" of the Duc de Saint-Simon or of
the Comtesse de Boigne. So I feel that I am absolved from the
responsibility of misleading any young reader to sup on the horrors of
the description of the death of Madame de Brinvilliers as painted by
Madame de S['e]vign['e] or to revel among the groups of Italians who range
through the scenes drawn by Benvenuto Cellini.

While Pepys is always near at hand, I treat his contemporary, Evelyn,
with very distant politeness and respect. Now Evelyn should not be
treated in that way. He is always so edifying and so very correct,
except when he moralizes about the Church of Rome, that he ought to be
read nearly every day by the serious as an example of propriety and as a
model of the expression of the finest sentiments on morals, philosophy,
literature, and art. But I do not find in his "Diary" any such passages
as this, which Pepys writes on October 19, 1662 (Lord's day):

Put on my first new lace-band: and so neat it is, that I am
resolved my great expense shall be lace-bands, and it will set off
anything else the more. I am sorry to hear that the news of the
selling of Dunkirk is taken so generally ill, as I find it is among
the merchants; and other things, as removal of officers at Court,
good for worse; and all things else made much worse in their report
among people than they are. And this night, I know not upon what
ground, the gates of the City ordered to be all shut, and double
guards everywhere. Indeed I do find everybody's spirit very full of
trouble: and the things of the Court and Council very ill taken; so
as to be apt to appear in bad colours, if there should ever be a
beginning of trouble, which God forbid!

Or,

29th (Lord's day).

This morning I put on my best black cloth suit, trimmed with
scarlet ribbon, very neat, with my cloak lined with velvet, and a
new beaver, which altogether is very noble, with my black silk knit
canons I bought a month ago.

Evelyn never condescends to such weaknesses as we find in our beloved
Pepys!

One wonders whether, if the noble Mr. Evelyn had been able to decipher
some of the hidden things in Mr. Pepys's "Diary," he would have written
this tribute, under the date of May 26, 1703:

This day died Mr. Sam Pepys, a very worthy, industrious and curious
person.... He lived at Clapham with his partner, Mr. Hewer,
formerly his clerk, in a ver