Todd Bernhardt

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Annotations and comments

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

Comments

First Reading

About Friday 28 June 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: "nursery" and far-reaching conclusions

Laura, I agree that some annotators could be making over-reaching assumptions about what Sam means by his reference to the Nursery, above, but I think it’s also pretty well-known that he and Elizabeth *did* want children. Look at the diary’s first entry ( http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive… ), for example, where he says, “My wife, after the absence of her terms for seven weeks, gave me hopes of her being with child, but on the last day of the year, she hath them [i.e., her period] again.” It’s pretty clear from my reading of this that the couple did indeed have “hopes” of raising a family.

About Sunday 30 June 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Summing up at the halfway point of the year.

I'm surprised that no one has commented on the "summing up" nature of this post ... toward the end of it, Sam seems to slip into doing a quick mental inventory of where things stand with him and his at the end of the sixth month of the year, just as he does at the beginning of new years. Another piece of evidence, IMO, that he meant this diary to be a personal reference upon which he could look back in future years...

About Monday 24 June 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: little Pepyrs

No, no kids show up in nine months ... nor do they ever. (I think this is a well-known enough fact about Sam and Elizabeth to qualify for non-spoiler status ... see many earlier annotations for discussion of this.)

About Monday 27 May 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: the arrangement with the Comptroller

I think Mary's right about Sam's benefit from the arrangment with Slingsby (Sam gets to expand his accommodations), but to further answer Bradford's question, I think the other side of this quid-pro-quo deal is that Sam is going to get Slingsby a desk in the offices (which also makes Sam happy). That's the way I read it, anyway.

And, FWIW, it looks to me as if Downing never showed up (i.e., option 2 in Dirk's message above). I think if Downing had come out and turned him down, Sam would have written a bit more about it. The fact that he doesn't leads me to believe he'll simply try another day.

Advice to all: Never get two weeks behind in reading this site. Catching up is hard to do!

About Saturday 11 May 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Sam, the modern executive

Hic, you done it! Excellent.

(Oh, and you owe me a new keyboard ... this one is slowly getting ruined by the coffee spewed over it from the spit-take I did when I saw your work :-)

About Wednesday 24 April 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: spewing

Kevin, I was wondering the same thing ... maybe he got the velvet coat off before he began to erupt.

But oh! the smell ... his breath was probably improved after his morning chocolate, but I'm sure his garments still stunk. No mention of washing (but, then, there very rarely is...)

About Tuesday 16 April 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: "good sport about the long marks that are made there for sentences in divinity..."

"...which he is never like to make use of." Nor I, for that matter. Anyone with L&M access ... help, please?

About Friday 29 March 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Two dinners for Sam?

Man, he's *really* blowing his Lenten fast: "Dined at home, came Mr. Shepley and Moore ... After that to Sir W. Batten's, where great store of company at dinner.” Or am I missing something?

About Thursday 28 March 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: the £500 bond

Thanks, Emilio. That makes more sense, though my concern was more with the creditworthiness of My Lord (given what bit of knowledge I have of his future) than with ML’s reticence to accept loans from underlings! Although, from what people here have written about the Crown’s financial dealings, lending to the government may not have been the safest thing to do, either…

About Thursday 28 March 1661

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Not sure I understand the £500 bond footnote…

Emilio, am I reading your post correctly in thinking that Sam is lending money to Montagu? And making money at it?

About Thursday 14 March 1660/61

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Creed and Sam

I find it interesting that these rivals have gotten so close lately. More evidence of Sam's growing self-confidence, perhaps?

About Tuesday 12 March 1660/61

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Collation

My dictionary gives one meaning of this as "a light meal permitted on fast days."

I wonder why John Hunt lost his job?

About Sunday 10 March 1660/61

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: St. Vincent

I don't remember seeing that thought-of-the-day from vincent! Damn, he must have written it in Latin again... ;-)

Pedro, thanks for the preacher ratings. Interesting stuff.

About Tuesday 5 March 1660/61

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Melaud and Me lady

I don't know if it's simply that they keep their modesty while others around them don't (though that may be the case); I think what Sam is talking about in this entry is the fact that, now that he's rising in the world and they're treating him more like an equal, he's getting to know them better and likes them more. Montagu is not just a boss anymore; he's a friend. Same with his lady.

About Saturday 16 February 1660/61

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Pia Zadora as Anne Frank

Susan, funny as that story is, I've just found that it's -- like so many things in life -- apocryphal. Not only has Pia never graced the stage as Anne Frank (*shudder*), but Nazis soldiers don't appear in the play, either. You were thinking of "Springtime for Hitler," maybe? ;-)

See http://www.snopes.com/movies/acto… for more info.

About Thursday 14 February 1660/61

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: lingua Vincent

Birdie, I think you'll find that, just as people typically need about 10 minutes or so at a performance to "settle in" to the language of a Shakespearian play before comprehension flows effortlessly, lingua Vincent requires a bit of accommodation. But I think you'll find it's worth it. I have.

As for Sam's merits as a writer, I don't find this entry obscure at all, but rather funny and charming. FWIW, I think he's a brilliant writer, especially given the historical context of his writing. More FWIW defense at:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…