Saturday 9 April 1664

The last night, whether it was from cold I got to-day upon the water I know not, or whether it was from my mind being over concerned with Stanes’s business of the platery of the navy, for my minds was mighty troubled with the business all night long, I did wake about one o’clock in the morning, a thing I most rarely do, and pissed a little with great pain, continued sleepy, but in a high fever all night, fiery hot, and in some pain. Towards morning I slept a little and waking found myself better, but … —[After what was just allowed print above, what could have required censorship here? D.W.]— [pissed – L&M] with some pain, and rose I confess with my clothes sweating, and it was somewhat cold too, which I believe might do me more hurt, for I continued cold and apt to shake all the morning, but that some trouble with Sir J. Minnes and Sir W. Batten kept me warm. At noon home to dinner upon tripes, and so though not well abroad with my wife by coach to her Tailor’s and the New Exchange, and thence to my father’s and spoke one word with him, and thence home, where I found myself sick in my stomach and vomited, which I do not use to do. Then I drank a glass or two of Hypocras, and to the office to dispatch some business, necessary, and so home and to bed, and by the help of Mithrydate —[An opiate?? D.W.]— slept very well.

26 Annotations

First Reading

Terry F  •  Link

"And waking found myself better, but -- but pissed with some pain."

So L&M. I am as mystified as D.W.

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"Hypocras"

Spiced wine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypo…

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"Mithrydate"

L&M say (Select Glossary) "Drug used as an opiate" ~ presumably a drug with analgesic and sedative effect.

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"Mithrydate"
I usually drink it listening to Mozart's Mitridate Re Di Ponto.

cape henry  •  Link

Sounds like Sam might have a case of what we call "food poisoning." Looking over yesterday's menu, I notice the "wiggs," the small cakes, possibly made with contaminated water or other tainted ingredients. It was sometimes the case that the center of baked goods did not heat thoroughly enough to kill all the biota in the mix.

JWB  •  Link

"...by the help of Mithrydate-slept very well."

"Bellies of skink" of the list of 50-65 ingredients, undoubtedly the sophorific.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...but that some trouble with Sir J. Minnes and Sir W. Batten kept me warm."

You know, if it's really true Sam never shared the Diary and (spoiler) barely acknowledged its existence (to 2 folks I believe), it's a shame bits like this one never saw the light of good fellowship. Hopefully he did at least share extracted bits like this with an occasional friend or Bess.

DrCari  •  Link

Poor Sam!

I'd place my bet that it is another Urinary Tract Infection. He's experiencing painful urination, nausea along with fever and chills. That is how a nasty UTI presents.

Ruben  •  Link

"and so home and to bed, and by the help of Mithrydate --[An opiate?? D.W.]-- "...slept very well."

We imagine Samuel writing his diary by the ligth of a single candle, that being the reason for the "weakness" that later ended with this diary.
But todays entry was written not before next day morning. (Most probably next day evening).

Robert Gertz  •  Link

No mention of a loving Bess demanding that feverish Sam stay home and rest? My wife wouldn't let me out the door (she barracades it with her motorized chair) if I'd spent a night like that unless my career depended on it...Or she wanted something from a store not within walking distance.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

"At noon home to dinner upon tripes ... where I found myself sick in my stomach and vomited, which I do not use to do."

Cape, you might very well be right about the wiggs, but certainly his dinner didn't help things! Yuck.

And Robert, I also got a belly laugh out of the Minnes and Batten line. Nice to see Sam's still got it, even when he doesn't feel his best...

Ruben  •  Link

dinner upon tripes
Sopa de mondongo is a wonderful soup made up mostly of tripes, slowly cooked for hours with vegetables. Cut the tripes in stripes like Stroganoff beef.
All my young years I used to eat the tripes leaving the liquid on the plate with the reprimand of my mother.

JWB  •  Link

Wiggs, tripe? How about that "pleasant French fricassee" on Thurs. after the nose pulling incident on Tuesday.

mary mcintyre  •  Link

Mithrydate to help him micturate? :D

And tripe -- gah! My Scottish granny used to have to poach it in milk for my grandfather (favourite dish). My mom remembers her standing at the stove, turning over and gagging.

mary mcintyre  •  Link

oops -- that should have been "... turning IT over and gagging."

Paul Dyson  •  Link

"At noon home to dinner upon tripes"

In Lancashire and other parts of the North of England in the 1950s there were 146 UCP shops-cum-restaurants specialising in tripe dishes and with long queues for seats. UCP stood (and still does at its single remaining outlet) for United Cattle Products, who also provided Ox Tail, Cow Heel and other bovine extremities in an age when little was wasted. Tripe was also sold in chip shops. From recollection it is virtually tasteless and so depends on what accompanies it - onions, mustard, salt, vinegar etc - rather like a MacBurger in fact! Presumably Sam, as an up and coming and steadily more prosperous man who enjoys an occasional venison pasty, was not being economical when he dined upon tripes, but savouring a respected delicacy.

Pedro  •  Link

MITHRIDATE.

If you get an email for this drug don't delete!

THOMAS PARR...attained the wonderful age of a hundred and fifty-two years

His physic was good butter, which the soil
Of Salop yields, more sweet than candy oil;
And garlick he esteemed above the rate
Of Venice treacle, or best MITHRIDATE.
He entertained no gout, no ache he felt,
The air was good and temperate where he dwelt;
While mavisses and sweet-tongued nightingales
Did chant him roundelays and madrigals.
Thus living within bounds of nature's laws,
Of his long-lasting life may be some cause.'

http://www.thebookofdays.com/mont…

Pedro  •  Link

The above should have been titled Garlick of course!

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

re: Oops

I don't know, Mary, I kind of liked the image in your first post! ;-)

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Tripe is considered a delicacy in Mexican cooking, where it is called menudo. It is on the special Sunday menu in many Mexican restaurants in the southwestern U.S. I'm not overly fond of it, but it doesn't inspire the gag reflex (maybe if I were trying to cook it ...). As Paul Dyson says, it has little taste of its own, just adding a chewy texture to the soup or whatever that it's in.

Dave  •  Link

" what could have required censorship here?".

In "The Shorter Pepys" edited by Robert Latham he records "And waking, found myself better - but pissed with some pain. And rose, I confess with my clothes sweating"
Could this be a case of bed wetting? If this was deemed bad enough to censure then what else are we missing out on?

GrahamT  •  Link

Tripes de Caen: a delicacy of Northern France, available - canned - in all good French Supermarchés. The accompanying sauce and vegetables giving it its flavour, and the tripe the texture.
I remember butchers in northern England having several grades of tripe in their shop windows, when I was younger. Traditionally eaten as Tripe-and-Onions.

Second Reading

Lex Lector  •  Link

Honeycomb; bag; blanket; leaf... all kinds of tripe need "dressing" before they're allowed out. In UK they're mostly bovine, but there's pig bag too. Pressed udder was (is?) sold as "elder".Tripe! It's the tofu of Old (Northern) England: high protein, no fat, accepts flavours...you can dip in a herbed batter for "Tripe tempura" yum! tripe - assuming you aren't vegetarian - is terrific. Cultures where waste is frowned upon eat their animals top-to-toenail: in a Korean-owned restaurant in Minami, Osaka we regularly braised our own unrecognisable bits of animal digestive (and other?) tract over charcoal at the table and ate with dips and kimchi. Mm! It's truly decadent, isn't it, to eat only the "attractive" bits of animals?

Dave: bedwetting - I have an edition of John Ray (founder member, Royal Society)'s "Proverbs" - the expanded 2nd end. of 1690 or so which includes "he who first a good name gets, may piss a bed and say he sweats" Sam?

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Re: ‘ . . a glass or two of Hypocras . . ‘

‘Hypocras Obs. exc. Hist. or arch.
 1. A cordial drink made of wine flavoured with spices, formerly much in vogue.
………….
Re: ‘ . . by the help of Mithrydate . . ‘

‘Mithrydate < Mithridātēs, king of Pontus (died c 63 b.c.), who was said to have rendered himself proof against poisons by the constant use of antidotes
1. a. Any of various medicinal preparations, usually in the form of an electuary (= paste) compounded of many ingredients, believed to be a universal antidote to poison or a panacea. Now hist.
. . 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iii. xxxiii. 495 Some make a soueraigne mithridate against the plague..with two old walnuts, three figges [etc.].
1686 T. D'Urfey Common-wealth of Women v. ii. 47 Fools may talk of Mythridate, Cordials, Elixers . .
………….
(OED)

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