In recent times this term has come to be applied to a cone-shaped instrument that is used to extinguish a candle neatly without the risk of blowing hot wax onto the table, shelf or whatever.
In the 17th century candle snuffers were scissor-like instruments that were used to trim the burnt section of the candle's wick (the snuff) so that the candle could continue to burn with a clean flame. Modern wicks are so made that they tend to curl away from the flame as they burn and so are less likely to cause a dirty, smoky flame.
Pepys refers to a pair of candle snuffers in the same way as we refer to a pair of scissors - one object formed of two blades.
He was part of the Pepys household and would certainly have been expected to run errands, take messages etc. whenever Sam required such service. He would also have been appropriately clothed so as to enhance the respect that his master was accorded by the world and would accompany him on his daily rounds - though presumably not on those occasions when Sam was in pursuit of Mrs. Bagwell or any of his other doxies. No doubt he spent much of his time kicking his heels outside offices and other meeting places whilst he waited for Sam either to reappear or to send him about a piece of business.
Sam has had several boys by 1667. This one seems to be doing quite well as we haven't heard of him being beaten lately.
Couldn't this simply be a contemporary expression equivalent to the present day "I'll be damned if I don't"? The linkage in meaning between "fall" and "damnation" would have been easily recognised in the 17th century.
Scanning errors of this kind are relatively common in the on-line text, but it's always as well to check with the L&M edition as sometimes the "errors" prove to be the authentic reading.
This is what is called seizing (or trying to seize) the moment. Insurance against any possible future claim. Sam seems to have Mrs. Bagwell much on his mind at present.
Indeed, there is a paragraph missing here from the scanned text. I can see a possible reason for one line of it to have been suppressed, but not the whole paragraph, which follows.
"Home, and there I find my wife and her girl Susan fallen out, and she had struck her and the girl run to Griffen's; but they not receiving nor encouraging of her, I sent for her home and there she fell on her knees and begged pardon; and so I made peace between her mistress and her and so all well again; and a pretty girl she will be, if she doth not get too much head.
To supper and then a little to my viall, and afterward with my wife to her Arithmetique , and so to bed."
"she do keep very bad remembrances of my former unkindness to her..."
Sam sounds surprised. He should remember that Elizabeth doesn't have a head full of business concerns that overlay and obscure memories of past injuries and slights.
Well, only up to a point, Lord Copper. The aristos, gentry, middle and merchant classes would likely have known the name of the man sitting on either throne, but not necessarily folk of the humbler sort.
We are in a period of gradual change. Lady Day will continue to mark the turn of the legal and financial year until 1752 but January 1st has been gaining ground for some time as the commonly accepted first day of the year (as in the Julian calendar). Pepys acknowledges this duality by marking all dates between the two points in a way that demonstrates its existence: e.g. January 1 1659/60.
L&M explain that although ordinary and able seamen were paid at a standard rate across the fleet, officers and specialists (e.g. carpenters, boatswains) were paid at variable rates according to the official rating of the vessel in which they served.
I think that the word probably means something like 'unsophisticated' in this instance. It is found used in this sense in the 17th and 18th centuries (OED).
North and Pepys are not (so far as we know) more than slight acquaintances, so Sam is a little amused to find himself, upon a chance meeting, the sudden recipient of so much exuberant information.
And, alternatively, supper for a very small child during WW2 when there was nothing much else in the larder and the ration didn't run to eggs but bread was still widely available.
As a postscript to the above, it is to be noted that in Scotland December 25th remained a normal, working day until 1958. Only then was it designated a public holiday.
For most of the first half of the 17th century any special celebration of December 25th was either frowned upon or banned. Even before the Puritans came to power in England, Christmas festivities had come to be regarded as 'too Popish' to be tolerated.
Although most of the official strictures against celebrating the day as anything more than a religious festival had begun to be eased during the years of the Restoration, the day itself was still not regarded as the social occasion that it was later to become. Thus not really surprising that Sam should have had a quiet dinner with just his wife and Deb Willett for company.
Twelfth Night, however, was regularly observed as an occasion for both feasting and merry-making with friends.
According to various histories, opium was known in early mediaeval times in western Europe, but it was banned by the Church circa 1300 because, coming from the non-Christian east, it was viewed as evil. For the next 200 years it's use disappears from the west European record, only resurfacing in Portugal circa 1500.
This is the chap, a former member of the King's Guard, who had travelled in the same coach as Elizabeh both going to and coming back from her trip to Huntingdon in the summer. John Pepys, who Elizabeth had accompanied on the outward journey, made special and disquieting mention of Coleman when he subsequently wrote to Sam about that journey. Pepys Sr.'s understated misgivings now receive a boost from Creed.
There were no dentists in London at this time that we would recognise as dentists. Barbers (later barber-surgeons) were resorted to, as were 'operators for the teeth" who might ply their trade in a local market or at a fair. The first book written about dentistry in English would not be published until the mid-1680s
There seems to have been some reluctance to extract teeth. Oil of cloves could be used to deaden the pain of a carious tooth and it was recognised that the cleaning of one's teeth, notably to remove plaque, was a desirable practice. Cavities were popularly thought to have been caused by the action of a 'worm.'
As regards Elizabeth's abscess, Pepys has called in a practising surgeon to consult on the matter and he has, wisely as it happens, decided not to extract the tooth or to rush in with a lancet to relieve the painful pressure. [Modern dentists, of course, will not remove a badly abscessed tooth until the infection has been reduced by the use of antibiotics].
Poor Elizabeth; she must have been in agony whilst waiting for the abscess to burst. I wonder whether the history of Algiers was really enthralling enough to take her mind off the pain.
Comments
First Reading
About Thursday 23 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
Candle snuffers.
In recent times this term has come to be applied to a cone-shaped instrument that is used to extinguish a candle neatly without the risk of blowing hot wax onto the table, shelf or whatever.
In the 17th century candle snuffers were scissor-like instruments that were used to trim the burnt section of the candle's wick (the snuff) so that the candle could continue to burn with a clean flame. Modern wicks are so made that they tend to curl away from the flame as they burn and so are less likely to cause a dirty, smoky flame.
Pepys refers to a pair of candle snuffers in the same way as we refer to a pair of scissors - one object formed of two blades.
About Monday 20 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
"the boy"
He was part of the Pepys household and would certainly have been expected to run errands, take messages etc. whenever Sam required such service. He would also have been appropriately clothed so as to enhance the respect that his master was accorded by the world and would accompany him on his daily rounds - though presumably not on those occasions when Sam was in pursuit of Mrs. Bagwell or any of his other doxies. No doubt he spent much of his time kicking his heels outside offices and other meeting places whilst he waited for Sam either to reappear or to send him about a piece of business.
Sam has had several boys by 1667. This one seems to be doing quite well as we haven't heard of him being beaten lately.
About Wednesday 20 January 1663/64
Mary • Link
"or I will have a fall"
Couldn't this simply be a contemporary expression equivalent to the present day "I'll be damned if I don't"? The linkage in meaning between "fall" and "damnation" would have been easily recognised in the 17th century.
About Monday 4 January 1663/64
Mary • Link
is/12
Scanning errors of this kind are relatively common in the on-line text, but it's always as well to check with the L&M edition as sometimes the "errors" prove to be the authentic reading.
About Friday 17 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
Duke of Buckingham and Lady Castlemaine.
Lest we forget, these two are cousins. both being Villiers.
About Wednesday 15 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
"she being newly come from her husband."
This is what is called seizing (or trying to seize) the moment. Insurance against any possible future claim. Sam seems to have Mrs. Bagwell much on his mind at present.
About Tuesday 3 November 1663
Mary • Link
missing text.
Indeed, there is a paragraph missing here from the scanned text. I can see a possible reason for one line of it to have been suppressed, but not the whole paragraph, which follows.
"Home, and there I find my wife and her girl Susan fallen out, and she had struck her and the girl run to Griffen's; but they not receiving nor encouraging of her, I sent for her home and there she fell on her knees and begged pardon; and so I made peace between her mistress and her and so all well again; and a pretty girl she will be, if she doth not get too much head.
To supper and then a little to my viall, and afterward with my wife to her Arithmetique , and so to bed."
About Sunday 12 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
"she do keep very bad remembrances of my former unkindness to her..."
Sam sounds surprised. He should remember that Elizabeth doesn't have a head full of business concerns that overlay and obscure memories of past injuries and slights.
About Thursday 9 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
Just silly?
Well, only up to a point, Lord Copper. The aristos, gentry, middle and merchant classes would likely have known the name of the man sitting on either throne, but not necessarily folk of the humbler sort.
About Sunday 5 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
Barkshire is the L&M reading.
Dryden rhymes 'desert' (so spelled) with 'part'. Another authoritative example of the same pronunciation in the 17th century.
About Thursday 2 January 1667/68
Mary • Link
the January/March anomaly.
We are in a period of gradual change. Lady Day will continue to mark the turn of the legal and financial year until 1752 but January 1st has been gaining ground for some time as the commonly accepted first day of the year (as in the Julian calendar). Pepys acknowledges this duality by marking all dates between the two points in a way that demonstrates its existence: e.g. January 1 1659/60.
About Whitehall Palace (general information)
Mary • Link
Here, courtesy of Westminster City Council, is Knyff's (1695) view of the Palace.
http://www.westminster.gov.uk/ser…
About Tuesday 31 December 1667
Mary • Link
"by their being underrated"
L&M explain that although ordinary and able seamen were paid at a standard rate across the fleet, officers and specialists (e.g. carpenters, boatswains) were paid at variable rates according to the official rating of the vessel in which they served.
About Monday 30 December 1667
Mary • Link
Silly.
I think that the word probably means something like 'unsophisticated' in this instance. It is found used in this sense in the 17th and 18th centuries (OED).
North and Pepys are not (so far as we know) more than slight acquaintances, so Sam is a little amused to find himself, upon a chance meeting, the sudden recipient of so much exuberant information.
About Friday 17 April 1663
Mary • Link
sugarsopps
And, alternatively, supper for a very small child during WW2 when there was nothing much else in the larder and the ration didn't run to eggs but bread was still widely available.
About Wednesday 25 December 1667
Mary • Link
Christmas Day in Scotland.
As a postscript to the above, it is to be noted that in Scotland December 25th remained a normal, working day until 1958. Only then was it designated a public holiday.
About Wednesday 25 December 1667
Mary • Link
The 'lonely' Christmas dinner.
For most of the first half of the 17th century any special celebration of December 25th was either frowned upon or banned. Even before the Puritans came to power in England, Christmas festivities had come to be regarded as 'too Popish' to be tolerated.
Although most of the official strictures against celebrating the day as anything more than a religious festival had begun to be eased during the years of the Restoration, the day itself was still not regarded as the social occasion that it was later to become. Thus not really surprising that Sam should have had a quiet dinner with just his wife and Deb Willett for company.
Twelfth Night, however, was regularly observed as an occasion for both feasting and merry-making with friends.
About Friday 20 December 1667
Mary • Link
Opium
According to various histories, opium was known in early mediaeval times in western Europe, but it was banned by the Church circa 1300 because, coming from the non-Christian east, it was viewed as evil. For the next 200 years it's use disappears from the west European record, only resurfacing in Portugal circa 1500.
About Monday 23 December 1667
Mary • Link
Mr. Coleman
This is the chap, a former member of the King's Guard, who had travelled in the same coach as Elizabeh both going to and coming back from her trip to Huntingdon in the summer. John Pepys, who Elizabeth had accompanied on the outward journey, made special and disquieting mention of Coleman when he subsequently wrote to Sam about that journey. Pepys Sr.'s understated misgivings now receive a boost from Creed.
About Sunday 22 December 1667
Mary • Link
17th century dentistry.
There were no dentists in London at this time that we would recognise as dentists. Barbers (later barber-surgeons) were resorted to, as were 'operators for the teeth" who might ply their trade in a local market or at a fair. The first book written about dentistry in English would not be published until the mid-1680s
There seems to have been some reluctance to extract teeth. Oil of cloves could be used to deaden the pain of a carious tooth and it was recognised that the cleaning of one's teeth, notably to remove plaque, was a desirable practice. Cavities were popularly thought to have been caused by the action of a 'worm.'
As regards Elizabeth's abscess, Pepys has called in a practising surgeon to consult on the matter and he has, wisely as it happens, decided not to extract the tooth or to rush in with a lancet to relieve the painful pressure. [Modern dentists, of course, will not remove a badly abscessed tooth until the infection has been reduced by the use of antibiotics].
Poor Elizabeth; she must have been in agony whilst waiting for the abscess to burst. I wonder whether the history of Algiers was really enthralling enough to take her mind off the pain.