Friday 28 February 1661/62

The boy failing to call us up as I commanded, I was angry, and resolved to whip him for that and many other faults, to-day. Early with Sir W. Pen by coach to Whitehall, to the Duke of York’s chamber, and there I presented him from my Lord a fine map of Tangier, done by one Captain Beckman, a Swede, that is with my Lord. We staid looking it over a great while with the Duke after he was ready.

Thence I by water to the Painter’s, and there sat again for my face in little, and thence home to dinner, and so at home all the afternoon. Then came Mr. Moore and staid and talked with me, and then I to the office, there being all the Admiralty papers brought hither this afternoon from Mr. Blackburne’s, where they have lain all this while ever since my coming into this office.

This afternoon Mr. Hater received half a year’s salary for me, so that now there is not owing me but this quarter, which will be out the next month.

Home, and to be as good as my word, I bade Will get me a rod, and he and I called the boy up to one of the upper rooms of the Comptroller’s house towards the garden, and there I reckoned all his faults, and whipped him soundly, but the rods were so small that I fear they did not much hurt to him, but only to my arm, which I am already, within a quarter of an hour, not able to stir almost. After supper to bed.

43 Annotations

First Reading

andy  •  Link

but only to my arm, which I am already, within a quarter of an hour, not able to stir almost.

serves him right!

Sam is really getting uppity now.

Mary  •  Link

This, surely is the classic example of, "This hurts me more than it hurts you".

George R  •  Link

A new room for the office, the papers in place and most of the salary paid; he feels just Great but being the Boss at home doesn't come easy. "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you" comes to mind.

Xjy  •  Link

Whipper's elbow
Sam obviously needs a lot more practice...and a higher quality of school supplies. Fortunately in a couple of centuries the British bourgeoisie will have taken whipping to world-class levels. (sob) I feel (sob) such an attack of nostalgia (sob) coming on... (sob)
Compare The Walrus and the Carpenter.

Pauline  •  Link

"I bade Will get me a rod...but the rods were so small..."
Solidarity here? I wish we had a diary of the household by one of the servants.

Nix  •  Link

"We staid looking it over a great while with the Duke" --

Having worked for a Congressman and a couple of University presidents, I can relate to the boost Samuel gets from having some quality face time with the boss. Very human, very timeless.

Bart  •  Link

"they did not much hurt to him" -- Perhaps he was displeased at not having drawn blood. Ahh, the days when child-abuse was considered a normal part of life...

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Spare the child, spoil the rods

Pauline, good point -- perhaps Will's empathy for the boy influenced his choice of rods.

Sam's tense when writing about the effects of the whipping on his arm ("which I am already, within a quarter of an hour, not able to stir almost") leads me to believe that he wrote the diary entry immediately after the whipping, and is thus predicting (rather than reflecting on) his supper and bedtime. Does anyone else see it that way?

re: the map of Tangier ... folks with access to L&M, is there any note that talks about whether or not this map is still around?

Mary  •  Link

Beckman's map.

According to the L&M footnote, this map is still extant in the British Library (King's maps, CXVII, 78)

Mary  •  Link

half a year's salary.

£87. 10s. according to the footnote, for the half-year to December 1661.

Ruben  •  Link

A nice postcard of Tanger with a legend in French explaining that the Portuguese gave the city as a present to King Charles and the spoiler that it was difficult to guard and... see more in future Pepys entries.
See: http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il…

Ruben  •  Link

the splendid site of the Hebrew University contains a lot of old maps. See: http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il…
The "Plan Des Villes De Londres Et De Westminster et de leurs Faubourgs
avec le Bourg de Southwark" is superb and show us how and what the French knew about the English. They probably used a satellite photo to make the map! Or at least some help from within. For sure the Dutch had the same information when they came so near to London during the next war...

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: half a year's salary

Mary, I thought Sam's annual salary was £350?

vicenzo  •  Link

Error[Errata minor] I do believe, as 350L by the quarter, will be the amount mentioned, and that be how one be paid, pre- salaried days, by the quarter, that be popular too for removing a body from the gibbet, quarter it. 'Tis why Sam be a running around squaring his debtors before they have his hide for Brideswell. Gentlemen be paid by the Year.

vicenzo  •  Link

The under 40's have missed a treat of touching ones toes and enjoying a quad, and the Master never complained of the exercise of biceps, for HE be a ready for the next culprit standing in line a waiting, then after that practice, out for a fine game of fives or squash. "...whipped him soundly, but the rods were so small that I fear they did not much hurt to him, but only to my arm, which I am already, within a quarter of an hour, not able to stir almost...."

roboto  •  Link

"I bade Will get me a rod...but the rods were so small"
I remember that one having done it a few time myself in my youth.

Glyn  •  Link

I'm also glad that he suffered more than the boy did, but this seems to me to be a sign that Pepys was a compassionate employer, in that he didn't beat the boy routinely, as most of his contemporaries would have done.

Australian Susan  •  Link

"All the Admirality papers"
How much paperwork would that have been, I wonder? And why were official Government papers in someone's private house (even if he had been a Govt employee) and why had it taken so long for the Navy Office to get these papers into their office?

Bradford  •  Link

I'm sure we all hope that Sam has now learned his lesson, and won't let a misbehaving boy tempt him into doing himself such an injury again.

(Can just imagine Will H.'s inner smirk when he notices Master's game arm.)

DK Johnson  •  Link

Who among us, when asked to fetch the instrument of our own punishment, would reach for any but the lightest rod available?

Pauline  •  Link

"...I bade Will get me a rod, and he and I called the boy..."
To keep it straight: Will Hewer is sent to select the rod, but it is Wayneman Birch who gets the, ah, birching.

Pauline  •  Link

"...I bade Will get me a rod, and he and I called the boy..."
That is: Will is sent to hew the rod; Wayneman gets the birching.

dirk  •  Link

the boy's punishment

Re comments like:

"I'm also glad that he suffered more than the boy did”

“I'm sure we all hope that Sam has now learned his lesson, and won't let a misbehaving boy tempt him into doing himself such an injury again”

Please remember we’re in the 17th century, when corporal punishment was an absolutely normal practice - Sam is unusually moderate in this (as far as we know from the diary). Let’s try to avoid measuring him by our modern standards. And let’s be honest: have you never considered hitting someone who won’t listen to you or do as he’s told?

Pauline  •  Link

"...resolved to whip him for that and many other faults..."
Dirk, even in my day there was sometimes a sense of a spanking due for an accumlation of behavior that needed to be stopped--time to settle oneself down by experiencing an immediate consequence.

vicenzo  •  Link

Lashings were the standard in that they be common along with common law of the Day. One of the multitude of reasons for the various revolutions that have taken place to give us this bruise free backsides that we enjoy in this civilized age.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Corporal punishment & Sam
Whipping one's servants was perfectly normal in those days. Sam does not lash out at the boy in a fit of temper, but administers what would have been normal punishment in an ordered fashion. He "reckons up" all Wayneman's faults to show the boy that this whipping is an inevitable consequence of his actions. Apprenctice indentures of the time often had clauses about corporal punishment included - what was/was not allowed.

Xjy  •  Link

Cold-blooded calculated whippings
"Normal" and "ordered", just like dear Judge Jeffreys. Hang a man for sixpence.
Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb makes a lot of sense in this kind of setup.
I'm with Vincent on the place of revolutions with respect to weltless withers.
Britain's still a pretty sick place as far as children's rights and integrity are concerned, as a couple of reports in today's Guardian show.
I suppose it all comes down to whether you sympathize with the master or the slave...

language hat  •  Link

"I suppose it all comes down to whether you sympathize with the master or the slave"
I don't think anybody here is applauding corporal punishment. To point out that it was normal procedure in Sam's day is not to say it's a good thing. I'm glad you have such refined morals, but it's not becoming to assume everybody else lacks them.

language hat  •  Link

the splendid site of the Hebrew University

Thanks for this, Ruben! As it happens, they have a 1572 view of Tangier (I doubt it changed all that much in the following century):
http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il…

They also have a couple of 18th-century maps. Great find!

Robert Gertz  •  Link

In context of the time Sam seems to have been fairly easygoing with his people and I get the impression he's feeling that he's let things slide too long, especially perhaps,after Will Hewer's behavior over the churchgoing...

He mentioned wanting to "be as good as my word..." suggesting he's let the boy off before.

And to his credit, he gave Wayneman a full account of why he was being punished. I think the question would be was there any push against corporal punishment at the time...Will Penn Jr.'s Quakers perhaps?

Xjy  •  Link

"I suppose it all comes down to whether you sympathize with the master or the slave"
“I don't think anybody here is applauding corporal punishment.”
“I'm glad you have such refined morals, but it's not becoming to assume everybody else lacks them.”
“In context of the time Sam seems to have been fairly easygoing with his people and I get the impression he's feeling that he's let things slide too long…”
“And to his credit, he gave Wayneman a full account of why he was being punished.”

The Greeks called the Erinyes (the Furies) the Eumenides (the Merciful Ones). Hitler was very patient with the Jews. Stalin was a most benevolent gentleman — until he felt he’d let things slide too much…
The Kaffirs loved their masters, as did the slaves in the Deep South.
Nuff said.
*****
‘It seems a shame,’ the Walrus said,
‘To play them such a trick.
After we’ve brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!’
The Carpenter said nothing but
‘The butter’s spread too thick!’

‘I weep for you,’the Walrus said:
‘I deeply sympathize.’
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
*****

dirk  •  Link

It seems to me we're here to try and understand Sam in his own time, against his own background, personal and political. Not to judge the 17th century by our own (fairly recent standards). All agree?

I see no objection to personal opinions (like Xiy's), but let's not get caught up in fruitless debate...

vicenzo  •  Link

Learn from yester years , enjoy this day and apply lessons learnt for tomorrow.
Mans inhumanity to fellow man still goes on.
you must needs learn, lord to amend this fault.
Henry IV, part 1 Act 3 sc. 1

Xjy  •  Link

Understanding Sam in his own time.
What's "personal" about what I wrote?
What on earth are "our" standards??
What on earth are the standards of the 17th century?
Where does Sam's time begin, and where does it end? Where does his setting begin and where does it end?
So many questions... begged ;-)
Good to learn that Greek euphemism and Lewis Carroll are both granted honorary status as "our own" anyway...

vicenzo  •  Link

couldnae find the orig. source, 'tis all been said afore, XYJ, 'wot' ye be a saying or wud it be rote, makes this clod hopper think a little more of where we be.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"to the Duke of York’s chamber, and there I presented him from my Lord a fine map of Tangier, done by one Captain Beckman, a Swede, that is with my Lord."

Martin Beckman, a military engineer in the English service had accompanied Sandwich on his voyage to take over Tangier, and was appointed Engineer-General there in August 1662. Sandwich wrote Pepys (20/30 January) entrusting him with the 'little longe box' containing Beckman's map, and enjoining him to show it to no one but to deliver it himself into the Duke's hands. Beckman's work with the Tangier fortifications later brought him into contact with Pepys. (L&M note)

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Sam's occasional punishment of Wayneman was neither cruel nor unusual by the standards of most of human history. It's perhaps apposite to note that flagellation and humiliation in the pillory and stocks were standard components of the British criminal justice system for adults until well into the 19th century. Flogging as a military punishment was not abolished until 1880, and in the prisons continued until 1948. Wayneman is the age of a schoolboy in a time without compulsory schooling: corporal punishment in British schools continued legally until the 1980s. And I should prefer not to think about the level of punishment which occurred in many loving family homes.

Wayneman was contracted to Sam both to be a servant and to be instructed and fitted for adult life. His subsequent history (if you take a sneak preview of future diary entries) begs the question as to whether or not Sam was too lenient a disciplinarian. Wayneman's brother and sister certainly thought that the Pepys household was a better place for him than any of the alternatives.

Deborah  •  Link

Yet now, corporal punishment is seen as such an unsophisticated management technique.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

As one who has been on the receiving end of corporal punishment, and, as a teacher, has witnessed it in schools when it was still legal, I am very glad it's gone! :)

However, my personal feelings about twenty-first century society aren't relevant to commenting upon Sam's diary. Again and again in these annotations, we have (the same) people making anachronistic ethical judgements based upon modern social mores and a smug and condescending sense of their own moral superiority. Implicit in these judgements is that THEY would do better, whatever 'better' means. Who amongst US would be equipped to survive in Restoration England?

Of course, if any one of us were brought up in a seventeenth century environment, we would share the attitudes of Sam and his contemporaries, rather than look down upon them from a lofty pedestal of our own construction.

Al Doman  •  Link

@Sasha Clarkson: mod +1, insightful ;)

I think to experience this diary to the fullest, one must have a certain empathy with our hero.

As for "Who amongst US would be equipped to survive in Restoration England?", that's easy - Chuck Norris :)

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