Wednesday 1 February 1659/60

In the morning went to my office where afterwards the old man brought me my letters from the carrier. At noon I went home and dined with my wife on pease porridge and nothing else. After that I went to the Hall and there met with Mr. Swan and went with him to Mr. Downing’s Counsellor, who did put me in very little hopes about the business between Mr. Downing and Squib, and told me that Squib would carry it against him, at which I was much troubled, and with him went to Lincoln’s Inn and there spoke with his attorney, who told me the day that was appointed for the trial. From thence I went to Sir Harry Wright’s and got him to give me his hand for the 60l. which I am to-morrow to receive from Mr. Calthrop and from thence to Mrs. Jem and spoke with Madam Scott and her husband who did promise to have the thing for her neck done this week. Thence home and took Gammer East, and James the porter, a soldier, to my Lord’s lodgings, who told me how they were drawn into the field to-day, and that they were ordered to march away to-morrow to make room for General Monk; but they did shut their Colonel Fitch, and the rest of the officers out of the field, and swore they would not go without their money, and if they would not give it them, they would go where they might have it, and that was the City. So the Colonel went to the Parliament, and commanded what money could be got, to be got against to-morrow for them, and all the rest of the soldiers in town, who in all places made a mutiny this day, and do agree together. Here I took some bedding to send to Mrs. Ann for her to lie in now she hath her fits of the ague. Thence I went to Will’s and staid like a fool there and played at cards till 9 o’clock and so came home, where I found Mr. Hunt and his wife who staid and sat with me till 10 and so good night.

35 Annotations

First Reading

Emilio  •  Link

Downing and Squib
Does anyone know what's involved with Downing's lawsuit with Squib? It certainly sounds serious.
Also, is Squib a real name or an unflattering nickname? (OED: 1. A common species of firework, in which the burning of the composition is usually terminated by a slight explosion [first example 1530], or 4. Applied to persons: a. A mean, insignificant, or paltry fellow; also, a short or thin person [first ex. 1586]) The expression "damp squib" is still used for a trivial and forgettable person.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

What's the difference between a counsellor and attorney?

I know that in the U.K. there is a difference in the roles these two play in the legal system, but can't remember what it is ... in the U.S., the two terms are pretty much used interchangeably.

Also, who's getting what done to her neck?

David Milofsky  •  Link

Having just been in London where I asked an attorney the difference, I think I know more than I did but could still be wrong. As it was explained to me (by both a counsellor and an attorney), only attorneys actually go to court and argue cases. Counsellors are also lawyers (in the US sense), but they seem to actually counsel clients on matters legal, wills, contracts and such.

nick sweeney  •  Link

Actually, David, you appear to have got things quite upside-down!

It's understandable: you'd think from the reference to 'Lincoln's Inn' that an 'attorney' was the equivalent of a modern-day 'barrister'; and you're right to note the distinction between what we call 'barristers' (trained at the Inns of Court, and who plead cases) and 'solicitors' (who prepare cases, and handle matters that don't require trials.)

However, 'attorney' in this regard seems to refer to a lawyer who specifically prepares a case for a barrister in Common Law, as opposed to a 'solicitor' who works for barristers in Chancery:

http://www.geocities.com/etymonli…

As the etymological note suggests, the position of 'attorney' was abolished in 1873's legal reforms, creating the two-tiered system now current in English law.

By comparison, OED defines 'counsellor' in the way that we'd now define 'barrister': 'One whose profession is to give legal advice to clients, and conduct their cases in court; a counselling lawyer, a barrister or advocate.' From the citiations, that's certainly the term that was current during Pepys' life.

So, to summarise: Mr. Downing's 'Counsellor' (or more fully, 'counsellor-at-law') was what we'd now call a barrister, actually pleading his case in Westminster Hall; and his 'attorney' was what we'd now call a solicitor, working to prepare the case from the counsellor's chambers at Lincoln's Inn.

nick sweeney  •  Link

An addendum: the term 'Hall' is a giveaway in part, because Westminster Hall is traditionally the home of the supreme court of Common Law, which is now known as the Court of Queen's (or King's) Bench. Now, I don't know enough about the legal system of the Commonwealth to know what King's Bench was replaced with, but I'm guessing that the court stayed in Westminster Hall.

(Checks with Google.)

Ah, it was called 'Upper Bench', as Pepys himself says (SPOILER!) next week, on Feb 9th, and as explained here:

http://www.lectlaw.com/def/j066.h…
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclo…

Bulkington  •  Link

BTW, the New York Times article from Feb. 1 which talks about Pepys and blogs and this website, and which is otherwise a great article, identifies Hawthorne as the author of that seminal Pepys article, and not Stevenson. Hopefully, the Times will correct itself.

Bulkington  •  Link

And in case you're looking for it, I am attaching a link (if I am understanding how to do that correctly). It is a great article; very insightful, and well worth reading as an intro. to Pepys.

Luther  •  Link

Todd, it seems that "Mrs. Jem" is getting a "thing" for her neck. Which is being made by "Madam Scott and her husband" and they will have it "done this week."

Given that it "for" her neck rather than "to" her neck, we can assume it is an object such presumably some form of jewellery, or clothing, rather than an operation.

Doesn't help with what it is, beyond jewellery or clothing though does it. :)

Warren Keith Wright  •  Link

As Bulkington's link apparently did not "take," here's another try at the NYTimes article link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/01…

Hope it translates.

p benson  •  Link

...who did promise to have the thing for her neck done this week..

See the 4th annotation for the Mrs. Jem link, which includes:

"Poor Jem suffered from some malformation in her neck which prevented her from holding her head erect, and in the October of 1659 Pepys was busying himself among other matters in finding her a medical specialist."

M.Stolzenbach  •  Link

"Gammer East"

Merriam-Webster tells us that "gammer" is:

archaic : an old woman

Daniel Hopkins  •  Link

Pease porrige would today be most closely resembled by split pea soup but without other vegetables or smoked meats.

Dried peas were boiled, perhaps in salted water, until soft and mushy.

Butter, more salt and pepper would be added at the end, much as we today mash potatoes.

With a little creativity and the addition of readily available (and inexpensive) ingredients a pease porrige could be a hearty and delicious side dish or main course.

Rita  •  Link

"who did promise to have the thing for her neck done this week". According to the Claire Tomalin biography, Pepys was having a neck brace make for Jem (the daughter of his boss Montague).

John Simmons  •  Link

"Pease porrige hot,
Pease porrige cold,
Pease porrige in the pot,
Nine days old."
Another advantage was one
of longevity...or so it
would seem.

Bulkington  •  Link

Thank you Warren, but actually, the link I meant to include but didn't do correctly was to the Stevenson essay on Pepys. Its:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mo…
or
http://www.bartleby.com/28/12.html.
Its really worth reading because of its insight into Pepys and his writing, his childlike quality, and the delight he takes in the happenings of everyday, and his desire to slow down time, in a way, and to record his life as lived, so that he can look back on it later.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Thanks to all for the answers on the British legal system and Jem's neck!

Jackie  •  Link

Pease Pudding is still a well-loved delicacy in the North East, which as far as I can tell is a slightly less runny version of pease porridge.

A ham and pease pudding sandwich from somewhere in the North East where they understand how to make good pease pudding is well worth the effort.

Hazelmary  •  Link

Ague is malaria which was common in England, particularly in the low lying coastal regions in the east and south east until the early twentieth century. Oliver Cromwell was a well known sufferer. Opium from Fenland poppies was one popular cure but it was quinine, from the bark of the cinchona tree, and known as Jesuits powder, after the Jesuits who introduced it to to Europe, which marked the real breakthrough. It was discredited in England after the first prominent sufferer treated with it died but it became the basis of a secret formula developed by apothecary Robert Talbor who successfully administered it to King Charles II for which he received an honorary knighthood and was appointed Royal Physician.

In 1678 Charles II sent Talbor to the French court where King Louis XIV's son was suffering from malaria and he was pressed by Louis XIV to reveal his secret with an offer of 3,000 gold crowns and a substantial pension for life for the right to publish the secret upon his death.

When Talbor died in 1681, at age 42 Louis XIV released Talbor's formula, and it was published in London the following year.

tamara  •  Link

"Gammer" and "Gaffer" are essentially transliterations of dialect pronunciations of "grandma" and "grandpa." Most languages do something similar--cf. Russian's "babushka," which is the correct word for "grandmother" but also means "old woman" in general (and, of course, has become the word in America for an immigrant-type old lady's headgear).

Wulf Losee  •  Link

"Here I took some bedding to send to Mrs. Ann for her to lie in now she hath her fits of the ague."

I hadn't realized that Malaria was endemic to northern climates. For a good summary of Malaria in the 16th and 17th Centuries...

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol…

Eunice Muir  •  Link

Old Gammer and Old Gimmer

I have never heard the expression Old Gammer, but a rather derogatory term of an old man is Old Gimmer. It is usually directed by cocky young 'uns toward rather annoying old men.

Tina  •  Link

Gammer and Gaffer.
You can see how the original "grandma" and "grandfa" have been corrupted to gammer and gaffer. The old gaffer sounds like a slightly more respectful version of the old gimmer - it's certainly the one in more common usage in the South of England.

Alan  •  Link

Pease porridge is still eaten in Newfoundland. I have never had it being Nova Scotian and only visted there once but it is known as one of their cultural dishes.

Grahamt  •  Link

Pease porridge is also known as pease pottage and there is a Sussex village of that name on the road from London to Brighton. A recipe for pease pottage is:
'Take a quart of strong broth, the flour of half a pint of pease, and an ox-palate, all boil'd tender,clarified and cut in pieces; season all with a little pepper, mace and salt; when it boils, put in a little spearmint, and sorrel a little chopp'd, four balls of forc'd meat green'd, a little white bread-like dice, toasted on a plate before the fire; then put in four ounces of fresh butter; toss it up'.
(see http://freepages.genealogy.rootsw…)

David P  •  Link

Eunice referred to 'Old Gimmer' as a derogatory term. Indeed it is - a gimmer is a weaned but as yet unshorn female sheep. To apply the term to a man is very much a contradiction in terms.

caroline  •  Link

Anyone know what is meant by "give me his hand" for the 60l?

Roger Miller  •  Link

Shaking on it.

Pepys has been trying on Montagu's behalf to collect 60l from Calthrop since the 2nd of January.

I don't know quite what Sir Harry Wright's involvement is but it sounds as though he and Pepys sealed an agreement about the money with a hand shake. Calthrop pays up tomorrow.

You can use the site search facility to find the entries mentioning Calthrop.

michael f vincent  •  Link

"So the Colonel ...made a mutiny this day,"
Here we are, a Revolution going on, wandering whose is in charge.
SP was so blahze(zeh sorry no acute e) about this event It amazes me. If CNN was there, image the news.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

:Downing and Squib
Does anyone know what's involved with Downing's lawsuit with Squib? It certainly sounds serious.
Also, is Squib a real name or an unflattering nickname? "

The lawsuit and Squibb's real name used in public records:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Todd, it seems that "Mrs. Jem" is getting a "thing" for her neck. Which is being made by "Madam Scott and her husband" and they will have it "done this week.""

That, L&M say, would be a collar (probably made of iron padded with leather).

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Thence home and took Gammer East, and James the porter, a soldier, to my Lord’s lodgings, who told me how they were drawn into the field to-day, and that they were ordered to march away to-morrow to make room for General Monk"

At Monck's request all the trooops in London, apart from two regiments he could trust, were ordered into country quarters to make room for his men. He was now at St Albans, and marched to Barnet on the 2nd. The 'field' was St James Field, near St James Palace. (L&M)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"but they did shut their Colonel Fitch, and the rest of the officers out of the field, and swore they would not go without their money, and if they would not give it them, they would go where they might have it, and that was the City."

According to Ludlow (ii. 214) some Presbyterians in the city sent money to the mutineers next day, but it had no effect detaching them from the Rump. (L&M)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"So the Colonel went to the Parliament, and commanded what money could be got, to be got against to-morrow for them, and all the rest of the soldiers in town, who in all places made a mutiny this day, and do agree together. "

A month's pay was ordered for them on the 2nd, but their arrears amounted to very much more: CJ, vii. 830.

Third Reading

Jankat  •  Link

My husband has Newfoundland roots and he always makes a “pease pudding” whenever he has a boiled dinner , (called a Jigg’s dinner in NL). It’s basically a corned beef and cabbage dinner along with a chicken or turkey. The pease pudding consists of yellow split peas tied up in a cotton bag and boiled along with the other ingredients for several hours.

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