Thursday 20 June 1667

Up, without any respect to my wife, only answering her a question or two, without any anger though, and so to the office, where all the morning busy, and among other things Mr. Barber come to me (one of the clerks of the Ticket office) to get me to sign some tickets, and told me that all the discourse yesterday, about that part of the town where he was, was that Mr. Pett and I were in the Tower; and I did hear the same before. At noon, home to dinner, and there my wife and I very good friends; the care of my gold being somewhat over, considering it was in their hands that have as much cause to secure it as myself almost, and so if they will be mad, let them. But yet I do intend to, send for it away. Here dined Mercer with us, and after dinner she cut my hair, and then I into my closet and there slept a little, as I do now almost every day after dinner; and then, after dallying a little with Nell, which I am ashamed to think of, away to the office. Busy all the afternoon; in the evening did treat with, and in the end agree; but by some kind of compulsion, with the owners of six merchant ships, to serve the King as men-of-war. But, Lord! to see how against the hair it is with these men and every body to trust us and the King; and how unreasonable it is to expect they should be willing to lend their ships, and lay out 2 or 300l. a man to fit their ships for new voyages, when we have not paid them half of what we owe them for their old services! I did write so to Sir W. Coventry this night. At night my wife and I to walk and talk again about our gold, which I am not quiet in my mind to be safe, and therefore will think of some way to remove it, it troubling me very much. So home with my wife to supper and to bed, miserable hot weather all night it was.

22 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Royal Society today at Arundel House — from the Hooke Folio Online

Iun 20 1667./ mr. Ball was desired to make the magnetick Expt. formerly discoursed of by mr. Hook. He said Dr. Cotton had sent a Loadstone to Society of 160ll weight for a terrella [ http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… ] chosen out of aboue 2000ll. of the same stone. tht twill moue a needle at 6 foot distance they came from a little round hill in Cornwall where is also an iron. The water in the mine is of a reddish colour and there is a mixture of greenish stone in the mine. also a shining marry colourd stone like an amethyst)

Discourse being had of the way to make the Expt. of opening the thorax of a dog & preseruing his life for some time by blowing into his Lungs wth. a pair of bellows. mr. Hooke reported a former Expt. of his that he had taken away all the ribbs & the Diaphragme. & left only the spine & great vessels & that the expt. succeeded soe as the dogg liued some howres by blowing into his lungs wth bellows but as he ceasd to moue the Lungs soe the dogg presently fainted and would reueiue againe vpon a fresh agitation of the Lungs. orderd that Dr. King be desired to ioyne wth mr Hooke to make this expt. before the Society at their next meeting.

(Dr. King about expt. on a catt) mr Hooke acquainted the Society that a friend of his had made many Expts. of Respiration of which he was desired to giue the Society an account at their next meeting.

mr Hooke tryd the Expt. he had Lately been charged wth. vizt to take away the sharpnesse of vinegar. & to reduce it to a reall sweetnesse by putting into a little quantity of vinegar some red Lead in powder [ See JWB's annote http://is.gd/cO5aQ ], the euent was that the sharpness of the vinegar was much abated but not wholy Discharged, while this Expt. was making mr Henshaw desired that seeing vinegar was supposd to be wine depriued of its spirit the Violl might be close stopt to Discouer whether the acrimoneous parts did precipitate or euaporate vpon putting in the Red Lead. vinegar & Red Lead Distilled gently yeald a flegme wth. a strong a very acid spt. there is the a kind of Sulphur in viniger. & Sac: [Saturn/lead http://symboldictionary.net/?p=10… ] dissolued in water while yor hand or a cloth is wet with it will smell sweet of the Rose, but after tis dry will smell like strong vinegar) merret Rhenish wine. & steel turnd to vinegar but kept 2 years returned to its tast but lookd red like claret.

Expt. for next D[ay] 1 of the Dog aboue mentiond 2 expt. of Infusing steel in sharp menstrua also crustaceoes as eggshell oyster shells &c. - -

http://webapps.qmul.ac.uk/cell/Ho…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Arlington to Sandwich
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 20 June 1667

Encloses a "relation" [not now appended] of "the affront and spoil which the Enemy hath made upon us at Chatham ... They lie yet with their Fleet at the buoy in the Nore, where they have made the 'Royal Charles' their Admiral, and are designing new mischiefs upon us, expecting the French fleet will join them"...

http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/s…

Bradford  •  Link

"against the hair": in a rough and disagreeable manner; against the grain.---Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913, Merriam Co.

cum salis grano  •  Link

OED:
II. Phrases and locutions.

8. a. against the hair:

contrary to the direction in which an animal's hair naturally lies; contrary to the natural set of a thing; against the grain, inclination, or sentiment. a.
1387-8 T. USK Test. Love II. iv, Ayenst the heere it tourneth.
1579-80 NORTH Plutarch (1676) 388 All went utterly against the hair with him.

1598 SHAKES. Merry W. II. iii. 40 If you should fight, you goe against the haire of your professions.
1607 TOPSELL Four-f. Beasts (1658) 63 [Cows] in the licking of themselves against the hair.
a1627 MIDDLETON Mayor of Queenborough III. ii, Books in women's hands are as much against the hair, methinks, as to see men wear stomachers, or night-rails.

1668 HOWE Bless. Righteous (1825) 170 Something that crosses them, and goes against the hair. 1827

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...without any respect to my wife, only answering her a question or two, without any anger though..."

Without respect to Bess...And this is unusual...How?

He's not angry, merely sick at heart over her heedlessness...One of the Roosevelt boys, James, I think, notes his mom Eleanor quoted that expression from her youth and admitted it sometimes personified her attitude with Franklin on her 'patient Griselda' days.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"At night my wife and I to walk and talk again about our gold..."

I had to read that one twice... "Our" gold? No wonder they were very good friends again at dinner. Seriously, it must have touched her to hear that, knowing as she must what that money means in terms of independence and security, not to mention hard work and a degree of groveling, to Sam. Others may get a friendly grope or a lobster dinner, but only our Bess gets to share the jackpot, minus whatever Gibson lost on the road.

Ruben  •  Link

"Discourse being had of the way to make the Expt. of opening the thorax of a dog & preseruing his life for some time by blowing into his Lungs wth. a pair of bellows"
This experiment was fundamental in the progress of Phisiology. Fifty years ago, when learning Medicine, the function of the Heart was still being explained to me by the Starling Heart-Lung Preparation. This was a dogs heart and lungs working on top of the laboratory table (the rest of the dog went to the dogs). This preparation could work, if kept in good order, for some 24 hours.
It was the most realistic experience possible of the heart's workings. You could learn about systolic ejection, pulse and the rest. I am sure this kind of teaching is not in vogue this days...

Ruben  •  Link

Continuing my previous annotation I should note that
Ernest Starling (1866-1927) was a member of the Royal Academy.
More about this interesting investigator at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erne…

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"But, Lord! to see how against the hair it is with these men and every body to trust us and the King; and how unreasonable it is to expect they should be willing to lend their ships, and lay out 2 or 300l. a man to fit their ships for new voyages, when we have not paid them half of what we owe them for their old services! I did write so to Sir W. Coventry this night."

L&M: Longleat, Coventry MSS, 97, f. 91f; '20 June, 1/2 9 at night'; giving the names of the ships.

Batch  •  Link

RG, excellent point re "our" gold.

Mary K  •  Link

"against the hair"

cf. the modern expression 'to rub someone up the wrong way', though the earlier phrase appears to carry more import.

Louise Hudson  •  Link

“Our gold”. This makes me wonder what would have happened to the gold and money Pepys had accumulated if Elizabeth had outlived him. In those days nobody thought of “his” money automatically going to the wife when he died. I doubt she even knew how much he had. He could will his fortune and even household goods to other people. Even if he left most of it to her, would she know have known how to handle it? Would he have likely designated a male relative or friend or colleague to handle it for her? Whom might he have chosen? I don’t remember him mentioning writing a will in his diary.

Kew Gardener  •  Link

Pretty sure he's mentioned writing and rewriting his will a few times, leaving his money to his father and his wife?

john  •  Link

Regarding his will, one entry is 27 May 1666 (https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…)
"Rose betimes, and to my office till church time to write two copies of my Will fair, bearing date this day, wherein I have given my sister Pall 500l., my father for his owne and my mother’s support 2,000l., to my wife the rest of my estate, but to have 2500l. secured to her, though by deducting out of what I have given my father and my sister."
He rewrote since then but I cannot find the reference.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

My post above was misleading: His first will was March 17 1660 before he was to go to sea on the voyage to return the King to England.

Of the five wills Pepys made in the period of the diary (this being the first), no trace apparently remains. (L&M footnote)
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

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