Monday 15 February 1668/69

Up, and with Tom to White Hall; and there at a Committee of Tangier, where a great instance of what a man may lose by the neglect of a friend: Povy never had such an opportunity of passing his accounts, the Duke of York being there, and everybody well disposed, and in expectation of them; but my Lord Ashly, on whom he relied, and for whose sake this day was pitched on, that he might be sure to be there, among the rest of his friends, staid too long, till the Duke of York and the company thought unfit to stay longer and so the day lost, and God knows when he will ever have so good a one again, as long as he lives; and this was the man of the whole company that he hath made the most interest to gain, and now most depended upon him.

So up and down the house a while, and then to the plaisterer’s, and there saw the figure of my face taken from the mould: and it is most admirably like, and I will have another made, before I take it away, and therefore I away and to the Temple, and thence to my cozen Turner’s, where, having the last night been told by her that she had drawn me for her Valentine, I did this day call at the New Exchange, and bought her a pair of green silk stockings and garters and shoe-strings, and two pair of jessimy gloves, all coming to about 28s., and did give them her this noon. At the ’Change, I did at my bookseller’s shop accidentally fall into talk with Sir Samuel Tuke about trees, and Mr. Evelyn’s garden; and I do find him, I think, a little conceited, but a man of very fine discourse as any I ever heard almost, which I was mighty glad of.

I dined at my cozen Turner’s, and my wife also and her husband there, and after dinner, my wife and I endeavoured to make a visit to Ned Pickering; but he not at home, nor his lady; and therefore back again, and took up my cozen Turner, and to my cozen Roger’s lodgings, and there find him pretty well again, and his wife mighty kind and merry, and did make mighty much of us, and I believe he is married to a very good woman. Here was also Bab. and Betty, who have not their clothes yet, and therefore cannot go out, otherwise I would have had them abroad to-morrow; but the poor girls mighty kind to us, and we must shew them kindness also. Here in Suffolk Street lives Moll Davis; and we did see her coach come for her to her door, a mighty pretty fine coach. Here we staid an hour or two, and then carried Turner home, and there staid and talked a while, and then my wife and I to White Hall; and there, by means of Mr. Cooling, did get into the play, the only one we have seen this winter: it was “The Five Hours’ Adventure:” but I sat so far I could not hear well, nor was there any pretty woman that I did see, but my wife, who sat in my Lady Fox’s pew1 with her. The house very full; and late before done, so that it was past eleven before we got home. But we were well pleased with seeing it, and so to supper, where it happened that there was no bread in the house, which was an unusual case, and so to bed.

20 Annotations

First Reading

Chris Squire  •  Link

staid is from
‘stay, v.1 Etym:  Probably < Old French (e)stai
. . 7. With emphasis or contextual colouring:
 a. To tarry or linger where one is; to delay (as opposed to going on). Chiefly with negative. Cf. sense 4d.
?a1500    London Lyckpeny ii. (Harl. 367) ,   Yet for all that I stayd not longe, Tyll to the kynges bench I was come.
. . 1616    W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals II. v. 112   His eye deceiu'd mingles his colours wrong, There strikes too little, and here stayes too long.
1871    R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxi. 196   Husband, stay not [Jam licet venias]: a bride within Coucheth ready.’

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I see Jane Turner remains proud of her shapely legs (judging by Sam's latest efforts to please this V-day# and fond of Sam.

Poor Povy...Such a great guy to his friends and so poorly served by them. #I mean you too, Samuel)

pepfie  •  Link

Lord Braybrooke comments on jasmine scent rather than colour:

"... a pair of Jesimy¹ plain gloves, and another of white."

" ¹ Jessemin (Jasminum), the flowers of which are of a delicate sweet smell, and often used to perfume gloves. Edmund Howes, Stows continuator, informs us that sweet or perfumed gloves were first brought into England by the Earl of Oxford on his return from Italy, in the fifteenth year of Queen Elizabeth, during whose reign, and long afterwards, they were very fashionable. They are frequently mentioned by Shakespeare. Autolyctis, in the “Winter’s Tale,” has among his wares—” Gloves as sweet as damask roses.” — B. ↩"

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Linda F  •  Link

Wonder how leather was treated to hold scent (and presumably to scent the hands with use) -- seems a fairly sophisticated process would have been needed.

At last a mention of Valentine's Day, but nothing about Bess's valentine and gifts given or received.

Why is there such pathos surrounding Bab and Betty? Are they country relatives whose town clothes are being made up and are not yet ready?

AnnieC  •  Link

"nor was there any pretty woman that I did see, but my wife,"
Hard to tell if Sam was proud or disappointed!

Australian Susan  •  Link

Bab and Betty had, it seems, travelled up to London (horse?) and sent their belongings by carrier (cheapest method), but erratic. So they are waiting for the boxes to get to London. They would not have had their own coach. Probably all they have are their travelling clothes, now not looking too good after the journey.

Linda F  •  Link

Susan, Thanks for the explanation of the country relatives and their clothes. I will miss your annotations, and others', and the unfolding of Sam's and Bess's lives very much after this May. LAF

Australian Susan  •  Link

@LindaF - it seems from later diary entries I was wrong and that the girls were (like Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey - quoted) waiting to get new clothes made in the latest fashions before venturing forth!
And I can't bear to think about post May!

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"this day call at the New Exchange, and bought her a pair of green silk stockings and garters and shoe-strings"

The Duke of York at about this time said there was no hope for a leg unless it was clothed in green: Grammont, p. 176. (L&M)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I did at my bookseller’s shop accidentally fall into talk with Sir Samuel Tuke about trees, and Mr. Evelyn’s garden"

Tuke (an original F.R.S.; a friend of John Evelyn and a relative of his wife) was tthe author of the play The adventures of five hours, which Pepys saw later this day. Evelyn's gardens at Sayes Court were among the finest in England. (L&M)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"my wife and I to White Hall; and there, by means of Mr. Cooling, did get into the play, the only one we have seen this winter"

I.e. the only private performance (probably staged in the Great Hall). Richard Cooling was Secretary to the Lord Chamberlain. (L&M)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"nor was there any pretty woman that I did see, but my wife, who sat in my Lady Fox’s pew"

As Clerk of the Green Cloth Sir Stephen Fox had a private seat or box. (L&M)

Doug Quixote  •  Link

Wikipedia claim that Jasmine was first recorded in English to mean a colour in 1925 (!). If Pepys meant that palest yellow colour - which the context suggests - then Wikipedia's claim is 256 years out.

I note also above pepfie's comment from 2012 that the 17th Earl of Oxford first introduced scented gloves to England in about 1576. And that Shakespeare frequently mentioned them . . . hardly surprising given that Oxford is the prime candidate for true authorship of Shakespeare's works.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

My bad, Doug Quixote (and keen read by you): the L&M Large Glossary says JESIMY GLOVES are gloves perfumed with jasmine.

The annotators have found Pepys antedating the current OED and got it changed, but not here!

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Horace was not finished in Katherine "The Matchless Orinda" Fowler Phillips' lifetime. Her friend, Sir John Denham (1615 - 1669), completed her work, and the play was first produced in 1668/69.

Mrs. Phillips (1631/32-1664) is a fascinating character and, since March is Women's History Month, she's worth a few minutes of your time ...

http://www.poemhunter.com/katheri…
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenli…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... to the Temple, and thence to my cozen Turner’s, ..."

Since Salisbury Court burned in the Great Fire, and with it Jane Turner's lovely big house, and since John Turner is thought to have been a member of the Middle Temple (like Roger Pepys), I'm thinking that might be where Jane is now living while in London? Chambers would be cramped if their three children are also there.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... my wife and I to White Hall; and there, by means of Mr. Cooling, did get into the play, the only one we have seen this winter: it was “The Five Hours’ Adventure:” but I sat so far I could not hear well, nor was there any pretty woman that I did see, but my wife, who sat in my Lady Fox’s pew with her."

Am I correct in thinking this is the first time Pepys has ever taken Elizabeth to a social event at Court? He has been so careful to keep her out of sight -- for what reason he has never spelled out beyond his jelousy of anyone in britches within six feet of her. But here she is, and I would say he was proud of how beautiful she is.

I'm glad she's finally out of his closet, so to speak. Not a minute too soon.

Or would she have stopped him from going to a social event if she hadn't been there to chaperone him, albeit from afar? In which case, this was just another self-serving move.

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