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. MSS. 10,116, 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. (No. 1465), 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, Jan. 5, 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.