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The Diary of Samuel Pepys 1660 Preface · The Samuel Pepys Library

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  Speaker 1: Preface of the Diary of Samuel PEAPs sixteen sixty. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Nicole Lee The Dary of
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  Speaker 1: Samuel Peeps, sixteen sixty by Samuel Peeps. The Dary of
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  Speaker 1: Samuel Peeps m A f r S. Clerk of the
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  Speaker 1: Acts and Secretary to the Admiralty, Transcribe from the Shorthand
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  Speaker 1: Manuscript in the Peepsian Library, Maudland College, Cambridge, by the
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  Speaker 1: Reverend Minor Sprite m, A Late Fellow and President of
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  Speaker 1: the College, sixteen sixty by Samuel Peeps, edited with additions
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  Speaker 1: by Henry B. Wheatley, f S. A preface. Although the
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  Speaker 1: Diary of Samuel PEAPs has been in the hands of
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  Speaker 1: the public for nearly seventy years, it has not hitherto
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  Speaker 1: appeared in its entirety. In the original edition of eighteen
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  Speaker 1: twenty five, scarcely half of the manuscript was printed. Lord
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  Speaker 1: Braybrook added some passages as the various editions were published,
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  Speaker 1: but in the preface to his last edition he wrote,
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  Speaker 1: there appeared indeed no necessity to amplify or in any
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  Speaker 1: way to alter the text of the diary beyond the
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  Speaker 1: correction of a few verbal errors and corrupt passages hitherto overlooked.
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  Speaker 1: The public knew nothing as to what was left unprinted,
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  Speaker 1: and there was therefore a general feeling of gratification when
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  Speaker 1: it was announced some eighteen years ago that a new
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  Speaker 1: edition was to be published by the Reverend Minus Bright,
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  Speaker 1: with the edition of new matter equal to a third
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  Speaker 1: of the whole. It was understood that at last the
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  Speaker 1: Diary was to appear in its entirety. But there was
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  Speaker 1: a passage in mister Bright's preface which suggested a doubt
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  Speaker 1: respecting the necessary completeness. He wrote, it would have been
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  Speaker 1: tedious to the reader if I had copied from the
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  Speaker 1: Diary the account of his daily work at the office.
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  Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, mister Bright left, roughly speaking,
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  Speaker 1: about one fifth of the whole diary still unprinted, although
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  Speaker 1: he transcribed the whole and bequeathed his transcript to Maudling College.
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  Speaker 1: It has now been decided that the whole of the
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  Speaker 1: diary shall be made public, with the exception of a
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  Speaker 1: few passages which cannot possibly be printed. It may be
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  Speaker 1: thought by some that these omissions are due to an
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  Speaker 1: unnecessary squeamishness, but it is not really so, and readers
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  Speaker 1: are therefore asked to her faith in the judgment of
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  Speaker 1: the editor. Where any passages have been omitted, marks of
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  Speaker 1: a mission are added, so that in all cases readers
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  Speaker 1: will know where anything has been left out. Lord Braybrooke
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  Speaker 1: made the remark in his Life of Peeps that the
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  Speaker 1: siph employed by him greatly resembles that known by the
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  Speaker 1: name of Richard's system. When mister Bright came to decipher
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  Speaker 1: the manuscript, he discovered that the shorthand system used by
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  Speaker 1: Peeps was an earlier one than Riches's viz. That of
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  Speaker 1: Thomas Shelton, who made his system public in sixteen twenty.
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  Speaker 1: In his various editions, Lord Braybrooke gave a large number
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  Speaker 1: of valuable notes in the Collection and Arrangement of which
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  Speaker 1: he was assisted by the late mister John Holmes of
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  Speaker 1: the British Museum and the late mister James Yowell, sometimes
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  Speaker 1: sub editor of notes and queries. Where these notes are
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  Speaker 1: left unaltered in the present edition, the letter B has
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  Speaker 1: been affixed to them, but in many instances the notes
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  Speaker 1: have been altered and added to from later information, and
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  Speaker 1: in these cases no mark is affixed. A large number
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  Speaker 1: of additional notes are now supplied, but still much has
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  Speaker 1: had to be left unexplained. Many persons are mentioned in
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  Speaker 1: the Diary who are little known in the outer world,
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  Speaker 1: and in some instances it has been impossible to identify them.
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  Speaker 1: In other cases, however, it has been possible to throw
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  Speaker 1: light upon these persons by reference to different portions of
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  Speaker 1: the diary itself. I would here ask the kind assistance
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  Speaker 1: of any reader who is able to illustrate passages that
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  Speaker 1: have been left unnoted. I have received much assistance from
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  Speaker 1: the various books in which the Diary is quoted. Every
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  Speaker 1: right on the period covered by the Diary has been
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  Speaker 1: pleased to illustrate his subject by quotations from peeps, and
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  Speaker 1: from these books it has often been possible to find
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  Speaker 1: information which helps to explain difficult passages in the diary.
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  Speaker 1: Much illustrative matter of value was obtained by Lord Braybrook
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  Speaker 1: from the Diurnal of Thomas Rugg, which is preserved in
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  Speaker 1: the British Museum. The following is the description of this
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  Speaker 1: interesting work as given by Lord Braybrooke. Mercurius politicus ready
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  Speaker 1: vibus or a collection of the most material occurrences and
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  Speaker 1: transactions in public affairs since Anno Domini sixteen fifty nine
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  Speaker 1: until twenty eighth March sixteen seventy two, serving as an
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  Speaker 1: annual dianal for future satisfaction and information. By Thomas rugg
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  Speaker 1: S Natura horminum novitatus avida Plinius. This manuscript belonged in
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  Speaker 1: sixteen ninety three to Thomas Gray, second Earl of Stamford.
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  Speaker 1: It has his autograph at the commencement, and on the
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  Speaker 1: sides are his arms four quarterings in gold. In Ai
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  Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen it was sold by auction in London as
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  Speaker 1: part of the collection of Thomas Lloyd, a Squire number
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  Speaker 1: one thousand, four hundred and sixty five, and was then
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  Speaker 1: bought by Thomas Thorpe book seller. Whilst mister Lloyd was
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  Speaker 1: the possessor, the manuscript was lent to doctor Lingard, whose
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  Speaker 1: note of thanks to mister Lloyd is preserved in the volume.
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  Speaker 1: From Thorpe, it appears to have passed to mister Heber
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  Speaker 1: at the sale of whose manuscripts in February eighteen thirty
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  Speaker 1: six by mister Evans of pall Mall. It was purchased
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  Speaker 1: by the British Museum for eight pounds eight shillings. Thomas
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  Speaker 1: Rugg was descended from an ancient Norfolk family, and two
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  Speaker 1: of his ancestors are described as Aldermen of Norwich. His
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  Speaker 1: death has been ascertained to have occurred about sixteen seventy two,
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  Speaker 1: and in the Darry for the preceding year he complains that,
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  Speaker 1: on account of his declining health, his entries will be
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  Speaker 1: but few. Nothing has been traced of his personal circumstances,
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  Speaker 1: beyond the fact of his having lived for fourteen years
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  Speaker 1: in Common Garden, then a fashionable locality. Another work I
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  Speaker 1: found of the greatest value is the late mister J. E.
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  Speaker 1: Doyle's Official Baronage of England eighteen eighty six, which contains
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  Speaker 1: a mass of valuable information not easily to be obtained elsewhere.
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  Speaker 1: By reference to its pages, I have been unable to
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  Speaker 1: correct several erroneous states in previous notes, caused by a
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  Speaker 1: very natural confusion of years in the case of the
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  Speaker 1: months of January, February and March, before it was finally
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  Speaker 1: fixed that the year should commence in January instead of March.
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  Speaker 1: More confusion has probably been introduced into history from this
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  Speaker 1: than from any other cause of a like nature. The
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  Speaker 1: reference to two years, as in the case of say
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  Speaker 1: January fifth, sixteen sixty one to sixty two, may appear clumsy,
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  Speaker 1: but it is the only safe plan of notation. If
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  Speaker 1: one year only is mentioned, the readers never shure whether
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  Speaker 1: or not the correction has been made. It is a
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  Speaker 1: matter for sincere regret that the popular support was withheld
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  Speaker 1: from mister Doyle's important undertaking, so that the author's intention
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  Speaker 1: of publishing further volumes contain aiming the baron is not
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  Speaker 1: dealt with in those already published, was frustrated. My labors
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  Speaker 1: have been much lightened by the kind help which I
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  Speaker 1: have received from those interested in the subject. Lovers of
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  Speaker 1: PEAPs are numerous, and I found those I have applied
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  Speaker 1: to ever willing to give me such information as they possess.
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  Speaker 1: It is a singular pleasure, therefore, to have an opportunity
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  Speaker 1: of expressing publicly my thanks to these gentlemen, and among
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  Speaker 1: them I would especially mention Missus Fennell, Dammy P. Frye,
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  Speaker 1: j Eliot, Hodgkin, Henry Jackson, J. K. Laughton, Julian Marshall,
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  Speaker 1: John Biddleph Martin, J. E. Matthew, Philip Norman, Richard B. Prosser,
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  Speaker 1: and Hugh Calender, fellow of Trinity College, who verified some
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  Speaker 1: of the passages in the manuscript. To the Master and
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  Speaker 1: fellows of Maudlin College. Also, I am especially indebted for
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  Speaker 1: allowing me to consult the treasures of the Peepsyan Library,
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  Speaker 1: and more particularly my thanks adue to mister Arthur G. Piscott,
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  Speaker 1: the Librarian H B. W. Brampton, Opinant's Road, London and
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  Speaker 1: w February eighteen ninety three, end of preface,