Sunday 18 October 1663

(Lord’s day). Up, and troubled at a distaste my wife took at a small thing that Jane did, and to see that she should be so vexed that I took part with Jane, wherein I had reason; but by and by well again, and so my wife in her best gown and new poynt that I bought her the other day, to church with me, where she has not been these many weeks, and her mayde Jane with her. I was troubled to see Pembleton there, but I thought it prudence to take notice myself first of it and show my wife him, and so by little and little considering that it mattered not much his being there I grew less concerned and so mattered it not much, and the less when, anon, my wife showed me his wife, a pretty little woman, and well dressed, with a good jewel at her breast. The parson, Mr. Mills, I perceive, did not know whether to pray for the Queen or no, and so said nothing about her; which makes me fear she is dead. But enquiring of Sir J. Minnes, he told me that he heard she was better last night.

So home to dinner, and Tom came and dined with me, and so, anon, to church again, and there a simple coxcomb preached worse than the Scot, and no Pembleton nor his wife there, which pleased me not a little, and then home and spent most of the evening at Sir W. Pen’s in complaisance, seeing him though he deserves no respect from me.

This evening came my uncle Wight to speak with me about my uncle Thomas’s business, and Mr. Moore came, 4 or 5 days out of the country and not come to see me before, though I desired by two or three messengers that he would come to me as soon as he came to town. Which do trouble me to think he should so soon forget my kindness to him, which I am afraid he do. After walking a good while in the garden with these, I went up again to Sir W. Pen, and took my wife home, and after supper to prayers, and read very seriously my vowes, which I am fearful of forgetting by my late great expenses, but I hope in God I do not, and so to bed.

24 Annotations

First Reading

Terry F  •  Link

"my wife in her best gown and new poynt"

poynt

Perhaps a gore -1530 PALSGR. 226/2 Goore of a smocke, poynte de chemise.
Any wedge-shaped or triangular piece of cloth forming part of a garment and serving to produce the difference in width required at different points, esp. used to narrow a skirt at the waist. http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~m…

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

"by little and little considering that it mattered not much his being there I grew less concerned and so mattered it not much"

A little early behavioral therapy in action ... good for you, Sam.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...a pretty little woman, and well dressed, with a good jewel at her breast..."

The dancing game pays, apparently.

Pauline  •  Link

Point, Poynt
L&M Large Glossary has: point lace, thread lace made wholly with the needle. (Under the two spellings.)

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"Up, and troubled at a distaste my wife took at a small thing that Jane did, and to see that she should be so vexed that I took part with Jane, wherein I had reason;..."

Samuel, how long have you been married? And to be fair, if Bess took Sir Will Penn's part while you ranted about his perfidity...?

msmouth  •  Link

Amen, Robert. However, the rules of engagement were a bit different then than now. The goose could behave in ways the gander could not and rare is a marriage between equals in any age. And spouses often fail to keep their mouths shut when they really ought to!

MissAnn  •  Link

" his wife, a pretty little woman, and well dressed, with a good jewel at her breast." Maybe this shows Sam that The Dance Master is well looked after at home and his jealousies are unfounded, BUT then again, many a man has strayed from a good and pretty wife.

"... I perceive, did not know whether to pray for the Queen or no, and so said nothing about her; which makes me fear she is dead." What ever happened to "no news is good news" - he's got her dead and buried already on the very least of real knowledge.

Mary  •  Link

poynt.

The poynt is not an integral part of the gown but a lace accessory to it. Most likely to be an adornment to the bodice, I should have thought.

Xjy  •  Link

"at Sir W. Pen's in complaisance, seeing him though he deserves no respect from me. "
Sam's mercenary attitude to acquaintance and friendship beginning to bite him back here. Normally he zips around from one useful contact to the next and parties the while (food, drink, music) so he can keep his repressed emotions repressed, using the excuses of news and networking. Occasionally the deep melancholy of this impersonal and careerist attitude breaks through and his hopping from tuffet to tuffet in the cold, dark swamp isn't enough to keep his feet from sinking and the icy chill from seeping into his bones...
Poor utilitarian, opportunist Sam...

alanB  •  Link

'What ever happened to "no news is good news" - he's got her dead and buried already on the very least of real knowledge.'
Quite so MissAnn - but it does raise the old chestnut of a question 'What if?' If Charles had remarried and produced heirs, would there have been a Glorious Revolution, an Irish Question or indeed a House of Windsor. Without any spoilers(!), I rather hope Sam is making the right call on this one. Long live the Jacobites.

alanB  •  Link

sorry, I meant Stuarts.

Pedro  •  Link

"he's got her dead and buried already"

Is Sam just taking the gossip of Gauden yesterday in the Dolphin, and now the uncertainty of Mr Mills to be bad news?

"Here we had some discourse of the Queen's being very sick, if not dead, the Duke and Duchess of York being sent for betimes this morning to come to White Hall to her."

dirk  •  Link

The Queen's "death"

News took some time to travel in the 17th c. The Rev. Josselin only hears on the 23rd!

"Heard of the Q. death:"

Laura S  •  Link

I think this "poynt" refers to the decorative end of a piece of lace - aglet in modern spelling - somewhere I've seen descriptions of the Queen's dress with decorative golden poynts. I'll try to find it. Meanwhile, check your shoelaces, because each lace ends with an aglet!

"Agelettes: Agelettes were pieces of silver or other metal, or tags, attached to the ends of laces or points. Palsgrave, in his Esclarcissment de la Langue Francaise in 1530, translates "Agglet of a lace or poynt." A pointmaker was paid 2d. per dozen for pointing points of silk with ageletts of laton."

http://www.r3.org/bookcase/wardro…

Terry F  •  Link

The point of the "poynt" discussion?

The way to get a lively conversation going and perhaps to get something right may be to get it wrong at the outset!

Second Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Mr. Moore came, 4 or 5 days out of the country and not come to see me before, though I desired by two or three messengers that he would come to me as soon as he came to town. Which do trouble me to think he should so soon forget my kindness to him, which I am afraid he do."

How frustrating -- for us! All this anticipation of disrespect -- three messengers asking Moore to come over -- waiting 5 days -- and Pepys forgets to tell us what was so urgent. My guess is that this panic started on Tuesday when:

"... at noon with Creed to the Exchange, where much business, but, Lord! how my heart, though I know not reason for it, began to doubt myself, after I saw Stint, Field’s one-eyed solicitor, though I know not any thing that they are doing, or that they endeavour any thing further against us in the business till the term."
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
I'm sure he didn't want to consult about his condition -- or Sandwich's response to the uprising. That was also the day the Queen got sick, so maybe the Court has been in turmoil? As usual, we will probably never know.

Can anyone remind me what was the great kindness that Pepys has done for Moore?

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Can anyone remind me what was the great kindness that Pepys has done for Moore?'

This is very conjectural, but Pepys seems not to have seen Sandwich, who has been "in the country", for months, indeed since late summer, during which Moore, his agent, arranged for a rather healthy loan to Sandwich from Pepys:

"So home to dinner, and Mr. Moore came and dined with me, and after dinner I paid him some money which evened all reckonings between him and me to this day, and for my Lord also I paid him some money, so that now my Lord owes me, for which I have his bond, just 700l.." http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

There may be other kindnesses, but Moore was Sandwich's "man of business"..

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Thank you, Terry ... a very good guess, I'd say.

Louise Hudson  •  Link

Terry seems to be describing a dart or a gathering of material. I doubt that's what Pepys meant by poynte, because he said he he bought it for her. He wouldn't be buying a dressmaker's technique. I expect it was some kind of lace or other decoration.

I don't think Sam will ever get over Pembleton. I suppose it keeps things interesting, for us, at least.

JayW  •  Link

Extract from Tuesday last:
"by coach to the Old Exchange, and there cheapened some laces for my wife, and then to Mr.—— the great laceman in Cheapside, and bought one cost me 4l. more by 20s. than I intended, but when I came to see them I was resolved to buy one worth wearing with credit, and so to the New Exchange, and there put it to making"
Did everyone forget this entry with all the gory details about Sam's health issues (or non-issues!)?

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Mrs Pembleton's 'good jewel at her breast' may not indicate that being a dancing master pays, but that she herself comes from a well-off family, and that they help keep him too.

Anyone who has walked around the area of Seething Lane cannot but notice the large number of churches within very easy walking distance. Before the Great Fire, there were 96 parishes in the "square mile" (actually 1.12 sq mi) of the City. So it's not unnatural that Sam looks with suspicion at Pembleton's apparent conversion to St Olave's. Of course, Pembleton *may* have been looking for introductions for more work or better social connections.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Re: ‘ . . new poynt that I bought her the other day . . ‘
‘point, n.1 < Anglo-Norman . .
. . ****** A stitch.
17. (As an anglicized form of French point: see point n.3) Thread lace made wholly with a needle; (more generally) any lace, esp. pillow lace, imitating that made with a needle. Formerly also: † a piece of such lace (obs.). Cf. . . needlepoint n. 3.
. . 1662 J. Evelyn Sculptura iv. 56 Isabella, who was his wife, publish'd a book of all the sorts of Points, Laces, and Embroderies.
1663 S. Pepys Diary 18 Oct. (1971) IV. 337 My wife, in her best gowne and new poynt that I bought her the other day, to church with me . . ‘ (OED)

Christopher  •  Link

After internalizing all this jealously, Sam is just finding out - now - that Pembleton is married?

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