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How did Samuel Pepys describe the humble beginnings of his marriage?
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Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys, oil painting by John Hayls, 1666; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
In his diary, Samuel Pepys reflected on the humble beginnings of his marriage to Elizabeth Marchant de Saint-Michel, whom he married in 1655 when she was 15 years old. He recalled their time living in a small room at the Whitehall lodgings of his cousin, Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, where the couple faced significant financial constraints.1
Describing his wife's domestic efforts during this period, Pepys wrote: "used to make coal fires and wash my foul clothes with her own hand for me, poor wretch! in our little room at Lord Sandwichâs; for which I ought forever to love and admire her, and do."1