Friday 1 December 1665

This morning to the office, full of resolution to spend the whole day at business, and there, among other things, I did agree with Poynter to be my clerke for my Victualling business, and so all alone all the day long shut up in my little closett at my office, drawing up instructions, which I should long since have done for my Surveyours of the Ports, Sir W. Coventry desiring much to have them, and he might well have expected them long since. After dinner to it again, and at night had long discourse with Gibson, who is for Yarmouth, who makes me understand so much of the victualling business and the pursers’ trade, that I am ashamed I should go about the concerning myself in a business which I understand so very very little of, and made me distrust all I had been doing to-day. So I did lay it by till to-morrow morning to think of it afresh, and so home by promise to my wife, to have mirth there. So we had our neighbours, little Miss Tooker and Mrs. Daniels, to dance, and after supper I to bed, and left them merry below, which they did not part from till two or three in the morning.

9 Annotations

First Reading

cape henry  •  Link

"...and so home by promise to my wife, to have mirth there." Mirth by appointment seldom contains much but the simulation thereof. Note that Pepys escapes as quickly as possible. From this, no doubt, evolved the modern Christmas "party," especially the office variety.

cgs  •  Link

"...After dinner to it again, and at night had long discourse with Gibson, who is for Yarmouth, who makes me understand so much of the victualling business and the pursers’ trade, that I am ashamed I should go about the concerning myself in a business which I understand so very very little of, and made me distrust all I had been doing to-day..."
Assumption that thy designate knows what 'e says may not be 'rite', so it be best that thee know the fundamentals, many a superior has got his come uppence when he allowed his underling to bamboozle him.

great fun had by many a serjeant with his one pipper.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

So Sam has been signing all these Tangier victualling accounts without much idea of what he was doing?

Tangier colony...

"On the one hand, sir...One must appreciate the new Treasurer's determination and activity. We got the shipment ahead of schedule for once."

"15,000 barrels of half-rotted oysters! Raw biscuit gone bad! This is what he has them supply us?!!"

"The men do like the gold-trimmed lace for their outfits..."

***
Poytner joins Team Pepys...This is becoming quite an outfit.

For all our sniping at Sam's occasional look the other way as Warren or Gauden passes a glove, these boys must be gaining a reputation as a group of efficient, no-nonsense types who get the job done. I imagine it must have been wearying but rather fun to work for Sam and under his authority shake up Deptford and other places.

Not exactly "The Untouchables" perhaps but Ness and his boys weren't quite as inhumanly noble and dedicated as their publicity portrayed...I wouldn't be surprised if it makes a few corrupt types nervous to hear one of the Pepys men is coming to look things over.

"So...Ye be one of Pepys' men, eh?"

"Yep."

"Come to look over me books, are ye?"

"That's right."

"Well...Maybe I reckon I don't have them round about. They get lost awful easy." Chuckles from the staff.

"I'd find them." Cool stare, presentation of official document...York's seal prominent.

"...Well, if the Duke wants a look..." face-saving reference followed by ingratiating smile. "Maybe Sarah here could bring ye a drink whiles I have Pete fetch the books."

"Mr. Pepys wants me in London by tonight. The books, now, please...And a little privacy."

However, being one of Pepys' men...

"Sarah, you can stay..."

Michael Robinson  •  Link

" ... all alone all the day long shut up in my little closett at my office, ..."

But there were those private Pepys' peep holes:

" ... I fell upon boring holes for me to see from my closet into the great office, without going forth, wherein I please myself much. ..."
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Heaven...

"Sam'l...About those peep holes in your office?"

"Right..." sigh... "You do take note I'm not arguing or trying to deny anything?"

"Oh, yes. But...Is there anything you want to tell me, Sam'l?"

"Bess, I gave you the entire list...From Bagwell through Lane to Willett, I swear. You said you believed me."

"After you rattled off nearly every woman we'd ever met? There was hardly another woman left in London to worry about."

"Well, then?"

"But...It did seem as if...You might be trying to exaggerate things a bit...And you know that doctor Fried I've been talking to..."

"Freud."

"Freud, right. He says it sounds to him like you're concealing something."

"Concealing...? Bess, this is Heaven...Even I couldn't pull off a lie in Heaven. You don't really think we have a parade of women through the great office every day that I leered at? I mean I tole you about Griffin's girl, but apart from that..."

"Sam'l...I wasn't really thinking about other women this time."

"Bess?!"

"Well...I just picture you staring out those holes...And who are you staring at? And the doctor did say your constant pursuit of new women suggested you weren't finding..."

"Bess, I did not spend my endless hours at the office drooling over Batten and Minnes..."

...

"What?"

"You didn't mention Sir Will Penn. Dr. Freud did think...Given your obsession with Admiral Sir Will..."

"All right!! I know this is Hell, you can stop this right now!!"

"Now Sam'l...You know I love you no matter what...Feelings you may have. Maybe you should speak to Dr. Freud."

"Oh, I'll speak to Dr. Freud, yes I will..."

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

" ... all alone all the day long shut up in my little closett at my office, ..."

But there were those private Pepys' peep holes

Pepys's peep holes are still there in the Navy Office, Seething Lane, London; today's episode is in the Navy Office, Greenwich Palace.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"instructions...for my Surveyours of the Ports, Sir W. Coventry desiring much to have them,"

L&M: Issued on 7 December over the name of the Duke of York. Coventry approved them on the day of issue: CSPD 1665-6, p. 92.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I did agree with Poynter to be my clerke for my Victualling business"

L&M: On 22 December Pepys transferred Thomas Pointer, of the Navy Office, to the service of the Controller.

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