"[...] but they giving him some high words, he went back again [...]". One wonders whether the admiral would have responded differently had no high words been given.
@SDS -- Indeed. My safeguard is to delete all the response recipients and place them at the start of the body of the reply, so that accidental sending will fail.
I know not whether the public then thought as did the executioners then about cruelty. The latter considered it their faithful duty to carry out the deeds. (See the reference I previously gave: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… .)
As long as we are confessing our past Latin sins, I confess that I took Latin in high school. Back then, we learned from "Latin for Canadian Schools". Alas, the book is long out of print and the courses no longer taught.
"I having two barrels of oysters at home, I caused one of them and some wine to be brought to the inner room in the office, and there the Principal Officers did go and eat them."
Today, one brings in bagels or doughnuts or somesuch for one's colleagues.
A worthy addition to any personal library, 3Lamps. Congratulations. (Paperback versions, which I have, were published in the US by U. Cal. P. and Harper-Collins elsewhere.)
@Martin. I suspect that you are quite correct. Renting "day-horses" in urban areas persisted for some time. I know of no UK or EU references for that time period but, for example, "The Horse in the City" by McShane and Tarr covers this history in 19th-century US.
The cruelty of executioners: At that time, executioners believed that they carried out "God's will" and the cruelty was ordained. See "The Faithful Executioner" by Harrington or "A Hangman's Diary" by Schmidt for more of the matter. (Note that I was unable to read most of it.)
"After him comes Mr. Creed, who brought me some books from Holland with him, well bound and good books, which I thought he did intend to give me, but I found that I must pay him."
And how many people nowadays purchase books based solely on appearance? But there is a conjunction there. I wonder if Creed put them on his desk and then gave him a bill?
I concur with all of today's comments. At that time, for such alterations, experienced workers and their assistants/apprentices would show up, Pepys would point and say that he wanted this-and-that, and they would do their work. We also know how curious Pepys was and may have enjoyed seeing how the work was done. (Having carried out many an alteration to houses and out-buildings, I wish he had recorded more of the actual mechanics.)
"[...] where the plasterers being at work in all the rooms in my house, my wife was fain to make a bed upon the ground for her and me, and so there we lay all night."
The odour of wet plaster would have permeated the entire house, making sleep difficult. Does "ground" mean a floor or actually outside?
When a child, I was taken to a wake of a family friend. Not knowing that he had died and as the entire wake seemed like a party to me, I innocently asked where he was. Someone pointed to the casket at the end of the hall and calmly said: He's over there.
"Before he would begin any business, he took my papers of the state of the debts of the Fleet, and there viewed them before all the people, and did give me his advice privately [...]"
To me, this seems a significant display of acknowledgement of Pepys' new status.
Comments
Third Reading
About Wednesday 4 December 1661
john • Link
"after dinner by water to Cheapside to the painter’s, and there found my wife"
This belays the semi-popular image of Elizabeth being cooped up at home.
About Friday 25 October 1661
john • Link
The review in the Hudson is available here: https://web.archive.org/web/20050…
About Thursday 23 May 1661
john • Link
Searching for "beating the bounds" on Youtube returns all sorts of delightful videos from the last hundred years to the present.
About Saturday 4 May 1661
john • Link
The minister's red face could have been rosacea.
About Thursday 18 April 1661
john • Link
"[...] but they giving him some high words, he went back again [...]". One wonders whether the admiral would have responded differently had no high words been given.
About Thursday 7 March 1660/61
john • Link
@SDS -- Indeed. My safeguard is to delete all the response recipients and place them at the start of the body of the reply, so that accidental sending will fail.
About Monday 21 January 1660/61
john • Link
@SDS -- You make a valid point often missed here: The business with hats was not one of social status.
About Saturday 19 January 1660/61
john • Link
I know not whether the public then thought as did the executioners then about cruelty. The latter considered it their faithful duty to carry out the deeds. (See the reference I previously gave: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… .)
About Thursday 13 December 1660
john • Link
@dirk The web page is archived here: https://web.archive.org/web/20060…
About Monday 3 December 1660
john • Link
As long as we are confessing our past Latin sins, I confess that I took Latin in high school. Back then, we learned from "Latin for Canadian Schools". Alas, the book is long out of print and the courses no longer taught.
About Friday 30 November 1660
john • Link
"I having two barrels of oysters at home, I caused one of them and some wine to be brought to the inner room in the office, and there the Principal Officers did go and eat them."
Today, one brings in bagels or doughnuts or somesuch for one's colleagues.
About Friday 9 November 1660
john • Link
A worthy addition to any personal library, 3Lamps. Congratulations. (Paperback versions, which I have, were published in the US by U. Cal. P. and Harper-Collins elsewhere.)
About Thursday 1 November 1660
john • Link
@Martin. I suspect that you are quite correct. Renting "day-horses" in urban areas persisted for some time. I know of no UK or EU references for that time period but, for example, "The Horse in the City" by McShane and Tarr covers this history in 19th-century US.
About Saturday 13 October 1660
john • Link
The cruelty of executioners: At that time, executioners believed that they carried out "God's will" and the cruelty was ordained. See "The Faithful Executioner" by Harrington or "A Hangman's Diary" by Schmidt for more of the matter. (Note that I was unable to read most of it.)
About Saturday 6 October 1660
john • Link
"After him comes Mr. Creed, who brought me some books from Holland with him, well bound and good books, which I thought he did intend to give me, but I found that I must pay him."
And how many people nowadays purchase books based solely on appearance? But there is a conjunction there. I wonder if Creed put them on his desk and then gave him a bill?
About Thursday 27 September 1660
john • Link
I concur with all of today's comments. At that time, for such alterations, experienced workers and their assistants/apprentices would show up, Pepys would point and say that he wanted this-and-that, and they would do their work. We also know how curious Pepys was and may have enjoyed seeing how the work was done. (Having carried out many an alteration to houses and out-buildings, I wish he had recorded more of the actual mechanics.)
About Tuesday 25 September 1660
john • Link
"[...] where the plasterers being at work in all the rooms in my house, my wife was fain to make a bed upon the ground for her and me, and so there we lay all night."
The odour of wet plaster would have permeated the entire house, making sleep difficult. Does "ground" mean a floor or actually outside?
About Wednesday 19 September 1660
john • Link
@Carol, similar to a wake to me.
When a child, I was taken to a wake of a family friend. Not knowing that he had died and as the entire wake seemed like a party to me, I innocently asked where he was. Someone pointed to the casket at the end of the hall and calmly said: He's over there.
About Monday 20 August 1660
john • Link
"Before he would begin any business, he took my papers of the state of the debts of the Fleet, and there viewed them before all the people, and did give me his advice privately [...]"
To me, this seems a significant display of acknowledgement of Pepys' new status.
About Thursday 9 August 1660
john • Link
"Thence to my office of Privy Seal, [...]"
Written with a bit of well-deserved pride, methinks.