Interesting in view of Sam's comments about the Wights' substandard tableware.
Perhaps the old glasses were chipped? Or closer to Wooworths' standard than Stuart Crystal? Sam has had stocks of wine at home for a long time and I can't imagine that he has been drinking it out of pewter vessels all the while, so the household glassware must have been insufficient in quantity or not up to snuff in some other way.
In England straight-sided coffee cups are still, properly, referred to as 'coffee cans' (see any Wedgwood catalogue).
However, I doubt that these earthenware vessels bear much resemblance to the modern coffee can. Pepys clearly regards them as lower-class objects, not suitable for use with guests. True porcelain is not yet being manufactured in England, so the normal choice would be between pewter or plate on the one hand and earthenware cups, mugs or beakers on the other (horny) hand.
As for the wooden can, I'm not sure whether this is another beaker or whether it is a larger vessel from which the beverage was served.
I was guilty of slipshod attention to the different dates involved.
It would be quite logical for Mountagu to be staying at Crew's house, since the man was his father-in-law and had a very large place (taxed on 20 hearths) in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
It was not until the following year that Mr. John Crew was created Baron Crew of Stene. It was also in 1661 that Crew moved house - but only to the house next door.
[As for posting personal thanks, it all depends.....we don't really have a formal protocol for that. Usually, I think, people reserve specific thanks for an annotation that throws a new and unexpected light onto a particular feature or question].
Of course Pepys and his immediate contemporaries are particularly alert to the dangers of fire at present and also prey to fears that there may be arsonists at work. However, fire was an all-too-frequent occurrence in the city and, in the 1640s the Lord Mayor had enumerated the many causes of such incidents, before issuing instructions for the prevention of fires.
"Some hath been burnt by bad Harths, Chimnies, Ovens or by pans of fire set upon boards; some by Cloaths hanging against the fire; some by leaving great fires in chimnies where the sparks.... fell and fired the boards, painted cloths, Wainscots, Rushes, Mats ... some by ... shooting off pieces [firing shot-guns up the chimney, a brisk way of cleaning it].... some by setting candles under shelves; some by leaving candles neere their beds; some by snuffs of candles, Tobacco snuffs [pipe dottles]; some by drunkards, some by warming beds; some by looking under beds with Candles; some by sleeping at Work, leaving their Candles by them ... or by foul chimnies.... some by Candles falling out of their Candlesticks; some by sticking their Candles upon posts .... and some have been fired a purpose by villany or Treason"
Yes, but Mountagu's own lodgings in Lincoln's Inn. Do look again at the fairly full answer that I gave you a few days ago about Mountagu's various addresses during the diary period and beyond.
From 1653 until the date of his death, Mountagu had an official residence in Whitehall Palace. These lodgings comprised part (all?) of the gatehouse of the King's Gate together with rooms adjacent to it on both sides of the street.
He also had official lodgings at The Wardrobe in the years 1660-1668 and, from 1664 onwards, rented other premises in Lincoln's Inn Fields and Hampstead.
Thus he had residences in both London and Westminster and also a 'country' residence in Hampstead as well as his country seat at Hinchingbrooke.
Perhaps these are unbound copies of plays, in which case he might have rolled them up and tucked them into a pocket or put them with his other papers (the ones on which he took notes). Although he took care to have his 'worthy' books bound, there must have been lighter works that didn't merit such expense.
Not necessarily boiled. It could have been roasted before the fire using either a jack or a spit - and let's not forget that Elizabeth Pepys is the proud owner of an oven. We know that she sometimes bakes tarts in her oven; perhaps the odd joint of meat, too?
Considering the number of times in the early years of the diary that Sam and Elizabeth both think that she may be pregnant, only to be disappointed when she menstruates, it seems more likely that he is sterile rather than impotent.
This seems to be the conclusion that most commentators (both here and elsewhere) have reached.
The man who loves a comma is the editor, not Pepys. In the original diary punctuation marks are very few as they could have caused confusion with the shorthand itself. The few marks that do exist are limited to occasional full-stops, colons, dashes and parentheses.
"he and I walked a good deal in the garden together"
Sam does a good deal of walking in the garden when visitors come to the office. I presume that this is often for privacy's sake, where the speakers would rather not have their conversation overheard by others in the office.
my wife (who is mighty fine, and with a new fair pair of locks......)
Poor old Sam. He is proud of his wife's beauty, but still ambivalent about her wish to adorn it with fashionable accessories. Might, perhaps, attract too much attention from others? We haven't heard about her patches for a very long time, but it appears that hair-pieces are now 'the thing.'
"the ladies ... do wear laces" As CGS indicates, this almost certainly refers to laced 'bodies' (what we should later call corsets).
In the 17th century the corset was not primarily intended to restrict the waist, but more to push up and exaggerate the swell of the breasts. There was then achieved an attractive contrast between the flat, almost rigid, front aspect of the bodice and the soft curve of the breasts.
What refreshing openness from husband to wife. Sam, of course, still controls the purse-strings, but at least he lets Elizabeth know how they stand financially. Sharp contrast with many a later wife who had no idea at all of the family's financial standing.
Sam may cavil about this, that and the other from time to time, but at bottom he clearly trusts Elizabeth.
Comments
First Reading
About Tuesday 13 November 1666
Mary • Link
the new drinking glasses.
Interesting in view of Sam's comments about the Wights' substandard tableware.
Perhaps the old glasses were chipped? Or closer to Wooworths' standard than Stuart Crystal? Sam has had stocks of wine at home for a long time and I can't imagine that he has been drinking it out of pewter vessels all the while, so the household glassware must have been insufficient in quantity or not up to snuff in some other way.
About Sunday 11 November 1666
Mary • Link
In England straight-sided coffee cups are still, properly, referred to as 'coffee cans' (see any Wedgwood catalogue).
However, I doubt that these earthenware vessels bear much resemblance to the modern coffee can. Pepys clearly regards them as lower-class objects, not suitable for use with guests. True porcelain is not yet being manufactured in England, so the normal choice would be between pewter or plate on the one hand and earthenware cups, mugs or beakers on the other (horny) hand.
As for the wooden can, I'm not sure whether this is another beaker or whether it is a larger vessel from which the beverage was served.
About Tuesday 13 March 1659/60
Mary • Link
My apologies, DB.
I was guilty of slipshod attention to the different dates involved.
It would be quite logical for Mountagu to be staying at Crew's house, since the man was his father-in-law and had a very large place (taxed on 20 hearths) in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
It was not until the following year that Mr. John Crew was created Baron Crew of Stene. It was also in 1661 that Crew moved house - but only to the house next door.
[As for posting personal thanks, it all depends.....we don't really have a formal protocol for that. Usually, I think, people reserve specific thanks for an annotation that throws a new and unexpected light onto a particular feature or question].
About Friday 9 November 1666
Mary • Link
Fires in London.
Of course Pepys and his immediate contemporaries are particularly alert to the dangers of fire at present and also prey to fears that there may be arsonists at work. However, fire was an all-too-frequent occurrence in the city and, in the 1640s the Lord Mayor had enumerated the many causes of such incidents, before issuing instructions for the prevention of fires.
"Some hath been burnt by bad Harths, Chimnies, Ovens or by pans of fire set upon boards; some by Cloaths hanging against the fire; some by leaving great fires in chimnies where the sparks.... fell and fired the boards, painted cloths, Wainscots, Rushes, Mats ... some by ... shooting off pieces [firing shot-guns up the chimney, a brisk way of cleaning it].... some by setting candles under shelves; some by leaving candles neere their beds; some by snuffs of candles, Tobacco snuffs [pipe dottles]; some by drunkards, some by warming beds; some by looking under beds with Candles; some by sleeping at Work, leaving their Candles by them ... or by foul chimnies.... some by Candles falling out of their Candlesticks; some by sticking their Candles upon posts .... and some have been fired a purpose by villany or Treason"
Quoted by Liza Pickard in "Restoration London."
About Monday 12 March 1659/60
Mary • Link
New Exchange = retail "mall"
Royal Exchange = City of London centre for major trade, import/export, commodities, shipping etc.
They serve different functions.
About Friday 9 November 1666
Mary • Link
The Pierces' address.
They had moved to Bedford Street, Covent Garden, in 1664 so Pepys did not have far to walk before he found an available coach at the Savoy.
About Tuesday 13 March 1659/60
Mary • Link
Mountagu's lodgings.
Yes, but Mountagu's own lodgings in Lincoln's Inn. Do look again at the fairly full answer that I gave you a few days ago about Mountagu's various addresses during the diary period and beyond.
About Wednesday 18 January 1659/60
Mary • Link
Mountagu's London addresses.
The L&M Companion is useful here.
From 1653 until the date of his death, Mountagu had an official residence in Whitehall Palace. These lodgings comprised part (all?) of the gatehouse of the King's Gate together with rooms adjacent to it on both sides of the street.
He also had official lodgings at The Wardrobe in the years 1660-1668 and, from 1664 onwards, rented other premises in Lincoln's Inn Fields and Hampstead.
Thus he had residences in both London and Westminster and also a 'country' residence in Hampstead as well as his country seat at Hinchingbrooke.
About Friday 2 November 1666
Mary • Link
Pepys's reading matter.
Perhaps these are unbound copies of plays, in which case he might have rolled them up and tucked them into a pocket or put them with his other papers (the ones on which he took notes). Although he took care to have his 'worthy' books bound, there must have been lighter works that didn't merit such expense.
About Friday 2 November 1666
Mary • Link
Not necessarily boiled. It could have been roasted before the fire using either a jack or a spit - and let's not forget that Elizabeth Pepys is the proud owner of an oven. We know that she sometimes bakes tarts in her oven; perhaps the odd joint of meat, too?
About Thursday 1 November 1666
Mary • Link
Considering the number of times in the early years of the diary that Sam and Elizabeth both think that she may be pregnant, only to be disappointed when she menstruates, it seems more likely that he is sterile rather than impotent.
This seems to be the conclusion that most commentators (both here and elsewhere) have reached.
About Wednesday 31 October 1666
Mary • Link
The man who loves a comma is the editor, not Pepys. In the original diary punctuation marks are very few as they could have caused confusion with the shorthand itself. The few marks that do exist are limited to occasional full-stops, colons, dashes and parentheses.
About Monday 29 October 1666
Mary • Link
"he and I walked a good deal in the garden together"
Sam does a good deal of walking in the garden when visitors come to the office. I presume that this is often for privacy's sake, where the speakers would rather not have their conversation overheard by others in the office.
About Tuesday 30 October 1666
Mary • Link
Marital singing lessons.
Plainly as disheartening as marital driving lessons - though with more regret and less bad temper.
About Monday 29 October 1666
Mary • Link
my wife (who is mighty fine, and with a new fair pair of locks......)
Poor old Sam. He is proud of his wife's beauty, but still ambivalent about her wish to adorn it with fashionable accessories. Might, perhaps, attract too much attention from others? We haven't heard about her patches for a very long time, but it appears that hair-pieces are now 'the thing.'
About Sunday 28 October 1666
Mary • Link
tumble.
OED v.tr. 9.
To handle roughly or indelicately, to touse or tousle.
Pepys has been indulging in some indelicate romping all the afternoon.
About Saturday 27 October 1666
Mary • Link
"poignards to stob people with"
is the L&M reading. Sounds brutal.
About Friday 26 October 1666
Mary • Link
Doll and Betty
One trusts that the sister have come/will come to an amicable agreement about the extent to which they share Mr. Pepys's favours.
About Thursday 25 October 1666
Mary • Link
"the ladies ... do wear laces"
As CGS indicates, this almost certainly refers to laced 'bodies' (what we should later call corsets).
In the 17th century the corset was not primarily intended to restrict the waist, but more to push up and exaggerate the swell of the breasts. There was then achieved an attractive contrast between the flat, almost rigid, front aspect of the bodice and the soft curve of the breasts.
About Wednesday 24 October 1666
Mary • Link
"there layed open our condition as to our estate"
What refreshing openness from husband to wife. Sam, of course, still controls the purse-strings, but at least he lets Elizabeth know how they stand financially. Sharp contrast with many a later wife who had no idea at all of the family's financial standing.
Sam may cavil about this, that and the other from time to time, but at bottom he clearly trusts Elizabeth.