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 Anne Hyde (Duchess of York)

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From Grammont's footnotes
Miss Anne Hyde, eldest daughter of Lord Chancellor Clarendon. King James mentions this marriage in these terms. -- "The king at first refused the Duke of York's marriage with Miss Hyde. Many of the duke's friends and servants opposed it. The king at last consented, and the Duke of York privately married her, and soon after owned the marriage. Her want of birth was made up by endowments; and her carriage afterwards became her acquired dignity." Again. "When his sister, the princess royal, came to Paris to see the queen-mother, the Duke of York fell in love with Mrs. Anne Hyde, one of her maids of honour. Besides her person, she had all the qualities proper to inflame a heart less apt to take fire than his, which she managed so well as to bring his passion to such an height, that, between the time he first saw her and the winter before the king's restoration, he resolved to marry none but her; and promised her to do it: and though, at first, when the duke asked the king his brother for his leave, he refused, and dissuaded him from it, yet at last he opposed it no more, and the duke married her privately, owned it some time after, and was ever after a true friend to the chancellor for several years." -- Macpherson's State Papers, vol. i.
http://www.pseudopodium.org/repre… see note 42

About James Stuart (Duke of York, Lord High Admiral)

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From Grammont's footnotes (Burnet quote)
James Duke of York, afterwards King James II. He was born 15th October, 1633; succeeded his brother 6th February, 1684-5; abdicated the crown in 1688; and died 6th September, 1701. Bishop Burnet's character of him appears not very far from the truth. -- "He was," says this writer, "very brave in his youth; and so much magnified by Monsieur Turenne, that till his marriage lessened him, he really clouded the king, and passed for the superior genius. He was naturally candid and sincere, and a firm friend, till affairs and his religion wore out all his first principles and inclinations. He had a great desire to understand affairs: and in order to that he kept a constant journal of all that passed, of which he shewed me a great deal. The Duke of Buckingham gave me once a short but severe character of the two brothers. It was the more severe, because it was true: the king, (he said,) could see things if he would: and the duke would see things if he could. He had no true judgment, and was soon determined by those whom he trusted: but he was obstinate against all other advices. He was bred with high notions of kingly authority, and laid it down for a maxim, that all who opposed the king, were rebels in their hearts. He was perpetually in one amour or other, without being very nice in his choice: upon which the king once said, he believed his brother had his mistresses given him by his priests for penance. He was naturally eager and revengeful: and was against the taking off any, that set up in an opposition to the measures of the court, and who by that means grew popular in the house of commons. He was for rougher methods. He continued many years dissembling his religion, and seemed zealous for the church of England. But it was chiefly on design to hinder all propositions, that tended to unite us among ourselves. He was a frugal prince, and brought his court into method and magnificence, for he had 100,000l. a-year allowed him. He was made high admiral, and he came to understand all the concerns of the sea very particularly."
http://www.pseudopodium.org/repre… see note 41

About Wednesday 7 January 1662/63

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Politics - office and social

Shane--Minnes and Batten lying to the Duke about monies paid-my guess would be some sort of corruption? but that's only a guess--not sure if anyone actually knows. What I am wondering is will Sam point this discrepancy out to the Duke, and if so, how to do it in a delicate manner???

Dirk--Good question about Lady Castlemaine. She is a standard feature at almost ALL Whitehall social type, activities. Around this time it's common knowledge that if you want the King to show up you had better invite her. Even men like Sandwich, who had originally been close to the queen and abhored the King's negligence of her, had "moved" towards acceptance and kindness to "the Lady" for career reasons. Around this time (actual date unknown, so not sure if a spoiler) one friend of the Queen's, Lady Gerrard threw a dinner party and did NOT invite the Lady. The King showed up with his wife, saw that the lady wasn't there and walked out (leaving his wife abandoned and insulting the hosts in the process) and went to spend the night with Castlemaine. At this point, he is in the habit of supping with Castlemaine every night and will have a period of about 4-6 months (some prior tot his) where he basically only spends more "formal" time with his wife.

About Monday 5 January 1662/63

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And as for you Mr. Hamilton, I'll turn to that comic genius Steve Martin who once said....
"Boy, those French, they have a different word for everything" ...
Thanks for the poem!

About Monday 5 January 1662/63

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Robert, Perhaps James may be playing Mr. Sweetie to his wife in public to cover up the latest gossip about Lady Chesterfield??? I am sure that she has heard the rumors about Lady C. being quickly brought to "the country home" by her husband to get her away from James's clutches. Anne Hyde was nobody's fool and VERY aware of James' and his playing around, so perhaps he's tryuing to get out of the dog house??

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

On another note, as we've seen before, sometimes the audience antics are more entertaining than the play.

About Sunday 4 January 1662/63

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"So to Mr. Hunt’s, and there was most prettily and kindly entertained by him and her, who are two as good people as I hardly know any, and so neat and kind one to another."

Reminds me of the quote by Robert Heinlein "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."

Hopefully Sam can put some thought into WHY the Hunts are so wonderful together and apply it to his own marriage.

About Elizabeth Pepys (wife, b. St Michel)

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Elizabeth Pepys' Epitaph
(1640-1669)
Wife of Samuel Pepys (who serves the Royal Navy).
She was educated first in a convent, and then in a seminary of France.
She was distinguished by the excellence of both at once,
Gifted with beauty, accomplishments, tongues,
She bore no offspring, for she could not have borne her life.
At length when she had bidden this world a gentle farewell,
(After a journey completed through, we may say, the lovelier sights of Europe) --
A returning pilgrim, she took her departure to wander through a grander world.

About Thursday 1 January 1662/63

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"at my Lord Gerard’s at dinner,"... I am not sure if this is a spoiler or not, but Lady Gerard will share some of these tidbits of gossip with the Queen herself and Charles will be none too pleased. The results will be that Lady G. is cut off from her access to the Queen (although her husband will not be part of this reprimand). Although Charles will openly father children and "everyone" will know about it, he still remains sensitive to anyone telling his wife directly about the things that they "shouldn't speak of".
Sam's references above to the bawdy court life, Castlemaine, Lord & Lady Chesterfield, etc. (story behind that described on http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… ) are only the tip of the iceberg of the antics and anecdotes starting to come from the court. Between Dr. Pierce, Captain Ferrers and now Mrs. Sarah, Sam seems to be getting an earful of juicy gossip coming his way. He must feel somewhat mixed with disgust at a moral level and the delight of hearing such "tabloid-type" tidbits on another level. Seeing this type of activity become the norm must be disheartening.

About Wednesday 31 December 1662

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"pleased to hear Mrs. Bland talk like a merchant in her husband’s business very well". Jesse, although it is unusual for a woman to partake in business in this time, it's hardly rare. In her book, the Weaker Vessel" Antonia Fraser devotes a chapter to this called "The Delight of Business" and brings forth a variety of examples of women in business. There is a reference to Mrs. Bland, and other women that Sam will point out during the course of the diary as good business women. As long as the woman's role was basically an "extension" of her husband and household, then this was an admired phenomenon. For instance, if a woman ventured to learn arithmetic in order to do the accounts, etc. for her husband's business then this would be admired, whereas if she ventured to learn the classics for instance, this would no doubt bring forth criticism (not practical, not supporting the household, etc.). Many widows also picked up the businesses left behind by their departed husbands out of necessity and did admirably with these roles. Finally, and a little touchy here no doubt, there were some women that were just plain "smarter" or better at business than were their partners so picking up the slack or taking over in some cases ensured a cash flow into the household. If egos could be somehow kept in check along the way, then maritial harmony could also prevail if a woman took more of a lead position. More of there types of entries should be forthcoming and fun to note as Sam partakes more in equipping the Navy.

About Tuesday 30 December 1662

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"Monmouth’s future is sad, indeed"... but perhaps not as sad as Bradford's immediate future when he wakes up tomorrow after drinking all that wine......

About Wednesday 31 December 1662

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Lady Castlemaine’s Glowing Jewels… Davidson reports that (p 168) “It was at this New Year’s Eve ball that Lady Castlemaine’s blaze of costly jewels far outshone those worn by the Queen and the Duchess of York together, and that people told each other she had coaxed the King to hand over to her all the Christmas presents given in the usual custom by the peers. This old custom was soon after discontinued. Perhaps the peers hardly appreciated being made this involuntarily to contribute to the possessions of ‘the Lady”.”

About Tuesday 30 December 1662

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"Monmouth’s future is sad, indeed, but it’s also tough for poor Queen Catherine to have to entertain her husband’s bastard child in her court, while bearing none of her own."
Stolzi-- Monmouth's sad future and the Queen. (Spoilier). Throughout her lifetime Catherine will be more than decent to the hoard of bastards that Charles flaunts and throws in her face, in particular, she is kind to Monmouth. Literally when Monmouth is faced with his head destined for the chopping block, she will go on his behalf to beg for mercy from James (then King). She will make her request on the behalf of her dead husband. Her plea for Monmouth will not do any good and James will get his revenge via the ax man.

About Tuesday 30 December 1662

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"..that was much crying up the Queen-Mother’s Court at Somerset House above our own Queen’s"...
Queen Catherine, married just over a half of a year, ends 1662 settling into the ways of her husband’s overall court and the little "sub-courts" (ie. Queen-Mother's court, Duke's court, etc.). Strickland sums up the year (p. 612), “Her court was considered at this time inferior, both on splendor and correctness, to that of her royal mother-in-law, queen Henrietta, and she received a very trifling degree of homage from the time serving courtiers, who were intent on propitiating her insolent rival [Lady Castlemaine, whose influence is rising both politically and with Charles]. The profligate associates of the king endeavored to justify him in his neglect of the queen, by depreciating her in every possible way. Her piety was termed bigotry; her moral rectitude, stiffness and precision; her simplicity of character, folly; and her person, which Charles himself had declared to be agreeable enough to please any reasonable man, was caricatured and ridiculed on all occasions. Catherine treated the attacks of these reptiles with silent contempt, and never condescended to betray her consciousness of their sting, far less seek for vengeance; but the pain she felt at the unkindness of her royal husband, though patiently endured, was too acute to be concealed, and was observed by the whole court.”
Side note- What is interesting is that historians differ radically in their view of the relationship that Queen Catherine had with the Queen Mother, Henrietta. Some view a rivalry with Henrietta well entrenched with Lady Castlemaine and the rising factions at court (in particular a Bennett alliance is often suggested, as he was a hidden papist) , which would play into the “whose court if greater” rivalry portrayed here. Other views portray an alliance between the two women, based on their common Catholic religion, and suggest that Henrietta may have had a sympathetic and understanding attitude towards the Queens diminished position at Court.

About Monday 29 December 1662

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"but we could not come to any resolution what to do therein, other than to appear as she is." As Sam rises up the ladder and starts to enterain people of a higher status, dressing correctly to fit in will be a real issue not only for him, but also for his wife. Court life could be brutally gossipy, arrogant and condescending, so "dressing the part" (just right--not too shabby and not to flashy) will become a real need. From the entry today I didn't see Sam writing with any humor on the subject but perhaps an awareness that their status is changing and he may need to make adjustments along with it.

About Monday 29 December 1662

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"different people notice different things"...Paul, this is an excellent point and true not only of the diarist but other contemporary writers (Clarendon, Burnet, etc.) who wrote about their times. The diverse views, experiences and opinions give a much fuller picture and additional depth, so I too am appreciative of others sharing these differing views. Although Sam is a masterful and "fun" writer to read, he still has his own biases and only sees through his eyes.
On a sidenote--I still find that in reading biographies of people of this time that it also adds to my understanding of the individual to read multiple books on the same person/events as the views may differ quite widely depending on the writer's research, perspective and biases. Tomilin's view of Sam is quite different than Ollard's, Fraser's view of Charles II is quite different than Hutton's, etc.

About Saturday 27 December 1662

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"So Wayneman overstepped the line a bit too often"...still, sort of sad to see him go, as he's probably still just a "kid". The household help turnover of late has given a new cook (Sarah's replacement) who is hardly ever mentioned, and no replacement for Gosnell. Hopefully the trend for good quiet repectable help won't continue. We need a replacement with some spunk to give us something to write about next year.

About Thursday 25 December 1662

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"that they all laugh in the chappell when he reflected on their ill actions and courses" perhaps in a normal situation it would be risky to preach a sermon criticizing the ways of the King's court when he is the head of the church itself, but, since it is Charles, perhaps not. He never seemed to be ruffled by these types of sermons, and for the most part, the bishops who tried to preach him into cleaning up his act got away mostly unscathed, and in this case, ignored.

About Wednesday 24 December 1662

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“Stephens’s Thesaurus Graecae Linguae,” totally off topic here, but how timely to have a reference to a dictionary. On the Christmas episode of Spongebob (favorite of 9 year old, and I admit to liking him too!), a character says something in a complete sentence and Spongebob replies... "I hope that Santa gives me a dictionary so I can understand what you said". From time to time reading Sam I feel the same way!