Tuesday 8 October 1661
At the office all the morning. After office done, went and eat some Colchester oysters with Sir W. Batten at his house, and there, with some company; dined and staid there talking all the afternoon; and late after dinner took Mrs. Martha out by coach, and carried her to the Theatre in a frolique, to my great expense, and there shewed her part of the “Beggar’s Bush,” without much pleasure, but only for a frolique, and so home again.
16 Annotations
First Reading
RexLeo • Link
"... and carried her to the Theatre in a frolique, to my great expense,.."
Sam despite all his vows, goes to the theatre and spends a lot of money (coach, theatre tickets?) and as Britney would say, "Oops, did it again" - it looks like a classic case of addiction!
Bradford • Link
"Beggar's Bush," by Beaumont & Fletcher, Inc., summarized in annotations here:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
language hat • Link
"carried her to the Theatre in a frolique"
At first glance, "frolique" looks like the name of a conveyance, but there's no such definition in the OED (s.v. "frolic") -- I guess this means "A scene or occasion of gaiety or mirth; a merry-making; a party." Sounds odd, though.
vicente • Link
Castleing today: I might be a DOM Miguel but frolique to me[n] means what it always meant, gabolling in the coach [ a great place to test reactions of a lonely gal] and the stalls, He knows where all the funny pieces be and he plays along.
Lines from prev viewing: "...where was acted "Beggars' Bush," it being very well done; and here the first time that ever I saw women come upon the stage….”
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
“…where the play of "Beggar's Bush" was newly begun; and so we went in and saw it, it was well acted: and here I saw the first time one Moone, who is said to be the best actor in the world,…”
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Ruben • Link
We had a very explicit "frolique" at the Coronation last april:
"In which, at the further end, there was three great bonefyres and a great many great gallants, men and women; and the lay hold of us and would have us drink the King's health upon our knee, kneeling upon a fagott; which we all did, they drinking to us one after another - which we thought a strange Frolique. But these gallants continued thus a great while, and I wondered to see how the ladies did tiple."
Mary • Link
"in a frolique"
could be glossed "on a whim" [OED sense 1c], possibly partly introducing the idea of 'on a spree'. Swift (1711) is quoted, "If the frolic should take you of going to Bath ....."
language hat • Link
Ah, 'on a whim' makes sense. Thanks.
A. Hamilton • Link
"in a frolique"
Glossed as "on a whim." Cf. the legal phrase, "a frolic of one's own" which describes "the activities of an employee that, though resulting in job-related injuries, do not entitle the employee to compensation." (From a discussion of a novel by William Gaddis entitled "A Frolic of His Own," at
http://www.williamgaddis.org/crit…
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
After all, Martha Batten was Pepys's Valentine, as we learned two days ago
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Bill • Link
"in a frolique"
A FROLICK, a merry Prank, a Whim.
---An Universal Etymological English Dictionary. N. Bailey, 1675.
Chris Squire UK • Link
This must be the sense of ‘frolic’ intended here:
‘ . .1c. = whim n.1
1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 5 Apr. (1948) I. 235 If the frolick should take you of going to the Bath, I here send you a note on Parvisol.’
‘whim . . 3.b. In generalized sense: Capricious humour or disposition of mind.
a1721 M. Prior Enigma: Form'd half Beneath 7 They [sc. skates] serve the poor for use, the rich for whim.
1729 Pope Dunciad (new ed.) iii. 147 Sneering G**de, half malice and half whim.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xii. i. 376, I came up to pay my devotions; but whim, or perhaps revenge .. determined her to put on the stranger . . ‘ [OED]
Third Reading
Stephane Chenard • Link
Oftentimes our Society has marvelled at the quantities of oysters, entire pecks and barrels, that Sam quaffs when on a frolique, as a later Age will salted peanuts, or even as his sole meal. We have posted, at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…, an Encyclopedia entry on whether this ravenous appetite risks exhausting the resource, according to the most recent research in oyster history. We surmise it wouldn't improve Sam's mood, which seems a bit melancholy today.
LKvM • Link
Re "a frolique," could it mean the same as "a wild hair," defined as "a fervent, usually sudden, desire to do something surprising or unexpected."
Charles Miller • Link
Parson Woodforde had an annual “frolic” for his Tennant farmers at his parsonage in Weston Longville, Norfolk throughout the 1780s-90s. It’s basically a massive annual party to thank them for the tithes and rents as he lays on several barrels of beer and wine, feeds them well with sides of beef etc. and clearly makes a good night of it. A frolic or frolique is what we might call a “jolly” today, a bit fun for the sake of it.
Louise Hudson • Link
A frolique in a coach. Shades of Madam Bovary.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... took Mrs. Martha out by coach, and carried her to the Theatre in a frolique, to my great expense, and there shewed her part of the “Beggar’s Bush,” without much pleasure, but only for a frolique, ..."
In this case, perhaps he pulled Martha out of the performance early because the frolique wasn't suitable for a young lady?
She must have been really peeved when fun Mr. Pepys suddenly stood up and said, "We've got to go now, Martha! This is crap."
Lady Batten must be out of town!