Tuesday 1 August 1665

Slept, and lay long; then up and my Lord [Crew] and Sir G. Carteret being gone abroad, I first to see the bridegroom and bride, and found them both up, and he gone to dress himself. Both red in the face, and well enough pleased this morning with their night’s lodging.

Thence down and Mr. Brisband and I to billiards: anon come my Lord and Sir G. Carteret in, who have been looking abroad and visiting some farms that Sir G. Carteret hath thereabouts, and, among other things, report the greatest stories of the bigness of the calfes they find there, ready to sell to the butchers, as big, they say, as little Cowes, and that they do give them a piece of chalke to licke, which they hold makes them white in the flesh within.

Very merry at dinner, and so to talk and laugh after dinner, and up and down, some to [one] place, some to another, full of content on all sides.

Anon about five o’clock, Sir G. Carteret and his lady and I took coach with the greatest joy and kindnesse that could be from the two familys or that ever I saw with so much appearance, and, I believe, reality in all my life.

Drove hard home, and it was night ere we got to Deptford, where, with much kindnesse from them to me, I left them, and home to the office, where I find all well, and being weary and sleepy, it being very late, I to bed.

20 Annotations

First Reading

Carl in Boston  •  Link

Billiards both Antient and Modern
American Pool is a fascinating game, and I view it as a variation on golf. I like to play, once every several years, and it's easy to pick up and play without preparation.
These last several days in the diary have been most satisfying. There's nothing like a nice wedding to bring out the best in everyone.
Hey Lurkers, anyone for a quick game of pool?

Tony Eldridge  •  Link

I first to see the bridegroom and bride, and found them both up, and he gone to dress himself. Both red in the face, and well enough pleased this morning with their night’s lodging.

I have an image of Jolly Sam who can't resist intruding on the young couple with a barrage of slightly off-colour jokes:

"Good night's rest,eh? Up with the lark, eh? Nudge, nudge, know what I mean?"

"Oh God."

JWB  •  Link

"white in the flesh"

White veal is produced by milk feeding baby bulls. Take it from one who had the chore as a boy, the smell of milk-fed calf dung'll put you off a taste for veal forever.

JWB  •  Link

Mary: "The playing of billiards was, to a large extent, proscribed during the Commonwealth years."

And during the long played-out, and sorely missed by some, Puritan hegemity here, e.g.:
"Ya Got Trouble" http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/th…

Ronal B. Morse  •  Link

Careful with that link. At the end, they offer a "free" ringtone, but to receive it you have to agree to subscribe to some service or other that automatically adds $9.95 a month to your cellular service bill

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"a piece of chalke to licke"
Calcium deficient?

dirk  •  Link

The Rev. Josselin's diary

"First public monthly fast, we gathered for distressed London"

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

“Up all of us, and to billiards; my Lady Wright, Mr. Carteret, myself, and every body.”

From this description I infer that they are playing an outdoors version of the game akin to croquet (see Mary's entry and google "traditional games org for a working link)

CGS  •  Link

Many houses of the better sort had a Billiards room set aside, was still popular untill WWII, so that one did not have to weather the summer rains.
Those that had the monies would have rooms dedicated to particular activities, besides having the sculleries, larders and parlours galore. The ancient version of movie projection and sound room.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

and that they do give them a piece of chalke to licke, which they hold makes them white in the flesh within. "

There were good marshlandsw near Dagenhams. The use of chalk does not appear to be among trhose recommened by contemporary writers on animal husbandry. It has no scientific basis. (L&M note)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Public monthly fast? What public monthly fast? Ohhh ... that's just something for the servants to do -- makes them feel involved, y'know."

Terry Foreman  •  Link

See tomorrow: "Up, it being a publique fast, as being the first Wednesday of the month, for the plague; I within doors all day"

*_____ _____ A form of Common Prayer, together with an order for fasting for the averting of Gods heavy visitation upon many places of this realm. The fast to be observ'd within the cities of London and Westminster and places adjacent, on Wednesday the twelfth of this instant July, and both there and in all parts of this realm, on the first Wednesday in every moneth during the visitation*. London: John Bill and Christopher Barker, 1665.

Benjamin Franklin had a copy of this and copies of similar documents in his library when he died (April 17, 1790)
https://books.google.com/books?id…

Louise Hudson  •  Link

“I first to see the bridegroom and bride, and found them both up, and he gone to dress himself. Both red in the face, and well enough pleased this morning with their night’s lodging.”

It’s easy to see why newlyweds have come to prefer going out of town for their wedding night. What cheek!

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I don't know about cows licking chalk, but in Paris they were enjoying a craze for lemonade at this time. (How about that for a segue?)

This was very lucky, as the plague killed over 1,000,000 people in France during this epidemic, but "miraculously" Paris largely avoided the sickness.

Why? A book has come out linking the lemon rinds which were discarded in the Seine, in the gutters, in the trash -- and eaten by the rats. The rind contains a natural killer of flea larva. It broke the cycle and saved Paris,

See more at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

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