Todd Bernhardt

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Todd Bernhardt has posted 946 annotations/comments since 8 January 2003.

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First Reading

About Tuesday 19 July 1664

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

"I am sure I will."

Uh oh.

"By the way, Sam...Are you quite sure you want this in writing?"

It's stunning, isn't it? I was describing the Diary today to a friend at lunch, and gushing over Pepys' willingness to (for the most part) examine his own life so honestly and openly. Few of us would be willing or able to do this, and do it so well.

About Monday 18 July 1664

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Sounds to me as if Povy doesn't consider Sam to be in the same league with him ("Besides that he professed that he did not believe that I would have any hand myself in the contract, and yet here declares that he himself would have profit by it") ... I wonder if this attitude engendered an "I'll show *him*!" attitude in Sam that would explain his later treatment of Povy.

About Turpentine

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From Cumsalisgrano's annotation of 18 July 2007 here:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

1. a. A term applied originally (as in Gr. and Lat.) to the semifluid resin of the terebinth tree, Pistacia Terebinthus (Chian or Cyprian turpentine); now chiefly to the various oleoresins which exude from coniferous trees, consisting of more or less viscid solutions of resin in a volatile oil.

Turpentine:[turpin] from pine trees: verb to rub:
Pliny : in Syria they used to pluck the barke from the Terebinthe tree.[C10H16 now good for cleaning lead based paints from brushes]

1660 BOYLE New Exp. Phys. Mech. xxiv. 188 Common Oyl or Spirit (for in the Shops..the same Liquor is promiscuously call'd by either name) of Turpentine.

1728 CHAMBERS Cycl. s.v. Turpentine, What is commonly sold under the name of Oil of Turpentine, or Etherial Oil, is only a Distillation of the Rosin called Galipot, fresh from the Tree.

1799 Wilmington (N. Carolina) Gaz. 12 Dec. 2/1 Will be sold..at Public Sale... Two *turpentine stills.

1935 Z. N. HURSTON Mules & Men I. iv. 86 One woman had killed five [men] when I left that turpentine still where she lived.

Turpentiny:
Containing turpentine; having the smell or other properties of turpentine; smeared with turpentine.
1. A cathartic drug prepared from the root of East Indian jalap, Ipoma Turpethum, an Indian and Australian plant; also, the plant itself, or its root.

1658 PHILLIPS, Turbith,..a red Mineral, which being beaten to powder, is used in physick.

1675 Phil. Trans. X. 299 Mercury..having been..reduced into water, turbith and ashes.

1735 Dict. Polygraph. I. Sij, The best wood for this purpose,..provided it be not turpentiny.

1866 Treas. Bot. 718/2 Manna of Briançon, a turpentiny saccharine exudation from the larch.

About Friday 15 July 1664

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Right you (both) are. From what I read, and presumed, it was also a mystery to Sandwich and Sam -- perhaps only Edward knew? Maybe it has something to do with the "2000l. that Mr. Montagu do owe him" [Sandwich] ... after all, one of the reasons to neither a borrower nor a lender be is that "borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry" and sometimes causes resentment on the part of the borrower (which Mr. Montagu could be expressing toward Sandwich).

About Sunday 17 July 1664

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Hmmmm ... no church, no reading of vows, no evening prayers with the staff. Careful, Sam. God might punish you by making you think it's a good idea to eat something dreadful.

About Saturday 16 July 1664

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"and there I got Mr. Moore to give me my Lord's hand for my receipt of 109l. more of my money of Sir G. Carteret, so that then his debt to me will be under 500l., I think"

Can anyone help me parse this? Does it somehow relate to the bill of imprest?

About Tuesday 12 July 1664

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Eating while reading

Given how valuable books were then, do you really think Sam would risk getting any "brave sauce" on his newly bound treasures?

About Sunday 10 July 1664

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re: The Letter

Wow ... what a mess. Sounds like everyone is trying to get the best of everyone else. Despite the benefits that comes along with being a landowner, I bet Sam sometimes wished he never had anything to do with the Brampton land.

Let me add my thanks, Jeannine, for posting (arf, arf) the letter.

And Michael R, thanks for the link to the "penitent Magdelene"! What a beautiful painting -- the way that the light plays on the satin dress is stunning. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to have the skill to paint that.

About Saturday 9 July 1664

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"because we would not be obliged to attend the business when we can, but when we list."

What meaning does "list" have here? "when we can"?

"This consideration did displease me, but it was voted and so went."

You gotta love committees...

About Friday 8 July 1664

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"for these Lords are hard to be trusted"

Plus ca change, indeed.

Plus -- according to Terry's note (and, thus, L&M, whom we usually trust as definitive), discussions of "main" are moot, non?

About Monday 4 July 1664

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re: the land sale

Aussie Sue and Andrew (it's time to rhyme! :-) -- it could very well be that this is about him acting as agent ... hopefully we'll see in the next several months...

Nice to see you back, Laura K! I suspect you have plenty of useful thoughts to add (such as the one above :-)

About Monday 4 July 1664

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Indeed. Land has always been the Holy Grail for Sam -- it brings security, income, and status. And, if we can reduce his risk with Sandwich, as Michael suggests, this could be a Very Good Thing. Plus, think of the position it'd put Crew in! He'd be hard-pressed to publicly refute his son-in-law's creditworthiness, though he probably knows better than anyone else how much debt he's piling up...

About Tuesday 5 July 1664

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Aw, c'mon, you guys are being too hard on Sam. Clearly he feels there is a qualitative (and, no doubt, quantitative) difference between his actions and Batten's. The Chest, if I recall correctly, is set up to help pensioners and such, while Sam's simply working on a business deal. He always drives a hard bargain, and strives to get the best price for the king. If he takes a little off the top, look at it as a bit of recompense for his hard work. Not kosher by today's standards (in some countries, anyway!), but certainly excusable by his...

About Monday 4 July 1664

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re: Buying or selling?

Andrew, I considered that, but wondered a couple of things: 1) Crew might not be looking to sell the land right away; 2) Sam might be thinking of a way to "creatively" get together the £1000 (leveraging other assets, paying over time, etc.) This is what I thought "if I can compass it" might have meant...

About Monday 4 July 1664

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"being satisfied that she yielded"

Wow. Think what a marriage counselor today would do with that. Sam obviously has some control issues here. 25s *was* a lot of money then, so Sam probably could have had a reasonable expectation of being consulted (although, Elizabeth may have been taking the "do it and beg forgiveness later" route, rather than asking permission when she knew he'd say no), but the phrase above shows that, when it comes to finances, he considers himself Lord and Master, not to be trifled with.

"He offered me the selling of some land of his in Cambridgeshire, a purchase of about 1000l., and if I can compass it I will."

Question: Is Crew asking Sam to act as agent, as Robert suggests, or is he trying to sell the land to Sam? If it's the latter, the fact that Sam was "very much made of there by him" during lunch is kind of amusing ...

About Monday 27 June 1664

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Hee hee, Mr. Salty, thanks for the OED reference and etymology lesson. I had no idea that I'm wearing a *pair* of Janes!

About Tuesday 28 June 1664

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"but I drank nothing, nor will"

Too bad -- doctors nowadays push fluids for those with "the stone." Helps flush away the minerals that contribute to them.

"saying she brought him a portion and God knows what"

Can someone help w/this? What does he mean by "brought him a portion"?

"By which, with many instances more, I perceive they do live a sad life together."

Count your blessings, Mr. (Samuel) Pepys...

About Monday 27 June 1664

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Yet another "mayd" named Jane! I wonder if there's a resource anywhere that lists and ranks the popularity of English names for that period...