ever I saw anybody like another; but she is a whore, I believe, for she is acquainted with every fine fellow, and called them by their name, Jacke, and Tom, and before the end of the play frisked to another place."
"Jamie?! Have you seen Barbara?"
Robert Gertz • Link
"Well, looks like our worries are over. Gauden came through...Coventry suspects but there's no proof. As for my partner, Admiral Sir Will can do all the nosing around he wants but he won't dare pull a thing so long as I can spill the beans about dear little bride-to-be Meg. Yes, sitting pretty's, what I...What?"
Arrgh...Sound of sword thrust, body hitting pavement...
***
"So Creed was murdered...Within an hour of Pepys? And with the same sword?" Penn eyes his guests.
"Looks simple enough. Creed killed Pepys over their dealings in the victualling...And then someone, a friend perhaps? Did Creed. Nothing to say, Admiral? Robinson says you were too busy even to stop and take a look at your dead coworker."
"Well, Sir Will..." Robinson sighs. "You were in a hurry."
"Your Grace, if you would. I prefer to handle this myself, without Sir John's 'assistance'."
"Yeah? Well, that's what I told Robinson. 'Sir John, Admiral Sir Will's the man to keep family business in family.' You know me, Penn. Charlie and I'll play fair, give you most of the breaks. Can't say as I'd blame you, given Pepys was your coworker."
"We weren't exactly kissing cousins, your Grace."
"That's the truth. And if Creed were still breathin' I'd say it was an even toss-up which one of you did Pepys."
***
"This one's a musical type, Admiral."
"In with him then, darling. Ah, Signor Chessi."
"Admirale. Uh, may a stranger offer condolences on the death of your coworker, Admirale? I did know Signor Pepys slightly...As a lover of music."
"Really?"
"He will be mourned. May I ask if the speculation in the London Gazette regarding a connection between his death and that a little later of the man Creed?...Pardon, I ask not of idle curiosity. In fact, I am seeking a literary document of Signor Pepys' which I know had been in his possession that
night but which since has disappeared. I suspect that whoever killed Mr. Creed may have acquired said document and I am prepared, in the name of a relative of Mr. Pepys, to offer the sum of 500Ls for the document's safe return. I am permitted to say, how do you say? That no questions will be asked."
***
"Wight? I know the price in human life you people put on it. You really think your nephew's Diary'll be worth that much?"
"Heh-hem, sir. Unbelievable as it may be, my practical nephew produced a literary and historical masterpiece, sir. There's no telling how high it may one day go. Though of course the profits, sir, lie in the future. For now, it must be recovered and preserved in the care of family, sir."
"A fall guy is part of the price I'm asking...Lets give them the punk. Hewer did kill Gauden and Warren, after all, didn't he?"
"Lemme let him have it..." edgy Hewer draws sword.
"No, don't do that, William." Signor Chessi puts restraining hand on shoulder, shaken off immediately.
"Now, Will." Wight cautions. Returning to Penn... "Young men sometimes fail to see where their interests lie. Signor..." Whisper to Chessi...
"Two to one they're selling you out, sonny." Penn sneers to an anxiously staring Hewer...
***
"Sam Pepys was a son a bitch. You didn't do me or the Navy any harm in killing him."
"But, Will..."
"Pepys was a corrupt fool but he was too afraid of VD and had too much experience to risk consorting with a Fleet Street whore...No, darling. You were in that getup, spying on Creed for the family interest. Yes, Pepys was just dumb enough to trust you."
"You've been lying...Saying you love me, just to trap me..."
"I don't care who loves who...Pepys was my co-officer...And in the Navy when a man's co-officer is murdered, you're supposed to do something about it. I won't be the patsy for you. I won't walk in Pepys' shoes, and Hewer's, and Wight's, and Creed's...And a hundred others..."
"Don't forget Lord Sandwich..." Bess notes, firmly.
Duke and Robinson enter...
"Got em John?"
"Got em. But Wight's dead. The kid was just finishing cutting him up when we got there."
"He ought to have expected that." Penn nods, handing parcel. "Here's the little literary opus it was all about. I wouldn't let it hit the bookstands tomorrow if you want the regime to survive." eyes Jamie.
"'Diary of Samuel Pepys'?" Robinson stares.
"The stuff dreams are made of...And here's one more for you, gents. She killed Pepys."
"Bess? Er, Mrs. Pepys?" Jamie stares.
cum salis grano • Link
All the best writers of the times only published after they were in safe keeping, some modern people should be aware of consequences of having hard copy available for the jealous.
language hat • Link
"I was worried about the charges of corruption, but then my corruption brought me a nice piece of change, so I felt better right away."
JWB • Link
No dissembling here:
"...and I did dissemble it the better,..."
But then, are we sure diary-Pepys is closer to truth than public-Pepys? I remember reading Frank Harris back in the 60's.
Terry Foreman • Link
"she is a whore, I believe, for she is acquainted with every fine fellow, and called them by their name, Jacke, and Tom, and before the end of the play frisked to another place."
Pot calling the kettle Betty?
L&M read "before the end of the play [she] fished to another place." Chum?
Terry Foreman • Link
"But here do D. Gawden give me a good cordiall this morning, by telling me that he do give me five of the eight hundred pounds on his account remaining in my hands to myself,...."
"cordiall"? I get the gist, but the OED would be better.
Bradford • Link
Pepys is using "cordial" in the figurative sense---information which acts upon him like "a stimulating medicine or drink," still in Merriam-Webster.
cum salis grano • Link
"...But here do D. Gawden give me a good cordiall [ heartfelt greeting (no 3}]this morning, by telling me that he do give me five of the eight hundred pounds on his account remaining in my hands to myself,..."
cordial, a. and n
[ad. med.L. cordi{amac}l-is (perh. immed. through F. cordial, 14th c.), f. L. cor, cord- heart + -AL1: cf. L. concordi{amac}lis, f. concordia. Cordi{amac}lis appears to have been in its origin a word of medicine.]
A. adj.
1. Of or belonging to the heart. Obs.
cordial spirits (in Mediæval Physiology) = VITAL spirits, for ‘the Vital Spirit resides in the heart, is dispersed by the arteries, etc.’, and ‘by the labour of ye complexyon of the brayne..is the vital spirite made anymall’ (Salmon 1671).
c1400 L....
1603 FLORIO Montaigne II. xxxvii. (1632) 426 If it be neither cordiall, nor stomacall.
1646 SIR T. BROWNE Pseud. Ep. IV. iv. (1686) 153 An opinion..which magnifies the condition of the fourth finger of the Left Hand; presuming therein a cordial relation.
b. Of the heart as the seat of feeling, affection, etc.; internal.
1841..
2. Of medicines, food, or beverages: Stimulating, ‘comforting’, or invigorating the heart; restorative, reviving, cheering.
{dag}cordial water = spirit (obs.).
1471 RIPLEY Comp. Alch. IX. in Ashm. (1652) 175 Fode to Man and Woman most eordyall.
1564-78 W. BULLEIN Dial. agst. Pest. (1888) 55 A cordial ointment against the Pestilence.
1634 MILTON Comus 672 This cordial julep here..With spirits of balm and fragrant syrups mixed.
1719 DE FOE Crusoe xviii. (1858) 287 He had brought me a case of bottles full of excellent cordial waters.
b. fig.
1611 SHAKES. Wint. T. V. iii. 77 This Affliction ha's a taste as sweet As any Cordiall comfort.
1655 FULLER Hist. Camb. (1840) 189 He bestowed on them cordial statutes, (as I may call them,) for the preserving of the College in good health.
3. Hearty; coming from the heart, heartfelt; sincere, genuine, warm; warm and hearty in a course of action or in behalf of a cause.
c1477 CAXTON Jason 128 My only cordyall loue and frende.
a1533 LD. BERNERS Huon clxxix. 721 My dere and cordyall frende.
a1661 FULLER Worthies (1840) III. 178 He was a stout and valiant gentleman, a cordial protestant.
b. Warm and friendly in manner.
1795
¶4. quasi-adv. = ‘By heart’. Obs.
c1475
1. A medicine, food, or beverage which invigorates the heart and stimulates the circulation; a comforting or exhilarating drink. Comm. Aromatized and sweetened spirit, used as a beverage.
c1386 CHAUCER Prol. 443 For gold in Phisik is a cordial [v.r. cardial, cordeal, accordial], Therfore he louede gold in special.
1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 171 As pocyons, laxes, cordialles, plasters, and other medicynes.
1590 SPENSER F.Q. III. v. 50 Costly Cordialles she did apply.
1612 WOODALL Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 250 Aquavitæ distilled out of Wine..the chief cordial in cheering the heart of man.
b. transf. and fig.
1479 EARL RIVERS (title) The book named Cordyal which treteth of the four last and final thinges.
1594 SHAKES. Rich. III, II. i. 41 A pleasing Cordiall..Is this thy Vow vnto my sickely heart.
1642 FULLER Holy & Prof. St. III. ii. 155 Harmlesse mirth is the best cordiall against the consumption of the spirits.
2. Comb., as cordial-bottle, -glass; cordial-maker, manufacturer, ‘a manufacturer of liqueurs, syrups, and sweet drinks’ (Simmonds Dict. Trade 1858).
1663 COWLEY Cutter Colman St. II. viii, Fetch me the Cordial-glass in the Cabinet Window.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"I do by Sir W. Coventry’s silence conclude that he is not satisfied in my management of my place"
L&M: That of Surveyor-General of the Victualing, which Pepys did not resign until 28 July 1667, at the end of the war.
Terry Foreman • Link
"All the morning at this work, Sir W. Pen making a great deal of do for the fitting him in his setting out in his employment,"
L&M: As Mennes's assistant in the Comptroller's business.
Terry Foreman • Link
"Here I saw my Lord Rochester and his lady, Mrs. Mallet, who hath after all this ado married him"
L&M: He had married her on 29 January 1667: in 1665 he had tried to abduct her (see https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Marquess • Link
I wonder if Sam would have been tempted by the Castlemaine look a like had his wife not been present?
Nick Hedley • Link
It is lovely how one can feel the resonance of the Diary in modern London. I gave blood at the Barber-Surgeon's Hall on Monday. The appointments were running late so I wandered around their treasures on display, including two fine drinking cups and a splendid Holbein showing Henry VIII presenting a charter to the Barber-Surgeons company, see https://barberscompany.org/archiv… for the cups and https://barberscompany.org/the-ho… for the Holbein.
I was chuffed to learn that the Holbein and one of the cups (the right hand one shown in the link above) was mentioned in the Diary of 27 February 1662/3:
"Among other observables we drank the King’s health out of a gilt cup given by King Henry VIII. to this Company, with bells hanging at it, which every man is to ring by shaking after he hath drunk up the whole cup. There is also a very excellent piece of the King, done by Holbein, stands up in the Hall, with the officers of the Company kneeling to him to receive their Charter"
The other cup was, in part, presented by Samuel's friend James Pearse, Surgeon https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... so that I did get off this meeting without any ground lost, but rather a great deal gained by interposing that which did belong to my duty to do, and neither [Sir] W. Coventry nor (Sir) W. Pen did oppose anything thereunto, which did make my heart very glad. All the morning at this work, Sir W. Pen making a great deal of do for the fitting him in his setting out in his employment, and I do yield to any trouble that he gives me without any contradiction."
This sounds contradictory. At first Pepys says he gained from the meeting by clarifying what was and was not his job, and Coventry and Penn agreed. The second sentence says Pepys went along with everything Penn suggested.
But maybe the second sentence is more about the "fitting him in his setting" i.e. 'I want my desk by the window' sort of demands.