Wednesday 20 May 1663

Up and to my office, and anon home and to see my wife dancing with Pembleton about noon, and I to the Trinity House to dinner and after dinner home, and there met Pembleton, who I perceive has dined with my wife, which she takes no notice of, but whether that proceeds out of design, or fear to displease me I know not, but it put me into a great disorder again, that I could mind nothing but vexing, but however I continued my resolution of going down by water to Woolwich, took my wife and Ashwell; and going out met Mr. Howe come to see me, whose horse we caused to be set up, and took him with us. The tide against us, so I went ashore at Greenwich before, and did my business at the yard about putting things in order as to their proceeding to build the new yacht ordered to be built by Christopher Pett,1 and so to Woolwich town, where at an alehouse I found them ready to attend my coming, and so took boat again, it being cold, and I sweating, with my walk, which was very pleasant along the green corne and pease, and most of the way sang, he and I, and eat some cold meat we had, and with great pleasure home, and so he took horse again, and Pembleton coming, we danced a country dance or two and so broke up and to bed, my mind restless and like to be so while she learns to dance. God forgive my folly.

23 Annotations

First Reading

dirk  •  Link

"along the green come and pease"

...should be "corne and peas"

dirk  •  Link

"my walk, which was very pleasant along the green come and pease, and most of the way sang, he and I"

I can't help feeling a certain nostalgia here. Some of the things we're missing in our modern world...

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Time to enjoy oneself between events, now thee leave the office to go to a meeting in the next building and thee have a gizmo stuck in thy ear looking like a martian getting instructions from Venus.[proper harried thee be , a nice blud pressuring event.]

TerryF  •  Link

"the new yacht ordered to be built by Christopher Pett"

L&M say this was the Henrietta built to replace "the [Jemmy which Pepys saw 5 September 1662] ...set out from Greenwich with the little Dutch bezan, to try for mastery; and before they got to Woolwich the Dutch beat them half-a-mile (and I hear this afternoon, that, in coming home, it got above three miles); which all our people are glad of."
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

[There was a "Royal Navy Ship of the Line Henrietta Maria, Goddard, Deptford, 1633, Renamed Paragon in 1650 and lost ... Langport, Bright, Horsleydown, 1654, Renamed Henrietta after the Restoration. ...
www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/sa… ]

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"God forgive my folly"
Samuel Pepys did not particularly like the Shakespeare plays he has seen so far;I wonder if he ever going to see "Othello"
and what is he going to say about the play.

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Samuell, this be democracy, wife and hubby, have one vote each , or would that be a toss of the coin, or dothe thee use 2 die. Naturally, Pemby does not get to vote, only use his influence to get a few extra quids for the extra steps.

TerryF  •  Link

"I wonder if he [is] ever going to see 'Othello'
and what is he going to say about the play."

11 October 1660 Samuel Pepys saw "'The Moore of Venice,' which was well done. Burt acted the Moore; ‘by the same token, a very pretty lady that sat by me, called out, to see Desdemona smothered." http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Not much of a review, but less negative than usual for a play by Shakespeare.

Alan  •  Link

When they danced at home was there music or did they sing?

A. Hamilton  •  Link

Sam his own Iago

Second Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Sir John Pett was a member of the Royal Society. However, Google gives me no other information. Given that Christopher Pett was the 11th child, and Peter was one brother, there's lots of room for other smart older brothers. Any information anyone?

Terry Foreman  •  Link

There was a John Pett, (son of Thomas) who was paid for caulking (making watertight) the Regent in 1499, but no John in the Pett dynasty was knighted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet… nor does Pepys mention any John Pett. There were surely other Pett families.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

When I Google John Pett I get the following:

John Pell (1611-1685) and His Correspondence with Sir Charles ...
https://books.google.com/books?is…
Noel Malcolm, ‎Jacqueline Stedall - 2005 - ‎Biography & Autobiography
The Books denyd, &c., and Dr. Pell noe freind to the Royall Society. ... 'Pett' would seem to be Sir John Pett, F.R.S.; but there is a possibility that Hooke meant Sir ...

Looking at the text of the book, it is no more helpful. Apart from this I have not been able to find anything, under general search, Hooke's diary or biographies, or histories of the Royal Society..

Terry Foreman  •  Link

San Diego Sarah, why did you Google John Pett? Pepys names him not.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Ah yes, I remember coming up with a proof of Pell's (eponymous) equation for a number theory assignment once :)

Sir John Pell had nothing to do with the Petts, but he was connected with the Hartlibs, Pepys former Axe Yard neighbours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joh…

Google sometimes gives results for possible mis-spellings.

Dorothy  •  Link

In Charles Dickens' "Bleak House" Prince Turveydrop provides the music for the dancing lessons he gives by playing a small violin called a "kit." I found this Wikipedia article on the subject. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit… It seems likely to me Mr. Pemberton may do something similar when he is giving a lesson.

Bill  •  Link

Pembleton has been around twice today?! The man is even starting to get on my nerves.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I Googled Royal Society, Pett, and 1662 or 1663, and up came the book review I copied on Dr. John amongst other references. Redoing the search tonight (possibly in a different order) up came Peter Pett as being a FRS member as of 1662 ... so I nominate Peter Pett now and am more than happy to abandon the mysterious Dr, John ...

Confusingly, tonight I also found lists of the 8,000 members of the R.S. since inception, and there are TWO Peter Petts as original members ... on the R.S. site one is listed as a Sir, and according to a Wikipedia list one was a lawyer (but each list missed the detail captured on the other list). And no Dr. John Pett ever on either list. https://royalsociety.org/~/media/…

My apologies for confusing everyone. And thank you, Sasha, for the Pell info. Axe Yard had illustrious residents.

Matt Newton  •  Link

Sam clocks up quite a few miles on foot today.
Is there any data on the distances he walks?
And then once home he struts his stuff with Mr. Pem!
What stamina.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Extracted from the DNB http://www.oxforddnb.com/ (subscription but free to UK public library members):

Pett, Peter (b. 1610, d. in or before 1672), naval administrator, . . was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1662 . . He remained commissioner at Chatham until 29 September 1667, when he was charged with being the main cause of the disaster there in June, when the Dutch had attacked the English fleet, and was summarily superseded . .

None of Pett's sons pursued significant careers in the navy . . However, many other members of the extended Pett family did serve in the navy throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, leading to long-standing confusion between an abundance of naval Peter and Phineas Petts.
………..
Pett, Sir Peter (bap. 1630, d. 1699), lawyer and author, was . . one of the original fellows of the RS, elected on 20 May, but was expelled on 18 November 1675 for ‘not performing his obligation to the society’. He was probably absorbed in other interests . .

Pett died on 1 April 1699 . . he bequeathed to his old school friend Samuel Pepys the ring given to Howard of Effingham by the admiral of the Spanish fleet in 1588. Pett has been often confused with his father's first cousin Peter Pett, commissioner of the navy at Chatham, who is separately noticed.
……….

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Starting at the end of May, 1663, Louis XIV nearly died. The progress of his disease was noted daily by his physician, Monsieur Antoine Vallot, in the Journal de la santé du Roi. The translated bits come from
https://partylike1660.com/louis-x…

On Wednesday, May 30, Dr. Antoine Vallot recorded: “The night from Tuesday to Wednesday was much more worrying than the previous ones. The fever increased a lot, and came with a headache and strong sweating, which lasted a good part of the night. The next day, around six o’clock in the morning, having found the King in this state, I had to confirm to him what I had told him the previous evening, that there was no longer any doubt that it was measles. Which obliged me to order another bleeding, noticing an extraordinary fullness in his Majesty and a furious boiling of the blood as a whole, with an overwhelming nature.”

Louis XIV was bled at 2 p.m., and Monsieur Vallot noted it seemed to help his Majesty to relax.

Another bleeding was planned for the evening, but by then the fever was higher than before, and Louis felt worse. His body was checked for the spots and plenty were found on the King’s back and legs. The high fever had given Louis sweating fits throughout the day.

Monsieur Vallot recorded, “The night from Wednesday to Thursday was more unpleasant and worrying than all the previous ones.”

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

One Friday soon there will probably be a commemoration service held at noon at St. Olave’s church.

Since 1927 (allowing for some years’ interruption for bomb damage and pandemics) St. Olave’s has held an annual service to commemorate its most illustrious former parishioner, Samuel Pepys.
The service is organized in association with The Samuel Pepys Club. The service traditionally features an address on aspects of “Pepys, his life and times” and the church has welcomed many distinguished speakers over the years. The service is open to everyone.

You never know -- some other annotators might be there!
https://www.britainexpress.com/Lo…
http://pepys-club.org.uk/about-th…

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