Tuesday 14 February 1664/65

(St. Valentine). This morning comes betimes Dicke Pen, to be my wife’s Valentine, and come to our bedside. By the same token, I had him brought to my side, thinking to have made him kiss me; but he perceived me, and would not; so went to his Valentine: a notable, stout, witty boy. I up about business, and, opening the door, there was Bagwell’s wife, with whom I talked afterwards, and she had the confidence to say she came with a hope to be time enough to be my Valentine, and so indeed she did, but my oath preserved me from loosing any time with her, and so I and my boy abroad by coach to Westminster, where did two or three businesses, and then home to the ’Change, and did much business there. My Lord Sandwich is, it seems, with his fleete at Alborough Bay. So home to dinner and then to the office, where till 12 almost at night, and then home to supper and to bed.

32 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Navy Office patronage in today's letter from Coventry to Sandwich?

William Coventry to Sandwich
Written from: St James's

Date: 14 February 1665
....
Notifies an intended reinforcement of the Fleet in the Downs. In reference to a former recommendation from his Lordship, mentions the need of a Purveyor of timber to be employed in the King's Forests.

http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/s…

Carl in Boston  •  Link

Happy Valentine's Day, with Mrs Bagwell promptly at the door
And Elizabeth peeping round to see who is this bore ?
She'll huff, and she'll puff, and she'll blow the door down.
Nothin' going to keep her for being Sam's Valentine.
For the rest of us mortals, who have but one Valentine,
How lucky we are. Happy Valentine's Day

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...opening the door, there was Bagwell’s wife, with whom I talked afterwards, and she had the confidence to say she came with a hope to be time enough to be my Valentine, and so indeed she did, but my oath preserved me from loosing any time with her, and so I and my boy abroad..."

Whoa. Confidence indeed, although I'm guessing Sam's "up about business" means he was already at the office... Admirable self-restraint on our lad's part, but it is interesting in the hint that Tom has seen Mrs B. with Sam. Looks like Bagwell's getting anxious about his presumably slow-moving promotion.

Pedro  •  Link

On this Day...

Holmes is recommitted to the Tower.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

On 23 January, after a pleasurable encounter with Mrs. Bagwell, a failure to encounter Jane Welsh despite two tries: "I did with great content ‘ferais’ a vow to mind my business, and ‘laisser aller les femmes’ for a month" http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

cape henry  •  Link

This entry paints clearly the fact that the bedroom was not the private sanctuary we know today. Servants came and went, and relatives and friends were common guests there in Pepys time. I suppose there are many reasons for this. The absence of a universal "standard" work day may have contributed, but I think that a more far relaxed concept of privacy was the case among all and in every class.

JWB  •  Link

Looking through a string of Dicke's descendents I fixed on this unlikely name: Sherman Grant Penn. He was born here in Ohio during the Civil War.

Margaret  •  Link

I gather that the first person of the opposite sex whom you see on Feb. 14 (except, perhaps, your spouse?) becomes your valentine (for the year?) What does this entail? Is Sam now expected to give valentine present to Mrs. Bagwell? And will young Dicke Penn give presents to Elizabeth?

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"This entry paints clearly the fact that the bedroom was not the private sanctuary we know today."

Indeed, cape henry. At this point in cultural evolution individualism of the sort with which we are familiar in the West -- the pathologies of fragile personal boundaries aside -- was just beginning to be enabled by such means as the allocation of entire rooms to individuals. Elizabeth's own room is a mark of the emergence of private spaces as a way in which the Self was increasingly privatized; that it was the very room in which Samuel heard her practicing dancing with Mr. Pembleton explains the degree of the pain he felt!

See "Mr and Mrs. Pepys," in "The Refuges of Intimacy," by Orest Ranum, in the classic *A History of Private Life,* ed. Philippe Ariès and Georgesy Duby, *III, Passions of the Renaissance,* ed. Roger Chartier (Harvard University Press, 1989), pp. 255-257. http://www.amazon.com/History-Pri…

The "Forms of Privatization" (III, Ch. 2) include ones on which we have remarked:
-"The Uses of Civility"
-"The Refuges of Intimacy"
-"Distinction through Taste"
-"The Child: From Anonymity to Individuality" [think Mrs. The]
-"The Literature of Intimacy" [memoirs, diaries, family record books]
-"Literary Practices: Publicizing the Private" [feelings revealed]

Given this context, it is hardly accidental that Claire Tomalin chose *The Unequalled Self* as the title for her biography of SP.

Daniel.O.Jenkins  •  Link

I have heard it argued that the development of the hallway was a great boost to personal privacy as well. Though which be the chicken, and which the egg...?

CGS  •  Link

privacy expectations, see this painting and peek lower right hand side for the box on floor.
says foot warmer, but there be a handle on an urn, emergency of course.
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/c…

Australian Susan  •  Link

Alas! Alas! Googlebooks not available in Australia because of copyright problems.

CGS - loved the essentialvermeer site. have bookmarked it for a jolly good read when have more time.

Ralph Berry  •  Link

Well Sam, your oath has not hindered you too much before. Was it a little too close to home, was it your boy was watching intently or was it because you were not doing the pressurising the will was not there. Not like you to turn down such an opportunity!!

Methinks your slipping, but I bet you were sweating.

andy  •  Link

and, opening the door, there was Bagwell’s wife

I'm sure that Bess is not entirely stupid and if she hadn't suspected something by now - and her recent demonstration of lining the bitch suggests she does know - would wonder why, of all the women in the world, this one would turn up on Valentine's Day! (as indeed would Sam - "Of all of the houses in all of the world, and she has to turn up in mine...") Mrs B. seeking some public acknowledgement?

andy  •  Link

Also interesting to note that Betty Lane, who may well be fond of Sam, wasn't there to be his Valentine, whereas Bagwell's wife, who has no reason to be fond of him, particularly after the forceful incident in her own home, was.

Carl in Boston  •  Link

Nice Vermeer painting, as pointed out by CGS,
The box on the lower right with the holes on top looks like a foot warmer. The ceramic mug with handle would have contained lighted coals from the fireplace to provide the heat. It looks out of place in the kitchen setting, maybe it's just set there until they need to fire it up. The fireplace could be just to the right, out of the picture.
What's this? If you point to an object in the painting, a box appears and tells you all about the foot warmer. I told you so.
The composition is a right triangle, and the foot warmer makes a corner of the triangle. Vermeer might have put in the footwarmer, or nudged it over to that spot, because he wanted to make a triangle.
People of style, taste, and fashion, with Vermeer on top. What a way to start the day.

QuantumLobster  •  Link

"By the same token, I had him brought to my side, thinking to have made him kiss me; but he perceived me, and would not...."

I love the image of Sam hiding under the bedcovers hoping Dick will mistake him for Elizbeth and kiss him, instead! A very playful side of Sam....

JWB  •  Link

Sam paraphrasing Donne on privacy on Valentine's Day: "My one little room's an everywhere".

Clement  •  Link

"Betty Lane...wasn’t there to be his Valentine, whereas Bagwell’s wife, who has no reason to be fond of him...was"

It seems that Betty Lane could have had any number of similar interests as Sam's, so would have been spoilt for choice for a valentine of his type, whereas Sam appears to be the sole object of whatever confusing, conflicted intentions that Mrs. B has extramaritally--but I guess we don't know that for sure.
Still hard to say whether her actions are purely mercenary for the benefit of her husband (is he at sea now?) or if she really does have some emotional care for the bug-eyed little prick-louse. I think both are simultaneously true.

Ralph Berry  •  Link

Following Sam's diary and the annotations is a treasuretrove of information and interesting websites. I have found The National Maritime Museum particularly fabulous with many paintings of ships of Pepy's time both English and Dutch.

Australian Susan, the Google books site is available in New Zealand so you may be able to access through dubdubdbubdotgoogledotcodotnz.

Privacy in Bedrooms-- I had been under the impression the four poster bed had been developed to give privacy in an otherwise non private area as well as to give some insulation against cold drafts.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Tried this, Ralph, but no joy. I think Google knows where my IP address comes from!

Re 4 poster beds - yes, for privacy as well as warmth - many houses simply had connecting rooms upstairs with no passages so you walked through one room to get to another. Not so common to find that in the UK in old houses now, because walls have been altered to create private spaces.

Margaret  •  Link

re: privacy & connecting rooms

I know a house here in western Canada where the stairs to the attic lead right off the master bedroom--not providing much privacy to mom & dad if the kids are sleeping in the attic. This house was built in the 1920s. Apparently that was not an uncommon design, but I don't know just how widespread it was.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Poor Mrs. B...She does seem to be walking a very dangerous slope. Apart from the likely possibility that her Will has killed some of her affection for him by over-pressing her to accept Sam's advances, I suppose it's even possible in order to dodge the shame she feels of what she's doing she's gradually convincing herself she feels something for Sam.

But I would rather hope she and Billy are having a good laugh as they twist Sam round their fingers. At least they could have the illusion of having some control.

alta aqua  •  Link

The House will discuss the report on the expence of keeping the Tars in cheese and beer.

Navy Debt.

Resolved, That the Report of Sir Richard Ford, touching the Victuallers of the Navy, be heard Tomorrow Morning at Ten of the Clock.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Mrs. B

I think you're right, Robert ... her early appearance made me think right away that she was there as part of a plan to tie herself even more closely to Sam, but of course that's not what it's all about for him -- if you acknowledge someone as your Valentine, it can be another way of saying they have some power over you (or, at least, that the relationship is reciprocal). In this case, Sam is the one with the power, and wants it to stay this way (it's most likely part of the turn-on for him).

Second Reading

Marquess  •  Link

Loosing anytime with her, I wonder what the 'loosing of time' would have entailed? Naughty but resolute Sam.

Mary K  •  Link

Tongue in cheek, Marquess? For 'loosing' read 'losing' of course.

StanB  •  Link

Thanks for that Sasha,
That tune is now in my head and suspect it will be all day #Fa la la la la la la

john  •  Link

Not a word on his liitle joke of seeking a kiss from Dicke.

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