Todd Bernhardt

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

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First Reading

About Saturday 9 April 1664

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

"At noon home to dinner upon tripes ... where I found myself sick in my stomach and vomited, which I do not use to do."

Cape, you might very well be right about the wiggs, but certainly his dinner didn't help things! Yuck.

And Robert, I also got a belly laugh out of the Minnes and Batten line. Nice to see Sam's still got it, even when he doesn't feel his best...

About Tuesday 5 April 1664

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"although I made her angry by calling her old, and making her know what herself is"

Seems that Elizabeth is not the only one Sam insults today. No wonder Betty's "body was out of temper for any dalliance"...

About Monday 4 April 1664

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"But who would have thought that the fellow that I should have sworn could have spoken before all the world should in this be so daunted, as not to know what he said, and now to cry like a child."

Actually, Sam, after your descriptions of the Bros. Joyce, *I* would have thought this. It's interesting that Sam did at least have high regard for William's ability to at least talk his way out of trouble, but it's situations like this where you find the true measure of a man (or woman), I suppose...

Also interesting to see the wheels of war finally beginning to turn for our boy. Something tells me work is about to get even busier.

About Sunday 3 April 1664

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"he the next week expects to be going down to Brampton again"

Interesting that he talks of going "down to Brampton," when it's to the north of the city. Is it only a recent development (or perhaps part of American English) that I'm used to hearing people talk about going "up north" or "down south"?

About Saturday 2 April 1664

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"Holmes was sent out with orders that gave him leeway to provoke the Dutch, but that those giving those orders wanted the flexibility to also disavow any of his actions"

Why am I suddenly hearing viols scraping along in 5/4 time? "Good luck, Captain Holmes. These papers will self-destruct -- well, you're *ordered* to burn them -- in 5 seconds..."

About Friday 1 April 1664

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Re: "but would be glad to have her, to come and be at my house a week now and then."

Robert, it brought a smile to my face, too, but remember -- all punctuation was added by the editors (I wonder if this comma is not in L&M at all, as we found w/Aussie Sue's full stop).

"but that he do not think he is displeased, as I fear, with me, but is strange to all, which makes me the less troubled"

Oh, it's ALL about you, isn't it, Sam? Your patron -- without whom you never would have been able to save that £900 (a good bit of which is lent to lil' ol' card-playing him, remember!) -- is "strange to all" and "minds his carding and little else," but as long as he's not mad at you particularly, all is well...

About Wednesday 30 March 1664

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"it seems the King's design is by getting underhand the merchants to bring in their complaints to the Parliament, to make them in honour begin a warr, which he cannot in honour declare first, for fear they should not second him with money."

If Capt. Cocke and Sam can figure this out, why can't the Parlimentarians? Oh, the hubris that leads us into war ... you'd think we'd learn after, I don't know, *thousands* of years of it.

About Tuesday 29 March 1664

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"and took coach to my father to see and discourse with him"

Funny to see "discourse" as a verb, but that kind of discovery is just one more pleasure of this site, I suppose...

About Friday 4 March 1663/64

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"and talking of the charge did say that he finds always the best the most cheape, instancing in French guns, which in France you may buy for 4 pistoles, as good to look to as others of 16, but not the service"

This threw me for a loop at first, too, but taking into account the possible double-meaning of the word "charge" (LH and others, was this true then?), I took it to mean that "the best [is] the most cheape" only when talking about the charge -- i.e., gunpowder. Certainly James couldn't be ignorant enough to think that the best-quality items are always the least expensive? (Although, that said, history does show that James was not a particularly intelligent man...)

About Friday 4 March 1663/64

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A good day for Sam politically.

He seems to be back in his Lord's good graces, and the Duke call Sam to him for a "pretty while."

This bit about the Chest money seems troubling, though:
"which we are to blame not to look after"

Is it? Or am I reading it wrong?

About Thursday 3 March 1663/64

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"and I hope to the outing of Creed in his Secretaryship"

Really, Sam? This same Creed whom you recently re-befriended?

I'd be careful with Howe, my friend. I'd bet he's been learning at Creed's knee...

About Sunday 28 February 1663/64

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re: "his lady a very high-carriaged but comely big woman; I was mightily pleased with her"

Does anyone know exactly what Sam means by "big" here? Tall? Fat? Both?

About Friday 26 February 1663/64

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re: Three uses of "high" in this entry

Glyn, I took "the young ladies look somewhat highly upon me" to be bad, meaning angry looks (ala "high words"). As for "my high carriage," I took that to mean that he must carry himself like a gentleman if he is to be perceived as one.

'Tis an odd thing indeed that self-interest continues to blind him to jealousy, even as he talked about his green-eyed monster yesterday!

Time to head home, so I can eat something and my wife...

About Tuesday 23 February 1663/64

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"and of a sudden knowing what I had at home"

After reading this, I was expecting something really special waiting for him at home, but then he simply talks about "a pretty dinner for a sudden" (with no mention of Elizabeth). I wonder why...

In any case, Happy Birthday Samuel! We're glad you're here.

About Monday 22 February 1663/64

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"It looks strange putting all together, but yet I am in hopes he means well."

Hope springs eternal!

Whew, this is some entry ... reading this one was almost as prodigious a task as completing my catch-up, having fallen almost a month behind. Terry, a belated welcome back! And to the rest, a belated thank-you for your continued insights...

About Saturday 16 January 1663/64

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re: French

Terry, that was my question, too -- obviously, the shorthand is what is keeping it from Elizabeth's prying eyes (if she ever knew the Diary existed), not the choice of language. Perhaps Sam lapses into pidgeon Français because, in his mind, c'est la language d'amour?

(BTW, as my fraçtured Français above ably demonstrates, I ain't exactly fluent ... could someone who is better than I please provide a pure English translation of Sam's dalliance for our ... okay, *my* ... salacious satisfaction? I can parse about 85% of it, but the devil's in the details! :-)