Although the Diary of Samuel Pepys has been in the hands of the public for
nearly seventy years, it has not hitherto appeared in its entirety. In the
original edition of 1825 scarcely half of the manuscript was printed. Lord
Braybrooke added some passages as the various editions were published, but in
the preface to his last edition he wrote: "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."
The public knew nothing as to what was left unprinted, and there was
therefore a general feeling of gratification when it was announced some eighteen
years ago that a new edition was to be published by the Rev. Mynors Bright, with
the addition of new matter equal to a third of the whole. It was understood that
at last the Diary was to appear in its entirety, but there was a passage in Mr.
Bright's preface which suggested a doubt respecting the necessary completeness.
He wrote: "It would have been tedious to the reader if I had copied from the
Diary the account of his daily work at the office."
As a matter of fact, Mr. Bright left roughly speaking about one-fifth of the
whole Diary still unprinted, although he transcribed the whole, and bequeathed
his transcript to Magdalene College.
It has now been decided that the whole of the Diary shall be made public,
with the exception of a few passages which cannot possibly be printed. It may be
thought by some that these omissions are due to an unnecessary squeamishness,
but it is not really so, and readers are therefore asked to have faith in the
judgment of the editor. Where any passages have been omitted marks of omission
are added, so that in all cases readers will know where anything has been left
out.
Lord Braybrooke made the remark in his "Life of Pepys," that "the cipher
employed by him greatly resembles that known by the name of 'Rich's system.'"
When Mr. Bright came to decipher the MS., he discovered that the shorthand
system used by Pepys was an earlier one than Rich's, viz., that of Thomas
Shelton, who made his system public in 1620.
In his various editions Lord Braybrooke gave a large number of valuable
notes, in the collection and arrangement of which he was assisted by the late
Mr. John Holmes of the British Museum, and the late Mr. James Yeowell, sometime
sub-editor of "Notes and Queries." Where these notes are left unaltered in the
present edition the letter "B." has been affixed to them, but in many instances
the notes have been altered and added to from later information, and in these
cases no mark is affixed. A large number of additional notes are now supplied,
but still much has had to be left unexplained. Many persons are mentioned in the
Diary who were little known in the outer world, and in some instances it has
been impossible to identify them. In other cases, however, it has been possible
to throw light upon these persons by reference to different portions of the
Diary itself. I would here ask the kind assistance of any reader who is able to
illustrate passages that have been left unnoted. I have received much assistance
from the various books in which the Diary is quoted. Every writer on the period
covered by the Diary has been pleased to illustrate his subject by quotations
from Pepys, and from these books it has often been possible to find information
which helps to explain difficult passages in the Diary.
Much illustrative matter of value was obtained by Lord Braybrooke from the "Diurnall"
of Thomas Rugge, which is preserved in the British Museum (Add. MS,116,
10,117). The following is the description of this interesting work as given by
Lord Braybrooke
"MERCURIUS POLITICUS REDIVIVUS;
or, A Collection of the most
materiall occurrances and transactions
in Public Affairs since Anno Dni, 1659, untill
28 March, 1672,
serving as an annuall diurnall
for future satisfaction and
information,
BY THOMAS RUGGE.
Est natura hominum novitatis avida.Plinius.
"This
MS. belonged, in 1693, to Thomas Grey, second Earl of
Stamford. It has his autograph at the commencement, and on the
sides are his arms (four quarterings) in gold. In 1819, it was sold
by auction in London, as part of the collection of Thomas Lloyd,
Esq. (N, and was then bought by Thomas Thorpe, bookseller.
Whilst Mr. Lloyd was the possessor, the MS. was lent to Dr. Lingard,
whose note of thanks to Mr. Lloyd is preserved in the volume. From
Thorpe it appears to have passed to Mr. Heber, at the sale of whose
MSS. in Feb. 1836, by Mr. Evans, of Pall Mall, it was purchased by
the British Museum for L8 8s.
"Thomas Rugge was
descended from an ancient Norfolk family, and two
of
his ancestors are described as Aldermen of Norwich. His death
has been ascertained to have occurred about 1672; and in the Diary
for the preceding year he complains that on account of his declining
health, his entries will be but few. Nothing has been traced of his
personal circumstances beyond the fact of his having lived for
fourteen years in Covent Garden, then a fashionable locality."
Another work I have found of the greatest value is the late Mr. J. E. Doyle's
"Official Baronage of England" (1886), which contains a mass of valuable
information not easily to be obtained elsewhere. By reference to its pages I
have been enabled to correct several erroneous dates in previous notes caused by
a very natural confusion of years in the case of the months of January,
February, and March, before it was finally fixed that the year should commence
in January instead of March. More confusion has probably been introduced into
history from this than from any other cause of a like nature. The reference to
two years, as in the case of, say, Ja, 1661-62, may appear clumsy, but it is
the only safe plan of notation. If one year only is mentioned, the reader is
never sure whether or not the correction has been made. It is a matter for
sincere regret that the popular support was withheld from Mr. Doyle's important
undertaking, so that the author's intention of publishing further volumes,
containing the Baronies not dealt with in those already published, was
frustrated.
My labours have been much lightened by the kind help which I have
received from those interested in the subject. Lovers of Pepys are
numerous,
and I have found those I have applied to ever willing to
give me such
information as they possess. It is a singular pleasure,
therefore, to have an
opportunity of expressing publicly my thanks
to these gentlemen, and among
them I would especially mention Messrs.
Fennell, Danby P. Fry, J. Eliot
Hodgkin, Henry Jackson, J. K. Laughton,
Julian Marshall, John Biddulph
Martin, J. E. Matthew, Philip Norman,
Richard B. Prosser, and Hugh Callendar,
Fellow of Trinity College,
who verified some of the passages in the
manuscript. To the Master
and Fellows of Magdalene College, also, I am
especially indebted for
allowing me to consult the treasures of the Pepysian
Library, and more
particularly my thanks are due to Mr. Arthur G. Peskett,
the Librarian.
H. B. W.
BRAMPTON, OPPIDANS ROAD,
LONDON, N.W.
February, 1893.