Saturday 29 April 1665

All the morning busy at the office. In the afternoon to my Lord Treasurer’s, and there got my Lord Treasurer to sign the warrant for my striking of tallys, and so doing many jobbs in my way home, and there late writeing letters, being troubled in my mind to hear that Sir W. Batten and Sir J. Minnes do take notice that I am now-a-days much from the office upon no office business, which vexes me, and will make me mind my business the better, I hope in God; but what troubles me more is, that I do omit to write, as I should do, to Mr. Coventry, which I must not do, though this night I minded it so little as to sleep in the middle of my letter to him, and committed forty blotts and blurrs in my letter to him, but of this I hope never more to be guilty, if I have not already given him sufficient offence. So, late home, and to bed.

16 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"the warrant for my striking of tallys"

The tallies would surely be easier to deal with securely than gold. L&M say the tallies amounting to £17,500 worth, cover the current quarter.

"my letter to him"

L&M note the copy of this letter in Hewer's hand is mostly about supplies.

Carl in Boston  •  Link

being troubled in my mind to hear that Sir W. Batten and Sir J. Minnes do take notice that I am now-a-days much from the office upon no office business
So what? He and the King meet each other, both out of the office on no particular business, but Oh how the King gets an earful from Sam. It takes two Sirs to open the game, but the King is the trump card. Sam has the ear of the King, Sam wins the pot.

cgs  •  Link

blot or not to blot be the question.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...to Mr. Coventry, which I must not do, though this night I minded it so little as to sleep in the middle of my letter to him, and committed forty blotts and blurrs in my letter to him..."

"Lord, your Grace...Look at this letter from young Pepys by late post." Coventry hands letter.

"My word. The poor fellow must be working himself to death to write in such fashion."

"The messenger received it at midnight last from his hands...I fear for the lad, your Grace. And blame myself, for I did tell him the whole weight of the office should fall upon him in our absence."

"Indeed. His Majesty writes of him, says at a moment's notice he presented the whole summary of the Navy's business for the month. And now is handling the Tangier mess for Povy as well. You must write to him, Coventry and tell him to take proper care of his health. Tell him this Navy and kingdom depend on it.

Ah...Would I were able to properly reward the boy. But one day..."

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...to Mr. Coventry, which I must not do, though this night I minded it so little as to sleep in the middle of my letter to him, and committed forty blotts and blurrs in my letter to him..."

"Lord, your Grace...Look at this letter from young Pepys by late post." Coventry hands letter.

"My word. The poor fellow must be working himself to death to write in such fashion."

"The messenger received it at midnight last from his hands...I fear for the lad, your Grace. And blame myself, for I did tell him the whole weight of the office should fall upon him in our absence."

"Indeed. His Majesty writes of him, says at a moment's notice he presented the whole summary of the Navy's business for the month. And now is handling the Tangier mess for Povy as well. You must write to him, Coventry and tell him to take proper care of his health. Tell him this Navy and kingdom depend on it.

Ah...Would I were able to properly reward the boy. But one day..."

J A Gioia  •  Link

I've always assumed "nowadays" is an American locution, like "out of doors", where Sam sometimes finds himself. Only goes to show you.

While "outdoors" seems standard in the U.S., you still hear "out of doors" from people in New York City, maybe for obvious reasons.

Phil  •  Link

So I gather the "Tallys" shall now been altered to reflect the missing 26,000L. If Lord Peterborough had saved this amount from the original amount which Povy had recorded giving him, wouldn't you think Lord Peterborough would have some record or witness as to what he did with the savings? It appears, in the "who do you trust" game, Lord Peterborough is higher in station than Povy. Peterborough therefore must have returned the money and Povy failed to record the return. The Tangier account should now be balanced with this paper (er tally mark) entry.

"...this night I minded it so little as to sleep in the middle of my letter to him, and committed forty blotts..." My first impression on reading this line is that Sam actually placed his face onto the wet ink and slept, thus creating the 40 blots. But, I gather this could be more of a result of the criticism he rec'd about playing more than working. Sam is now overworking himself and creating more errors in his sleepy condition. I guess the moral for us all is, you are likely to be more accurate in your work when you take time to play and sleep.

JWB  •  Link

40 blots

Sam's religous upbringing unconscioulsy to the fore in his tired mind.

language hat  •  Link

"nowadays" is definitely not an Americanism. OED:

A. adv. At the present time, in contrast with the past.
?1387 T. WIMBLEDON Serm. 83 O Lord God, what abusioun is {th}er among officeres of here bo{th}e lawes nowadayes. a1393 GOWER Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) V. 4884 As men mai finde nou adaies. c1395 CHAUCER Clerk's Tale E 1164 It were ful hard to fynde now a dayes In al a toun Grisildis thre or two. c1400 LANGLAND Piers Plowman A. XI. 37 Leccherie & losengerie.. {th}ise arn games nowadayes. [...] 1474 CAXTON tr. Game & Play of Chess 30 The lawes nowadayes ben not executed but vpon the poure peple. [...] 1583 P. STUBBES Anat. Abuses II. sig. D3, I cannot but lament the small preferment now adaies that learning getteth in the world. 1611 Bible (A.V.) 1 Sam. xxv. 10 There bee many seruants now a daies that breake away. 1658 W. JOHNSON tr. F. Würtz Surgeons Guid II. Introd. 43 Yet have I not related all the abuses which are practised and committed now adayes. 1712 J. ADDISON Spectator No. 481 ¶4 Lacqueys were never so saucy and pragmatical, as they are now-a-days. 1747 R. CAMPBELL London Tradesman iii. 39 Their Patients received more Ease from their rude Conjectures, than may now a-days be received from the elaborate Systems of a College. 1766 J. FORDYCE Serm. Young Women I. vi. 226 We speak of good housewifery now a days. 1833 H. MARTINEAU Berkeley the Banker I. i. 21 Guineas are scarce now-a-days. 1893 Law Times 95 248/1 The Crown has certain privileges which appear somewhat anomalous nowadays. 1918 V. WOOLF Diary I. 163 We had a great bout of people yesterday, as we tend to do nowadays. 1939 L. M. MONTGOMERY Anne of Ingleside xiii. 86 We never seem to have old-fashioned winters nowadays.

?c1425 tr. G. de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) 568 Wirchers of now a dayes [...] maken hem noght but after {th}e dyuysioun of 8 membres folowed in {th}is tretys. 1645 MILTON Tetrachordon 26 Not partly right and partly wrong,.. as Divines of now adaies dare censure them. 1647 tr. Maloezzi Pourtract 94 The Phisitians of now a dayes. [...] 1991 K. K. DYSON tr. R. Tagore I won't let you Go 199 There are likenesses between the dreams of yore and the dreams of nowadays.

C. adj. (attrib.). Of or belonging to the present day. rare.
1609 J. RAWLINSON Fishermen 32 Such indeed.. is our now-adaies religion. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 2 Mar. 2/1 These nowadays parsons are just a set of fussing insurance agents.

language hat  •  Link

Oops: second set of citations should start with:
B. n. Present times.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

"Peterborough therefore must have returned the money and Povy failed to record the return."

Nothing so simple - Peterborough's accounts as governor of Tangier, the massaging of same through committee, have been a long running intricate saga and a source of great stress to SP. In 1664, from:
"we looked over part of my Lord Peterborough’s accounts, these being by Creed and Vernaty." ( http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… )
to: "where God forgive how our Report of my Lord Peterborough’s accounts was read over and agreed to by the Lords, without one of them understanding it! And had it been what it would, it had gone: and, besides, not one thing touching the King’s profit in it minded or hit upon." ( http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… )

The issue appears again early this year:
"and so to a Tangier Committee, where a great company of the new Commissioners, Lords, that in behalfe of my Lord Bellasses are very loud and busy and call for Povy’s accounts," http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

" ...to Exeter House, and there was a witness of most [base] language against Mr. Povy, from my Lord Peterborough, who is most furiously angry with him, because the other, as a foole, would needs say that the 26,000l. was my Lord Peterborough’s account, and that he had nothing to do with it."
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

and much more, resulting in Povy's decision to hand over the Tangier Treasurership on terms to SP.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

“So I gather the “Tallys” shall now been altered to reflect the missing 26,000L. ... The Tangier account should now be balanced with this paper (er tally mark) entry.”

Wooden tally sticks are a form of payment order used by the Crown in lieu of actual cash money, this has nothing to do with reconciling the prior accounts. Ashley, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has followed through on yesterday:

"After some discourse of the reason of the difficulty that Sir Philip Warwicke makes in issuing a warrant for my striking of tallys, namely, the having a clear account of the 26,000l. saved by my Lord of Peterborough, we parted, and I to Sir P. Warwicke, who did give me an account of his demurr, which I applied myself to remove by taking Creed with me to my Lord Ashly, from whom, contrary to all expectation, I received a very kind answer, just as we could have wished it, that he would satisfy my Lord Treasurer."
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Carl in Boston  •  Link

from Language Hat: 1766 J. FORDYCE Serm. Young Women I. vi. 226 We speak of good housewifery now a days.
At last I find the reference. In Pride and Prejudice, the Rev Mr Collins recommends Fordyce's Sermons, which Mary picks up and reads most assiduously. She would have made a good wife to Mr Collins, but 'twas not to be. If the words and bon mots are not in Pepys's diary, they are in Pride and Prejudice

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Poor old Collins...He did mean well in his clumsy way. Nice to think that David Bamber played both him and Cicero...Almost as if Collins had had his nobler moments, in another existence.

Pedro  •  Link

And with the Fleet…

Sandwich reports that intelligence says 40 sail of ships were seen to come out of Texel, but this was later found to be false.

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