Monday 27 August 1666

Up, and to my new closett, which pleases me mightily, and there did a little business. Then to break open a window, to the leads’ side in my old closett, which will enlighten the room mightily, and make it mighty pleasant. So to the office, and then home about one thing or other, about my new closet, for my mind is full of nothing but that. So at noon to dinner, mightily pleased with my wife’s picture that she is upon. Then to the office, and thither come and walked an hour with me Sir G. Carteret, who tells me what is done about my Lord’s pardon, and is not for letting the Duke of Yorke know any thing of it beforehand, but to carry it as speedily and quietly as we can. He seems to be very apprehensive that the Parliament will be troublesome and inquisitive into faults, but seems not to value them as to himself.

He gone, I to the Victualling Office, there with Lewes and Willson setting the business of the state of the fleete’s victualling even and plain, and that being done, and other good discourse about it over, Mr. Willson and I by water down the River for discourse only, about business of the office, and then back, and I home, and after a little at my office home to my new closet, and there did much business on my Tangier account and my Journall for three days. So to supper and to bed.

We are not sure that the Dutch fleete is out. I have another memento from Sir W. Coventry of the want of provisions in the fleete, which troubles me, though there is no reason for it; but will have the good effect of making me more wary. So, full of thoughts, to bed.

29 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

John Evelyn's Diary

August 27 I went to St. Paules Church in Lond: where with Dr. Wren, Mr. Prat, Mr. May, Mr. Tho. Chichley, Mr. Slingsby, the Bish: of Lond., the Deane of S. Paule, & severall expert Workmen, we went about to survey the generall decays of that antient & venerable Church, & to set downe the particulars in writing, what was fit to be don, with the charge thereof: giving our opinion from article to article:
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_… ]

We found the maine building to receede outward: ’It was Mr. Chichleys & Prats opinion that it had ben so built ab origine for an effect in Perspective, in reguard of the height; but I was with Dr. Wren quite of another judgement, as indeede ridiculous, & so we entered it: We plumbed the Uprights in severall places: When we came to the Steeple, it was deliberated whither it were not well enought to repaire it onely upon its old foundation, with reservation to the 4 Pillars: This Mr. Chichley & Prat were also for; but we totaly rejected it & persisted that it requird a new foundation, not onely in reguard of the necessitie, but for that the shape of what stood was very meane, & we had a mind to build it with a noble Cupola, a forme of church building, not as yet knowne in England, but of wonderfull grace: for this purpose we offerd to bring in a draught & estimate, which (after much contest) was at last assented to, & that we should nominate a Committè of able Workemen to examine the present foundation: This concluded we drew all up in Writing, and so going with with my L: Bishop to the Deanes, after a little refreshment, went home.
***
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Le…

cape charles  •  Link

"...but to carry it as speedily and quietly as we can."
It can't be a good sign when you have to tiptoe past the king's brother.

(Thanks for the great and "enlightening" entry above, TF. That's wonderful stuff to contemplate.)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

I presume "onely " was pronounced "WUN-lee"....

Michael L  •  Link

"I have another memento from Sir W. Coventry of the want of provisions in the fleete..."

Early evidence of the office memo, an institution that lasted for centuries until email obsoleted it.

cgs  •  Link

Victualling always , is and will always be a problem, man knoweth more ways to skin the proverbial cat than Nell Gwyn has pips in her bob of oranges.
Ask any one who has served in the trenches of the action front, will tell tales of all the maggots that be in MRE's,[ Napoleon's' tin can, Charlie rations, spam crackers, bickees] or walking on two legs back at GHQ sucking 'filette of mignons'.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

" ... Mr. Willson and I by water down the River for discourse only, about business of the office, and then back, ..."

Is SP here a little paranoid and concerned about being overheard, though there would have been the boatmen present also? Why not set up a private meeting in his new closett, after all in Stuart times the only listening and recording devices would have been human.

Mary  •  Link

WUN-ly?

Why assume this pronunciation? I can find no convincing argument for such a shortening of the original long vowel in this word. Monosyllabic 'one' shows a different phonetic development from disyllabic 'only.'

See E.J. Dobson: English Pronunciation 1500-1700 (passim).

mary k mcintyre  •  Link

I'm sure someone knows this, or it's been discussed here before, but this latest 'home office' renovation has reminded me... whatever became of Pepys' house?

Blown up in WW2? Extinguished in an urban renewal scheme?

Rex Gordon  •  Link

Renovating Saint Paul's ...

Evelyn could have no suspicion that all of these disagreements over what to do with Old St Paul's will soon be mooted ... disagreements over what to do with the new one will begin. The London of Elizabeth and Shakespeare hasn't long to endure.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Why assume this pronunciation?" These were such phonetic spellers, actually, Pepys even more than Evelyn (the latter is generally better with names).

cgs  •  Link

One should read the poets of the time to get a feeling for articulation.
Cor blimey thankee Mary

q? does one rhyme with soon

An Epitaph On The Marchioness Of Winchester
This rich Marble doth enterr
The honour'd Wife of Winchester,
A Vicounts daughter, an Earls heir,
Besides what her vertues fair
Added to her noble birth,
More then she could own from Earth.
Summers three times eight save one
She had told, alas too soon,
After so short time of breath,
To house with darknes, and with death.

FJA  •  Link

Thus, "onely" should be pronounced, "oon-lee"?
How do you pronounce it down north in the country?

Michael Robinson  •  Link

… whatever became of Pepys’ house?

Spoiler: the Navy Office survived the Great Fire but was burnt down in a fire on January 29th 1673.

language hat  •  Link

"These were such phonetic spellers, actually"

And "one-" phonetically represents long o followed by n.

language hat  •  Link

Why was my earlier comment that "wun-ly" is certainly wrong deleted? It *is* certainly wrong, and false information should not be left unchallenged in the annotations, which should be a useful resource for future readers.

cgs  •  Link

LH: re-post it, I did not see your take on this interesting lingo of the times.

Harvey  •  Link

"... Why was my earlier comment that “wun-ly” is certainly wrong deleted? It *is* certainly wrong, and false information should not be left unchallenged in the annotations, which should be a useful resource for future readers."

Language hat must be an academic, we are all just one discovery away from being proved wrong.

language hat  •  Link

So if someone says the moon is made of green cheese, you wouldn't dare correct them, because we are all just one discovery away from being proved wrong? And no, I am not an academic.

Alec  •  Link

Hands up who pronounces onerous as wun-rous, oneirocriticism and wun-irocriticism (or wun-erocriticism).

Hands up who knows what oneirocriticism means.

Now that MR has ruined the book I was reading, what is now on the site of the Navy Office?

alta fossa  •  Link

I will not critic thy dream .

Background Lurker  •  Link

Fonetic Spelas? Maybe.

Who's forgotten that S. Pepys esq. wrote using Thomas Shelton's short hand. According to an informative article in the wondrous Wiki: "One drawback of Shelton's system was that there was no way to distinguish long and short vowels or diphthongs; so the b-a-t sequence could mean "bat", or "bait", or "bate", while b-o-t might mean "boot", or "bought", or "boat". The reader needed to use the context to work out which alternative was meant."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shor…

So many trees, so much barking to do and so, so little time. :)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Evelyn: "to St. Paules Church in Lond: where... we went about to survey the generall decays of that antient & venerable Church, & to set downe the particulars in writing, what was fit to be don"

4 August 1663 Peter Blackbury, purveyor of masts, told Pepys "that Paul’s is now going to be repaired in good earnest"
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Repairs on an old pile go slowly.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I have another memento from Sir W. Coventry of the want of provisions in the fleete"

On 24 August the Duke of York had written the Navy Board that the slopsellers would not provide clothes until paid something of what was already owed them. (L&M)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"We are not sure that the Dutch fleete is out."

L&M: It did not leave the Dutch coast until 1/11 September: G. Brandt, Michel de Ruiter (trans., 1698), p. 389.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Is SP here a little paranoid and concerned about being overheard,"

Maybe ... or perhaps it was a lovely summer afternoon and they took advantage of it while they could. After all, the fleet is getting ready to go out again soon and the boatmen will disappear so they don't get pressed.

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Pepys is just too pleased with Liz's work! I suppose this is cheaper than having her spending money on things out of the house account. Liz, now is the time to start working in ultramarine. Blue seas, blue skies, blue dresses...

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