Annotations and comments

Terry Foreman has posted 16,447 annotations/comments since 28 June 2005.

Comments

First Reading

About Friday 17 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

Agreed, cape henry. One hopes the observation that "it is endless to look after [the cheates]" does not become resignation.

My sense is he takes Batten to be a distributor of no-bid contracts.

About Friday 17 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

"a cheate providing for us in the working of some of our own ground Tows into new cordage, to be sold to us for Riga cordage"

"tow"

A rope. Chiefly Sc.
c1470 HENRYSON Mor. Fab. v. (Parl. Beasts) xii, With towis proud ane pal{ygh}eoun can thay picht. 1513 DOUGLAS Æneis V. xii. 163 Thair cabillis new, and thar heid towis reparis. 1534 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VI. 234 Cabillis and towis brocht hame to the Kingis schip. a1578 LINDESAY (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 175 His handis bund witht sic ane tow of hempt. 1646 Alloa Kirk Session Rec. in North. N. & Q. 18 For towes to the bell. a1670 SPALDING Troub. Chas. I (1829) 12 Upon Monday..at night, he came down over the castle wall, upon tows brought to him secretly by his wife, and clearly wan away. (OED Online)

Pepys does NOT want recycled represented as new and top grade.

About Wednesday 15 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

What a contrast between the morning and afternoon outings -- the urgent business of resupplying Tangier, by appointment, with the tale of the wherefore (Teviot's defeat); and then the leisurely frolic, a desultory excursion, prompted by the appearance of the nymphs from Chelsea, as though heaven-sent!

(and more cherries)

About Monday 13 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

sort, v.1

III. 18. a. intr. To suit, fit, or agree; to be in harmony or conformity. Const. with, []to, or []together. Now arch.

(a) 1590 SHAKES. Mids. N. V. i. 55 That is some Satire keene and criticall, Not sorting with a nuptiall ceremonie. 1599 []Hen. V, IV. i. 63 My name is Pistol call'd. King. It sorts well with your fiercenesse. 1610 W. FOLKINGHAM Art of Survey I. x. 33 Dry Marle sortes with moist Soiles. a1652 BROME Queenes Exch. I. i. Wks. 1873 III. 460 Their Petulances sort not with this place. 1699 PEPYS in Diary & Corr. (1879) VI. 215 Of which book it would greatly sort with my Collection that I had a copy. 1709 POPE Ess. Crit. 322 For diff'rent styles with diff'rent subjects sort. 1780 COWPER Progr. Error 446 The text that sorts not with his darling whim, Though plain to others, is obscure to him. 1827 HARE Guesses (1859) 4 The vastness and awfulness of a mere sea-view would ill sort with the other parts of the..prospect. 1858 H. BUSHNELL Nature & Supernat. xi. (1864) 333 The miracles sort with the person of Christ and his mission. 1891 R. W. CHURCH Oxford Movem. xi. 178 However ill it might sort with the current language of Protestant controversy.

genius

3. a. Of persons: Characteristic disposition; inclination; bent, turn or temper of mind. Obs. dSECOND EDITION 1989

1581 SIDNEY Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 62 A Poet, no industrie can make, if his owne Genius bee not carried vnto it. 1599 B. JONSON Ev. Man out of Hum. II. i. (1600) D4a, I cannot frame me to your harsh vulgar phrase, tis agaynst my Genius. 1663 GERBIER Counsel 36 Those things whereunto their Genius doth tend. 1686 Observ. Chinese Char. in Misc. Cur. (1708) III. 215 There have been various ways thought of for Expressing Significancy, according to the several Genii of the Persons that were the Inventors. 1690 EVELYN Mem. (1857) III. 318 Its being suitable to my rural genius, born as I was at Wotton, among the woods. 1697 tr. C'tess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 83 He immediately discovered the Queens Genius, and easily made himself her Confident. 1713 DERHAM Phys. Theol. V. i. 312 There is the same Reason for the variety of Genii, or Inclinations of Men also. 1761 HUME Hist. Eng. III. lxi. 319 Men of such daring geniuses were not contented with the ancient and legal forms of civil government. 1780 JOHNSON Let. to Mrs. Thrale 10 July, Every man has his genius..my genius is always in extremes. 1781 J. MOORE View Soc. It. (1790) I. xvi. 188 The intriguing genius of Pope Julius. 1804 W. TENNANT Ind. Recreat. (ed. 2) II. 162 Operations requiring no effort..and on that account peculiarly suited to the genius of the indolent Bengalese.
(OED online)

About Bear's Quay

Terry F  •  Link

Rocque: Bear Key (Great), St Dunstan in the West
http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/db/hri…

Bear Quay

Between Porter's Quay east and New Bear Quay west (Act Parlt. 1559-Lockie, 1810).

Other names : "Great Bear Quay" (O. and M. 1677-Strype, ed. 1755). "Old Bear Quay" (Lockie, 1810).

Called in W. Stow 1722 and in Strype, ed. 1755 (p.817) "the great Corn Market by Billingsgate."

Named from the bere or barley brought to the quay for brewing purposes (Dodsley,1761).

See Wycherley's Yard.

Site now occupied by the Custom House.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

About Tuesday 14 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

Folks, The cause célèbre - about the Flags/Bewpers

Friday 22 May 1663
"Took boat at Greenwich and to Deptford, where I did the same thing, and found Davis, the storekeeper, a knave, and shuffling in the business of Bewpers, being of the party with Young and Whistler to abuse the King, but I hope I shall be even with them." http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

See the L&M footnote 1 to this text:
http://books.google.com/books?id=…

About Monday 5 March 1659/60

Terry F  •  Link

"expectation of the King's coming again" had been heightened by prophecy

"In November 1658 the exiled king Charles II was visited by a young man from Amsterdam by the name of Nicolaes Van Rensselaer, who had some good news to tell him: within a year and a half the king would be restored to his father's throne, his restoration being requested by the English people. Furthermore, Van Rensselaer also prophesied that Charles Stuart's, or his son's, reign would be so glorious that under it the conversion of the Jews would take place." "Prophecy and profit: Nicolaes van Rensselaer, Charles II and the conversion of the Jews," by Ernestine G.E. van der Wall
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/…

About Friday 8 April 1664

Terry F  •  Link

"The distinction between sticks and canes is based on the materials used; sticks were made of ivory, whalebone, ebony and other valuable woods. Canes were made from Malacca or rattan, bamboo and other hardy reeds. Quality canes spoke volumes about a person's wealth and social status.

"After the 1600s, canes became fashionable for men to carry as part of their daily attire. New rules of etiquette were formed during this time. To break this code of behavior was considered a violation of good manners. In 1702, the men of London were required to have a license in order to carry a walking stick or cane. Cane use was considered a privilege, and gentlemen had to abide by those rules or lose the privilege

"One example of a cane license reads: You are hereby required to permit the bearer of this cane to pass and repass through the streets of London, or anyplace within ten miles of it, without theft or molestation: Provided that he does not walk with it under his arm, brandish it in the air, or hang it on a button, in which case it shall be forfeited, and I hereby declare it forfeited to anyone who shall think it safe to take it from him. Signed________. (Source: Lester and Oerke Accessories of Dress, Peoria, IL. The Manual Arts Press.)

"In the late 17th Century oak sticks were carried, especially by the Puritans. The fashion (for men) continued into the 18th Century. From time to time, women also carried walking sticks or canes as a fashion accessory."
http://www.fashionablecanes.com/c…

"Around the 17th or 18th century, the cane took over for the sword as an essential part of the European gentleman's wardrobe, used primarily as a Walking stick. In addition to its value as a decorative accessory, the cane also continued to fulfill some of the function of the sword as a weapon. The standard cane was rattan (especially Malacca) with a rounded metal grip. Some canes had specially weighted metalwork. Other types of wood, such as hickory, are equally suitable."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane

About Capt. Fudge

Terry F  •  Link

Fudge was, in 1664, captain of a merchantman, engaged by Pepys to sail with provisions to Tangier, whom he found a slacker and prevaricator.

We do not know whether he was the same identified thus in the OED: "Captain Fudge, 'by some called 'Lying Fudge' (Letter of 1664, in Crouch *Posthuma Christiana* 1712, p. 87) was a real person (the surname is still common in Dorsett). The nautical phrase, 'You fudge it,' associated in 1700 with the name of that captain, prob. belongs to FUDGE v.1. In a dialogue of 1702, *The Present Condition of the English Navy*, one of the interlocutors is called 'Young Fudg of the Admiralty' perh. with allusion to the same verb.
1700 *Remarks on the Navy* in D'Israeli, *Cur. Lit., Neology* (1841), There was, sir, in our time one Captain Fudge,.who.always brought home his owners a good cargo of lies, so much that now aboard ship the sailors, when they hear a great lie told, cry out, 'You fudge it'. http://plateaupress.com.au/wfw/fu…

About Tuesday 14 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

"a fine lady, of a fine taille, and very well carriaged" -- YOO-hah!

"taille"

Fr. for figure, shape (cut)

Pepys starts with Betty Becke's face (nothing there to admire), then her figure (very n-i--i-ize), then her mind (VERY impressive).

About Monday 13 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

"to Greenwich, and there saw the King's works, which are great, a-doing there"

Wonder what royal properties and activity this refers to??

I do not find a good online source on "the King's works" per se. The phrase evidently refers to the royal properties. Chaucer was for a time "Clerk of the King's works." Inigo Jones was the Surveyor of the King's Works (1615 Inigo Jones appointed Surveyor of the King's Works. 1616 Queen's House at Greenwich, the first Classical building in England, designed by Inigo Jones. http://www.cofc.edu/~mccandla/Lon… ). Sir Christopher Wren held that title beginning in 1665 "thanks to Evelyn." http://www.culham.ac.uk/coleabbey…

About Monday 13 June 1664

Terry F  •  Link

"And when in his daily schedule does he plan to wedge in the writing of a history...?" When he leaves off spending entire mornings building ships to sail the seas of his imaginings.

The construal of two words in today's entry -- the first and last in the phrase "sorts mightily with my genius" -- might have made the OED.