London, 11th of April 1666
This blog post represents how I
might have spent a day in the life as a common folk in 17th century
London.
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The hanging of Richard Quill was a sight to see. Seeing his gruesome head detached from his
body was quite a joy and many of my friends would say the same. The performance tomorrow,
down at the theatre, is going to have to be a masterpiece to top today’s entertainment.
But I am fairly confident it will be a fine play because the aspiring young
actor from Liverpool is traveling to perform for us.
What was not a joy today, was finding out that I have
syphilis. To be honest I’ve slept with 7 girls the past week, but I didn’t think
that I’d get such a harmful disease from just 7. The doctor said that my
treatments would involve mercury! Isn’t mercury lethal? I could die from the
treatments, let alone syphilis. And to make matters worse, my treatments start
on the same day of the big feast that I was invited to. Before I told them it
wouldn’t have been a problem if they wanted me to bring a chicken, but now I don’t
know what to say to them! I do know that some people are bringing lobsters,
tarts, pigeons, rabbit as well as lamb and wine, so I don’t think it would be a
huge deal if I didn't go but maybe I’ll drop it off before the docs.
Before I call it a night, let me mention that I noticed my first gray hairs today, so a wig looks promising in my future. Last year I
turned to mouse skin to replace my eyebrows and that seemed to work well so I
hope a wig will do the job as well. One made Charles II look as if he was the
most handsome man alive, and all the ladies were after him, maybe it will do the
same for me. Oh, am I tired! Well let me disrobe and take off my three-piece
suit, knee breeches, waistcoat and jacket. To all a goodnight!
-Edward
Picard, Lisa. “Sex, Lice, and Chamber Pots in Pepys’
London.” 17 February 2011. British Broadcasting Company. http://tinyurl.com/LondonDayintheLife.
“Entertainment, A Hanging”, Cartoon, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/pepys_gallery_04.shtml
