Annotations and comments

john has posted 352 annotations/comments since 14 March 2013.

Comments

Second Reading

About Thursday 6 February 1667/68

john  •  Link

"And the truth is, I did think that he and the linkman had contrived some roguery; but it proved only a mistake of the coachman; but it was a cunning place to have done us a mischief in, [...] to drive us out of the road into the ruines, and there stop, while nobody could be called to help us."

Indeed. I was reminded of taking a taxi from an airport at night (decades ago). I gave the driver the name of my hotel and grew somewhat apprehensive as he drove out of the city core into a dimly lit industrial area, finally leaving the highway to stop in a deserted parking lot. But it proved only mistakes on our parts -- I garbled the name of the hotel and he became confused. Once sorted, he drove me to the hotel.

About Sunday 2 February 1667/68

john  •  Link

SDS, thank you for fruit & veg link. I missed that the first time round.

As for books, I have always found it easier to buy another bookcase then discard books -- though I have donated tomes to charitable book sales.

About Thursday 23 January 1667/68

john  •  Link

"at noon find the Bishop of Lincolne come to dine with us"
Surely Elizabeth is doing well as his "corporate spouse" as I cannot imagine such dinners arranged without her.

About Friday 3 January 1667/68

john  •  Link

"and there do find that the Council hath altered its times of sitting to the mornings, and so I lost my labour"
A very diplomatic way of putting it, even for his private diary.

About Wednesday 1 January 1667/68

john  •  Link

And so I dusted off the last volume of our wonderful journey. It weighs in at 565 pp. May the coming year bring us all hope, health, and happiness.

About Saturday 28 December 1667

john  •  Link

"the child crying, she by force got upon the stage, and took up her child"
Centuries later, W.C. Fields would warn to never share the stage with children or animals.

About Sunday 15 December 1667

john  •  Link

@SDS, Picard's book "Restoration London" has a section on dentistry in chapter 6, wherein she wrote: "Instead of implantation, the tooth might be anchored to its neighbours by silver wire, or silk thread." Her reference is to Smith, "A short history of dentistry". Implants were either human teeth (with an abundance available after the plague) or other material. She also refers to Woodford, "The strange story of false teeth".

Your root-canal story surprises me. Was gutta-percha not used?

About Tuesday 3 December 1667

john  •  Link

ONeville, I take objection to your comment. It is your opinion whether you perceive your civil service to be "economical with the truth". Here, Parliament is out for blood and will latch onto anything. Coventry is advising Pepys not to write down anything that may appear to be a target.

About Friday 29 November 1667

john  •  Link

Thank you for the link, SDS, on the horrors of child sweeps at that time. In happy contrast, our chimneys are lined and our sweep uses a wire brush on rople.

About Friday 8 November 1667

john  •  Link

Down goes the wall but is it structural? Will anything else come down? I understand that builders then would overbuild by today's codes but I would love to have a reference on 17th century practices.

About Friday 1 November 1667

john  •  Link

"[...] all this envy and design to ruin Sir W. Coventry — did arise from Sir W. Coventry’s unfortunate mistake the other day, in producing of a letter from the Duke of Albemarle, touching the good condition of all things at Chatham just before the Dutch come up [...]; for upon this they are resolved to undo him [...]"

If I read this correctly, because Albemarle is the House's golden boy and can do no wrong, Coventry has raised their enmity by showing them otherwise.

About Tuesday 29 October 1667

john  •  Link

L&M footnote on the ticket defence:
"[The report] argued the necessity of payment by tickets, even of whole ships, in order to avoid the necessity of carrying large sums of cash on board."

About Tuesday 22 October 1667

john  •  Link

"None of my brethren said anything but me there" -- It appears that Pepys was the correct choice as spokesman, as Robert observed, assuming no "back blows".

About Thursday 10 October 1667

john  •  Link

I wonder if Pepys ever saw the humour of this. Certainly, I can understand his consternation at the time. It is also surprising that the bags were not dug up by a dog or somesuch.

About Friday 27 September 1667

john  •  Link

"my wife sends for me to come home" -- summons obeyed; their marriage was more egalitarian than some would believe.

About Thursday 26 September 1667

john  •  Link

L&M offer the following: "Pepys's 'varnished things' were papers marked out with arithmetic tables"

About Monday 23 September 1667

john  •  Link

I confess to being unclear why drinking to the Duke of York's health was to be kept quiet. The brothers drank and made up. Why was the king bothered afterwards?