jeannine

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jeannine has written 14 articles:

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jeannine has written summaries for eight topics:

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jeannine has posted 1,236 annotations/comments since 16 June 2004.

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First Reading

About Wednesday 7 September 1664

jeannine  •  Link

Lord Sandwich putting himself in harm's way

Jesse, First Sandwich 'volunteered' to take an active role in this activity back in May http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
when Coventry sent Sam to poke around to see if Sandwich wanted to participate. Much to Coventry's and the DOY's dismay, Sandwich came back with an affirmative answer. From his perspective he has his honor & reputation to protect as well as his turf in the ranks. He received his general orders from the DOY for this overall activity on July 9th (see annotations) http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

From there, from time to time, he received additional orders throughout the time he was at sea, usually through letters and messages sent back and forth. Slight spoiler-- today Coventry must have sent him a letter regarding changes in the situation with the Dutch as in Sandwich's journal dated tomorrow he mentions that he has a Council of War based on the letter he received from Coventry dated the day before (which would be today). I do not have Coventry's letter to Sandwich dated today to share, perhaps someone else may?

Basically, he is just obeying orders. Interesting to note, that many of the 'higher uppers" in the Navy were Knights, Lords (Monck, Sandwich), Dukes (James), Princes (Rupert), etc. and that many of them had put themselves in harms' way in order to defend their country, and many deliberately so (ie. Rupert's young military career for example). Probably some of this reflects the character of the person, the sense of public appearances, the hierarchy of obeying orders, etc. Although by nature Sandwich would have loved to have been a retired man of leisure, he didn't have the money to afford that type of a lifestyle so this is how he made his living.

About Tuesday 6 September 1664

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Preparation of Rabbit

The proper way to feed a rabbit is to first let the animal have a view of the selection so that he can decide what he wants to eat, as so

http://www.computersolutions-fory…

After the rabbit has made his/her food selection it's preferable to feed by hand, but if time allows their meal should be prepared in a colorful yet serene manner to not only attract their sense of smell but also to ensure a pleasant, relaxing surrounding

http://www.tagyerit.com/hopline/i…

Of course, there are those that prefer a sweet treat after a meal, but those should be limited to special occasions!

http://mirealestate.files.wordpre…

And, then, as the rabbit is comfortably resting, you can prepare the following meal for your guests, which they will be delighted to enjoy

http://bronmarshall.com/?cat=29

Disclaimer-No rabbits were harmed in the presentation of this annotation (nor should they ever be!)

About Monday 5 September 1664

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"God damn me, I can answer but for one ship, and in that I will do my part; for it is not in that as in an army, where a man can command every thing."

I'd love to see Sam's face when he heard this comment. From Rupert's perspective I can imagine a sense of frustration as this is in a sense a demotion for him. In his younger days, under Charles I, he was a much more prominent player in battle and had a broader command of the Army. It probably hit at his ego to be moved from a more solo role of calling the shots to being a 'team player'. Plus the DOY is younger than he is, has far less skill in battle, etc. so having a younger, less experienced boss would be frustrating for anyone I suppose.

About Sunday 4 September 1664

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"The time we could have had with that name" -(for Robert!)

At the Loss of Mrs. Ferrabosco

The time we could have had with that name
Ah her loss to some seems such a shame

Now our writers will surely dismay
She won't be the focus of their plays

Our musicians would have been so delighted
Her reputation had them all excited

We'll never know the extent of her talent
You see our hero has found her too gallant

But those folks who delight in the rhyme
Would have had such a miserable time

As all that rhymes with Ferrabosco
Seems to be the city of Moscow!

About Friday 2 September 1664

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"I get the impression that Samuel is feeling quite paternal towards his young 'boy', Tom."

Roger, I agree. He seems to be really enjoying him (so unlike his relationship with Wayneman!). I'd love to know how Will Hewer feels about this -not sure if he'd be a little 'jealous' (but perhaps he's too 'out of the picture' to see Sam and Tom sharing their company.)

It will be interesting to see how long the relationship lasts and where it goes as Tom grows up.

About Cakes

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From Robert May's "The Accomplisht Cook", 1660 (as it appears in "Pepys at Table" by Driver and Berriedale-Johson).

HOW TO MAKE AN EXTRAORDINARY GOOD CAKE

"Take half a bushel of the best flour you can get, very finely searced, and lay it on a large pastry board, make a hole in the middle thereof, put to it three pounds of the best butter you can get; with 14 pounds of currants finely picked and rubber, three quarts of good new thick cream, warmed, 2 pounds of fine sugar beaten, 3 pints of new ale barm or yeast, 4 ounces of cinnamon beaten fine and searsed, also an ounce of beaten ginger, 2 ounces of nutmegs beaten fine and searsed, put in all these materials together, and work them into indifferent stiff paste, keep it warmed till the oven be hot, them make it up and bake it, being baked an hour and a half ice it, then take four pounds of double refined sugar, beat it and searce it and put it in a cleaned scowered skillet the quantity of a gallon, and boil it to a candy height with a little rosewater, then draw the cake, run it all over and set it in the oven till it be candied".

About Thursday 1 September 1664

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Cake

Ooops! Now that I've apparently called out the PETF (people for the ethical treatment of fruitcake) and been reminded that all fruitcake are not created equal (JWB -yours noted above sounded delicious and delightful!!), I'll try my best to redeem myself by adding this recipe from Robert May's "The Accomplisht Cook", 1660 (as it appears in "Pepys at Table" by Driver and Berriedale-Johson).

HOW TO MAKE AN EXTRAORDINARY GOOD CAKE

"Take half a bushel of the best flour you can get, very finely searced, and lay it on a large pastry board, make a hole in the middle thereof, put to it three pounds of the best butter you can get; with 14 pounds of currants finely picked and rubber, three quarts of good new thick cream, warmed, 2 pounds of fine sugar beaten, 3 pints of new ale barm or yeast, 4 ounces of cinnamon beaten fine and searsed, also an ounce of beaten ginger, 2 ounces of nutmegs beaten fine and searsed, put in all these materials together, and work them into indifferent stiff paste, keep it warmed till the oven be hot, them make it up and bake it, being baked an hour and a half ice it, then take four pounds of double refined sugar, beat it and searce it and put it in a cleaned scowered skillet the quantity of a gallon, and boil it to a candy height with a little rosewater, then draw the cake, run it all over and set it in the oven till it be candied".

About Wednesday 31 August 1664

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From "Samuel Pepys and the Second Dutch War" the section entitled "the Navy White Book" edited by Latham

Aug. 31. 1664. Sir W Pen about getting his daughter an annuity of 80£ per annum of Mr Falconer and his ill using of his widow when dead. It is worthy remembering Sir W.P.'s receiving of a gold watch of Mr Falconer at his getting him his place; and more than that, got a present of him to put his daughter Pegg into an estate for her life of 80£ per annum. And yet his usage most base to his widow after his death. But I think God Almighty hath punished him by taking away Mr Falconer before he could get her [Peg Penn's] life put in in the room of his former wife, for this woman [Falconer's second wife, now his widow] finds by his writings that the thing is not yet done. Vide my Journal of Aug. 1664 from Mr. Falconer's death to this day.

About Thursday 1 September 1664

jeannine  •  Link

"Liable to be some variety of heavily glazed fruitcake"...well Bradford I was hopefully thinking some delicious cake was being shared but at the mention of fruitcake all I can think of it that it could (besides cockroaches) be one of those objects that would survive a nuclear blast - just the word brings to mind the brick fruitcake 2 friends would send back and forth to each other over alternating years at Christmas. This went on for many years, each person decorating it as a household item for their year on duty -the fruitcake doorstop, the fruitcake paperweight, etc. Maybe Sam could have drilled a hole in it for stage of his stone.....it would have saved him the chunk of change he spent on the case.....

About Wednesday 31 August 1664

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Rupert, "unhappy", "unlucky" etc.

Prior to the Diary, Rupert had a very tough life. His father 'lost' everything and the family was in dismal circumstances. At a young age, Rupert to steadfastly support Charles I and was an "in your face" relentless military personality as far as the Parliamentarians were concerned. He had early & incredible 'wins' on the behalf of CI, and developed a reputation that brought fear to others in the mere mention of his name (his 6' plus large stature didn't hurt either. The Parliamentarians responded by producing some outrageous propaganda during this time. That being said, Rupert also had some heartbreaking losses and did not fare well in the political drama played out under CI, who was less than stellar in his treatment of his devoted nephew. After CI died, Rupert lived for a few years as a privateer (to some extent) with the hopes to raise money for CII while he was in exile. He had several horrible years on the run which were full of misery, including the loss of ships, crew and, most tragically for him, the death of his beloved brother Prince Maurice.

Sam may have been influenced by the Cromwell propaganda since he initially fell on the side of Parliament and Rupert vehemently opposed this side (and folks like Monck, Sandwich, Blake, etc. who supported Cromwell) but that's probably speculation at best as nothing any of Rupert's biographers have presented (or Sam's biographer's for that matter) seems to actually record what influenced his thoughts about Rupert prior to the Diary.

About Wednesday 31 August 1664

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• Prince Rupert I hear this day is to go to command this fleete going to Guinny against the Dutch. I doubt few will be pleased with his going, being accounted an unhappy' man."

Somewhat of a general spoiler I guess. I just read Charles Spencer's (Princess Diana's brother) and Eva Scott's bios on Prince Rupert (I prefer Eva's but that's beside the point...). From his first appearance in the Diary, Sam records Rupert in an unfavorable light and proceeds to do so throughout the Diary. It's not really clear where Sam's impressions prior to the Diary actually came from, but Spencer proposes that Sam may have believed the negative Parliamentarian propaganda published about Rupert during the years he fought for Charles I. It's doubtful that Sam ever had any dealings with Rupert prior to the Diary and therefore based his opinion on something less than actual personal experience.

However, in the future years of the Diary, Sam and Rupert will be pitted against each other when Rupert is in the position of actually trying to go to battle on ships that Sam was responsible to victualize. With less than stellar supplies, in terms of quantity and quality, the men who are actually putting their lives on the line to fight for England, will be at odds with the administrator types (ie. Sam), who never actually face battle, but pocket good money in the process. As a biographer Spencer tends to see Sam in a negative light in these series of interactions (yet he does not hold Rupert harmless either).

So, from the perspective of a Diary reader, I personally feel that Sam's comments about Rupert have to be taken perhaps with a bottle of salt (as opposed to the usual grain) as he clearly comes with a bigoted bias against him which will only grow over time.

About Sunday 28 August 1664

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"the first time I have had anybody to attend me to church a great while"

Terry I think that the real translation was "the first time I have had anybody to keep me from snoring in church for a great while...." Wonder if it's proper for the little lad to be elbowing his Master to keep him from dozing off? Maybe this is a warm up service to get Tom's nudging reflexes broken in for the real challenge of that infamously boring Scottish preacher!

About Friday 26 August 1664

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Catherine's portrait

Tried to post info on Catherine's portrait but it got held up in annotation limbo-hopefully Phil will put it through!

About Friday 26 August 1664

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Huysman's portraits of Catherine

Huysman, a Dutchman, was the Queen's favorite painter, which some believe was due to his Catholicism. The beautiful portrait of Catherine as St. Catherine is provided here
http://www.vmfa.museum/rule/huysm… with an interesting commentary on that portrait here http://www.vmfa.museum/rule/rule_…

I have not been able to find a web link to the actual portrait of Catherine as a Shepherdess, although it is beautifully reprinted in Manuel Sousa's biography "Catherine of Braganza: Princess of Portugal, Wife of Charles II", which is a most lovely illustrated biography of Catherine with an exquisite collection of portraits and art concerning her.

An accurate and thoughtful description of the Shepherdess portrait follows (link reference is below): "The ... very beautiful portrait of the Queen as a shepherdess can be seen today in the King's dining room at Windsor Castle in an elaborate Grinling Gibbon's frame. The mood of the painting would appear recreational; the ducks at her feet might reflect her interest in birds - she kept her own aviary, importing parrots and cockatoos from India. She wears silvery white, rose and blue, and a broad - brimmed hat pinned with a butterfly brooch. Her hair hangs long and loose. It was de rigueur at the time to be painted in this 'timeless' pastoral gear to avoid being quickly dated by changing fashions. But 17th century paintings often have hidden symbolism. She also holds a crook and her left hand rests on a lamb with a fair-haired boy tipping flowers over its back. The lamb is associated with innocence, gentleness, patience and humility. It is also symbolic of Christ the shepherd, and with his sacrifice for mankind. Catherine had all the foregoing qualities, and she may have identified particularly with the Good Shepherd in her duties as leader of the Catholic faith in England. Why else is the boy showering the lamb with flowers, rather than herself?" The link from where this quoted also shows some other lovely works of Catherine. http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org…
Both of the Huysman portraits referenced today and this one by Huysman at the NPG http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search… catch a softness and sense of serenity from Catherine and magnificently capture her gently devoted spirit. During a time of more "looseness" in Court paintings and oft times a formal 'royal' rigidity in others, these painting of Huysman's, and one other from the Sousa book located in Lisbon (sorry no link), present her in a consistent soft, gentle style. Perhaps his style and representations of her in this highly flattering manner, along with his Catholicism, were good cause for the Queen to favor him.
(Note: Any additional information about other Huysman's portraits or links are always appreciated and I'd gladly include them in the portrait listings on her editorial page with thanks to the finder! http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

About Friday 26 August 1664

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"Journal of the Earl of Sandwich" edited by R.C. Anderson

26th Friday. Calm, easterly wind. At sunset we took the sun's magnetical amplitude which was 11 [degree] 00' from W. towards the north, which calculated the true amplitude of the sun was 10[degree] 30', so that the needle seems to vary eastwardly 00[degree] 30'.

About Friday 26 August 1664

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Portrait of Frances Stuart

"...pictures at one Hiseman's, a picture drawer, a Dutchman, which is said to exceed Lilly, and indeed there is both of the Queenes and Mayds of Honour (particularly Mrs. Stewart's in a buff doublet like a soldier) as good pictures, I think, as ever I saw. The Queen is drawn in one like a shepherdess, in the other like St. Katherin, most like and most admirably.'

I've broken this into two entries due to length -this will cover the references to Frances Stuart's portrait by Jacob Huysman referred to today and those pertaining to Catherine will follow.

Susan has provided a web link to the painting of Mrs. Stewart. The portrait appears in Hartmann's bio of her "La Belle Stuart". At the time of the book's printing, 1924, Hartmann states that the portrait was in the collection of H.M. the King at Buckingham Palace. I do not know where that portrait is today, but here are a few description notes and a description.

Hartman's biography discusses the authenticity of the portrait (as so many portraits of the time were poorly labeled and then believed to be of famous people. "The authenticity of the portrait on His Majesty's collection at Buckingham Palace is incontrovertible. The picture was seen by Pepys in Jacob Huysman's house on August 26th, 1654: 'Mrs Stewart in a buff doublet like a soldier'. In James II's Catalogue it is mentioned as: 'no. 465. By Houseman, Dutchess of Richmond in man's apparel, half-length. It has been engraved as a frontispiece for the "Iconographia Scotica,' Johnson sel, Rivers scupl, 1796."

Hartmann also explains that "this curious and fascinating portrait is now in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace. Frances is habited as a man, with golden periwig and gold-hilted sword. He buff doublet is adorned with bows of blue ribbons, and the outer sleeves are decorated with strips of dull golden braid." He goes on to explain that "Masquerading in male attire seems not to have been uncommon among the ladies at Court in this region.". Quite honestly when compared to the exquisitely beautiful and feminine Lely portrait that Sam saw on July 15th , linked to here http://www.kipar.org/period-galle… the Huysman portrait is 180 degrees different, totally nonsexual, with Frances appearing as a young man.

About Thursday 25 August 1664

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"neither we nor any of our family should be troubled with the child"

That human life could be reduced to only the possibility of a financial burden on Sam, how sad. Today is a difficult day to 'like' Sam or his family. The nasty side of me is thinking that God didn't give him a child for a reason, especially when I consider the biggest blessing of my life to be my child. Forgive me all for saying so, but his attitude towards a young, defenseless human being, as shown today seems to show he didn't deserve one.

About Wednesday 24 August 1664

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"Journal of the Earl of Sandwich" edited by R.C. Anderson

24th Wednesday. Fresh gale N. Plying up between Fairlight and the Ness. About noon stopped the tide of ebb thwart off the Ness, where I went ashore at the light-house. With the flood we weighed and plyed up at 9 at night under sail Sir Thomas Crewe and Captain Isham in the smack from London came on board us. At noon also the Pearl and Drake came to us.

About Saturday 20 August 1664

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"Journal of the Earl of Sandwich" edited by R.C. Anderson

20th. Saturday. By 4 oclock in the morning we were within 3 leagues of Beachy, it bearing N. by W. About 8 oclock the Paradox and ketch came to me with packets from Holland. About 5 in the afternoon the Vice Admiral Allen with his convoy for the Straits met me and he came on board me. This evening I sent Pymm off express with a packet to London in the Henrietta yacht to put him ashore.
And now we are off the head of Beachy some 2 leagues. Very fair weather and almost calm all day.

About Thursday 18 August 1664

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"Journal of the Earl of Sandwich" edited by R.C. Anderson

18th. Thursday. In the morning set sail out of the Downs. Little wind in the morning and so drove with the tide of ebb into Dover road. In the afternoon an eastwardly gale sprang up fine and fresh and we made all the sail we could and at 7 at night we were up with the Ness.
Ships in company: - London, Revenge, Dreadnought, Dover, Kent, Elizabeth, Breda, Gloucester, Henrietta yacht.
At 4 oclock this afternoon I sent off the French and Dutch prizes to Dover and a packet for London.