Tuesday 1 April 1662

Within all the morning and at the office. At noon my wife and I (having paid our maid Nell her whole wages, who has been with me half a year, and now goes away for altogether) to the Wardrobe, where my Lady and company had almost dined. We sat down and dined. Here was Mr. Herbert, son to Sir Charles Herbert, that lately came with letters from my Lord Sandwich to the King. After some discourse we remembered one another to have been together at the tavern when Mr. Fanshaw took his leave of me at his going to Portugall with Sir Richard.

After dinner he and I and the two young ladies and my wife to the playhouse, the Opera, and saw “The Mayde in the Mill,” a pretty good play. In the middle of the play my Lady Paulina, who had taken physique this morning, had need to go forth, and so I took the poor lady out and carried her to the Grange, and there sent the maid of the house into a room to her, and she did what she had a mind to, and so back again to the play; and that being done, in their coach I took them to Islington, and then, after a walk in the fields, I took them to the great cheese-cake house and entertained them, and so home, and after an hour’s stay with my Lady, their coach carried us home, and so weary to bed.

22 Annotations

First Reading

Bradford  •  Link

Just what one needs after being taken short by a dose of physique: cheesecake.
On the other hand, using the sense which GOD gave yea even unto geese, why did my lady not keep to her chamber till the charm worked? But apparently the call came far ahead, because---given maneuvering the costume of the day through a crowd, finding a maid-assistant, &c.---at least 15 minutes elapsed between the alarm and the relief.

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"In the middle of the play my Lady Paulina.....had a need to go forth....the poor lady....and she did what she had a mind to do and so back again to the play."
It is hilarious!It would make an excellent TV commercial for a laxative!

Australian Susan  •  Link

It is interesting how matter-of-fact and open Sam is about all this. He seems to recount the business with Lady P just to show how he is entrusted with the women and takes care of everything: this was a typical Sam outing - theatre,a walk in the country and refreshment at a popular place. These past few days (Easter Day, Monday and Tuesday) have seen pleasant social occasions and Sam seems very content with, and enjoying, his life.

Jesse  •  Link

"I took the poor lady out" - thank you Sam.

Alas, according to her entry Lady Paulina is but a child around thirteen years old and lived for only seven more. Rather young for 'physique'? Poor child.

David Quidnunc  •  Link

Pretty interesting

So the phrase "pretty good" was around in Sam's day. Somehow it always seemed like such a modern phrase to me. A phrase like that makes Sam seem pretty immediate (at least to me), as if we were just chatting about a play he'd seen.

daniel  •  Link

"pretty good"

Like I had mentioned, the first modern guy, uhm lad…..

vicenzo  •  Link

The Mayde in the Mill, ["mayd in ye mill"] "...How long shall I pine for love..." Love be pretty and now would say S***".
"... so we three went to Blackfryers (the first time I ever was there since plays begun), and there after great patience and little expectation, from so poor beginning, I saw three acts of "The Mayd in ye Mill" acted to my great content. But it being late, I left the play and them…”
with all the nice comments. Who when what? at

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

google “Maid in the Mill” will bring to you your choice of thoughts.

vicenzo  •  Link

Pretty ME prati OE praettig crafty.

nick sweeney  •  Link

It's probably worth pointing out that 'cheese-cake' in Pepys' day was what's now called a 'curd tart', 'Yorkshire curd tart', or sometimes a 'custard' in Britain, made by curdling milk with rennet and cooking it with eggs, spices and currants or raisins. Compare Joan Cromwell's 17th century recipe --

http://clem.mscd.edu/~grasse/cook…

with one made today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes…

and you'll see it's virtually identical.

Alan Bedford  •  Link

If you follow the link to the "cheese-cake house"
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
you'll find that David Quidnunc has kindly provided links to several 17th-Century cheesecake recipes.

language hat  •  Link

Yes, and it's great to see DQ back among us!

vicenzo  •  Link

Nell : Sam be quite glad to see the back of Nell, now't good to say about her. [see Background]

vicenzo  •  Link

No wonder Sam be glad to get back his old Favorite, Jane knows how to sew or darn his socks.
Nell be Hell to our Sam and he was glad to say scram.

Bradford  •  Link

Now this is something like! Thank you, David Q, for reappearing to provide this inestimable service. Now, who's going to make one at home and report back?

Australian Susan  •  Link

Yorkshire Curd Tarts
Anyone living in Yorkshire should be able to buy a curd tart from a local baker, but the best ones come from Betty's of York and Harrogate. Regional food items such as a good curd tart are one of the things I really miss about England.

Jenny Doughty  •  Link

My comment about April Foolery on yesterday's entry should, of course, have been put on today's. However, this is me being a fool rather than Sam...

Pauline  •  Link

April Foolery
from Wikipedia
"The origins of April Fool's Day are unknown, although various theories have been proposed. It is considered to be related to the festival of the vernal equinox, which occurs on March 21 in the northern hemisphere. New Year was originally celebrated from March 25 to April 1 by cultures as far apart as ancient Rome and India, before the Gregorian reforms moved it back to January 1. The English first celebrated April Fool's Day on a widespread basis only as late as the 18th century, though it appears to have reached England probably from Germany in the mid-17th century. Its first known description in English originates with John Aubrey, who noted in 1686: "Fooles holy day....

"...It has been suggested the custom may have had something to do with the move of the New Year's date, when people who forgot or didn't accept the new date system were given invitations to nonexistent parties, funny gifts, etc. Originally, April Fool's Day jokes concentrated on individuals (sending someone on an absurd errand such as seeking pigeon's milk)...."

Pauline  •  Link

Top Ten April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoa…
Yes, Phil, way off topic. But #'s 5, 7, 8 and 10 fill any gap and bring something full circle.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Here was Mr. Herbert, son to Sir Charles Herbert, that lately came with letters from my Lord Sandwich to the King. After some discourse we remembered one another to have been together at the tavern when Mr. Fanshaw took his leave of me at his going to Portugall with Sir Richard." http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘pretty, adv.
1. a. Qualifying an adjective or adverb: to a considerable extent; fairly, moderately; rather, quite. In later use also: very. N.E.D. (1908) has the following note: ‘Sometimes expressing close approximation to quite, or by meiosis equivalent to very; at other times denoting a much slighter degree’. In more recent use, generally indicating a moderately high degree . .
. . 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Boccace is prettie hard, yet understood: Petrarche harder but explaned.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) v. i. sig. I3, The Dutch Veny I swallowed pretty wel.
a1659 F. Rous Aspirations of Student in Academia Cœlestis (1702) 166 They are of a pretty Ancient Date.
1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. 44 By the end of November the coast was pritty clear of them.
. . 1775 R. B. Sheridan St. Patrick's Day ii. ii, I'll take pretty good care of you.
. . 2004 Rocky Mt. News (Denver, Colorado) (Nexis) 1 Oct. 48 b, That dictionary definition sounds pretty good to me, too.’

So just how good SP thought the play was, we’ll never know.

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