Chapter I

. “Samuell Peps of this parish Gent & Elizabeth De Sⁿᵗ Michell of Martins in the ffeilds Spinster. Published October 19ᵗʰ, 22ⁿᵈ, 29ᵗʰ [1655] and were married by Richard Sherwyn Esqʳ one of the Justices of the Peace of the Cittie and Lyberties of Westmʳ December 1ˢᵗ. (Signed) Ri. Sherwyn.”

The pronunciation of Pepys’s name has long been a disputed point, but although the most usual form at the present day is _Peps_, there can be little doubt that in his own time the name was pronounced as if written _Peeps_. The reasons for this opinion are: (1) that the name was sometimes so spelt phonetically by some of his contemporaries, as in the Coffee-house paper quoted in the “Diary” (ed. Mynors Bright, vol. vi. p. 292): “On Tuesday last Mr. Peeps went to Windsor,” &c.; (2) that this pronunciation is still the received one at Magdalene College, Cambridge; and (3) that the present bearers of the name so pronounce it.

In conclusion, it is my pleasing duty to express here my best thanks to those friends who have kindly assisted me in my work. Chief among these are Professor Newton, F.R.S., who, as Fellow of Magdalene College, facilitated my inquiries respecting the Pepysian Library, Mr. Pattrick, Senior Fellow and President of the College, Mr. Pepys Cockerell, Mr. George Scharf, F.S.A., Mr. Richard B. Prosser, of the Patent Office, who communicated the documents relating to Mrs. Pepys’s father, and Colonel Pasley, whose List of the Secretaries of the Admiralty, &c., in the Appendix will be found of great value, not merely in illustrating Pepys’s life, but as a real addition to our information respecting the history of the Navy.

H. B. W.

5, Minford Gardens, W., September, 1880.

P.S. Since the first publication of this book I have received an interesting letter from Mr. Walter Courtenay Pepys, a member of the Cottenham branch of the Pepys family, who, while agreeing with the statement above as to the Diarist’s pronunciation, reminds me that his branch have pronounced the name as “Pep-pis” for at least one hundred years. In favour of this pronunciation Mr. Pepys adds that the French branch, which is now settled at La Rochelle, but came from Languedoc and originally from Italy (where the name exists as “Peppi”), now spell the name “Pepy.”

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CONTENTS.

PAGE PREFACE v

CHAP. I. PEPYS BEFORE THE DIARY 1

″ II. PEPYS IN THE DIARY 16

″ III. PEPYS AFTER THE DIARY 46

″ IV. TANGIER 63

″ V. PEPYS’S BOOKS AND COLLECTIONS 77

″ VI. LONDON 100

″ VII. PEPYS’S RELATIONS, FRIENDS, AND ACQUAINTANCES 116

″ VIII. THE NAVY 128

″ IX. THE COURT 159

″ X. PUBLIC CHARACTERS 183

″ XI. MANNERS 199

″ XII. AMUSEMENTS 217

″ XIII. CONCLUSION 232

APPENDIX I. PORTRAITS OF PEPYS 237

″ II. SCHEMES OF ALEXANDER MARCHANT, SIEUR DE ST. MICHEL (MRS. PEPYS’S FATHER) 241

″ III. PEPYS’S MANUSCRIPTS AT OXFORD 251

″ IV. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 252

″ V. PEPYS’S CORRESPONDENTS 254

″ VI. LIST OF SECRETARIES OF THE ADMIRALTY, CLERKS OF THE ACTS, &C., DRAWN UP BY COLONEL PASLEY, R.E. 266

″ VII. PLAYS WHICH PEPYS SAW ACTED 289

INDEX 297

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SAMUEL PEPYS AND THE WORLD HE LIVED IN.

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