Is it just me, or do we have a lot of punning names in today's entry? Clerke the solicitor; Long (winded) the advocate; Batten's Wood; (what else would a batten be made of?). All we need is the re-appearance of Scully the boatman. Next we will have Warren's man Bunny, and Field's man Meadows.
"We drank great store of wine, and a beer glass at last which made me almost sick." Sam obviously hadn't heard the old saying: Beer before wine, and you'll feel fine. Wine before beer, will make you feel queer.
"...that he must break..." I agree with Mary's interpretation. The preceding and following clauses: "...better than the other, but the company and room so small that he must break, and there wants the pleasure that the other house has in its company" (where "wants" is used to mean "lacks"), are both negative. So, although the food and landlord are superior to the King's Head's, the inn is too small, has too few customers, and therefore lacks the atmosphere of it's bigger competitor. "Must break" looks like a more elegant way of saying "must go broke".
Human body parts have been the basis of measurement since biblical times. The cubit is the length of forearm from elbow to finger tips; the yard is nose to finger tips; a hand is four inches (horses for the measuring of); the foot needs no explanation; an inch is the width of a man's thumb. This is recognised in French as Aqua scripto points out. Pouces are still used in French when referring to Anglo-Saxon devices like 3½" Floppy discs.
I think Cecil's point about starch is that wheat, that could be used for making bread for the poor, was being used to make starch for vanity and fashion. This is a similar point to that sometimes made today about scarce petroleum being burnt in gas-guzzlers by a few individuals, when it could be used for the benefit of the whole world to provide energy, plastics and medicines.
Re: Blackbirds - "A Brussels correspondent heard such blackbirds at 3.51AM the other morn" Brussels summer time is two hours ahead of GMT though not very far east of Greenwich, so this equates to about 1:30 am by solar time. To quote the Beatles' Blackbird again "Blackbird singing in the dead of night..."
Bradford, I assume Sam was talking about the European Blackbird, or merle or ousel, (Turdus Merula) not a North American bird. The male is jet black with a yellow beak, the female is dark brown. It is from the same family as the Song Thrush. This is one of our most common birds, which sings beautifully throughout the year, but especially around now. You can hear a sample on the Beatles White Album at the end of the track "Blackbird"
Robert: sorry to be pedantic: once I would have ignored, but the same error 3 times in one posting, I can't. Elizabeth probably spoke good French, (being French) so she would never mix her genders. She would have said mon petit (maculine) or ma petite (fem) depending on what the implied subject was, so mon petit pou (my little louse) or ma petite puce (my little flea), but never ma petit anything.
Uses/used to do: Bradford, "uses to do" is the form that is now rare, "used to do" is still in everyday speech, for example: Elvis Costello's song - Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)
Re: “gave rise to a new English word” I assume this is menagerie, which came into use in English around 1712, i.e. during the existance of the Tower menagerie, though it had much older usage in France. Zoo is first mentioned in 1847, though zoologist appeared in 1663. Thanks to:Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.p…
Morris dancing was revived in the Victorian era and again in the 60's folk revival. It is now quite common in Britain. I saw two different Morris dancing troupes this weekend: one in my high street; one at Kew Gardens.
Re: Popery The book "Tribes of Britain" by David Miles, has much material about the changes of religious leanings of the people and rulers of Britain in the context of the European Religious wars and linguistic groups in Britain. For example, the Scots, Irish and Welsh saw the imposition of both English language and Protestatism as two parts of the same colonial sword, and rejected both. The English saw Catholicism in a similar light, being foreign and associated with the Spanish and French expanding empires. The Stuarts, with their Scottish background, were perhaps less protestant than some of their predecessors, and certainly less than their Orange and Hanoverian successors, but had to hide it from their subjects. Not well enough in James' case. The book is well worth reading for its overview of 26,000 years of British history. Pepys is quoted several times.
Windsor is a small town on the banks of the Thames in the county of Berkshire. Site of Windsor Castle, an official royal residence and the largest occupied castle in the world. A wooden castle was built upon the present site by Guillaume le Bâtard (William the Conqueror) in 1070, but the current stone structure was started in the 1170's by Henry II. It has been added to by almost every monarch since. Charles I was held there before his trial and his body was buried in St George's Chapel. The castle was severely damaged in a fire in 1992, but was restored by 1997
Backwards and forwards is used in the sense of to-and-fro(m) in modern English, as in "I've been going backwards-and-forwards all day between my desk and the photocopier." Personally, I rarely walk backwards to the photocopier. So, I read it that Sam and Creed walked both ways rather than take the boat in one direction.
On 26th March 1658, Samuel Pepys was "cut for the stone". Each year on the same date, or near to it, he has a celebration in thanks of being delivered safely from the both the stone and the dangerous operation to remove it.
Comments
First Reading
About Saturday 27 June 1663
GrahamT • Link
Is it just me, or do we have a lot of punning names in today's entry?
Clerke the solicitor; Long (winded) the advocate; Batten's Wood; (what else would a batten be made of?). All we need is the re-appearance of Scully the boatman.
Next we will have Warren's man Bunny, and Field's man Meadows.
About Friday 26 June 1663
GrahamT • Link
"We drank great store of wine, and a beer glass at last which made me almost sick."
Sam obviously hadn't heard the old saying:
Beer before wine,
and you'll feel fine.
Wine before beer,
will make you feel queer.
About Wednesday 24 June 1663
GrahamT • Link
"...that he must break..."
I agree with Mary's interpretation. The preceding and following clauses: "...better than the other, but the company and room so small that he must break, and there wants the pleasure that the other house has in its company" (where "wants" is used to mean "lacks"), are both negative. So, although the food and landlord are superior to the King's Head's, the inn is too small, has too few customers, and therefore lacks the atmosphere of it's bigger competitor. "Must break" looks like a more elegant way of saying "must go broke".
About Mathematics
GrahamT • Link
Small correction:
1949mm = 76.3" = 6'4"
(6'6" = 2metres)
About Tuesday 9 June 1663
GrahamT • Link
Human body parts have been the basis of measurement since biblical times. The cubit is the length of forearm from elbow to finger tips; the yard is nose to finger tips; a hand is four inches (horses for the measuring of); the foot needs no explanation; an inch is the width of a man's thumb. This is recognised in French as Aqua scripto points out. Pouces are still used in French when referring to Anglo-Saxon devices like 3½" Floppy discs.
About Thursday 4 June 1663
GrahamT • Link
I think Cecil's point about starch is that wheat, that could be used for making bread for the poor, was being used to make starch for vanity and fashion. This is a similar point to that sometimes made today about scarce petroleum being burnt in gas-guzzlers by a few individuals, when it could be used for the benefit of the whole world to provide energy, plastics and medicines.
About Saturday 23 May 1663
GrahamT • Link
Re: Blackbirds -
"A Brussels correspondent heard such blackbirds at 3.51AM the other morn" Brussels summer time is two hours ahead of GMT though not very far east of Greenwich, so this equates to about 1:30 am by solar time. To quote the Beatles' Blackbird again "Blackbird singing in the dead of night..."
About Saturday 23 May 1663
GrahamT • Link
Bradford, I assume Sam was talking about the European Blackbird, or merle or ousel, (Turdus Merula) not a North American bird. The male is jet black with a yellow beak, the female is dark brown. It is from the same family as the Song Thrush.
This is one of our most common birds, which sings beautifully throughout the year, but especially around now. You can hear a sample on the Beatles White Album at the end of the track "Blackbird"
About Tuesday 19 May 1663
Grahamt • Link
DW's chemistry is a bit out. Silver disolved in Aqua fortis (Nitric acid) becomes soluble Silver Nitrate, not silver oxide.
About Elizabeth Pepys (wife, b. St Michel)
Grahamt • Link
Here is a photograph of the actual Epitaph from St Olave's Church. It has been enhanced to make the text easier to read.
http://static.flickr.com/50/14099…
About Saturday 2 May 1663
GrahamT • Link
Robert: sorry to be pedantic: once I would have ignored, but the same error 3 times in one posting, I can't.
Elizabeth probably spoke good French, (being French) so she would never mix her genders. She would have said mon petit (maculine) or ma petite (fem) depending on what the implied subject was, so mon petit pou (my little louse) or ma petite puce (my little flea), but never ma petit anything.
About Saturday 2 May 1663
GrahamT • Link
Stolzi:
Original Latin epitaph here:
http://static.flickr.com/52/11778…
(it means nothing to me)
About Thursday 30 April 1663
GrahamT • Link
Uses/used to do:
Bradford, "uses to do" is the form that is now rare, "used to do" is still in everyday speech, for example: Elvis Costello's song - Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)
About Thursday 30 April 1663
GrahamT • Link
Re: “gave rise to a new English word”
I assume this is menagerie, which came into use in English around 1712, i.e. during the existance of the Tower menagerie, though it had much older usage in France. Zoo is first mentioned in 1847, though zoologist appeared in 1663.
Thanks to:Online Etymology Dictionary.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.p…
About Friday 1 May 1663
GrahamT • Link
Morris dancing was revived in the Victorian era and again in the 60's folk revival. It is now quite common in Britain. I saw two different Morris dancing troupes this weekend: one in my high street; one at Kew Gardens.
About Saturday 25 April 1663
GrahamT • Link
Re: Popery
The book "Tribes of Britain" by David Miles, has much material about the changes of religious leanings of the people and rulers of Britain in the context of the European Religious wars and linguistic groups in Britain. For example, the Scots, Irish and Welsh saw the imposition of both English language and Protestatism as two parts of the same colonial sword, and rejected both. The English saw Catholicism in a similar light, being foreign and associated with the Spanish and French expanding empires.
The Stuarts, with their Scottish background, were perhaps less protestant than some of their predecessors, and certainly less than their Orange and Hanoverian successors, but had to hide it from their subjects. Not well enough in James' case.
The book is well worth reading for its overview of 26,000 years of British history. Pepys is quoted several times.
About Windsor
GrahamT • Link
Windsor is a small town on the banks of the Thames in the county of Berkshire. Site of Windsor Castle, an official royal residence and the largest occupied castle in the world.
A wooden castle was built upon the present site by Guillaume le Bâtard (William the Conqueror) in 1070, but the current stone structure was started in the 1170's by Henry II. It has been added to by almost every monarch since.
Charles I was held there before his trial and his body was buried in St George's Chapel.
The castle was severely damaged in a fire in 1992, but was restored by 1997
About Thursday 16 April 1663
GrahamT • Link
Trundle bed: Also known as Truckle bed. Still available in a bed shop near you.
(See http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… )
About Saturday 28 March 1663
GrahamT • Link
Backwards and forwards is used in the sense of to-and-fro(m) in modern English, as in "I've been going backwards-and-forwards all day between my desk and the photocopier." Personally, I rarely walk backwards to the photocopier. So, I read it that Sam and Creed walked both ways rather than take the boat in one direction.
About Stone feast
GrahamT • Link
On 26th March 1658, Samuel Pepys was "cut for the stone".
Each year on the same date, or near to it, he has a celebration in thanks of being delivered safely from the both the stone and the dangerous operation to remove it.