[“The wenches with their wassall bowls
About the streets are singing.”
—Wither’s Christmas Carol.
The old custom of carrying the wassail bowl from door to door, with
songs and merriment, in Christmas week, is still observed in some of
our rural districts.—B.]
woman and girl came to us and sung to us. And after all was done I called my boy (Wayneman) to us to eat some cake that was left, and the woman of the house told us that he had called for two cakes and a pot of ale for himself, at which I was angry, and am resolved to correct him for it. So home, and Sir W. Pen and his son and daughter to supper to me to a good turkey, and were merry at cards, and so to bed.
27th. In the morning to my Bookseller’s to bespeak a Stephens’s Thesaurus, for which I offer L4, to give to Paul’s School; and from thence to Paul’s Church; and there I heard Dr. Gunning preach a good sermon upon the day (being St. John’s day), and did hear him tell a story, which he did persuade us to believe to be true, that St. John and the Virgin Mary did appear to Gregory, a Bishopp, at his prayer to be confirmed in the faith, which I did wonder to hear from him. Here I met with Mr. Crumlum (and told him of my endeavour to get Stephens’s Thesaurus for the school), and so home, and after dinner comes Mr. Faulconberge to see me, and at his desire I sent over for his kinsman Mr. Knightly, the merchant, and so he came over and sat and drank with us, and at his request I went over with him, and there I sat till the evening, and till both Mr. Knightly and Mr. Faulconberge (for whom I sent my boy to get a coach to carry him to Westminster) were both drunk, and so home, but better wine I never drank in all my life. So home, and finding my wife gone to Sir W. Pen’s, I went thither, and there I sat and played at cards and supped, and so home and to bed.
28th. At home all the morning; and in the afternoon all of us at the office, upon a letter from the Duke for the making up of a speedy estimate of all the debts of the Navy, which is put into good forwardness. I home and Sir W. Pen to my house, who with his children staid playing cards late, and so to bed.
29th (Lord’s day). Long in bed with my wife, and though I had determined to go to dine with my wife at my Lady’s, (chiefly to put off dining with Sir W. Pen to-day because Holmes dined there), yet I could not get a coach time enough to go thither, and so I dined at home, and my brother Tom with me, and then a coach came and I carried my wife to Westminster, and she went to see Mrs. Hunt, and I to the Abbey, and there meeting with Mr. Hooper, he took me in among the quire, and there I sang with them their service, and so that being done, I walked up and down till night for that Mr. Coventry was not come to Whitehall since dinner again. At last I went thither and he was come, and I spoke with him about some business of the office, and so took leave of him, and sent for my wife and the coach, and so to the Wardrobe and supped, and staid very long talking with my Lady, who seems to doat every day more and more upon us. So home and to prayers, and to bed.
30th. At the office about this estimate and so with my wife and Sir W. Pen to see our pictures, which do not much displease us, and so back again, and I staid at the Mitre, whither I had invited all my old acquaintance of the Exchequer to a good chine of beef, which with three barrels of oysters and three pullets, and plenty of wine and mirth, was our dinner, and there was about twelve of us, among others Mr. Bowyer, the old man, and Mr. Faulconberge, Shadwell, Taylor, Spicer, Woodruffe (who by reason of some friend that dined with him came to us after dinner), Servington, &c., and here I made them a foolish promise to give them one this day twelvemonth, and so for ever while I live, but I do not intend it. Mere I staid as long as I could keep them, and so home to Sir W. Pen, who with his children and my wife has been at a play to-day and saw “D’Ambois,” which I never saw. Here we staid late at supper and playing at cards, and so home and
31st. My wife and I this morning to the Paynter’s, and there she sat the last time, and I stood by and did tell him some little things to do, that now her picture I think will please me very well; and after her, her little black dogg sat in her lap; and was drawn, which made us very merry; so home to dinner, and so to the office; and there late finishing our estimate of the debts of the Navy to this day; and it come to near L374,000. So home, and after supper, and my barber had trimmed me, I sat down to end my journell for this year, and my condition at this time, by God’s blessing, is thus: my health (only upon catching cold, which brings great pain in my back... as it used to be when I had the stone) is very good, and so my wife’s in all respects: my servants, W. Hewer, Sarah, Nell, and Wayneman: my house at the Navy Office. I suppose myself to be worth about L500 clear in the world, and my goods of my house my own, and what is coming to me from Brampton, when my father dies, which God defer. But, by my uncle’s death, the whole care and trouble of all, and settling of all lies upon me, which is very great, because of law-suits, especially that with T. Trice, about the interest of L200, which will, I hope, be ended soon. My chiefest thought is now to get a good wife for Tom, there being one offered by the Joyces, a cozen of theirs, worth L200 in ready money. I am also upon writing a little treatise to present to the Duke, about our privilege in the seas, as to other nations striking their flags to us. But my greatest trouble is, that I have for this last half year been a very great spendthrift in all manner of respects, that I am afeard to cast up my accounts, though I hope I am worth what I say above. But I will cast them up very shortly. I have newly taken a solemn oath about abstaining from plays and wine, which I am resolved to keep according to the letter of the oath which I keep by me. The fleet hath been ready to sail for Portugall, but hath lacked wind this fortnight, and by that means my Lord is forced to keep at sea all this winter, till he brings home the Queen, which is the expectation of all now, and the greatest matter of publique talk.
ETEXT EDITOR’S BOOKMARKS FOR PEPYS DIARY OF 1961:
A most tedious, unreasonable, and impertinent sermon
A play not very good, though commended much
A great baboon, but so much like a man in most things
A little while since a very likely man to live as any I knew
A lady spit backward upon me by a mistake
After dinner my wife comes up to me and all friends again
Ambassador—that he is an honest man sent to lie abroad
And so by coach, though hard to get it, being rainy, home
As all things else did not come up to my expectations
Begun to smell, and so I caused it to be set forth (corpse)
Being sure never to see the like again in this world
Believe that England and France were once the same continent
Bleeding behind by leeches will cure him
But she loves not that I should speak of Mrs. Pierce
By chewing of tobacco is become very fat and sallow
Cannot bring myself to mind my business
Chocolate was introduced into England about the year 1652
Comely black woman.—[The old expression for a brunette.]
Coming to lay out a great deal of money in clothes for my wife
Cruel custom of throwing at cocks on Shrove Tuesday
Day I first begun to go forth in my coat and sword
Did extremely beat him, and though it did trouble me to do it
Did trouble me very much to be at charge to no purpose
Difference there will be between my father and mother about it
Discontented that my wife do not go neater now she has two maids
Dominion of the Sea
Durst not take notice of her, her husband being there
Eat of the best cold meats that ever I eat on in all my life
Exclaiming against men’s wearing their hats on in the church
Faced white coat, made of one of my wife’s pettycoates
Family being all in mourning, doing him the greatest honour
Fear I shall not be able to wipe my hands of him again
Fell to dancing, the first time that ever I did in my life
Finding my wife not sick, but yet out of order
Foolery to take too much notice of such things
Found my brother John at eight o’clock in bed, which vexed me
Found him not so ill as I thought that he had been ill
Frogs and many insects do often fall from the sky, ready formed
From some fault in the meat to complain of my maid’s sluttery
Gamester’s life, which I see is very miserable, and poor
Get his lady to trust herself with him into the tavern
God! what an age is this, and what a world is this
Good God! how these ignorant people did cry her up for it!
Good wine, and anchovies, and pickled oysters (for breakfast)
Greedy to see the will, but did not ask to see it till to-morrow
Have been so long absent that I am ashamed to go
His company ever wearys me
I could not forbear to love her exceedingly
I took occasion to be angry with him
I had the opportunity of kissing Mrs. Rebecca very often
I would fain have stolen a pretty dog that followed me
I broke wind and so came to some ease
I was as merry as I could counterfeit myself to be
I went in and kissed them, demanding it as a fee due
In men’s clothes, and had the best legs that ever I saw
Inconvenience that do attend the increase of a man’s fortune
Instructed by Shakespeare himself
Jealousy of him and an ugly wench that lived there lately
Justice of God in punishing men for the sins of their ancestors
King, Duke and Duchess, and Madame Palmer, were
Lady Batten how she was such a man’s whore
Lady Batten to give me a spoonful of honey for my cold
Lately too much given to seeing of plays, and expense
Lay with her to-night, which I have not done these eight(days)
Lewdness and beggary of the Court
Like a passionate fool, I did call her whore
Look askew upon my wife, because my wife do not buckle to them
Made a lazy sermon, like a Presbyterian
Man cannot live without playing the knave and dissimulation
My head was not well with the wine that I drank to-day
My great expense at the Coronacion
My wife and I fell out
None will sell us any thing without our personal security given
Oliver Cromwell as his ensign
Quakers do still continue, and rather grow than lessen
Sat before Mrs. Palmer, the King’s mistress, and filled my eyes
Seemed much glad of that it was no more
She hath got her teeth new done by La Roche
She would not let him come to bed to her out of jealousy
She is a very good companion as long as she is well
Sir W. Pen was so fuddled that we could not try him to play
So the children and I rose and dined by ourselves
So home and to bed, where my wife had not lain a great while
So much wine, that I was even almost foxed
Sorry in some respect, glad in my expectations in another respec
Still in discontent with my wife, to bed, and rose so this morn
Strange the folly of men to lay and lose so much money
That I might not seem to be afeared
The Lords taxed themselves for the poor—an earl, s.
The unlawfull use of lawfull things
The barber came to trim me and wash me
“The Alchymist,”—[Comedy by Ben Jonson
The monkey loose, which did anger me, and so I did strike her
This week made a vow to myself to drink no wine this week
This day churched, her month of childbed being out
Those absent from prayers were to pay a forfeit
To be so much in love of plays
Took occasion to fall out with my wife very highly
Took physique, and it did work very well
Tory—The term was not used politically until about 1679
Troubled to see my father so much decay of a suddain
Vices of the Court, and how the pox is so common there
Was kissing my wife, which I did not like
We do naturally all love the Spanish, and hate the French
We are to go to law never to revenge, but only to repayre
We had a good surloyne of rost beefe
What they all, through profit or fear, did promise
What people will do tomorrow
Who seems so inquisitive when my house will be made an end of
Who we found ill still, but he do make very much of it
Woman with a rod in her hand keeping time to the musique
Wronged by my over great expectations