Wednesday 14 August 1667
Up, and to the office, where we held a meeting extraordinary upon some particular business, and there sat all the morning. At noon, my wife being gone to the whitster’s again to her clothes, I to dinner to Sir W. Batten’s, where much of our discourse concerning Carcasse, who it seems do find success before the Council, and do everywhere threaten us with what he will prove against us, which do vex us to see that we must be subjected to such a rogue of our own servants as this is. By and by to talk of our prize at Hull, and Sir W. Batten offering, again and again, seriously how he would sell his part for 1000l. and I considering the knavery of Hogg and his company, and the trouble we may have with the Prince Rupert about the consort ship, and how we are linked with Sir R. Ford, whose son-in-law too is got thither, and there we intrust him with all our concern, who I doubt not is of the same trade with his father-in-law for a knave, and then the danger of the sea, if it shall be brought about, or bad debts contracted in the sale, but chiefly to be eased of my fears about all or any of this, I did offer my part to him for 700l.. With a little beating the bargain, we come to a perfect agreement for 666l. 13s. 4d., which is two-thirds of 1000l., which is my proportion of the prize. I went to my office full of doubts and joy concerning what I had done; but, however, did put into writing the heads of our agreement, and returned to Sir W. Batten, and we both signed them; and Sir R. Ford, being come thither since, witnessed them. So having put it past further dispute I away, satisfied, and took coach and to the King’s playhouse, and there saw “The Country Captain,” which is a very ordinary play. Methinks I had no pleasure therein at all, and so home again and to my business hard till my wife come home from her clothes, and so with her to supper and to bed. No news yet come of the ratification of the peace which we have expected now every hour since yesterday.
15 Annotations
First Reading
Robert Gertz • Link
This thing with the clothes is getting scary...Did Sam by any chance pay a recent visit to Stepford? I suppose it would have either been zombie drugs from Hispaniola or clockwork automatons back then.
Robert Gertz • Link
So ends the career of privateer Pepys...Damn. Would've been so neat to see him and his doxy, French Bess, on the high seas, giving no quarter.
But always providing an excellent dinner...And the best violin and viola players in town or at sea.
Terry Foreman • Link
"concerning Carcasse, who it seems do find success before the Council, and do everywhere threaten us with what he will prove against us, which do vex us to see that we must be subjected to such a rogue of our own servants as this is."
N.B. James Carkesse (no lightweight) has a powerful patron who is no friend of Pepys -- the mathematician, William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker, whose clerk he is and who surely was he who saw to it that Carkesse was, 23/03/1664 elected Fellow of the Royal Society. http://royalsociety.org/WorkArea/…
Brouncker, President of the Royal Society is well-regarded in the Council.
Tony Eldridge • Link
With a little beating the bargain, we come to a perfect agreement for 666l. 13s. 4d., which is two-thirds of 1000l., which is my proportion of the prize.
Sam cannot trust the captain, his crew, the intermediaries or the sea - sounds like he is well out of it. But who did he sell his share to? Presumably Sir W. Batten who has been making great play of wanting to sell his own share. Has our boy been outsmarted by the old seadog?
Fern • Link
"Her clothes" "Her washing" "Her linen" - the washing is very definitely the wife's domain. Even today I have heard older men refer to their wife doing "her" washing.
I get the impression that the Pepys maintain a high standard of cleanliness. If the articles taken to the whitster's include bed linen, towels, table linen and personal garments (all frequently changed), that's a huge task considering the number of people in the household.
Bradford • Link
But why have we not heard about Elizabeth visiting the whitster before now? A new service industry just surfacing? Hitherto there's been plenty of discussion of rising at 2 or 3AM to get a start on the washing; but that apparently did not include home bleaching.
cum salis grano • Link
The laundress, Elizabeth only now just been able to get expenses for nice white linen done outside, 'tis a yearly job to get the stains of living out.
[Altered form of LAVENDRY after LAUNDER.]
1. The action or process of washing. Obs.
a1530 HEYWOOD Play Weather (Brandl)
896 Excepte the sonne shyne that our clothes may dry, We can do ryght nought in our laundry. Ibid.
1100 Then came there a nother that lyueth by laundry.
c1611 CHAPMAN Iliad XXII. 135 Where Trojan wives and their fair daughters had Laundry for their fine linen weeds.
1626 BACON Sylva §394 Chalkie Water is too fretting As it appeareth in Laundry of Clothes, which wear out apace, if you use such Water.
2. a. An apartment or establishment, where linen, etc. is washed and ‘got up’.
1577 B. GOOGE Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 13 Hyther also runnes the water from the Laundry to moist it the better.
1648 MAYNE Amorous War II. iv, To starch, and to belong Unto their Laundries.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"I to dinner to Sir W. Batten’s, where much of our discourse concerning Carcasse"
L&M: See https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Terry Foreman • Link
"By and by to talk of our prize at Hull, and Sir W. Batten offering, again and again, seriously how he would sell his part for 1000l. and I considering the knavery of Hogg and his company, and the trouble we may have with the Prince Rupert about the consort ship"
L&M: Contract: cf. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Batch • Link
Elizabeth is truly an impressive housewife. She not only manages all the laundry (surely several maids/boys must be doing the heavy lifting on her trips to and from the whitster) and supervises the purchasing for the kitchen and the cooking (when she can't ever be certain how many will be there for dinner [lunch]), but she also hires and fires as necessary for the efficient staffing of the household. Pepys scored a prize when he married her.
Harry R • Link
"I did offer my part to him for 700l.. With a little beating the bargain, we come to a perfect agreement for 666l. 13s. 4d., which is two-thirds of 1000l., which is my proportion of the prize."
Is it known what the total value of the prize prize was? Sam apparently knows his share already, it's presumably a fixed sum which comes out of the Lord High Admirals's 1/10th share. Were his many concerns subsequently realised and do we find out later if Sam comes to regret this deal with Batten?
john • Link
Batch, I would call Elizabeth the chatelaine of the family.
San Diego Sarah • Link
What is Batten up to? In the morning he wants to sell for a 1,000l., but by the afternoon will buy for 666l. 13s. 4d.? Consolidation is good, I suppose. He wields a bigger stake, but he's still up against Rupert with two ships to his share of one.
mountebank • Link
As an echo of the discussion in the annotations about Elisabeth and the whitster, I'm reading "The Mirror & the Light" and my eyes lit up at the chapter "The Bleach Fields" and particularly this exchange between Cromwell and his daughter Jenneke:
"They went out to the fields ... I mean the ... raamhoven - the bleach fields?"
"Ah," he says, "not bleach fields, you mean the tenter-grounds. Where they pin out the cloth to dry."
Before anyone asks, the ellipses do not signify any rudery.
Third Reading
Trevor M Randall • Link
…but she also hires and fires as necessary for the efficient staffing of the household.
I’m not sure that all of Elizabeth’s staff firings were in the best interest of household efficiency.