Monday 4 May 1663

Up betimes and to setting my Brampton papers in order and looking over my wardrobe against summer, and laying things in order to send to my brother to alter. By and by took boat intending to have gone down to Woolwich, but seeing I could not get back time enough to dinner, I returned and home. Whither by and by the dancing-master came, whom standing by, seeing him instructing my wife, when he had done with her, he would needs have me try the steps of a coranto, and what with his desire and my wife’s importunity, I did begin, and then was obliged to give him entry-money 10s., and am become his scholler. The truth is, I think it a thing very useful for a gentleman, and sometimes I may have occasion of using it, and though it cost me what I am heartily sorry it should, besides that I must by my oath give half as much more to the poor, yet I am resolved to get it up some other way, and then it will not be above a month or two in a year. So though it be against my stomach yet I will try it a little while; if I see it comes to any great inconvenience or charge I will fling it off.

After I had begun with the steps of half a coranto, which I think I shall learn well enough, he went away, and we to dinner.

And by and by out by coach, and set my wife down at my Lord Crew’s, going to see my Lady Jem. Montagu, who is lately come to town, and I to St. James’s; where Mr. Coventry, Sir W. Pen and I staid a good while for the Duke’s coming in, but not coming, we walked to White Hall; and meeting the King, we followed him into the Park, where Mr. Coventry and he talked of building a new yacht, which the King is resolved to have built out of his privy purse, he having some contrivance of his own. The talk being done, we fell off to White Hall, leaving the King in the Park, and going back, met the Duke going towards St. James’s to meet us. So he turned back again, and to his closett at White Hall; and there, my Lord Sandwich present, we did our weekly errand, and so broke up; and I down into the garden with my Lord Sandwich (after we had sat an hour at the Tangier Committee); and after talking largely of his own businesses, we begun to talk how matters are at Court: and though he did not flatly tell me any such thing, yet I do suspect that all is not kind between the King and the Duke, and that the King’s fondness to the little Duke do occasion it; and it may be that there is some fear of his being made heir to the Crown. But this my Lord did not tell me, but is my guess only; and that my Lord Chancellor is without doubt falling past hopes. He being gone to Chelsey by coach I to his lodgings, where my wife staid for me, and she from thence to see Mrs. Pierce and called me at Whitehall stairs (where I went before by land to know whether there was any play at Court to-night) and there being none she and I to Mr. Creed to the Exchange, where she bought something, and from thence by water to White Fryars, and wife to see Mrs. Turner, and then came to me at my brother’s, where I did give him order about my summer clothes, and so home by coach, and after supper to bed to my wife, with whom I have not lain since I used to lie with my father till to-night.

31 Annotations

First Reading

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

"But this my Lord did not tell me, but is my guess only"

Does this refer to the sentence above (about all not being well between the King and Duke) or after (about the Lord Chancellor)?

A full day today. Interesting to see how he rationalizes the dancing lessons (oh, for a crystal ball, Sam!), and he also gives us a glimpse into the nature of his oaths.

daniel  •  Link

Dancing Master. . .

What a wonderful example of how Sam struggles with balancing the mores of the new foppish Restoration 'society' and his puritan past!
It is such a good example of the times in general.

TerryF  •  Link

"--but this my Lord did not tell me, but is my guess only."

So L&M close a sentence that begins and ends with the same declaration.

TerryF  •  Link

Masters of Dancing and not...

Following daniel's sage lead, there are several dances of different kinds observed, reported and conjectured throughout this day's entry, from the time SP arose, until he "to bed to [his] wife, with whom [he has] not lain since [he] used to lie with [his] father till to-night."

dirk  •  Link

John Evelyn's diary for today -- the religious issues really seem to be on everybody's mind...

"To Lond: & to take leave of Mr Howards & bring home my sonn John, who had ben the whole winter with the Gent: his sonns at Arundel house, & for feare he might be perverted with their religion: returned the 7th:"

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Arundal House ...hot bed of Popish ways, many learned gent from Rheims.

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Nice sales-man_ship "...then was obliged to give him entry-money 10s., and am become his scholler..."

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

one two, this be my shoe, three four, that be the door "
"besides that I must by my oath give half as much more to the poor, yet I am resolved to get it up some other way, and then it will not be above a month or two in a year". XV solidus to step on toes?

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

No more excuses tonight."... and after supper to bed to my wife, with whom I have not lain since I used to lie with my father till to-night...."

Samuell has arrived, he be now amongst the rightuous, seperate rooms, until the little finger dothe beckon.

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Samuell do not ask, then thee, will be given no fib "...and there being none she and I to Mr. Creed to the Exchange, where she bought something, ..." something ???

Robert Gertz  •  Link

May explain some of the Pepys being at outs recently if Sam and Bess have been forced to sleep apart by John's presence in the house.

***

Sam at the dance...I dunno, methinks he sounds much too conceited that he can already do it to do well.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: So though it be against my stomach yet I will try it a little while

So, Terry, L&M start the phrase with an em dash and end it with a period rather than a semi-colon? ("being made heir to the Crown -- but this my Lord did not tell me, but is my guess only.") That would seem to get rid of the ambiguity involved (i.e., it would refer to the King and Duke).

A. Hamilton  •  Link

A dancing theme today
first the dancing master (I am the lord of the dance, said he, but Sam demurs), then dancing attendance at court, then discourse with my Lord with hints about the dance of life at court, then the dance of friends and family, then at last "after supper to bed with my wife."

TerryF  •  Link

Punctuation in Diary editions

Yea, Todd Bernhardt, so it stands in L&M's text and so the implication would seem to be, and it makes sense of the text to me; but each volume of their edition of the Diary says what also applies to Wheatley's:

"Punctuation is almost all editorial, except for certain full-stops, colons, dashes and parentheses. Punctuation is almost non-existent in the original since the marks could be confused with shorthand."

TerryF  •  Link

More on the Diary text's format

L&M say in their edition "The paragraphing is that of the MS." The same cannot be said of Wheatley's, which has none.

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"Arundel house"
A little off topic here;Richard Burton's wife was a Catholic and very proud to be descendant from the Arundels; but after his death she behaved like a puritan and burned his writings regarding sexual practices in India and Africa.

Stolzi  •  Link

"looking over my wardrobe against summer, and laying things in order to send to my brother to alter"

Poor old Tom. Once a prick-louse, always a prick-louse.

Do you suppose Sam pays the going rate, or expects a favor (lots of favors)?

Stolzi  •  Link

"going to see my Lady Jem."

I like to imagine Sam showing off his newly-learned step for Lady Jem's amusement, while she giggles...

A. Hamilton  •  Link

Arundel house off topic

A. deAraujo, I take it you mean Isabel and not Elizabeth.

Bradford  •  Link

Apparently Tom's botching of the camelot coat has not made his brother seek another person to do, as I once heard it put, his "alternations"---lending support to Stolzi's suggestion that Sam won't be paying for the work, always an incentive.

"after supper to bed to my wife, with whom I have not lain since I used to lie with my father till to-night."
An interesting instance of using the same verb with differing dictionary definitions in the same sentence.

Nix  •  Link

"a new yacht, which the King is resolved to have built out of his privy purse" --

What are the chances a shipwright who took that commission would actually get paid?

Second Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"But this my Lord did not tell me, but is my guess only; and that my Lord Chancellor is without doubt falling past hopes." Lord Chancellor Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon did not fall out of favor until 1667, so I am puzzled by this. Sandwich is giving Pepys this impression, so perhaps it means Sandwich doesn't like Hyde's attitude towards Monmouth? Anyone know what this is about?

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Lady Jem. has come to town, and is staying with her father, Lord Crewe. Her husband has been sick for months, and although he is at Whitehall today, he goes "home" to Chelsea. Apparently the Montagus are not seeing each other ... ? Perhaps one day "someone" will post Sandwich's diary along with these daily entries so it makes a bit more sense. In the meantime, does anyone know what's going on?

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

OOOOoooooppppps ... I'm starting rumors: Please ignore the above post. This is Lady Jemima Montagu, "Mrs/Lady Jem" -- Daughter of Lord Sandwich, and she marries Philip Carteret in 1665. Nevertheless, there has been no mention of where the Countess of Sandwich is living in months. And now the daughter has come to town and is staying with her grandfather, Lord Crew (correct spelling!). While papa goes home to Chelsea. So I'm still wondering where Lady Sandwich is these days.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

""Mrs/Lady Jem" -- Daughter of Lord Sandwich, and she marries Philip Carteret in 1665. Nevertheless, there has been no mention of where the Countess of Sandwich is living in months. And now the daughter has come to town and is staying with her grandfather, Lord Crew (correct spelling!). While papa goes home to Chelsea. So I'm still wondering where Lady Sandwich is these days."

Perhaps Hinchingbrooke House, the Sandwiches's main residence.
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

This time of year many of the nobility are not in residence at Whitehall Palace (the Duke of York is at St James, etc.).

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Hi, Terry ... how nice of you to join us! You raise an interesting point: Do the nobility go home for Easter? Is there a master calendar for when the Court is active? As I understood it, personal servants -- like the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber -- were usually "on duty" for 3 months before switching over to the next "shift" so they got time to care for their own activities. Then there are Cabinet members like Sandwich who have apartments around Whitehall Palace and are "on call" all the time. And there are civil servants like Pepys who live at work, and are "on call" all the time. And finally there are "consultants" like Sir Robert Moray, Barbara Villiers Palmer and Van Dyke who have "grace and favor" quarters in convenient places for the Royals to call on. Factor in evacuations for the plague, summer progressions so the Whitehall sewers can be dug out, the out-of-towners visited, and food supplies in other parts of the country eaten, plus trips to Newmarket for the racing, and weekends at Hampton Court ... someone had a very big planning calendar somewhere. The logistics of all this boggles my mind.

Tripleransom  •  Link

That vid calls to mind the Scottish Ambassador's description of Queen Elizabeth I dancing "high and disposedly".

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