Tuesday 24 July 1666

Up, and to the office, where little business done, our heads being full of expectation of the fleete’s being engaged, but no certain notice of it, only Sheppeard in the Duke’s yacht left them yesterday morning within a league of the Dutch fleete, and making after them, they standing into the sea. At noon to dinner, and after dinner with Mercer (as of late my practice is) a song and so to the office, there to set up again my frames about my Platts, which I have got to be all gilded, and look very fine, and then to my business, and busy very late, till midnight, drawing up a representation of the state of my victualling business to the Duke, I having never appeared to him doing anything yet and therefore I now do it in writing, I now having the advantage of having had two fleetes dispatched in better condition than ever any fleetes were yet, I believe; at least, with least complaint, and by this means I shall with the better confidence get my bills out for my salary.

So home to bed.

19 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Evelyn's head is where Pepys's is: all London awaits the battle.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...after dinner with Mercer (as of late my practice is) a song..."

(and grope.)

ONeville  •  Link

Nightly trill with Mercer? Where's the missus then? "Keep singing dear, it's only when we're quiet she gets suspicious"

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I dunno Sam, writing can lead to trouble...

"Now to update my Journal...Hmmn? 'Report on the State of Victuals in His Majesty's Fleet' by Surveyor General Pepys?"

Uh-oh...

Whitehall...

"What the devil?" York stares at the third page of a neatly written stack of notes for ten Diaries entries.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Though probably if York had to see ten entries, the last ten would do little harm...Except perhaps the running-down of the gentleman captains.

Mary  •  Link

Nightly trill with Mercer?

No, no. This one was after dinner, and dinner is taken in the middle of the day.

ONeville  •  Link

I stand corrected and should have known better, Mary. Where I come from (up North) dinner was always mid-day. 'Dahn sarf' it was lunch and I fell into their ways when I moved. Does anyone know when the word lunch was first used?

Anyway, daily trill (for both, perhaps).

A. Hamilton  •  Link

"Does anyone know when the word lunch was first used?"

OED, 1440,The sound made by the fall of a soft heavy body.

OED 1829 A synonym for luncheon.

Luncheon: First citation 1652

Originally, a slight repast taken between two of the ordinary meal-times, esp. between breakfast and mid-day dinner. The word retains this original application with those who use dinner as the name of the mid-day meal; with those who ‘dine’ in the evening, luncheon denotes a meal (understood to be less substantial and less ceremonious than dinner) taken usually in the early afternoon. Now somewhat formal.

But also, as meaning a light meal at any time of day, see these citations from earlier dates:
1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Lopin, a lumpe, a goblet, a luncheon. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. ii. iv. 97 Eating a great lumpe of bread and butter with a lunchen of cheese.

Mary  •  Link

lunch (as a colloquial form of 'luncheon') only enters general use in the 19th century.

'Lunching' (noun) is cited by the OED as equivalent to 'luncheon' in the second half of the 16th century, but the sparsity of citations before the 19th century would indicate that the -ing form disappeared early and was overtaken by the -eon form, Neither form is much cited much before the 19th century, largely because people habitually ate breakfast, dinner and then a late supper before bed-time.

During the course of the 19th century, the time for dinner moved later and later in the day and finally became established as a formal evening meal, encouraged by the development of artificial lighting. At the same time 'luncheon' developed from a light, mid-morning snack into a set meal, though one lighter in content that dinner.

By the later part of the 19th century 'luncheon' was regarded as a very formal term and the abbreviated 'lunch' came into wider use.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Or if you enjoy "Mad Men" the dozen oyster, dozen martini lunch...

cgs  •  Link

" mid-morning snack " 'twas known by us plough boys as elevenses,[Formal ] Dinner was never available to us lessers as we could only eat meat if we sneaked off and set a few snares and bagged a few of the 'Lauds' game and didnae get trounced by the the Bailiff.

Miss the pail with crusts and bucket of cyder.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

For elevenses, Winnie the Pooh preferred honey on bread with condensed milk. He is also said to have coined the word "smackerel", having an equivalent meaning to 'elevenses'.

Paddington Bear often took elevenses at the antique shop on Portobello Road run by his friend Mr Gruber and usually received some sound advice about his current thorny problem at the same time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elev…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

A news-letter, addressed to Sir George Lane
Written from: [Whitehall]
Date: 24 July 1666

Parest, a French merchant trading in London, and accustomed to act as a Solicitor in the business of French prisoners [of war], having been found under that pretence to have sent political information, surreptitiously, to M. Colbert, has been committed to the Tower of London.

"The Prince" [Rupert?] has sent for the Dean of Westminster, "to prepare for the last hazards of the world; resolving, it seems, to return a glorious victor [at sea] or to die like a good Christian".

An additional squadron of fifteen ships is to follow the main fleet, and is to be commanded by Penn.

Advices came, on the morning of the 23rd, that the British & Dutch fleets were (when the despatch left) within five miles of each other. ...

http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/s…

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"by this means I shall with the better confidence get my bills out for my salary."

We are reminded by L&M that Pepys's salary as Surveyor-General for the Victualing was £300 p.a.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"a representation of the state of my victualling business to the Duke, "

L&M: Copy (in Pepys's hand) in NMM, LBK|8, pp. 400-1; dated this day, partially printed in Further Corr., pp. 141-2. 'Teo fleets have been provided for...the latter (though the greatest ever yet set forth) dispatched without one day's loss of time, or the least complaint...and...with a sufficiency to complete the whole fleet with four months provision to determine the 3rd of October next....

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Curious timing to send a self-congratulatory report to the boss: The fleet is either fighting today or tomorrow ... so when it lands on York's desk, he's not going to pay much mind to it.

If England wins, York will be celebrating for a week, and by the time he gets back to his desk there will be 100 more important self-serving reports on top of Pepys' missive.

If the United Provinces win ... York may be looking for someone to yell at ... fall guys will be lined up and decimated. Pepys called attention to himself.

And York owes the Navy 200,000l. (round number only) from the last budget agreement - you just told him what a great job you have done with one third of your ask.

Write the thing, yes ... date and mail it, no.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... there to set up again my frames about my Platts, which I have got to be all gilded, and look very fine, ..."

Good busy work ... women move the furniture and spring clean.

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