"Dined without any strangers with me, which I do not like on Sundays." Carl, you read this as saying SP likes having strangers dine with him (so what he doesn't like is the "without"). I got the opposite reading, that he doesn't like having strangers dine with him on Sundays. I don't see any obvious way to resolve the ambiguity directly from the text, but harking back to Sam's many Sunday dinners, it does seem to me that he usually has family and close friends there, and is more likely to dine with business acquaintances, or "strangers", during the work week.
I also think that "ordered" had a less peremptory meaning in the 17th century than it does now, something more on the order of our "asked" or "invited." We see a survival of that gentler meaning in a usage like "I ordered a sandwich," which doesn't mean I demanded one. Unfortunately my OED on CD-ROM couldn't manage the transition to my current operating system, so I can't check the facts for myself.
Graham, I totally agree. I often think of the famous dictum of the late Arthur C. Clarke: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
That would be a fair point, Graham, if anybody bought the phone to use as a level. The level app is just a cute toy (free for the downloading). The phone itself is the technological marvel.
"they having their mother hard by and my wife, and I a wet afternoon to White Hall" I believe from the context that the comma after "wife" is misplaced, should be after "by". In the next sentence Elizabeth is with him as they go from Whitehall to Westminster Hall.
Only partially on topic, but indulge me. My new Droid phone has a spirit level application. A graphic of a tube level (phone vertical) or a bull's eye level (phone flat) appears on the screen, and the position of the bubble is taken from the phone's internal position sensors. It's extremely accurate, and usable wherever one would use a regular carpenter's level. It tickles me to think how much Sam, and the guys over at the RS, would have loved today's technology. And it sobers me to realize that to some extent we owe it to them.
@Susan, "fortnight" is not in common usage in American English, although most educated people would understand it when they see it written, certainly better than "se'ennight." Don't know about Canada.
Thanks to CGS for that interesting Bill. Lawmakers then as now, wanting government services without the bother of paying for them, claim that eliminating "waste, fraud, and abuse" would cover the cost. And to buttress the claim they can always point out some examples of same, without noting that the amounts involved are a small percentage of the resources actually needed for the intended services.
Completely OT, but I can't let pass someone calling Elgar "perhaps Britain's greatest composer." This said of a nation that gave us William Byrd, Henry Purcell, Georg Friedrich Handel (born German, but spent his entire productive life in England), and in our own time, Benjamin Britten. Elgar isn't even in the running. (Pedro, I know it wasn't you, but the author you quoted.)
IIRC, Harvard is one of the libraries that has agreed with Google to enter their entire contents into Google's massive digital library over time. If we all live long enough, Hewer's journal may eventually be accessible to all.
@CGS, the market value of a gold guinea has gone up 3 1/2d since Sam bought them, or about 1.4%. If Sam were to sell his gold now he would make a profit of over 20L (allowing for a bid/asked margin on the part of the gold dealers). No derivatives or other fancy financial machinery needed. Of course he would be foolish to sell it, since it is probably going to continue going up in value, and in any case he wants the tangible asset for portability.
Comments
First Reading
About Monday 17 December 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
Thanks, Bradford. I thought maybe since m'Lud felt obliged to explain what he meant ("which would be little welcome there") he was coining a phrase.
About Monday 17 December 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
"Coals to Newcastle" even more interesting. Do you suppose this was actually the first use in history of that cliche?
About Sunday 16 December 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
"Dined without any strangers with me, which I do not like on Sundays."
Carl, you read this as saying SP likes having strangers dine with him (so what he doesn't like is the "without"). I got the opposite reading, that he doesn't like having strangers dine with him on Sundays. I don't see any obvious way to resolve the ambiguity directly from the text, but harking back to Sam's many Sunday dinners, it does seem to me that he usually has family and close friends there, and is more likely to dine with business acquaintances, or "strangers", during the work week.
About Wednesday 5 December 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
I also think that "ordered" had a less peremptory meaning in the 17th century than it does now, something more on the order of our "asked" or "invited." We see a survival of that gentler meaning in a usage like "I ordered a sandwich," which doesn't mean I demanded one. Unfortunately my OED on CD-ROM couldn't manage the transition to my current operating system, so I can't check the facts for myself.
About Wednesday 28 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
Graham, I totally agree. I often think of the famous dictum of the late Arthur C. Clarke: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
About Wednesday 28 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
That would be a fair point, Graham, if anybody bought the phone to use as a level. The level app is just a cute toy (free for the downloading). The phone itself is the technological marvel.
About Thursday 29 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
"they having their mother hard by and my wife, and I a wet afternoon to White Hall"
I believe from the context that the comma after "wife" is misplaced, should be after "by". In the next sentence Elizabeth is with him as they go from Whitehall to Westminster Hall.
About Wednesday 28 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
Only partially on topic, but indulge me. My new Droid phone has a spirit level application. A graphic of a tube level (phone vertical) or a bull's eye level (phone flat) appears on the screen, and the position of the bubble is taken from the phone's internal position sensors. It's extremely accurate, and usable wherever one would use a regular carpenter's level. It tickles me to think how much Sam, and the guys over at the RS, would have loved today's technology. And it sobers me to realize that to some extent we owe it to them.
About Sunday 25 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
"He was out two or three times in his prayer"
What does "out" mean in this context?
About Sunday 25 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
This entry seems to have aroused Lord Braybrooke like few others, evidently to defend Ms. Malet against calumny.
With all respect to CGS's OED excavations, I sense a much earthier interpretation of "kiss her breach."
About Monday 5 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
@Susan, "fortnight" is not in common usage in American English, although most educated people would understand it when they see it written, certainly better than "se'ennight." Don't know about Canada.
About Thursday 22 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
Thanks to CGS for that interesting Bill. Lawmakers then as now, wanting government services without the bother of paying for them, claim that eliminating "waste, fraud, and abuse" would cover the cost. And to buttress the claim they can always point out some examples of same, without noting that the amounts involved are a small percentage of the resources actually needed for the intended services.
About Thursday 13 September 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
Completely OT, but I can't let pass someone calling Elgar "perhaps Britain's greatest composer." This said of a nation that gave us William Byrd, Henry Purcell, Georg Friedrich Handel (born German, but spent his entire productive life in England), and in our own time, Benjamin Britten. Elgar isn't even in the running. (Pedro, I know it wasn't you, but the author you quoted.)
About Saturday 17 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
CGS, I think you mean "Gutenberged."
IIRC, Harvard is one of the libraries that has agreed with Google to enter their entire contents into Google's massive digital library over time. If we all live long enough, Hewer's journal may eventually be accessible to all.
About Saturday 17 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
This entry made me want to give Sam a laptop computer.
About Wednesday 14 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
"Smith ... hath killed a man upon a quarrel in play"
Should this have read "in A play"?
About Monday 5 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
"He do ... conclude it as a thing certain that it was done by plots"
The "paranoid style" didn't begin with American politics.
About Thursday 1 November 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
ADA, one cake that size would take care of Sam's victualing problems for the navy, or at least for one ship.
About Monday 29 October 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
@CGS, the market value of a gold guinea has gone up 3 1/2d since Sam bought them, or about 1.4%. If Sam were to sell his gold now he would make a profit of over 20L (allowing for a bid/asked margin on the part of the gold dealers). No derivatives or other fancy financial machinery needed. Of course he would be foolish to sell it, since it is probably going to continue going up in value, and in any case he wants the tangible asset for portability.
About Monday 29 October 1666
Paul Chapin • Link
Sam today answers the question we were tossing around back when he bought the guineas. He bought 2,000 of them and paid the discount as a surcharge.
He doesn't mention, maybe it hasn't occurred to him, that his own store of gold has gone up in value with the increase in the discount.