Annotations and comments

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

Comments

First Reading

About Monday 30 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

Why would Sir W. Penn object to Pepys "taking of a mulct [levying a fine] upon a purser for not keeping guard at Chatham when [he] was there"?

Is he charging Pepys with appropriating what should have gone to Sir G. Cartaret, the Treasurer?

About Barbados

Terry F  •  Link

Barbados was settled by British in 1627-1628. Its main product was cane sugar, raised on large plantations. The African slave labor force was supplemented by the mid-to-late 1600's by Irish and Scottish indentured servants and slaves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barb…

About Saturday 28 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

"I neither denied nor affirmed"

Suppose he expressed pleasure at Milord's reported plan to change his pattern of conduct?

About Saturday 28 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

"I neither denied nor affirmed"

An early instance of dealing thus with the press, or its reporters - for Dr. Pearce (Pierce) is sought after "for gossip and good company" (as Pauline gleaned from Tomalin) - so whatever he says to Pearce will soon be abroad.

About Friday 27 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

"poor wifee?....

cumgranosalis, Eliizabeth has a made and a cook-maid (Jane and Besse) to take care of the household chores - Elizabeth is an upper-class wife. It's clearly her physical condition that's bemoaned.

About Plague

Terry F  •  Link

Great Plague of London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Great Plague (1665-1666) was a massive outbreak of disease in England that killed 75,000 to 100,000 people, up to a fifth of London's population. The disease is generally believed to have been bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted via a rat vector. Other symptom patterns of the bubonic plague, such as septicemic plague and pneumonic plague were also present....This episode of plague in Britain is thought to have arrived with Dutch trading ships carrying bales of cotton from Amsterdam. The disease had occurred intermittently in the Netherlands since 1654." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grea…

About Thursday 26 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

"being in a little pain in one of my testicles, by a stroke I did give it in pulling up my breeches yesterday over-eagerly" - so L&M.

About Wednesday 25 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

Know thine enemy; perhaps emulate/mirror them?

"Sir W. Warren...and I....lastly fell to talk of the Dutch management of the Navy, and I think will helpe me to some accounts of things of the Dutch Admiralty, which I am mighty desirous to know."

Clearly Pepys brings up the topic this day.

About Tuesday 24 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

"This day our tryall was with Field, and I hear that they have given him 29l. damage more, which is a strange thing, but yet not so much as formerly, nor as I was afeard of."

4 February 1661/62 - L&M note that in October 1662 Field brought suit against Pepys for having detained him without authority, and was awarded £30 damages. Today's trial was Field's suit against the whole Board. £29 = £20 damages plus costs; he had proposed an out-of-court settlement of £250. http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… Meanwhile, on an order of the Duke of York, Batten brought an action in the Exchequer on the original charge of slander and on 3 June 1663 was awarded £10 damages. This, inter alia, led to the act of 1664, giving the Board powers of magistracy within the city: http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

About Monday 23 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

History of anonymous juries [in the US]

Anonymous juries are a relatively new phenomenon. The first fully anonymous jury empaneled in the United States was in the 1977 trial of drug kingpin Leroy Barnes in New York City. The court believed Barnes presented an unusually dangerous risk to the jurors and it took the extraordinary measure of hiding their identities. (United States v. Barnes)...,By the mid-1990s, however, some courts used anonymous juries regularly....

Why anonymous juries are used
The primary arguments in favor of anonymous juries are to avoid jury tampering, protect juror safety and alleviate juror stress. However, courts also consider anonymous juries due to media interest in a case.
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cac…

About Monday 23 November 1663

Terry F  •  Link

Jury-tampering?

"...I went to Mr. Beacham, one of our jury, to confer with him about our business with Field at our trial to-morrow..."

I had the same Q., Robert. I believe thia has occurred before. Pepys is quite blasé about this - I guess the law has changed.