Annotations and comments

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

Comments

Second Reading

About Wednesday 30 January 1666/67

john  •  Link

Methinks "little house" is not used insultingly but as an endearment.

3. Used to convey an implication of endearment or depreciation, or of tender feeling on the part of the speaker. Also coupled with an epithet expressing such feelings, e.g. pretty, sweet little. [OED]

About Thursday 24 January 1666/67

john  •  Link

This entry puzzles me as it describes activity beyond even Pepys's normal bounds of behavriour.

"[...] I up with Mrs. Pierce to Knipp, who was in bed; and we waked her, and there I handled her breasts and did ‘baiser la’, and sing a song, lying by her on the bed, [...]"

So was Knipp "handled" in the presence of Pierce?

About Sunday 13 January 1666/67

john  •  Link

SDS, I recall an entry where a boatman would not take Pepys but rather transport some livestock. Apologies but I am unable to locate it. (Pepys wrote about revenge against the boatman and there was speculation whether he would be pressed.)

About Friday 11 January 1666/67

john  •  Link

"merrily, yet I know enviously, said, I could not come honestly by them."
Petty praise, in my opinion.

About Tuesday 8 January 1666/67

john  •  Link

The assumption made is that the "vessel" was the cause of death. Pepys seems rightly skeptical about this ("excellent invention"). Remember that toxicology was hardly advanced then. I suspect that they saw fibroids (https://www.merckmanuals.com/en-c…) and cause of death not determined.

About Tuesday 1 January 1666/67

john  •  Link

As SDS writes, welcome all and please do read the entries. This year promises to be full. I dusted off the next volume of L&M -- it weighs in at 603 pages, over 50% larger than last year's.

About Thursday 20 December 1666

john  •  Link

So much commentary on graft and larceny. We seem to often forget that such "rewards" back then were considered exactly that, namely rewards or commissions for services rendered, both normal and expected.

About Thursday 13 December 1666

john  •  Link

"... but I perceive it changes its place, and do not trouble me at all in making of water, and that is my joy, so that I believe it is nothing but a strain."
Nice bit of logical diagnosis, not at all common then (or now).

About Saturday 8 December 1666

john  •  Link

Mustering the MPs: "...King having given order to my Lord Chamberlain to send to the playhouses and bawdy houses, to bid all the Parliament-men that were there to go to the Parliament presently." This king would certainly know where to find them.

About Friday 7 December 1666

john  •  Link

German also has the delightful twist of nuetral diminutives until the sex of the person is known.

About Tuesday 27 November 1666

john  •  Link

It was common to tip the servants after a good meal, Robert of the past, so Jane may actually be looking forward to the meal.

About Tuesday 20 November 1666

john  •  Link

In dark times, people take refuge in light entertainment. The bishops wanted more suffering.

About Sunday 28 October 1666

john  •  Link

So lucky for us that Pepys is not a gossip and thus others speak to him so freely.

About Tuesday 16 October 1666

john  •  Link

San Diego Sarah, methinks "a funny stunt" in the sense of showing one's inferior the proper place.

About Saturday 13 October 1666

john  •  Link

"[...] and had for forty times together forgot to carry the 60 which I had in my mind, in one denomination which exceeded 60"

In today's world of spreadsheets, calculators, and such gadgetry, we forget how accounting was carried out in those days.

About Wednesday 3 October 1666

john  •  Link

SDS, personal commissions were accepted (and expected) practise back then but why would he bring them? I suspect that they covered minutiae that the board would know little of and thus could easily criticise.

About Thursday 4 October 1666

john  •  Link

I have never thought of Pepys being miserly but rather prudent. He pays his bills and spends lavishly when socially or personally acceptable. We should remember that he is essentially the sole source of income in his household.

Also, I think that the first guilded books were a test. He is pleased with the result and thus gave Richardson more to guild.