Thursday 10 October 1667

Waked in the morning with great pain of the collique, by cold taken yesterday, I believe, with going up and down in my shirt, but with rubbing my belly, keeping of it warm, I did at last come to some ease, and rose, and up to walk up and down the garden with my father, to talk of all our concernments: about a husband for my sister, whereof there is at present no appearance; but we must endeavour to find her one now, for she grows old and ugly: then for my brother; and resolve he shall stay here this winter, and then I will either send him to Cambridge for a year, till I get him some church promotion, or send him to sea as a chaplain, where he may study, and earn his living. Then walked round about our Greene, to see whether, in case I cannot buy out my uncle Thomas and his son’s right in this house, that I can buy another place as good thereabouts to build on, and I do not see that I can. But this, with new building, may be made an excellent pretty thing, and I resolve to look after it as soon as I can, and Goody Gorum dies. By this time it was almost noon, and then my father and I and wife and Willet abroad, by coach round the towne of Brampton, to observe any other place as good as ours, and find none; and so back with great pleasure; and thence went all of us, my sister and brother, and W. Hewer, to dinner to Hinchingbroke, where we had a good plain country dinner, but most kindly used; and here dined the Minister of Brampton and his wife, who is reported a very good, but poor man. Here I spent alone with my Lady, after dinner, the most of the afternoon, and anon the two twins were sent for from schoole, at Mr. Taylor’s, to come to see me, and I took them into the garden, and there, in one of the summer-houses, did examine them, and do find them so well advanced in their learning, that I was amazed at it: they repeating a whole ode without book out of Horace, and did give me a very good account of any thing almost, and did make me very readily very good Latin, and did give me good account of their Greek grammar, beyond all possible expectation; and so grave and manly as I never saw, I confess, nor could have believed; so that they will be fit to go to Cambridge in two years at most. They are both little, but very like one another, and well-looked children. Then in to my Lady again, and staid till it was almost night again, and then took leave for a great while again, but with extraordinary kindness from my Lady, who looks upon me like one of her own family and interest. So thence, my wife and people by the highway, and I walked over the park with Mr. Shepley, and through the grove, which is mighty pretty, as is imaginable, and so over their drawbridge to Nun’s Bridge, and so to my father’s, and there sat and drank, and talked a little, and then parted. And he being gone, and what company there was, my father and I, with a dark lantern; it being now night, into the garden with my wife, and there went about our great work to dig up my gold. But, Lord! what a tosse I was for some time in, that they could not justly tell where it was; that I begun heartily to sweat, and be angry, that they should not agree better upon the place, and at last to fear that it was gone but by and by poking with a spit, we found it, and then begun with a spudd to lift up the ground. But, good God! to see how sillily they did it, not half a foot under ground, and in the sight of the world from a hundred places, if any body by accident were near hand, and within sight of a neighbour’s window, and their hearing also, being close by: only my father says that he saw them all gone to church before he begun the work, when he laid the money, but that do not excuse it to me. But I was out of my wits almost, and the more from that, upon my lifting up the earth with the spudd, I did discern that I had scattered the pieces of gold round about the ground among the grass and loose earth; and taking up the iron head-pieces wherein they were put, I perceive the earth was got among the gold, and wet, so that the bags were all rotten, and all the notes, that I could not tell what in the world to say to it, not knowing how to judge what was wanting, or what had been lost by Gibson in his coming down: which, all put together, did make me mad; and at last was forced to take up the head-pieces, dirt and all, and as many of the scattered pieces as I could with the dirt discern by the candlelight, and carry them up into my brother’s chamber, and there locke them up till I had eat a little supper: and then, all people going to bed, W. Hewer and I did all alone, with several pails of water and basins, at last wash the dirt off of the pieces, and parted the pieces and the dirt, and then begun to tell [them]; and by a note which I had of the value of the whole in my pocket, do find that there was short above a hundred pieces, which did make me mad; and considering that the neighbour’s house was so near that we could not suppose we could speak one to another in the garden at the place where the gold lay — especially my father being deaf — but they must know what we had been doing on, I feared that they might in the night come and gather some pieces and prevent us the next morning; so W. Hewer and I out again about midnight, for it was now grown so late, and there by candlelight did make shift to gather forty-five pieces more. And so in, and to cleanse them: and by this time it was past two in the morning; and so to bed, with my mind pretty quiet to think that I have recovered so many. And then to bed, and I lay in the trundle-bed, the girl being gone to bed to my wife, and there lay in some disquiet all night, telling of the clock till it was daylight.

30 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Royal Society today at Arundel House — from the Hooke Folio Online

Octob: 10. 1667. The History of the R Society. [ http://ethnicity.rutgers.edu/~jly… ]

The expt. of opening the thorax of a dog orderd the Last meeting was made by Dr. Lower [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich… ] & mr Hooke which succeeded well as it did formerly according to the account already registred thereof. Sr. G. Ent Reflecting vpon this Expt. sayd that it shewd what was not the vse of Respiration but not wt it was. that the Lungs not beating at all but only kept extended wth. fresh air blown in by bellows, did shew that the Lungs did not serue to promote by agitation the motion of the Blood. Mr Hooke considerd that the dog being continually supplyed wth fresh air was kept aliue, but was ready [ to ] Dye if either he was Left vnsupplyed or his Lung only kept full wth. the same air, and then conceiud that the true vse of Respiration was to discharge the fumes of the blood.

(mr. Gascoynes micometer produced by D Crone) mr Hooke produced also his Instrument for the same purpose but made with farr Lesse charge performing the thing wth. more ease. he was orderd to haue such a one made for the Society, and to bring in a description of it & its vse.

( Dr. merret to pervse papers of tin mines) 3 papers of Sr Th: de vaux of sugar. deliuerd to mr Haak & mr. Hooke to pervse.) also a paper of making soft & hard soap. Recommended to the pervsall of those that had vndertaken to bring in the History of soap making of wch mr Hooke is one, coloration papers calld for. the Secretary said that those that were committed to the care of Dr. Quartremain. mr. D. Cox and mr. Hooke were not accounted for. that D Quartremain being since dead his papers should be Lookd after.

mr Howard desired to bring in History of tanning. mr. Hooke of soap boyling and hat making. mr Hill of Paper making, mr Hooke & mr Cox of Refining sugar) glanvills paper of Mendip mines. Ball Collins Oldenburg to Catalogue the Library).

http://webapps.qmul.ac.uk/cell/Ho…

Bradford  •  Link

"Pepys Hunts His Pounds": Wouldn't this make a fine comic short, a silent feature, with grimaces, body language, and cue-cards to fill us in on the "tosse" he was in?

Christopher Squire  •  Link

Yes! This is a very striking episode which brings Pepys to life.

Nowadays we just lend our money to an internet bank based in a foreign country and promising a high return and expect Government to come to our rescue when the sh*t hits the fan.

Michael L  •  Link

I love how he has such a hard time finding the hiding place in the first place, yet still is angry at them for making the hiding place so obvious and easy to find.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

While the cat's away,....

N.B., today the Parliament has resumed (v. the link above to the House of Lords).

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The King today puts the investigation of finances into parliament's hands.

"His Majesty formerly promised that you should have an Accompt of the Monies given towards the War, which His Majesty hath commanded His Officers to make ready; and since that Way of Commission (wherein He had put the Examination of them) hath been ineffectual, He is willing you should follow your own Method, examine them in what Way and as strictly as you please. He doth assure you, He will leave every one concerned to stand or fall, according to his own Innocence or Guilt." -- The Lord Keeper's Speech (for Charles R)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

Michael L  •  Link

"but we must endeavour to find [my sister] [a husband] now, for she grows old and ugly"

Geez, Sam, how can you talk about your sister like that?

gingerd  •  Link

"old and ugly", the poor girl was only 27 yrs old.

Mary  •  Link

Ah,but in 17th century terms she was no long a girl, but a mature woman who looked as if she were in great danger of being left on the shelf. 150 years later (viz. Jane Austen)a 27-year-old would similarly be reckoned decidedly old for an unmarried daughter.

Tony Eldridge  •  Link

W. Hewer and I did all alone, with several pails of water and basins, at last wash the dirt off of the pieces, and parted the pieces and the dirt, and then begun to tell [them]
"Tell" meaning count, an archaic word in the UK but still current in the USA in the form of a bank teller.

Ric Jerrom  •  Link

ATM = automatic telling machine. At an election in the UK, votes cast are counted by tellers. It's possible that a "till" - a desk or a cash machine - is where "telling" takes place. I think telling as counting is rarer than it used to be, but not archaic.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...to talk of all our concernments: about a husband for my sister, whereof there is at present no appearance; but we must endeavour to find her one now, for she grows old and ugly: then for my brother; and resolve he shall stay here this winter, and then I will either send him to Cambridge for a year, till I get him some church promotion, or send him to sea as a chaplain, where he may study, and earn his living."

Lucky Pall, lucky John Jr.

Spoiler...

Though fortunately Paulina will have the last laugh...
While John apparently requires brother Sam's guidance.

"So John, it's the Church for you, you lucky fellow. Perhaps a year at sea as a chaplain."

"Brother Sam. I was thinking more I'd attach myself to a wealthy related patron and hope for preferment at his hands in time of revolutionary upheaval."

Carl in Boston  •  Link

Paulina will have the last laugh? Surely that event isn't in the diary, it must have happened after the diary stopped. What happened to give her the last laugh?

language hat  •  Link

Even in my parents' day (the Depression/WWII generation), women tended to be seen as old maids if they hadn't gotten married by thirty. There are many, many jokes on the subject in old movies and radio shows.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Spoiler...

It will partially happen in Diaryspace, Carl. Pall finds her own rather loving beau, on her own, much to Sam's disgust...Though in time he comes round to the idea that at least it means she'll be able to watch over Brampton. And her son becomes Pepys' beloved #if perhaps ineffectual# heir John Jackson.

On a sweeter note brother and sister reconcile over time with Pall deeply concerned for Sam during the Popish plot period and Sam finally developing an affection for her as well as her young John.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"for my brother [I] ...resolve he shall stay here this winter, and then I will either send him to Cambridge for a year, till I get him some church promotion, or send him to sea as a chaplain"

L&M note he did neither. In 1670 John was made clerk of Trinity House (on Pepys's recommendation), and in 1673 joint-Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"anon the two twins were sent for from schoole, at Mr. Taylor’s"

Thomas Taylor was master of the grammar school at Huntingdon (where Pepys himself had been a pupil for a time) from 1641 to 1679. The twins (now aged 12) were Oliver and John, third and fourth sons of Sandwich. It was usual for the children of landed families to go to the local grammar schools at this period, at least for a time. Both these boys went on afterwards to Westminster School and Cambridge. They had distinguished careers -- John becoming Master of Trinity and Dean of Durham; Oliver a Queen's Counsel, a Bencher of the Middle Temple and Solicitor-General to Queen Mary. (L&M footnote)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Carl in Boston on 11 Oct 2010
Paulina will have the last laugh? Surely that event isn't in the diary, it must have happened after the diary stopped. What happened to give her the last laugh?"

L&M: Paulina Pepys was now 27. She married John Jackson of Ellington, Hunts., 28 March 1667/68. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"But this, with new building, may be made an excellent pretty thing, and I resolve to look after it as soon as I can, and Goody Gorum dies. "

L&M: By Robert Pepys's will. ownership of the alehouse kept in Brampton by Mrs Gorham was to pass to Pepys's father at her death, and to Pepys after his father's death.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"And [Mr Shepley] being gone, and what company there was, my father and I, with a dark lantern; it being now night, into the garden with my wife, and there went about our great work to dig up my gold."

L&M: Hidden there by Pepys's wife and father in the previous June during the invasion scare: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Nicolas  •  Link

An amusing entry. I wonder if any of the missing gold remains, to be discovered by metal detectorists. No doubt that ground has been gone over many times by now.

Eric the Bish  •  Link

“Telling” (counting) continues in the UK Parliament, where “Tellers” are appointed to count the votes. It’s also used in common speech in the UK come to think of it, but without the explicit concept of counting being foremost in the meaning: “How many?” and “what is it?” can both be answered “I can’t tell”.
See also https://www.parliament.uk/site-in…

mountebank  •  Link

By the time we got to "so W. Hewer and I out again about midnight" I was *howling* at this. In the past I've accused Sam of not doing humour but he's (inadvertently) proved me wrong here.

john  •  Link

I wonder if Pepys ever saw the humour of this. Certainly, I can understand his consternation at the time. It is also surprising that the bags were not dug up by a dog or somesuch.

Nicolas  •  Link

Do you suppose Pepys spent any time rereading his old diary entries? Does he ever mention in the diary that he’s done that? Of course he lived another thirty-three years after ending the diary so for that period we can’t know.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Do you suppose Pepys spent any time rereading his old diary entries?"

From time to time there is a note saying that a sentence or word was written in the margin, which leads me to believe Pepys did review his Diary entries occasionally, and add when necessary.
Andrew Godsell wrote a biography of Pepys for us, largely covering what happened after the Diary ends, mentioning specifically the amount of time he spent cataloging his library -- and his Diary was part of his library.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/indept…

The in-depth articles are really helpful. Enjoy.

Nicolas  •  Link

“The in-depth articles are really helpful. Enjoy.”

Thanks for the link Sarah, I had not seen this before though I did read Ms. Tomalin’s book a few years ago.

I tried to locate Mr. Godsell’s book but it’s out of print now and no used copies available anywhere.

Log in to post an annotation.

If you don't have an account, then register here.