JOHN EVELYN

ESQ., F.R.S.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED A SELECTION FROM HIS

FAMILIAR LETTERS

AND THE PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN

KING CHARLES I. AND SIR EDWARD NICHOLAS

AND BETWEEN

SIR EDWARD HYDE (AFTERWARDS EARL OF CLARENDON)

AND SIR RICHARD BROWNE

EDITED FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS.

BY WILLIAM BRAY, F.S.A.

A NEW EDITION IN FOUR VOLUMES

WITH A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR AND A NEW PREFACE

4.

MEMORIAL PREFACE

On the 27th of February, 1706, exactly two centuries ago, there died at the great age of eighty six John Evelyn, who will ever remain in the memory of his countrymen as an example of the cultured man of the world, and the model English country gentle

man.

His works proclaim him as a patriot and a man of taste, who was anxious to advance the knowledge and prosperity of his country. These will always be of interest, but Time has its revenges, and their influence on the world is mostly a thing of the past. They will be remembered, but they are not likely again to be much read. The books by which he will always remain in the affections of the public are two posthumous publications, viz., his Diary, and his Life of Mrs. Godolphin. It is well that the bicentenary of Evelyn's death should be honoured in his native country, and no better expression of appreciation can be found than the publication of a library edition of his ever-living Diary.

Three years ago was the bicentenary of the death of Samuel Pepys (26th May, 1703), a publicspirited official, who in his later years was known as the "Nestor of the Navy," although he was thirteen