Thursday 7 November 1661

This morning came one Mr. Hill (sent by Mr. Hunt, the Instrument maker), to teach me to play on the Theorbo, but I do not like his play nor singing, and so I found a way to put him off. So to the office. And then to dinner, and got Mr. Pett the Commissioner to dinner with me, he and I alone, my wife not being well, and so after dinner parted. And I to Tom Trice, who in short shewed me a writt he had ready for my father, and I promised to answer it. So I went to Dr. Williams (who is now pretty well got up after his sickness), and after that to Mr. Moore to advise, and so returned home late on foot, with my mind cleared, though not satisfied. I met with letters at home from my Lord from Lisbone, which speak of his being well; and he tells me he had seen at the court there the day before he wrote this letter, the Juego de Toro. So fitted myself for bed.

Coming home I called at my uncle Fenner’s, who tells that Peg Kite now hath declared she will have the beggarly rogue the weaver, and so we are resolved neither to meddle nor make with her.

34 Annotations

First Reading

upper_left_hand_corner  •  Link

Juego de Toro sounds Spanish, not Portuguese ...

Am I correct in recollecting that in Portuguese bullfights the bull is not killed?

Pedro.  •  Link

Juego de Toro

Spanish for bullfight? Tourada in Portuguese. For a description of the present day difference between Spanish and Portuguese bullfights see...
http://www.travelnet.co.il/PORTUG…

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"Juego de toros"
Nowadays "corrida de toros"in spanish of course; at the time Portugal had recovered her independence from Spain less than half century thence the costly alliance with England.

Peter  •  Link

Juego de toros? Juego de otros (if you ask a bull!)

Nix  •  Link

"sounds Spanish, not Portuguese" --

Yes, it does, but of course we don't know how far they have diverged over the past 340 years. It is also correct that in Portuguese bullfighting the bull is not killed. The bullfighter is called a "cavaleiro" -- i.e., horseman (caballero in Spanish, anglicized to cavalier) -- not a torero (literally bullfighter) or matador (literally killer). He participates on horseback, thrusting short-bladed lances into the bull's back.

http://mundo-taurino.org/horses.h…

In modern Spanish, "juego" translates to English as "game" -- "corrida" means literally "running". BullFIGHT is an Anglicism. As I understand it, the Spanish/Portugues/Latin American view is that it is primarily a spectacle demonstrating skill and courage, rather than a contest or competition. (Anticipating objections, it's obvious that many in the English-speaking world would disagree with this characterization.)

Pedro.  •  Link

"letters at home from my Lord from Lisbone."

Montagu would refer to the bullfight as "the Juego de Toro" because he can speak some Spanish and not Portuguese. Charles and his brother James also spoke Spanish.Charlie would try to converse with his future wife in Spanish.

David A. Smith  •  Link

"shewed me a writt he had ready for my father, I promised to answer"
Quite a bit of civility being shown here on both sides of this impenetrable financial dispute. I wonder if this is because each is an agent for someone else (Sam for his dad's estate, Trice for his dad's widow), because neither is really sure of the facts, because they're social acquaintanances/ perhaps friends, or some mixture of all?

dirk  •  Link

"in Portuguese bullfighting the bull is not killed"

re - Nix

I Think this should be "not killed in the ring". Because bulls that have participated in a bullfight and survived, have become a danger to men. They have learned that they can successfully fight a human being, and how to do it. In Spain such bulls are killed behind the scene immediately after the fight. I suspect the same happens in Portugal.

vicente  •  Link

Not at the end, but before, getting to the sight of bed "... So fitted myself for bed ..." such a nice turn of words coming from one that has seen many a gent, that has been fitted for the the streets. Ah! then he remembers that dreaded lass should take a hike with that dastardly beggarly rogue the weaver.

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

Peg Kite now hath declared she will have the beggarly rogue the weaver, and so we are resolved neither to meddle nor make with her.

Anyone know the story here?

Anent Portuguese bullfights. In Setubal I have seen the boldest lads of the town wrestle the bull (weakened by the Portuguese version of Picadores -- elegant horsemen with lances) to the ground. The bull was not killed. There was no matador. It was a rather civic event.

dirk  •  Link

bullfights

In the 17th c bullfights, in Spain as well as in Portugal, were still a game for the well to do - to prove their courage and agility - where the rules weren't really fixed and where there was room for improvisation. (A century later Goya will make a series of etchings about the subject, showing how it was done.) It was not yet the well regulated mass event of today.

Nix  •  Link

The killing of the bulls --

True, I imagine, that the bulls are killed after the fight. They are raised for beef, after all.

Pedro.  •  Link

Last word, plus one.

Zapatero has not noticed that somewhere in Spain, (Ribatejo in Portugal), some humans are actually are being used to selectively breed these horrible bulls for courage and strength, instead of for beef!

vicente  •  Link

Man and 'is pleasures : there be the Bedlam for some, then there be Cockfighting, then there be Bull baiting with that famous dog 'John Bull' then there be Bare [bear] baiting either at hide park or in the Baiting ring [please bring ye own [bait] bread and 'it' ] of course then there be hounds for a little exercise of chasing Rudyard. Oh ! wot fun. [note the breeds of dogs that be named after the games played]
for a load of bull try the bear baiting arenas in London town at this date.
"...The Puritans endeavoured to put an end to animal-baiting, although Macaulay sarcastically suggested that this was not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators. ..."

http://54.1911encyclopedia.org/B/…

ban?[USA] Baiting. '...All but ten states have banned the use of bait to lure bears, because it is considered unfair by hunters and non-hunters alike. Unfortunately, the practice remains legal in Maine. Bear baiters litter..."
http://www.hsus.org/ace/19970
In 1656 the local court ordered that Thame’s market cross should be properly equipped with the following :

a pillory (for human punishment):
a tumbrill (a two wheeled cart);
a bushel (an eight gallon container used as a standard measure of volume for corn and other commodities):
a collar and rope for bull baiting;
http://www.thamehistory.net/topic…
more at Restoration London Liza Picard P 210 {shoe lane, bear garden Southwark}

language hat  •  Link

"of course we don't know how far they have diverged over the past 340 years”

Of course we do — 340 years doesn’t take us back into prehistory! “Juego de toros” is Spanish; as Pedro points out, Spanish is perfectly natural here. I doubt many more Englishmen knew Portuguese in the 17th century than do now.

language hat  •  Link

"we are resolved neither to meddle nor make with her"

This is a regional expression meaning 'to have nothing to do with her.' OED citations ("make" def. 57):

1564 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages Diocese Chester 123, I will neither make nor medle with her. 1661 S. PEPYS Diary 7 Nov. II. 209 Pegg Kite hath now declared that she will have the beggarly rogue, the Weaver; and so we are resolved neither to meddle nor make with her. 1662 LIVINGSTONE in W. K. Tweedie Select Biogr. I. 208 He thinks he will only preach against Poprie, and not make with other controversies. 1756 W. TOLDERVY Hist. Two Orphans I. 146 And so, Sir, pray don't meddle nor make with the maids. 1834 W. S. LANDOR Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. (1853) II. 298/1 The business is a ticklish one: I like not overmuch to meddle and make therein. 1849 C. BRONTE Shirley II. x. 240 Moore may settle his own matters henceforward for me; I’ll neither meddle nor make with them further. 1887 J. SERVICE Dr. Duguid 286 Daur to mak or mell with the literal meaning thereof. 1895 T. PINNOCK Black Country Ann. in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., I wo’ meddle or mak’ in yo’r affairs. 1953 M. TRAYNOR Eng. Dial. Donegal 183 Not to meddle nor make with, not to interfere with.

IronRoads  •  Link

Regarding vicente's comment on USA state laws banning bear baiting:
I believe this is in reference, not to the game of tormenting bears, but to the practice of hunting them with the aid of enticing baits. A common bait is bacon grease (translation: back rasher drippings) soaked into a rotting, old log.
Not terribly sporting, really, but the pelts are wonderful.

vicente  •  Link

Bait : USA:"... Each fall, trophy hunters-mostly from out of state-kill more than 4,000 black bears in Maine using these unfair hunting methods, while most bear hunting states require skilled hunters to stalk the bears…”
http://www.hsus.org/ace/19970
Bait: 3 areas of meaning.A) to have a bite to eat. archaic/slang
B) to persecute with malicious attacks, to harrass as done by gamesters, Bullies and Officaldom to elicite a confession,to effect negative reactions, to a lessor extent harras,entice, lure into the trap set, or one that be held in custody of chained down to be biten or torn to shreds [ by one of the Bull Mastiffs ][prodding with a rod].[popular with the crowds in the 15-18C merry olde England) The Lure[Bait], to a hook,trap the unsuspecting, using poisonous material. Bait a hook[-er, common law technique]

Jenny Doughty  •  Link

IronRoads - that's correct. We've just had a referendum here in Maine, where a proposal to ban bear baiting in the way you describe was put to the vote. It didn't pass, so it can still be done. Here, it does mean laying bait to tempt the bears to come and eat in a particular place.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

Bait and switch (on the Internet)

On the subject of bear-baiting, and hunting in the age of the Internet, comes this report from the front:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004…

Just the other day I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What he was doing in my ... aw, forget it.

Pedro  •  Link

Sandwich's accout of the Juego de Toro.

"After 3 or 4 bulls were tired and killed by the footmen then was another let out and the Conde de Sarzedas came in upon a fine well ranged horse very richly equipped, having 74 lackeys came in before his horse, half in red liveries with silver lace and half in green with silver lace."

Ollard says that Sandwich reveals himself more of a fasion reporter than a sports correspondent.
Cromwell's Earl, Richard Ollard.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Peg Kite now hath declared she will have the beggarly rogue the weaver, and so we are resolved neither to meddle nor make with her. / Anyone know the story here?"

They are long gone.

Bill  •  Link

"we are resolved neither to meddle nor make with her"

Why do you meddle or make with him? Pourquoi vous prenez à lui?
---A short dictionary English and French. G. Miège, 1684.

arby  •  Link

Maine again voted down a bear baiting ban two days ago. Doughnuts seem to be the favored bait.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"Mr. Pett the Commissioner to dinner with me, he and I alone, my wife not being well"

This is interesting in that it perhaps helps us to read between the lines of the diary. Elizabeth's absence is specifically mentioned in today's diary; normally her presence might well have been taken for granted and therefore not have been noted.

Tim  •  Link

Yes, Mrs P may have been at many of these meetings, just silent and unrecorded. Sam seems to be quite skilled on the theorbo - enough to tell a bad teacher, at any rate

Gerald Berg  •  Link

In the film The Great Train Robbery there was a fantastic scene with ringside bets being placed on how long it would take a terrier to kill a set amount of rats. That dog wasted no time! Grab it by the neck, shake vigorously till it snaps and move on.

The film Paint Your Wagon had a sign announcing an upcoming ringside event of a bull versus bear fight. Unfortunately (or fortunate) you don't get to fully appreciate the battle royale. It also has a most edifying scene of Clint Eastwood trying to sing a song. He loses.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Bear-baiting now worldwide

In North America Bear-baiting is currently only known to occur publicly in South Carolina. Public bear baiting competitions are held in Spartanburg, Hickory Grove, and Travelers Rest Backyard events are reportedly held throughout the rural areas of northwest South Carolina during much of the year.[31] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bea…

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Written from: Portsmouth
Date: 12 November 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 73, fol(s). 616
Document type: Original

Warrant, by James, Duke of York & Albany, Lord High Admiral of England, appointing Edward, Earl of Sandwich, to the command of the Squadron ["Squadron of the Blue"] composed of the ships named in the margin thereof

FROM:
Carte Calendar Volume 32, June - December 1661
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Edward Edwards, 2005
Shelfmark: MS. Carte Calendar 32
Extent: 464 pages
https://wayback.archive-it.org/or…

@@@

This list was probably as useful to Pepys as it was reassuring to Sandwich.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

OOooops, posted on the wrong day. Sorry everyone.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:

November 7, Thursday.
Came along fleet of 28 sail of English merchantmen from Alicante and Malaga.
The Greyhound and Gift were with them in convoy.
I sent the Gift on to convoy them off the Rock 3 and so to go to Lisbon to victual.
I sent by Capt. Trelawny letters to his R.H., Mr. Coventry, Lady S., Sir Richard Fanshawe and the Conde da Ponte.

Sir John Lawson and the Fairfax came in also to an anchor by us, the wind blowing so hard they couldn't keep it up.

3. Cape da Roca, north of the Targus.

Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665

Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX

Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62

@@@

Malaga
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Alicante
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Greyhound
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The [Great] Gift
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Lisbon
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Capt. Trelawny -- this is a guess: He might have been "Captain John Trelawny (ca. 1646 – 14 May 1680), eldest son and heir apparent, a soldier killed in action at Tangier. He had no children and predeceased his [Royalist] father" [Sir Jonathan Trelawny MP]. Cornish children went to see very young in those days.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
His R.H., James, Duke of York
Mr. Coventry, presumably Secretary William
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Lady S., Our Jemima
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Sir Richard Fanshawe -- apparently Sandwich didn't thionk he was on his way to the Dutch Republic
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Amb. Francisco de Mello e Torres, Conde da Ponte
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Vice Adm. Sir John Lawson
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Fairfax
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Cabo da Roca, The Edge Of The World and The End of Europe
https://www.beportugal.com/cabo-d…
The Targus
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

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