AND CORRESPONDENCE OF SAMUEL PEPYS, F.R.S. SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY IN THE REIGNS OF CHARLES II. AND JAMES II. THE DIARY DECIPHERED BY THE REV. J. SMITH, A.M. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHORTHAND MS. IN THE PEPYSIAN LIBRARY. PUBLISHED FOR HENRY COLBURN, BY HIS SUCCESSORS, HURST AND BLACKETT, 1854. 210. b.119. An exact Diary is a window into his heart that maketh it, and therefore pity it is that any should look therein but either the friends of the party, or such ingenious foes as will not (especially in things doubtful) make conjectural comments to his disgrace. Prynne's Remarks on Archbishop Laud. PREFACE. THE Memoirs of Samuel Pepys, and the History of his Short Hand. Diary, have been so long well known to the literary world, that the fourth edition of the work, comprised in the following pages, can hardly require any formal or lengthened introduction. It should, however, be explained, that as the edition of 1848, which had found more general favour than its predecessors, was already out of print, Mr. Henry Colburn, the publisher, strongly urged that the book should be again brought forth under my auspices, and I have ventured to accede to his request. true is the French couplet: "On revient toujours, A ses premiers amours." So There appeared, indeed, no necessity to amplify, or in any way to alter the text of the Diary, beyond the correction of a few verbal errors and corrupt passages hitherto overlooked; but care has been taken to transplant all the notes from the Addenda in the fifth volume, into their proper places at the bottom of the page in which the first mention occurs of the person or subject to which they relate; and in all cases 1 Opéra de Joconde. where references are made to other parts of the Diary, dates have been substituted for paginal numbers, so that every passage quoted may now be found with equal facility in all the editions of the work. But a still greater improvement has been carried out by printing the new edition in an octavo form, owing to which it is now restricted to four volumes, without any of the matter being omitted; and sufficient space is afforded for the insertion of a great variety of fresh notes and illustrations, and several interesting letters, hitherto unpublished, have been added to the Correspondence. We may assume that, considering the multiplicity of subjects occurring throughout the Diary, very few passages are now left unexplained, an advantage mainly attributable to the good offices of my friend Mr. John Holmes of the British Museum, who, in the same spirit which induced him to assist me on a former occasion, came again to the rescue; and besides contributing a great many interesting notes, took the pains to verify the information supplied from other sources, and to examine every sheet, while the work was in the press. I hope the reader will not fail duly to appreciate the value and extent of these kind and most effective services, for which I cannot feel sufficiently grateful, conscious as I am, at advanced age, my how materially the editorial duties would have suffered had I been left to my own resources. I am also indebted to Mr. Peter Cunningham for some useful notes communicated while the Diary was |