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 Monday 29 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"we saw 'Midsummer's Night's Dream,' which I had never seen before, nor shall ever again, for it is the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life”
Considering other choices of plays to take a 12 year old girl to, this one is probably a much better choice than much of the Restoration theater, some of which was pretty explicit. At least in today’s world we have “ratings” that give an idea in advance as to what age level is generally appropriate for films, etc. I wonder if Sam ever pondered this or would have thought of it prior to the event. This is one place where the experience of parenting may have offered a different range of thoughts that one may have considered, but, I’m not sure if in those time this would be a concern to anyone or not?? I can’t see how it would be the best idea to pull the daughter of an Admiral to see some of the more provocative works to come out of the Restoration period.
The only tidbit of thought regarding theater appropriateness that I have come across is unrelated to Sam, but to come. In 1674, in order to glorify and celebrate himself, the King will have a large gala which will include the princesses (Mary and Anne, James’ 2 girls) in a play. The play, based on Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” will have Calista raped by Jove (who is disguised as a goddess). John Crownee, the playwrite had the task of taking that storyline and creating it in a delicate manner appropriate for girls age 14 or so to participate in, which was far from an easy task. Of course, the irony here is having Charles II and James ( 2 libertines extraordinaire), worried about any young ladies’ virtues.

About Sunday 28 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Pauline,
That is why I noted that spoilers were included so people could have the option to read only if they desired to. Please feel free to skip any of my annotations at any time in order to ensure your reading pleasure.

About Sunday 28 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Dementia??
It seems like there may be some previous history on this issue prior to my coming to the site, so I thought I'd look at the diary entries but not the previous annotations on the subject. In the background Pauline has provided some of the diary quotes and some information from Tomilin. Sam's entries in regards to his mother refer to her as "simple" on occasion (without detail to subtantiate exactly how), speaks of her illnesses, and her tangles with her husband (who is no prize) and with Sam (see below), Tom (noting his growing disrespect to his parents) and Pauline(who had to return home after Sam gave her the boot). He also notes a nice dinner together (Aug 29, 1661).
In regards to Sam's relationship/thoughts of his mother, Tomilin sheds some light on a few interesting interactions here (some spoliers)
1. The stone--when Sam had his stone removed he put it on display in a "Stone-Case" which cost him 25 shilling. When mom passed her stone spontaneously she disposed of it by throwing it in the fireplace. "Nothing marks the difference in their characters more clearly: the tough old woman, incurious, sluttish even, and her neat, purposeful son, intent on understanding, mastering, classifying and teaching." (p.63)
2. "Pepys was not enthusiatic about many of his blood relations. Like most people,he preferred the ones who did well in life" (p. 128)
3. "The plague [1665] did not deter his mother from coming up from Brampton to stay in May, and she enjoyed herself so much in town, shopping with Elizabeth, going out on the river and revisiting old haunts in Islington, that he had difficulty is persuading her to leave at the end of June, when the city suddenly and spectaculary emptied itself."
4. "When his mother was really dying, at Brampton in 1667, he made no attempt to visit her"..."When the news came, he did not go to Brampton for her funeral or to comfort his father but put his entire household into mourning, proud of cutting a fine figure when he went to church in his black clothes. He must be the first writer to take note of the vanity of the well-dressed mourner in his own person" (p. 161-162)

What is striking is that it appears that she lived a life surrounded by a lack of connection to any member of her immediate family, seemingly estraged, which is sad and lonely in itself. When removed from that situation and put into a "fun" one elsewhere 3 years from now she will enjoy herself a great deal and thrive during that time.
Having been intricately involved with 2 loved ones suffering from dementia for several years, being engulfed in their living situations, experiencing like sufferers around them and researching the disease extensively through that process, nothing in Margaret's actions seems to fit that disease.

About Saturday 27 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Robert--Just having fun with my reply to you above-actually I don't think that Elizabeth was doing ANYTHING wrong at all when away from Sam, although I would bet that her gentlemen callers may have wished she were inclined to as she was quite beautiful.
What is interesting to note--we're all waiting to hear her comments about the house and the renovations--did it occur to anyone that perhaps she was just so glad to get back to see Sam that the house was secondary in her thoughts? Maybe she only had eyes for him????

About Saturday 27 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Sandwich's Journal's-most of my information on the subject is from Sandwich's biograpaher Richard Ollard ("Cromwell's Earl") -see the background --http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/2433/

Sandwich's journals and Sam's were different, as Ollard explains," The Journal that he kept, mostly in his own beautifully legible hand, though it covers even fewer years than that of his famous cousin and has none of the uninhibited forthright judgements on himself and everybody else that makes Pepys such stimulating company, is in its way not less revealing. The light it sheds comes through cracks in the shutters where Pepys draws the curtain back with a florish to admit the rising sun. Both have universal curiosity, the appetite, the zest for life that make the reader ashamed of his own sluggish imperception" (p 13)
Ollard includes Sandwich's illustrations of things like a lunar eclipse (fascinating), a dustpan with measurements, a map of Cape Tresforcas on the Meditterranean coast, assorted tools, etc. in great detail. Where Sam tended to comment more on people, gossip, himself, etc. Sandwich was of a different nature and tended to note with little judgement attached the difference of nations, interesting scientific, mechanical items, etc. therefore he doesn't seem to gravitate towards noting things about people as Sam does.

About Saturday 27 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Gee Pedro and Robert--if Sam doesn't get some good feedback from Elizabeth for all of his work at Brampton pretty soon, maybe he'll give up in the major renovations department and go back to the simpler renovation of boring holes --at least that way if he picks the right place for a peep hole he'll have the satisfaction of looking at some pretty girls when he's done!"

About Saturday 27 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"and tells me how my Lord hath drawn a plot of some alteracions to be made there, and hath brought it up, which I saw and like well"
In Sandwich's biography improvements and major renovations to Hitchingbrooke were ongoing. "On March 4th, 1660 Sandwich "went to Hitchingbrooke taking his building contractor with him. The remodelling of the house was extensive:two storeys were added to one wing, a new kitchen was built; and other various changes made which cannot be exactly idenitified since no architect's drawing survive and the house was altered again after Edward's time. That he himself had a hand in the designs in highly probable as he certainly did in the ornament and laying out of the garden and grounds. The journals he kept while Ambassador to Madrid are full of scale drawings of fountains, statuary, walls, gates, railings and suchlike even down to the detail of the door knockers and latches. The eagerness and pride with which he showed Pepys his improvements in September 1663 are those of an artist as much as a proprietor. Pepys on this and other occasions admired the taste of his patron but deplored the imprudence of the expense". (p 98, Ollard, "Cromwell's Earl).
These improvements were ongoing for several years, so most likely Sandwich had sent via Elizabeth some of the drawings, etc. that Sandwich was contemplating. Of note, like Sam, Sandwich had a very curious mind but he was also somewhat of an artist so his journals are full of sketches of diverse things like lampstands, watering plans, instruments, a jewel for his wife, etc. in exacting detail and complexity. Although his diary/journals lack the pizazz (and gossip) of Sam's he was a keen observer of everything around him and took great pleasure at recording and drawing things that he found interesting.

About Friday 26 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

A Woman's role in renovation jobs....Although Sam's diary doesn't give an indication of womanly invovlement in renovations, John Evelyn will give an interesting entry after the Great Fire (Sept 13, 1665). Janet Mackay in "Catherine of Braganza" (p 157-158)provides the details that after the Great Fire, John Evelyn, working on the rebuilding of London took the plans prepared by Christopher Wren, "to Whitehall, and was directed to the Queen's bedchamber, where Charles and Catherine and the Duke of York awaited him. Catherine had been ready to leave for a drive when the King's message came to her, calling her into consultation, but a drive could wait if her husband desired her company or her opinion. In her long velvet horseman's coat and wide cavalier hat with trailing feather, she spent an hour with the King examining the plans which amply provided for the carrying out of his ideas. They discussed possibiliites and suggested alterations and improvements, till in imagination the brave new city was built."

About Thursday 25 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Ode to a Translator

There once was a man named Wheatley
Who preferred his translations done sweetly
So if words were found
With an indelicate sound
He deleted those words completely....

About Thursday 25 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Mr. Wheatley's deleted word... Rex provided the deleted word from Wheatley's translation, the "S" word. Sam doesn't use alot of real "swears" like this in his diary, but he who has no qualms about expressing his own issues with "bathroom" topics (constipation, laxatives, etc.) in a "dignified manner" yet he chooses to express the bathroom habits of another culture with a "swear" word.
This word was not the norm in a gentleman's society but rather associated with a put down, or used among "the men" as in Sandwich's derogatory, albeit funny statement when James (Duke of York) married a pregnant Anne Hyde. Sandwich summed up the marriage to Pepys {"he had to get a wench with child and marry her afterwards is as if a man should "S" in his hat and then clap it on his head").
It's a small word choice on Sam's behalf, but his choice of wording may be an area to watch to see how he chooses certain words to comment on other cultures (religions, etc.) that a different from his own. Perhaps a pattern will come forth (??) in his view of the Queen's different culture, other religions, nationalities, etc. perhaps not. The word choices may be worth noting and any connotations of those choices.
The attached article gives some background on swearing in the English language
http://www.andrewgray.com/essays/…

About Monday 22 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"Hastening to get things ready against my wife's coming"........

Growing up one of my friends came from a family with a military and exacting father and a very laid back, non-housework type mother. When the dad walked through the door each day at exactly 6:00 sharp, the house was to be spotless and dinner on the table. This was NOT negotiable. Sometime in the afternoon, the mom put something in the oven to bake for dinner. In the meantime kids would be playing all over, toys would be everywhere, they'd go off to the beach, come home all wet and sandy, etc. The house always looked like a cross between an explosion in a laundromat and a toy store.... But, every day at 5:55 pm sharp an alarm would sound and every person in that house would go on a rampage to hide the mess anywhere--toys in the refrigerator, school books in the dryer, stuff shoved under beds,toys in laundry hampers, etc. Where ever you could hide the mess you threw it and went to the next mess. Someone would always be doing the countdown, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then dad would walk in the door to a happy quiet family sitting at the table each night.

For anyone who has entertained, the same thing usually happens --alot of last minute details and running around and then trying to greet your guests looking relaxed and refreshed.

So, as the countdown for Beth's return begins to close in , it will be fun to watch our Sam getting ready and working through the final details of house preparation. Will he stress out? Will he lose it at the workmen? Will he get "actively" involved and clean something himself? Stay tuned for the next episode in "Countdown to Elizabeth"........

About Samuel Pepys and Fleet Street

Jeannine  •  Link

Peter, thanks so much for this article and the entire Trilogy! Your excellent writing and photography has been thoroughly enjoyable.

About Sunday 21 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Per Pedro's comment about the Queen, "she appointed the Benedictine Father Huddleston who had hidden Charles II in his priest's hole after the Battle of Worcester (1651)” … a Charles II spoiler but outside of the diary and to come much later..Father Huddleston was the Catholic priest who actually attended Charles II on his deathbed and in secret (but upon Charles’ request) converted him to the Catholic church. At that conversion he is famous for saying he had “once saved Charles’ body and now would save his soul”.

About Sunday 21 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"The Queene very devout: but what pleased me best was to see my dear Lady Castlemaine, who, tho’ a Protestant, did wait upon the Queen to chappell."
This is an example of how Lady Castlemaine tormented the Queen. Although Castlemaine "won" her postion as a bedchamber lady, she carried out her vindictiveness towards the Queen by basically being "in her face", even following her to church and waiting outside her Sunday services.

About Saturday 20 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Nix, Divorce was not really an option in Sam's day (the Roos case will come in the future where this will be a hot topic). For the most part women were not educated, not given opportunities for "decent" work, not raised to be independent, could not finanically support themselves, etc. so people tended to stay in bad marriages because they didn't have all of the alternatives that we have today. I think that the issue with Sam's views is that there isn't even a hint that he is considering a partner as a lifetime companion for Tom or thinking of his "happiness". This doesn't have to mean "love" but "like" might be a thought that seems missing from his entries.

And on a selfish note.. Sam had better choose carefully as he'll have to put up with the choice as a sister-in-law too.

About Saturday 20 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

The chapter entitled " A Treaty of Marriage" in the book
"The Life and Loyalties of Thomas Bruce" by the Earl of Cardigan describes the selection/negotiations for a partner for the young Thomas Bruce(the marriage took place in 1676 and was highly successful). Cardigan points out that..
"Our ancestors as we have seen, had notions of marriage very different from our own. They understood, however, that if a young man and a girl were paired off, having the same social and financial backgrounds, having been brought up in similar environments, having in common many acquiantances and friends, many tastes and occupations, many prejudices and enthusiasms -then it was extremely likely that they would not disagree, but would settle down to love contentedly together.
They understood also that, if both had been shielded from other intimate contacts, if both were healthy in body and reasonably comely in looks-then it was tolerably certain that (even without much prior acquaintance) they would discover in the intimacies of marriage some degree of mutual pleasure, which in turn might develop into mutual love.
It is not disputed that, in a very great number of cases, marriages this prosaically commenced did enjoy a remarkable measure of success---far more than is achieved by our present-day method of letting young people select their own mates." (p. 30).
Of note--this speaks to those marraiges arranged by "good" and "caring" parents, guardians, etc. and the way things "should" have been and clearly doesn't apply to the way things happened for many where the matchmaker may have had an agenda other than the well being of the couple to be.

About Saturday 20 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

All for Love?.. Mary and Robert..it's not that Sam should be actually selecting a woman for Tom with the thought that "love" would be the impetus for the marriage, as Tom didn't know the candidates. It's that the criteria doesn't even seem to include the fact that the partner will be sharing a life with Tom, hopefully having a family together, being enjoyable companions for each other. etc. The "human" dimension of the relationship seems lacking.
In Sam's case he married Elizabeth without a dowry, etc. but with something that would serve him well, she had a higher social status than Sam, the son of a tailor had at birth. Although Sam would earn the way up the ladder by his achievements he at least had a partner that would be a suitable person to accompany him on his way up the chain, something that a dowry could not guarantee.
Also, to Robert's point on Elizabeth's thoughts, perhaps some of her discomfort at Brampton may have to do with the difference in class between her father/mother-in-law and herself. In Sam's case he is upward bound and agressive about moving up in society, in the case of his parents, this may not be the case and it may tiring after a long stay.

About Saturday 20 September 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"Tom in Love",,,,Robert, when I read the entries about trying to find Tom a wife and the thorough lack of any "emotions" usually associated with love, Tom could as easily be trying to buy a new horse, a shovel, cement, or some other inert object,,,,,all factual and transaction oriented,,,,but wait I need to take that back,,,there would probably be a little more emotion shed for selecting a new horse...as it might be a "beauty"!