Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn

AND

CORRESPONDENCE.

Now in course of publication, commencing 1st November,
In Four Monthly Volumes, Price 6s. each,
A RE-ISSUE OF

THE NEW REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION.

COMPRISING ALL THE IMPORTANT ADDITIONS OF NOTES, LETTERS, AND
OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS, LAST MADE, CONSEQUENT ON THE
RE-EXAMINATION OF THE ORIGINAL MSS.

The Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn has long been regarded as an invaluable record of opinions and events, as well as the most interesting exposition we possess of the manners, taste, learning, and religion of this country during the latter half of the seventeenth century. The Diary comprises observations on the politics, literature, and science of his age, during his travels in France and Italy; his residence in England towards the latter part of the Protectorate, and his connexion with the Courts of Charles II. and the two subsequent reigns, interspersed with a vast number of original anecdotes of the most celebrated persons of that period. To the Diary is subjoined the Correspondence of Evelyn with many of his distinguished contemporaries; also Original Letters from Sir Edward Nicholas, private secretary to King Charles I., during some important periods of that reign, with the King's answers; and numerous letters from Sir Edward Hyde (Lord Clarendon) to Sir Edward Nicholas, and to Sir Richard Browne, Ambassador to France, during the exile of the British Court.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

THE QUARTERLY REVIEW.

Ir has been justly observed that as long as Virtue and Science hold their abode in this island, the memory of Evelyn will be held in the utmost veneration. Indeed, no change of fashion, no alteration of taste, no revolution of science, have impaired, or can impair, his celebrity. The youth who looks forward to an inheritance which he is under no temptation to increase, will do well to bear the example of Evelyn in his mind, as containing nothing but what is imitable, and nothing but what is good. All persons, indeed, may find in his character something for imitation, but for an English gentleman he is the perfect model.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON THE EVELYN DIARY.

THE EXAMINER.

We rejoice to welcome this beautiful and compact edition of Evelyn. It is intended as a companion to the recent edition of Pepys, and presents many similar claims to interest and notice. Evelyn was greatly above the vast majority of his Contemporaries, and the Diary which records the incidents in his long life, extending over the greater part of a century, is deservedly esteemed one of the most interesting books in the language. He took part in the breaking out of the civil war against Charles I., and he lived to see William of Orange ascend the throne. Through the days of Strafford and Laud, to those of Sancroft and Ken, he was the steady friend of moderation and peace in the English Church. He interceded alike for the royalist and the regicide; he was the correspondent of Cowley, the patron of Jeremy Taylor, the associate and fellow-student of Boyle; and over all the interval between Vandyck and Kneller, between the youth of Milton and the old age of Dryden, poetry and the arts found him an intelligent adviser, and a cordial friend. There are, on the whole, very few men of whom England has more reason to be proud. He stands among the first in the list of Gentlemen. We heartily commend so good an edition of this English classic.

THE SUN.

This very excellent edition of Evelyn's famous Diary furnishes us with much interesting correspondence never before published, These volumes will be treasures to those who delight in genuine curiosities of literature, while to the student of history they will be invaluable. The work is a necessary companion to the popular histories of our country-to Hume, Hallam, Macaulay, and Lingard. Its elevation to the book-shelf, as among the best Diaries and Correspondences in our language, cannot but adorn every library, no matter how fastidiously selected. The cheapness of this re-issue is as remarkable as its beauty and compactness.

THE GLOBE.

No library can be complete without this standard work, which gives so complete a picture of the manner of life in England through the most stirring times of the 17th century.

WEEKLY CHRONICLE.

The present edition of this valuable book will meet with a warm welcome from the public. It is impossible to overrate the interest and value of a Diary and Correspondence written in such times as those of King Charles I., Oliver Cromwell, King Charles II., King James II., and King William, by one who observed accurately everything that passed around him, whether engaged in his capacity as a public officer, or tasting the varied pleasures of private life and intercourse; who knew nearly all parties-actors in those busy days and stirring scenes— whether monarchs, ministers, or other eminent men.

THE OBSERVER.

Evelyn's Diary is one of the most remarkable books in the language -as a source of information which cannot be met with in history, it is one of the most valuable.