Tuesday 21 October 1662
Up, and while I was dressing myself, my brother Tom being there I did chide him for his folly in abusing himself about the match, for I perceive he do endeavour all he can to get her, and she and her friends to have more than her portion deserves, which now from 6 or 700l. is come to 450l.. I did by several steps shew Tom how he would not be 100l. the better for her according to the ways he took to joynture her. After having done with him to the office, and there all the morning, and in the middle of our sitting my workmen setting about the putting up of my rails upon my leads, Sir J. Minnes did spy them and fell a-swearing, which I took no notice of, but was vexed, and am still to the very heart for it, for fear it should put him upon taking the closett and my chamber from me, which I protest I am now afraid of. But it is my very great folly to be so much troubled at these trifles, more than at the loss of 100l., or things of greater concernment; but I forget the lesson I use to preach to others of τὰ ἐφ ἡμιν χγ τὰ γχ ἐφ ἡμῖν.
After dinner to my office with my head and heart full of troublesome business, and thence by water with Mr. Smith, to Mr. Lechmore, the Counsellor at the Temple, about Field’s business; and he tells me plainly that, there being a verdict against me, there is no help for it, but it must proceed to judgment. It is 30l. damage to me for my joining with others in committing Field to prison, we being not justices of the Peace in the City, though in Middlesex; this troubled me, but I hope the King will make it good to us.
Thence to Mr. Smith, the scrivener, upon Ludgate Hill, to whom Mrs. Butler do committ her business concerning her daughter and my brother. He tells me her daughter’s portion is but 400l., at which I am more troubled than before; and they find fault that his house is too little. So after I had told him my full mind, I went away to meet again to-morrow, but I believe the business will be broke off, which for Tom’s sake I am much grieved for, but it cannot be helped without his ruin. Thence to see Mr. Moore, who is pretty well again, and we read over and discoursed about Mrs. Goldsborough’s business, and her son coming by my appointment thither, I did tell him our resolution as to her having her estate reconveyed to her.
Hither also came my brother, and before Mr. Moore I did advise and counsel him about his match, and how we had all been abused by Mr. Cooke’s folly. So home and to my office, and there settled many businesses, and so home and to supper, and so to bed, Sir W. Pen being still in great pain.
27 Annotations
First Reading
Terry F • Link
The Greek phrase missed out of the Project Gutenberg transcription is:
τά εφ ήμιν χγ τά γχ εφ ώμιν - L&M note: "Epictetus' warning against worry; cf. http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Terry F • Link
Phil, I posted Greek fine on 9 Sept., but this is gibberish: another example of the hash caused by the site in recent posts.
Terry F • Link
About the last legal matters of the day:
"by water with Mr. Smith...there being a verdict against me...for my joining with others in committing Field to prison..."
L&M note: "For the case, see http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… . Robert Smith, messenger to the Navy Office, was its principal police officer."
"Mrs. Goldsborough's business"
L&M note that this was one of the disputes inherited with Uncle Robert's Will http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Terry F • Link
Phil, BTW, when I preview another post, the Greek reads fine: this is crazy-making!
Tony Eldridge • Link
This is one of those days when nothing seems to be going smoothly. Sleep on it Sam - as Ogden Nash says 'another day, another dolor'.
Australian Susan • Link
So Tom's proposed wife is not coming up to scratch with the money and it seems it will all fall apart. The one silent voice in all this is that of the proposed bride herself: Sam seems to have no compunction about throwing her off if the agreements are not to his financial likings: he is concerned for Tom's feelings, which shows he is not unfeeling, just that it is confined to family.
Australian Susan • Link
In preview, the fonts seems OK - this is also for some punctuation as well as Greek - pound sterling signs and even apostrophes come out queerly in the finalised online version, but not in preview. Is it something to do with Windows? I will now try this via Firefox, which I also have.
Australian Susan • Link
Nope, same problem via Firefox.
Australian Susan • Link
October 21st 2005 is the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar: the success of the Royal Navy in this period was largely due to the reforms laid down by Samuel: if all the infrastructures of support had not been so good, Nelson would never have kept the French and Spanish ships blockaded for so long. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_new…
for more information and links to the websites of such places as the National Maritime Museum (which has Pepys era structures).
dirk • Link
John Evelyn's diary for today:
"To Q: Mothers Court: where her Majestie related to us divers Passages of her Escapes during the Rebellion & Warre in England: I dined at Court:"
Wish I could have been there... The Queen Mother's no doubt very lively (embellished?) tales.
James in Illinois • Link
L&M elsewhere (1662, p. 194 note) translate the quote from Epictetus as "Some things are in our power; others are not." Sam is right to remind himself of this! BTW: thanks for an instructive discussion of Pepys. Collectively, you make it wonderful reading.
Cumgranissalis • Link
"...It is 30l. damage to me for my joining with others in committing Field to prison, we being not justices of the Peace in the City, though in Middlesex; this troubled me, but I hope the King will make it good to us. ..."
Field doth have good connections. JP's limited power zone.
andy • Link
...the putting up of my rails upon my leads, Sir J. Minnes did spy them and fell a-swearing, which I took no notice of, but was vexed, and am still to the very heart for it, for fear...
Minnes still turning the screw. Sam is over-extending himself here; I wonder if it's a work characteristic, always pushing the envelope wider open.
Robert Gertz • Link
"...but I hope the King will make it good to us."
Sure, Sam...Right after he puts Castlemaine away and devotes himself totally to Catherine.
***
Would pay good money to know Bess' reaction to Sam's fretting and fuming over Tom's lady's ever-dwindling portion.
"Tom, you're an idiot! This girl won't bring you 100L when all's said and done!"
"But...Brother Sam'l? You sacrificed every shred of dowry for..."
Uh.
Tom's brotherly devotion and quick anxious glance saves Sam from a fate truly worse than death...Catching on, he acts with the alert cleverness that has brought him so far to date.
"The most wonderful girl in the world. A very special case, Tom..." Solemn nod, turn. "Why, Bess? Back so soon? How quick you were."
"Hello, Sssister Bess. Shopping go well?"
Robert Gertz • Link
Would also love to read a letter from Tom to John Jr or Sr right now.
"So I did Tell Brother Sam'l. Brother Sam'l, Ye did Marry a Half-Frenchie Pauper with not Dowy in Moneys or Lands. Why should not I Then Marre the Woman of mi Hart?
At which Brother Sam'l Did take great Offense. Though the cuming of Sister Bessie did Forbear his Further Wrath..."
Actually I get the impression Tom and Bess get along better than she does with most of the Pepys.
Cumgranissalis • Link
re: Fields [Turpin]: It has been a problem before feb 4th 1662/1:"...This afternoon, going into the office, one met me and did serve a subpoena upon me for one Field, whom we did commit to prison the other day for some ill words he did give the office..."
Tuesday 4 February 1661/62
Interesting read on the matter of perks.
Cumgranissalis • Link
Poor Sam 'bin' tryin' to find livein with cash for his brother,
"...So after dinner comes in my brother Tom, and he tells me how he hath seen the father and mother of the girl which my cozen Joyces would have him to have for a wife, and they are much for it, but we are in a great quandary what to do therein, L200 being but a little money; and I hope, if he continues as he begins, he may look out for one with more..."
No looks, then better bring cash, have other Ass_ets that be OK, no cash required.
Pedro • Link
Australian Susan, please don't mention the war!
Sam has been seen in the Diary to be a little anti-French, but some think we should now be forgetting the Battle of Trafalgar.
Les Estrangers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazi…
A. De Araujo • Link
"have other Ass_ets that be ok"
Considering that SP married for LOVE,it is strange how intransigent he is regarding his future sister in law;he is also silent regarding her looks! poor Tom is desperate about getting married.
Mary • Link
Disparity in brotherly assets.
It would appear that when Sam married Elizabeth, he had no financial assets to protect beyond those that he might eventually acquire by virtue of exercising his own wits. Tom, on the other hand, seeks to marry at a point when an inheritance of land is within the family's grasp and when he is in possession of a house and running a business which, we presume, operates at a profit even if that is not a very great one. It is therefore very much in the family's interest that these assets should be protected against the possible hazard of an unequal marriage settlement.
Xjy • Link
Assets and love
Love is a flower that withers and dies
Love is like a rose...
But property, property sticks!
And property, property grows!
Grahamt • Link
The Greek is in Unicode. Go to View/Charater Encoding/Unicode in Forefox to see it rendered correctly.
Terry F • Link
To read the Greek clearly, just hit "Preview," whether the Greek is in Unicode or you have Firefox or not (I don't).
dirk • Link
Trafalgar
This may be of interest to some of the annotators -- As of today, the full text with illustrations (in HTML format) of the following is available on the Gutenberg site:
"The Life of Nelson, The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain", by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan, 1897
1/2
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16…
2/2
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16…
Second Reading
Martin • Link
Irrespective of the encoding problems, the Greek here is messed up. Should be τὰ ἐφ ἡμῖν καί τὰ οὐχ ἐφ ἡμῖν, as it (almost) was the previous time that it's used in this version of the diary.
Terry Foreman • Link
"I did by several steps shew Tom how he would not be 100l. the better for her according to the ways he took to joynture her."
L&M: Tom was offering £50 p.a. At this time the average ratio of jointure to portion was one to six; later in the century it was one to ten. H. J. Habbakuk, in TRHS (ser. 4), 12/15+; cf. 25 June 1665.
Terry Foreman • Link
"Thence to see Mr. Moore, who is pretty well again, and we read over and discoursed about Mrs. Goldsborough’s business, and her son coming by my appointment thither, I did tell him our resolution as to her having her estate reconveyed to her."
L&M: Cf. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
This was one of the disputes inherited with Robert Pepys's estate.