Annotations and comments

Paul Chapin has posted 849 annotations/comments since 17 January 2003.

Comments

First Reading

About Sunday 29 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

"you wouldn't know a war is afoot"
On the contrary, Terry, special exemptions from land service, i.e. military duty, would seem to be the hottest of topics when the nation is gearing up for war.

OED re "land service":
Service performed on land; military, as opposed to naval, service.
a1586 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 123 Seeing wherein the Sea-discipline differed from Land-service. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. ii. 154 As I was then aduised by my learned Councel, in the lawes of this Land-seruice, I did not come. 1697 Dryden Æneis Ded. f3, I Writ not always in the proper terms of Navigation, Land-Service, or in the Cant of any Profession. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 57 A good army for land-service. 1801 T. S. Surr Splendid Misery II. 194 Salano, a Neapolitan pirate originally+took to the land service afterwards, and committed murders out of number. 1819 Byron Juan i. iv, The prince is all for the land-service, Forgetting Duncan, Nelson, Howe, and Jervis.

About Wednesday 18 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Ian Fleming's library
rob, thanks for that interesting bit of history. Michael Robinson or some other book expert will have to confirm this, but it is my understanding that a substantial part of the value of first editions to collectors is that they be in their original binding. If Fleming had them rebound, he paid a heavy price for his vanity or his aesthetic sensibility.
(Even more off topic than the previous post, but that just means that the OT police will have to go through me to get to Carl. I am Spartacus.)

About Friday 20 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

The last word on "baiser"
Actually, LH is more right than I was; all the examples folks have offered are consistent with his statement that "baiser" as a noun means 'kiss', as a verb means 'f...'. One more new thing I've learned from this blog.
It's interesting from a linguistic point of view that this should be so, because it is usually the case that a taboo word taints its homonyms. For example, you're very unlikely to hear the word "ass" used for a donkey. If the sexual use of the verb is fairly recent, I would predict that the use of the innocent noun will fade over time.

About Friday 20 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

"had my baiser of the fille of the house there, but nothing plus"
In modern French, "baiser" refers to sexual intercourse. This passage shows that that was not the case in the 17th century.

About Friday 20 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

"she had made herself sure to a fellow"
"sure" here means engaged to be married.
OED:
†7. a. Engaged to be married, betrothed, affianced (to make sure, to betroth); also, joined in wedlock, married. Obs.
1470 Paston Lett. II. 393 Mestresse Gryseacresse is sure to Selenger. c1536 Songs, Carols, etc. (1907) 154 Lady Mary, þe Kyngis dowghter, was mad sure+to þe yong Kyng of Castile. 1592 Arden of Feversham i. 151 The Painter+Hath made reporte that he and Sue is sure. [1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 237 She and I (long since contracted) Are now so sure that nothing can dissolue vs.] 1608 Middleton Trick to Catch Old One iii. i, I am but newly sure yet to the widow. 1632 Brome North. Lass ii. ii, I presum'd+you had beene sure, as fast as faith could bind you, man and wife. 1665 P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 175 My man william Griffith was marryd+to one of Baschurch, to whom hee had been sure since before hee came to mee.

About Sunday 15 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

"[he] spoke very leisurely but much, and left the matter more intricate and perplexed than he found it."
A wonderful description, which applies very neatly to a number of people I've known.

About Monday 16 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

"some bye questions"

OED re "bye", adjective:
2. fig. a. Away from the main purpose, occurring ‘by the way’, incidental, casual; b. of secondary importance; c. privy, clandestine, secret, underhand; cf. by- in comb. 3c, d, 4, 5: often coupled with another epithet, as by and sinister, familiar and by, etc. See by-matter, by-word, etc.
c1050, etc. [see by-word]. 1552, etc. [see by-matter]. 1562 Cooper Answ. Priv. Masse (1850) 168 You have brought out of them all but a few bye sentences. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum., The Stage, Entertain this troop With some familiar and by-conference. 1632 D. Lupton London Carbon. 105 He+hopes to haue+some by preferment. 1633 Fosbrooke Warre or Confl. 9 Done either in hypocrisie or for some by and sinister respect. a1652 Brome Crt. Beggar ii. i, Have we spent all this while in by and idle talke? 1674 [Z. Cawdrey] Catholicon 16 Those whom they have gained in their concealed and by-trade as Undertakers. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. xxvi. (1819) 455 The bye effect may be unfavourable. 1842 Miall Nonconf. II. 393 Some trivial bye consideration being unsound will vitiate our whole conclusion. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps iv. §3. 96 Far too serious a work to be undertaken in a bye way. 1857 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. I. ii. 5 A bye debate+arose on a motion by Lord Claud Hamilton.

Not sure which of the subsenses Sam had in mind.

About Sunday 15 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

"he had prepared heads in a paper"
I take this to mean he had an outline of the talking points he wished to make.

Cf. OED "head", n.1, senses 13a and 27:

13. a. The top of a page or writing; hence, Something, as a title, written at the top of a page, section, etc.; a heading.
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary To Rdr. (1625) Aiv, Peruse but the head of every page, and there you shall finde what in the same page is contained. 1659 Willsford Scales Comm. 58 Being stated (as in the head of the table). Ibid., Archit. 9 Contracted to heads in necessary particulars. 1685 Locke Comm.-Pl. Bk. Wks. 1812 III. 311 The heads of the class appear all at once, without the trouble of turning over a leaf. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 273 32 Without seeing his name at the head of it. a1854 E. Forbes Lit. Papers vii. (1855) 189 The heads of chapters are ornamented with artistic woodcuts. 1866 Brande & Cox Dict. Sc. etc. II. 101 In Printing+ The divisions and subdivisions of a work, when they are set in lines and chapters are also called heads.

27. One of the chief points of a discourse; the section of it pertaining to any such point; hence, a point, topic; a main division, section, chapter of a writing; a division of a subject, class, category.
(Partly arising from sense 13, and often associated with it, as in the phr. under this head.)
c1500 Melusine xxiv. 185 This gentylman thanne reherced to them fro hed to hed+all thauenture of theire vyage. 1573–80 Baret Alv. H271 Set this on my head in your booke, or write that you haue lent it, or deliuered it to me. 1607 Shakes. Timon iii. v. 28 As if they labour'd To bring Man-slaughter into forme, and set Quarrelling Vpon the head of Valour. 1632 J. Lee Short Surv. Aiij, The Contents or principall heads handled in this whole Discourse. 1652 Gataker Antinom. 5 We were acknowledged to agree in those two heds. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 209 He made me many compliments upon that head. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii. (Globe) 653/2 Make yourself easy on that head. 1838 Thirlwall Greece IV. xxxii. 241 The accusation comprised several heads. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 306 The expenditure under this head must have been small indeed. 1868 Helps Realmah xv. (1876) 411, I have very little to say upon this head. 1875 Jowett Plato III. 603 The heads of our yesterday's discussion.

About Wednesday 11 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

One thing that interests me about this war is that it is being fought almost entirely at sea, aside from some skirmishes at remote colonial outposts. Neither side, it seems, has the slightest intention of invading the other's homeland.

About Wednesday 11 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Terry, excellent recall or research on the canary. I had forgotten the earlier entry entirely.

One small correction: we are now four years, not five, removed from January 1660/61, when the birds arrived. At that time there were at least two of them. We haven't heard the fate of the other(s) (again, as far as I can recall).

About Wednesday 11 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

dead canary
Well, this is the first we've heard of this creature, so far as I can recall, so I guess that makes it more plausible that Sam could have had an eagle on the premises without telling us about it either.

I hope the canary didn't die from carbon monoxide or other noxious gases that could also affect the human inhabitants.

About Sunday 8 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Further on Annotations - content

Following up on Michael Robinson's note, Phil has gently reminded us in the past that there may be copyright issues if overextensive quotations from copyrighted sources appear on the site. Proper attribution should help reduce the risk of this, but does not eliminate it entirely.

About Thursday 5 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Elizabeth tends to get better press from our annotators than Sam, probably because she isn't the one sharing her private thoughts with us, but I think the frequency with which she gets angry at servants and dismisses them indicates that she must have been a hard person to work for, given to impetuous anger.

About Sunday 1 January 1664/65

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Always a good exercise in managing personal finance to write out a detailed budget. But it can be tricky to get it right, as Sam is finding out.

About Saturday 31 December 1664

Paul Chapin  •  Link

And so we end year five of our daily ventures into Sam's world, with Sam content with his lot, not yet knowing, as we, God-like, know, of the plague horrors that lie so soon ahead.

May our 2008 be free of plagues, pestilence, and, at year's end (forgive the digression), finally free of this maleficent, incompetent administration of the United States Government.

Warmest wishes for a happy and peaceful new year to all Pepysians everywhere, and thanks to you all, especially Phil, for making this site the joy that it is.

About Saturday 24 December 1664

Paul Chapin  •  Link

comets
Sam's disappointment on finally seeing the comet reminds me of my own when Halley's comet came around in 1986. I had heard of it since I was a child, and was excited at the opportunity to see it, but when it actually appeared, it was barely visible, you had to be told exactly where to look and what to look for before you could see the faint blur.

Wikipedia now tells me that "The 1986 approach was the least favourable for Earth observers of all recorded passages of the comet throughout history: the comet did not achieve the spectacular brightness of some previous approaches, and with increased light pollution from urbanization, many people never saw the comet at all." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come…
Better luck to my grandchildren in 2061, when it next appears.