Monday 18 February 1666/67
Up, and to my bookbinder’s, and there mightily pleased to see some papers of the account we did give the Parliament of the expense of the Navy sewed together, which I could not have conceived before how prettily it was done. Then by coach to the Exchequer about some tallies, and thence back again home, by the way meeting Mr. Weaver, of Huntingdon, and did discourse our business of law together, which did ease my mind, for I was afeard I have omitted doing what I in prudence ought to have done. So home and to dinner, and after dinner to the office, where je had Mrs. Burrows all sola a my closet, and did there ‘baiser and toucher ses mamelles … [as much as yo quisere hasta a hazer me hazer, but ella would not suffer that yo should poner mi mano abaxo ses jupes, which yo endeavoured. – L&M]’ Thence away, and with my wife by coach to the Duke of York’s play-house, expecting a new play, and so stayed not no more than other people, but to the King’s house, to “The Mayd’s Tragedy;” but vexed all the while with two talking ladies and Sir Charles Sedley; yet pleased to hear their discourse, he being a stranger. And one of the ladies would, and did sit with her mask on, all the play, and, being exceeding witty as ever I heard woman, did talk most pleasantly with him; but was, I believe, a virtuous woman, and of quality. He would fain know who she was, but she would not tell; yet did give him many pleasant hints of her knowledge of him, by that means setting his brains at work to find, out who she was, and did give him leave to use all means to find out who she was, but pulling off her mask. He was mighty witty, and she also making sport with him very inoffensively, that a more pleasant ‘rencontre’ I never heard. But by that means lost the pleasure of the play wholly, to which now and then Sir Charles Sedley’s exceptions against both words and pronouncing were very pretty. So home and to the office, did much business, then home, to supper, and to bed.
17 Annotations
First Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
John Evelyn's Diary
18. Feb I saw a magnificent ball or masque in the Theater at Court, where their Majesties and all the greate Lords and Ladies daunced, it was infinitely gallant, the men in their richly embrodred most becoming vests.
http://snipurl.com/sz6lc
Terry Foreman • Link
“ …. Then by coach to the Exchequer about some tallies; and thence back again home, by the way meeting Mr. Weaver of Huntington, and did discourse our business of law together; which did ease my mind, for I was afeared I have omitted the doing what I in prudence ought to have done. So home and to dinner; and after dinner to the office, where yo had Mrs. Burrows all sola a my closet, and there did besar and tocar su mamelles as much as yo quisere hasta a hazer me hazer, but ella would not suffer that yo should poner mi mano abaxo ses jupes, which yo endeavoured. ….”
http://www.pepys.info/bits5.html
Bradford • Link
Sam, you can go see that play again another time; but there'll never be a repeat performance of that most "pleasant 'rencontre.'"
" . . . which did ease my mind, for I was afeared I have omitted the doing what I in prudence ought to have done. So home and to dinner; and after dinner to the office, where yo had Mrs. Burrows all sola a my closet, . . . "
aka:
"We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done."
Robert Gertz • Link
"He would fain know who she was, but she would not tell; yet did give him many pleasant hints of her knowledge of him, by that means setting his brains at work to find, out who she was, and did give him leave to use all means to find out who she was, but pulling off her mask. He was mighty witty, and she also making sport with him very inoffensively, that a more pleasant ‘rencontre’ I never heard."
"Hello, brother..."
"Pall?"
***
Yes, after that rejection by good ole Betty Michell, Sam has moved on to a higher plane, to a new level of diligence...Away with such things as fleshy pleasures outside the marriage bed.
"Business, Mrs. Burrows, business is my only..." smack, smack... "...Occupation now."
"Oh, Mr. P...If you could just allow me the favor of the Deptford linens. It bein' too much for dear Mrs. Martin to carry on." Smack, smack... "And given me dreadful loss..."
"Oh, Mrs. Burrows...Your plight as always unmans me. Oh, Mrs Burrows..."
"You're too kind, Mr. P." shoves head down.
"The wig, Mrs. B." voice from the depths. Slight gurgling.
"Pardon, Mr. P." retrieval of periwig from floor. "Whoops-a-daisy, Mr. P. Bit of a rush to business there. Anyways, Mr. P., if you could find it in yer heart...Mr. P? Best come up for air, sir."
"Oh, Lord. Yes, I'm sure I could find it somewhere, Mrs. B."
Why he's even remembered to bring Bess to the theater and not forgotten her there after being entranced by Sir Charles Sedley and the little rencontre. Yes, he's already a finer man, a better person.
cape henry • Link
"...pleased to see some papers of the account we did give the Parliament of the expense of the Navy sewed together, which I could not have conceived before how prettily it was done." The birth of the Artful Presentation?By giving it that fine finished look it is instantly rendered more impressive, persuasive, and authoritative.
Roboto • Link
Don't you just hate it when someone is talking in the theater (at the movies), but it turns out that their conversation is better than the movie?
Robert Gertz • Link
"...pleased to see some papers of the account we did give the Parliament of the expense of the Navy sewed together, which I could not have conceived before how prettily it was done.”
I believe it was Calvin...Of Calvin and Hobbes...Who noted the strategic importance of the clear plastic binder in a modern presentation.
Years ago I remember seeing the printing of a journal I worked for in college, the English Literary Renaissance, one autumn. Beautiful place up in St. Johnsbury, Vermont with an old style binding machine that was quite a thrill to watch in operation.
Robert Gertz • Link
Parliamentary committee on the Navy...Or lack thereof...
"Now my friends, I want to look into this matter of expense on printing reports. Several hundred pounds alone spent on printing this last report on expenses..."
"Yes, but Sir John...The Navy needs several hundred thousand pounds to..."
"Several hundred pounds and fifteen shillings, my friends...When we could have spent one hundred pounds. I demand an investigation..."
"If I may, Mr. Speaker. But Sir John, surely this isn't the time to be quibbling over such a small sum. The seamen are up in arms and the Dutch have us by the..."
"Sheer pork by the spendthrifts of the Court, sir. My constituents want action, my friends. If we turn now to the matter of the size of our cannonballs... The waste of one penny per ball is absolutely..."
Terry Foreman • Link
"meeting Mr. Weaver, of Huntingdon, and did discourse our business of law together"
L&M note this appears to have had to do with Pepys's property at Brampton, Weaver being a Huntingdon attorney whose family will be mentioned in regard to this matter 17 January 1669. http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Jesse • Link
"did sit with her mask on"
From http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~rthe…
'The vizard-masks were in abundance at the playhouses and plied their trade at each level of the auditorium. Originally they were worn by ladies not wishing to risk an insult to their modesty when attending a new comedy, indeed they become very popular in the reign of Charles II. Pepys talks of going to buy his wife a vizard. Later the wearing of full facial masks was abolished, because of the connection with prostitutes.'
(Sorry if this has already been discussed.)
Bryan M • Link
“did sit with her mask on”
Thanks for the link, Jesse. Below the section on vizard masks there' a quote from Thomas Betterton http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… of the Duke's playhouse that is strikingly similar to Sam's, albeit that the King's playhouse had a better class of gallant who spoke wittily rather than wantonly :
...'Tis the pleasant'st Thing in the whole World to see a Flock of wild Gallants fluttering about two or three ladies in Vizard Masks, and then they talk to 'em so wantonly, and so loud, that they put the very Players out of countenance-'Tis better entertainment, than any Part of the Play can be.
Jesse • Link
"a more pleasant ‘rencontre’ I never heard"
Must had to have been there. The witty (in)famous rake v. masked/anonymous society woman seems rather cliche. She had to have heard of him and he should be easy sport. "Exceeding witty as ever I heard woman" - oh please, where's Lady Castlemaine when you need her?
Don McCahill • Link
> The witty (in)famous rake v. masked/anonymous society woman seems rather cliche
Well yeah, now it does. This happened 350 years ago. It was quite novel then.
:)
Michael Robinson • Link
" ... to see some papers of the account we did give the Parliament of the expense of the Navy sewed together, which I could not have conceived before how prettily it was done ..."
L&M footnote that the binding was black morocco gilt:
"Collections towards the Stateing the Exppence of his Ma(ts) Navy from the beginning of the present warr, and more especailly for the justifieing the accompt thereof presented to Parliament at theire Session begun 18 September 1666." 159 pp., written partly by Pepys but mostly in Gibson's hand. PL2589
cum salis grano • Link
What pleases the "'omo erectus" ?
He has 5 external senses, all must be happy or pleased.
Sight first, it gets the first input [sets the stage], always before the bang, then the other three, smell, touch, taste .
Presentation, visual, is so important at first glance, content will be biased by the beauty or the lack of it.
'Tis the core of our modern life, the means for the extracting all the coin from the populace.
The Female discovered this back way back in the Cave days, or was it in Eden?
'Tis why we like to be conned, in order not to be, we have to make a concerted effort to review the total package.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
" He was mighty witty, and she also making sport with him very inoffensively, that a more pleasant ‘rencontre’ I never heard. But by that means lost the pleasure of the play wholly, to which now and then Sir Charles Sedley’s exceptions against both words and pronouncing were very pretty."
L&M: Sedley had also been critical of the performance at which Pepys saw him on 4 October1664: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Up, and to my bookbinder’s, and there mightily pleased to see some papers of the account we did give the Parliament of the expense of the Navy sewed together, which I could not have conceived before how prettily it was done."
At first I wondered why someone was selling this book, or maybe there were hundreds of copies made by some poor typesetter ... but who would be interested? Then I realized that "evidence" like this has to be preserved responsibly by the Committees for future reference, and even when Parliament was broke, they were ordering expensively-bound books.
Well, I for one am glad they did. I also hope William Richardson got paid in less than a decade.