The Diary of Samuel Pepys | Page 8

thither, either by persecution or ill will.
The Diary, as already explained, comprehends ten years of Mr. Pepys official life, extending from January, 1659-60, to May, 1669. It is highly necessary to keep in mind that Mr. Pepys was only thirty-seven years of age when he closed his Diary in 1669, and that of the remainder of his life we have no regular account; although the materials for it which exist have encouraged the hope that this portion of the Life may yet be written. After the death of Cromwell, Pepys seems to have consorted much with Harrington, Hazelrigge, and other leading Republicans; but when the Restoration took place, he became--as, perhaps was natural--a courtier; still, it is said of him that "were the eulogy of Cromwell now to be written, abounding particulars and material for the purpose might be found in and drawn from Pepys' Diary."
Mr. Pepys sat in Parliament for Castle Rising, and subsequently he represented the borough of Harwich, eventually rising to wealth and eminence as clerk of the treasurer to the Commissioners of the affairs of Tangier, and Surveyor-general of the Victualling Department, "proving himself to be," it is stated, "a very useful and energetic public servant."
In the year 1700, Mr. Pepys, whose constitution had been long impaired by the stone, was persuaded by his physicians to quit York Buildings, now Buckingham-street, (the last house on the west side, looking on the Thames,) and retire, for change of air, to the house of his old friend and servant, William Hewer, at Clapham. Soon after, he was visited here by John Evelyn, who, in his Diary, Sept. 22, 1700, records, "I went to visit Mr. Pepys, at Clapham, where he has a very noble and wonderfully well- furnished house, especially with India and Chinese curiosities. The offices and gardens well accommodated for pleasure and retirement." In this retreat, however, his health continued to decline, and he died in May, 1703, a victim in part, to the stone, which was hereditary in his constitution, and to the increase of that malady in the course of a laborious and sedentary life. In the LONDON JOURNAL of the above year is this entry: "London, June 5. Yesterday in the evening were performed the obsequies of Samuel Pepys, Esq., in Crutched Friars Church, whither his corpse was brought in a very honourable and solemn manner from Clapham, where he departed this life, the 26th day of the last month.--POST BOY, June 5, 1703." The burial-service at his funeral was read at 9 at night, by Dr. Hickes, author of the THESAURUS which bears his name. There is no memorial to mark the site of his interment in the church; but there is a monument in the chancel to Mrs. Pepys, and Mr. Pepys is interred in a vault of his own making, by the side of his wife and brother.
Pepys had an extensive knowledge of naval affairs. He thoroughly understood and practised music; and he was a judge of painting, sculpture, and architecture. In 1684, he was elected President of the Royal Society, and held that honourable office two years. He contributed no less than 60 plates to Willoughby's HISTORIA PISCIUM.
To Magdalene College, Cambridge, he left an invaluable collection of manuscript naval memoirs, of prints, and ancient English poetry, which has often been consulted by critics and commentators, and is, indeed, unrivalled of its kind. One of its most singular curiosities is a collection of English ballads in five large folio volumes, begun by Selden and carried down to the year 1700. Percy's "Reliques" are for the most part, taken from this collection. Pepys published "Memoirs relating to the State of the Royal Navy in England for ten years, determined December, 1688," 8vo. London, 1690; and there is a small book in the Pepysian Library, entitled "A Relation of the Troubles in the Court of Portugal in 1667 and 1668," by S. P., 12mo., Lond., 1677, which Watt ascribes to Pepys.
In the Supplement to Collier's Dictionary, published contemporaneously, is this tribute to the character of Samuel Pepys:--"It may be affirmed of this Gentleman, that he was, without exception, the greatest and most useful Minister that ever filled the same situations in England; the Acts and Registers of the Admiralty proving this fact beyond contradiction. The principal rules and establishments in present use in those offices are well known to have been of his introducing and most of the officers serving therein, since the Restoration, of his bringing up. He was a most studious promoter and strenuous assertor of order and discipline through all their dependencies. Sobriety, diligence, capacity, loyalty, and subjection to command, were essentials required in all whom he advanced. Where any of these were found wanting, no interest or authority were capable of moving him in favour of the highest