Thursday 20 September 1666
Up, much troubled about my books, but cannot imagine where they should be. Up, to the setting my closet to rights, and Sir W. Coventry takes me at it, which did not displease me. He and I to discourse about our accounts, and the bringing them to the Parliament, and with much content to see him rely so well on my part. He and I together to Broad Streete to the Vice-Chamberlain, and there discoursed a while and parted. My Lady Carteret come to town, but I did not see her. He tells me how the fleete is come into the Downes. Nothing done, nor French fleete seen: we drove all from our anchors. But he says newes is come that De Ruyter is dead, or very near it, of a hurt in his mouth, upon the discharge of one of his own guns; which put him into a fever, and he likely to die, if not already dead. We parted, and I home to dinner, and after dinner to the setting things in order, and all my people busy about the same work. In the afternoon, out by coach, my wife with me, which we have not done several weeks now, through all the ruines, to shew her them, which frets her much, and is a sad sight indeed. Set her down at her brother’s, and thence I to Westminster Hall, and there staid a little while, and called her home. She did give me an account of great differences between her mother and Balty’s wife. The old woman charges her with going abroad and staying out late, and painting in the absence of her husband, —[?? D.W.]— and I know not what; and they grow proud, both he and she, and do not help their father and mother out of what I help them to, which I do not like, nor my wife. So home, and to the office, to even my journall, and then home, and very late up with Jane setting my books in perfect order in my closet, but am mightily troubled for my great books that I miss, and I am troubled the more for fear there should be more missing than what I find, though by the room they take on the shelves I do not find any reason to think it. So to bed.
18 Annotations
First Reading
Michael Robinson • Link
" ... and painting in the absence of her husband, ..."
L&M agrees.
Might the old woman be alluding to painting her face rather than working at an easel painting?
Bradford • Link
Too much make-up on, and not for one's husband sake! Yes, MR, makes perfect sense.
So many books you can't tell when one (or more) is missing. "Don't I have a copy of that---somewhere. . . ?"
Australian Susan • Link
Having moved a great deal, I sympathise with Sam - we always seemed to discover something was lost everytime we unpacked. And losing a much loved book is the worst.
CGS • Link
cat away, the mouse will play.
Painted lady [not the flutter by]
1. A woman wearing cosmetics; a prostitute; = painted woman n. at PAINTED adj. Special uses 2a.
1621 B. JONSON Gypsies Metamorph. in Wks. (1692) 623/1 A reverend painted Lady was..coffin'd in Crust till now she was hoary.
painted: b. fig. Chiefly literary. Coloured so as to deceive; unreal, artificial; feigned, pretended.
c1390...
1604 SHAKESPEARE Hamlet III. i. 55 The harlots cheeke beautied with plastring art, is not more ougly to the thing that helps it, Then is my deede to my most painted word.
1621 H. ELSING Notes Debates House of Lords (1870) 46 Sir Ed. Villiers his paynted friend, and Mompesson an obdurate enemy.
1677 J. BANKS Rival Kings III. i. 22 Admire no more in what you call my charms, Shun 'em young Prince, their all but painted harms.
c. Of the face, etc.: artificially coloured, as with cosmetics. Of a person: wearing cosmetics, warpaint, etc. Also with up (cf. PAINT v.1 3a).
1485 Act 1 Hen. VII c. 7 The said Mis-doers, by reason of their painted Faces, Visors, and other Disguisings could not be known. c1500 ...
painted woman
n. a woman wearing cosmetics; spec. (euphem.) a disreputable woman, a prostitute.
1675 J. CROWN Countrey Wit IV. i. 66, I hate a *Painted Woman in my heart, I suspect their Virtue.
Terry Foreman • Link
"Nothing done, nor French fleete seen: we drove all from our anchors."
L&M note sources say the ships were disturbed by a storm.
"But [Sir G. Carteret] says newes is come that De Ruyter is dead, or very near it, of a hurt in his mouth, upon the discharge of one of his own guns; which put him into a fever, and he likely to die, if not already dead."
Wounded, yes, but not dead yet.
Jesse • Link
"painting in the absence of her husband"
Maybe she's literally painting; perhaps with a tutor or subjects that aren't, um, domestic still lifes. Perhaps Pepys is somewhat confused too following w/his "...and I know not what."
Mary • Link
"going abroad and staying out late and painting in the absence of her husband"
This is all of a piece. Mrs. St. Michel is accusing her daughter-in-law of conduct that is altogether unbecoming for the grass-widow of a husband who is commendably doing his duty in this time of war. The painting, I am sure, refers to the use of cosmetics.
Mother-in-law may have a completely valid point, but it is also possible that her view is coloured by the lack of financial assistance that the young couple (according to Elizabeth) are providing, even though Balty himself has been helped to a promising position by Sam.
Robert Gertz • Link
Given strong suspicion that Bess has gone to great lengths to help her mum and dad, risking the wrath of Sam in flitching tiny sums from her housekeeping money, it's understandable she'd be very sensitive to charges Balty wasn't doing the same.
***
"I fear I'm missing a few yet, Jane." Sam sighs, eyeing bookcase.
Missing...? Jane blinks at collection.
Never thought he'd miss just a couple...It was only for a few days...Just keepin' safe for him from the workmen...And then it was such fascinatin' read...
Cut to Jane's room where Speed is open to page 200.
Oh, well...'find' 'em tommorrow.
Robert Gertz • Link
"Oh, Jane, Jane...You found them! Oh, adorable Jane...Oh, wonderous Jane." dances, spinning Jane...Jane eyeing him with wry look. "Jane of all Janes, Jane of Jane Hall...The prettiest Jane in all Christendom, sweet, dainty Jane. Lovely Jane, delightful Jane, Jane the fair, Jane the..." eyes wandering down...
"Lets keep it out of the gutter, Mr. P...Me name's not Bagwell." frown as Sam pulls up quick.
"Thank ye, Jane."
"Yer welcome, sir."
Terry Foreman • Link
"I am troubled the more for fear there should be more [books] missing than what I find, though by the room they take on the shelves I do not find any reason to think it."
Missing a couple of large books he knows of, Pepys extrapolates. I'd think a bean-counter would have a system for classifying the stock. Are they bound in such a way as to defy knowing readily? Must be.
Australian Susan • Link
Sam had all his books bound the same and gilded in the same manner and I think he shelved them according to size, so his comments about not thinking there are any missing by the space they take up makes sense.
For the library anoraks like me out there, here is a link to site about the history and types of classification systems:
http://www.db.dk/bh/lifeboat_ko/C…
Michael Robinson • Link
Are they bound in such a way as to defy knowing readily?
The spines are almost uniform and done sufficiently recently that the minor differences that would aid individual recognition have yet to become apparent to SP's eye:
"... to Paul’s Church-yarde, to treat with a bookbinder, to come and gild the backs of all my books, to make them handsome, to stand in my new presses, when they come."
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
djc • Link
As it was only in August that Pepys bespoke the bookbinder I suspect that they have yet to be guilded into uniformity.
He probably knows his books as being not only a particular size and binding etc but also having a familiar place. No they have all been rearranged he know longer knows where they are. Never let anyone tidy your desk or bookshelves!
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"the fleete is come into the Downes. Nothing done, nor French fleete seen: we drove all from our anchors."
Sept. 20. 73. Capt John Strode to Williamson. The fleet is little damaged. Dover Castle. On Tuesday, hearing firing off Hythe Bay, sent word to the Prince in the Downs that a squadron had engaged the French fleet. He weighed and went westward. Capture of the French vessel Ruby by Sir Thos. Allin. Has sent a ketch to the coast of Flanders, to see whether the Dutch fleet be there. On Monday, 4 p. m., the French fleet of 40 sail was standing through the Channel, but the storm has dispersed them. Sir Thos. Teddeman has pursued and come up with two other French vessels. -- Calendar of State Papers Domestic
San Diego Sarah • Link
"He and I to discourse about our accounts, and the bringing them to the Parliament, and with much content to see him rely so well on my part."
Coventry is preparing for an official Parliamentary hearing at Westminster. Do we have access to a copy of Pepys' report? It must have been enormous to document all the expenditures and over-runs in the last year.
Louise Hudson • Link
“. . . but am mightily troubled for my great books that I miss, and I am troubled the more for fear there should be more missing than what I find, though by the room they take on the shelves I do not find any reason to think it.“
It’s strange that Sam, with his proclivity for paperwork, hadn’t kept a catalog of all his books, especially since he’s so attached to them. If he had, he wouldn’t have had to wonder if any were missing.
Mary K • Link
Shelving practice.
Perhaps Pepys had adopted the practice of Thomas Bodley (1545 - 1613), founder of the Bodlieian Library at Oxford and Sir Henry Savile, Warden of Merton College; they favoured the shelving of books with the spines to the back of the shelf, not spine outwards as is the more general practice. Spine-inwards does have the notional advantage of preserving finely gilded leather spines from exposure to daylight and hence to fading.
San Diego Sarah • Link
Louise ... I bet he does that cataloging now!