About Sunday 7 September 1662

Jeannine on 8 Sep 2005  •  Link

Not exactly how one "should" be spending the Lord's Day-- an indiscretion involving Sarah followed by seeing the King parade his mistress and bastard son in front of his new wife.
This is still in the timeline of the "bedchamber incident" and during this time it was believed by historians that there was some attempt on Charles' behalf to establish at least an outward "friendliness" with his wife --why you ask--because his mother had arrived on the scene. Historians speculate and offer 2 totally different views of the Queen Mother and the ladies involved. Some believe she sides with Catherine and provided her support and friendship and "helped" her to understand the role of wife vs. mistress based on the French court ways of life. Other historians imply that there was a relationship between the Queen -Mother and Lady Castlemaine and that Catherine was not really "in" with that two some. Although Catherine and the Queen-Mother shared the same religion, they did not speak the same langauge (in the literal sense here) and communications would be difficult.
Also, of very interesting note, by all reports ---the Queen Mother and Charles I had a monogonous marriage--Charles I is noted as one of the only Kings who never had a mistress during his marriage. He was also intolerant of these types of relationships in others. A sharp contrast to the scene presented by his son King Charles II, who only a few months into his marriage has forced his mistress and illegitimate son upon his wife in such a public (and humiliating) manner.

About Saturday 6 September 1662

Jeannine on 7 Sep 2005  •  Link

In between high level math=physic (ie. "constipational calculus"); sweating out a cold, over-eating venison patties, which could have been tainted (ugh!) and wondering why Elizabeth will NOT alight into those waiting arms...Sam looks up into his mirror to catch a glimpse of himself before heading off to bed and it all starts to make sense, because....
http://www.kawaiigifts.com/catalo…

...and if this isn't true today, it probably will be tomorrow, once those patties kick in.....

About Saturday 6 September 1662

Jeannine on 7 Sep 2005  •  Link

Robert and Ruben- Come off it!! Considering that Sam will only record taking one bath in the whole time he keeps the diary I highly doubt that anyone would "alight into his waiting arms"!

About Wednesday 3 September 1662

Jeannine on 4 Sep 2005  •  Link

J A --"Love matters"--Good point caught! What is interesting is that as one moved up the chain in society (aristocrats and nobility) that marriages were predominately "arranged" and based upon things like money, connections, titles, politics, etc. At the lower end of the chain ("the common man") there was often more flexibilty in choosing a partner, and that beloved cherub "Cupid" was often the saving grace for a poor woman without dowry, etc.. Actually Sam's marriage was a "love match" with Elizabeth, as was Lord Sandwich's match to his Lady. Now if only he'd kept a diary of his courtship, I'm sure there would be those among us (me for instance) who'd be sneaking a peek into the future and just not able to wait for each day to unfold!

About Tuesday 2 September 1662

Jeannine on 3 Sep 2005  •  Link

The only thing worse than Sam having lost his key is that Elizabeth isn't around to see him do something that he'd be chiding her for had she done the same. Oh for her to sit on the sidelines and to hear her say, "it's okay Sam dear, now you're human, just like the rest of us"....

About Monday 1 September 1662

Jeannine on 2 Sep 2005  •  Link

Terry F. Thanks for the info on the Percival Hunt book and what a bummer that it's not available online. I looked at Amazon US and UK (expensive!) and for anyone interested the cheapest versions can be found at
http://www.usedbooksearch.co.uk/b…
or perhaps your local library. WELL WORTH THE EFFORT!

About Monday 1 September 1662

Jeannine on 2 Sep 2005  •  Link

David A. Smith--What a keen observation and you are NOT the only one to notice this. I recently finished reading a book by Percival Hunt called "Samuel Pepys In the Diary" (I did a rather lousy review on the site at http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

Dirk, our resident internet whiz found the link to it online for free at
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=r…

The book is a collection of essays and there are a few pertinent essays related to your comments (and today's entries too). The articles you may enjoy are called "One Value of the Diary to Sam" (page 157) and "Morality" (p. 153) which deals with the "private" vs. "personal" sides of Sam.
In addition there are other essays related to topics mentioned today ("Catherine of Braganza", "Pepys and William Penn" and "A Principal Officer".
I LOVED this book as it offered a great persepctive to a variety of ongoing themes, thoughts, etc.
After reading it I thought that the book would be a great place to explore topics and perhaps if any others chime it it may be fun to set up a "reading assignment" in the Articles section or the discussion group where anyone interested can read the essay of the week and then share comments. It may be fun to explore the themes beyond the daily annotations?????? If any others may be interested I'll ping Phil (who I think is away right now) and figure out how to set it up.

About Monday 1 September 1662

Jeannine on 2 Sep 2005  •  Link

Ok Robert--here's the real letter from Elizabeth....

Sam,
Enjoying myself in the country where a cute little houseboy follows me around and picks up all of the keys I've misplaced all day.....oh...here he comes now...gotta go.. tootles!
Liz

About Biographies of Pepys

Jeannine on 31 Aug 2005  •  Link

"Samuel Pepys In the Diary" by Percival Hunt is an original and enchanting collection of "papers" regarding assorted themes and thoughts presented in the diary. A few of the subjects include: Pepys Day, Principal Officer, Plaque, Great Fire, Pepys Songs, Catherine of Braganza, Letter of Great Reproof, Morality, One Value of the Diary to Pepys, Two Dinners, Pepys and Elizabeth Pepys. Hunt's style offers a gently mature and holistic look of the diary-stepping back from the day to day and putting it into perspective as a growing and maturation process for Sam over the lifetime of the diary. He doesn't let him off the hook for his faults, but rather looks at how these faults play into the larger picture of Sam's private and public life (which were totally different aspects of the same man). One of the more interesting and simple essays was called "Two Dinners". It was a contrast of a dinner party given by Sam and Elizabeth on January 26, 1660 and then one on January 22, 1669. It was amazing that by presenting these 2 entries side by side that so many aspects of Sam's upward growth and sophistication come to life. I've placed this with the biographies as it does select certain aspects of Sam's life and character. This is a great read and easy to pick up and read as time permits as each essay stands perfectly well on its own.

Amazon US http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos…

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obid…

Used Book Websearch (cheapest option!) http://www.usedbooksearch.co.uk/b…

About Saturday 30 August 1662

Jeannine on 31 Aug 2005  •  Link

Linda F., New Orleans and a little spolier to come... Linda, glad that you are safe and sound... hope any other annotators and families are safe as well..... while away I was reading a book called "Samuel Pepys in the Diary" by Percival Hunt. It's a collection of essays, etc. about the diary. I was reading the article called "The Great Fire" which was sort of eerie given a hurricane brewing in the background and CNN broadcasting the evacuation process out of New Orleans. Soon enough, Sam will be mirroring the New Orleans evacuation experience and scrambling to pack every single item that he owns --the diary included-- and getting his belongings and family to safety--and all without the help of radar, CNN, etc. to give him advance warning.

About Tuesday 26 August 1662

Jeannine on 31 Aug 2005  •  Link

Ruben, Thanks for sharing these absolutely wonderful pictures. You have captured the essence of the time!

About Saturday 23 August 1662

Jeannine on 31 Aug 2005  •  Link

My favorite Lady Castlemaine comment is the one that appears today! Not because she acted in a manner that could have appeared "nice" by jumping to aid a child, but simply because of all of the works that I've read that cite her character this day is always quoted and highlighted. Sadly it seems to be the only thing she ever did in her life that could have even appeared to be "nice". It's rather pathetically sad to think that in someone's entire lifetime that only one act of decency (which may have been staged for all we'll ever know) is attributed to them as a person. Sort of like saying, "she always kicked the dog on the way out the door, but one time she missed, and didn't come back and try again." This is the day of her blessed goodness, dramatically staged for all to see.

About Tuesday 19 August 1662

Jeannine on 20 Aug 2005  •  Link

Thanks Pauline for the info and insight into Lady S's activity. As someone who has never incited even one set of men to draw swords against each other on my behalf, she's done it at least twice, leaving me to be reavealed as a total under achiever! Woe is me I guess.

From the characterization of Jermyn as "crass" that would seem to fall into place for future things to come as she spirals downward towards Buckingham. She seems to like the "bad boys" and the excitement of instigating conflict. The sadness is the immaturity and self-centeredness of the times--she'll start a conflict and someone will end up dead as the result of her "court play" and antics.

About Tuesday 19 August 1662

Jeannine on 20 Aug 2005  •  Link

Terry--I think that the Duke of Buckingham
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geor…
dueled against Shrewsbury and then hooked up with his wife. The story is the lady he fought for watched with joy as her husband was killed and then went off to have a long and lewd affair with Buckingham. Dueling was off limits and prohibited ,if, you weren't one of Charles' buddies, in which case he seemed to turn the other way and not notice.
On another note and to keep in mind in the future... In terms of moving up the chain career wise Sam is always looking for someone to put in a "good word" for him. In the case of George mentioning his conversation with Clarendon (Lord Chancellor) it's good background information to know that Clarendon really respected and personally "liked" Sandwich --there aren't a whole lot of people that Clarendon thought highly of and Sandwich was one of them. Sandwich was a great link to the top for one to have. I've often thought it would be interesting to "flow chart" the office politics/friendships to see who liked whom, who stuck up for whom, etc. At this point Clarendon is still somewhat highly regarded by the king so being positioned well in his eyes is a good thing. Also, over time, I'm not so sure that Clarendon and Carteret were really friends. A little like a soap opera I fear--who likes whom and for how long before the politics shift them into another direction.This is what made the court politics so unstable--the shifts of who is "in" and who is "out" were so fluid that people were constantly shifting alliances.

About Monday 18 August 1662

Jeannine on 19 Aug 2005  •  Link

Cumgranissalis "old agade" - if this is true then why don't children come with a mute switch????

Now what about this --what is with Batten's passing in the coach and Lemon, "that lies a-dying"???

About Sunday 17 August 1662

Jeannine on 18 Aug 2005  •  Link

"The last Sunday that the Presbyterians are to preach"...I started my morning today watching the news and seeing the clearing out of the settlements in the Gaza Strip. One Jewish man,who held steadfastly to his beliefs that Gaza was his rightful home, was being physically carried out of his house and loaded on a bus. I remember thinking, nobody wins here and it's such a shame that people just can't figure out how to live together and appreciate each other's differences. Somewhere that news and those accompanying thoughts got lost in the shuffle between getting family out the door, work, juggling schedules, getting family back for dinner, to bed, etc. and it was all gone. Then I read today's entry....

Over the past few days I've blown in and out of the website and read Sam's entries and the annotators comments about the Act of Uniformity and the forcing out of those individuals who wouldn't give in to political/religious pressure and "take the oath" to accept the Book of Common Prayer. I remember having a quick thought, something like "Thank God, I live now where we've move so far beyond that level of intolerance". How naive was I?

What a strange and sad juxtaposition to see that nearly 343 years to the day after Sam wrote these words that intolerance for others who are different than us is still such a prevalant part of our larger culture and that these "nobody wins" politcal/religious difficulties still exist in so many places today. No matter what the politics, whatever side of the controversy one sits on or the strength of ones religious beliefs, the shame is that we as a world culture haven't come much further at figuring these things out.
I also feel almost embarassed to be so far removed from it all and to have it so good in comparison.

About Saturday 16 August 1662

Jeannine on 17 Aug 2005  •  Link

A. Hamilton--great article but as the author says of the preparation --"not for the sqeamish"! I, like Sam's "wench" Jane would have enough trouble pulling feathers from a chicken for a meal... but preparing a pig for the roast...a vegetarian lifestyle would be looking good to me.

On another note on preparation of a roasted pig or other foods-- the La Caja works on high heat and fast cooking. A barbeque smoker works on low heat and slow cooking. I'm curious as to the styles of cooking in Sam's time for these types of specialties.

About Friday 15 August 1662

Jeannine on 16 Aug 2005  •  Link

Chris, regarding the identity of Cumgranisallis.....this is a sad story...in a previous life he drafted the Rosetta Stone, which was to remain a hidden mystery forever. When Jean-Francois Champollion cracked the Rosetta code in 1822, Cumgranisallis' spirit was re-born and set out into eternity searching for linguistic peace. He's found his home at this website and even if we don't always understand him, we still always welcome him..............

About Sunday 10 August 1662

Jeannine on 11 Aug 2005  •  Link

"2000 clergy resigned" and other euphemisms--in today's world it would be called "work force reduction".

On another note-when I re-read this and noted all of the social activity it sadly occured to me that this so seldom would just "happen" today ---perhaps becasue of cars, and other hands off technology. It's not like people are always out and about and bumping into others--they go to a function, get in a car and go home. As far as some technologies have moved us ahead they have also taken away from daily access and connection to the world around us. Sam's day of social activity provides a glimpse into lifestyle that has unfortunately slipped away.

About Sunday 10 August 1662

Jeannine on 11 Aug 2005  •  Link

Susan, "Neater" caught my eye too- I looked it up in a few sites (oxford, cambridge, etc.) and have to think that he meant it was a carefully arranged sermon delivered with demonstrated skill and efficiency, which would impress him given his own organiztional skills and abilities. Perhaps Language Hat could add more clarification or correct me if I'm on the wrong tract.