Monday 31 May 1669

Up very betimes, and so continued all the morning with W. Hewer, upon examining and stating my accounts, in order to the fitting myself to go abroad beyond sea, which the ill condition of my eyes, and my neglect for a year or two, hath kept me behindhand in, and so as to render it very difficult now, and troublesome to my mind to do it; but I this day made a satisfactory entrance therein. Dined at home, and in the afternoon by water to White Hall, calling by the way at Michell’s, where I have not been many a day till just the other day, and now I met her mother there and knew her husband to be out of town. And here je did baiser elle, but had not opportunity para hazer some with her as I would have offered if je had had it. And thence had another meeting with the Duke of York, at White Hall, on yesterday’s work, and made a good advance: and so, being called by my wife, we to the Park, Mary Batelier, and a Dutch gentleman, a friend of hers, being with us. Thence to “The World’s End,” a drinking-house by the Park; and there merry, and so home late.

And thus ends all that I doubt I shall ever be able to do with my own eyes in the keeping of my journal, I being not able to do it any longer, having done now so long as to undo my eyes almost every time that I take a pen in my hand; and, therefore, whatever comes of it, I must forbear: and, therefore, resolve, from this time forward, to have it kept by my people in long-hand, and must therefore be contented to set down no more than is fit for them and all the world to know; or, if there be any thing, which cannot be much, now my amours to Deb. are past, and my eyes hindering me in almost all other pleasures, I must endeavour to keep a margin in my book open, to add, here and there, a note in short-hand with my own hand. And so I betake myself to that course, which is almost as much as to see myself go into my grave: for which, and all the discomforts that will accompany my being blind, the good God prepare me!

123 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Duchess of Ormond to the Duke
Written from: Kilkenny
Date: 31 May 1669

On leaving Dublin, the Duchess was escorted part of the way towards Kilkenny, by all the persons of quality then in town, who testified the greatest concern at His Grace's leaving the Government.

Found this place [Kilkenny Castle] in very good condition, and at Dunmore found the greatest improvements in planting which she ever saw made in so brief a time.

Purposes to go to Carrick, and thence to Thurles, before embarking for England.

Fears that Lord Ossory will be somewhat discontented to find that whatever is retrenched from his allowance [mentioned elsewhere as £3,000 a year] is to go to his second brother, who now enjoys "the full advantage of his Lady's portion". ...

http://www.rsl.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwm…

Judith Boles  •  Link

Good-bye Sam. My eyes seem to be bothering me today, too.

djc  •  Link

a so to bed.

I will miss this daily routine.

Michael L  •  Link

I have been reading this since the first month. It has been an enjoyable daily ritual, and I have learned a lot.

Thanks so much, Phil! Your dedication through the years to maintaining this is much appreciated.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

CHORUS.

Thus far, with rough but able pen,
Our bending author hath pursu'd the story,
In little room confining both mighty men and small,
Bringing forth by his work the full course of their glory.
Small time, but, in that small, most greatly lived
Our star of England. Fortune made his life and career;
By which the world's success he achieved,
And through it left his Nation an imperial fleet.
Which, in other hands crown'd Britannia soverign of the seas
Whose Empire in due course of time was lost but whose courage left
Europe freed with honor immortal.
Joy made his world live and love of life his theme
Bringing those to us long dead yet as real and vibrant as living
Which oft stage hath shown and will; and, for their sake,
In your fair minds let this acceptance take.

(Heaven...
"What?" Bess stares... "You're getting all sorts of tributes and you'll even get fireworks courtesy Cosimo de Medici."

"There could have been music...I mean, mine.")

Grahamt  •  Link

For nine years and some months I have read the journal betimes the morn after its writing with my morning draught of coffee. This day being of note, I make an exception, it being the best entry that I ever read in my life before.
Enough of the Pepysian hyperbole; what will we do now? It is a shame that he self-censored his longhand entries in his future journals.
Fare ye well Sam, Elizabeth, Will, Jane, Deb and the rest of Restoration Britain that has stepped off the screen and into our lives these too few years. I will miss you.
Now to read Jeannine's Next Chapter - and so to bed.

Paul E  •  Link

I've been a reader (off and on) for six years. Thanks for this great site. One of my favorite diary entries was Jan 1, 1668, where Sam describes his visit to a gambling parlor.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

(From Vivian Ellis' "Bless the Bride")

Bess:"This is our lovely day...It is the day I shall remember the day I'm dying. They can't this away. It will be always mine, our carriage so fine, the seabirds crying...

All happiness must pay...And who can tell if Fate means well or the sky is lying. Sam'l, just look at me and say...You will remember too, that this was a lovely day."

Sam:
"I'll remember...I'll remember...When the time does come for happiness to pay. (After all, my Diary..."

Bess and Sam: "Yes, when I'm dying...I'll be smiling...As I remember how we loved our lovely day...

Our lovely day..."

Charles, Jamie, Cathy, Anne, Sandwich, Lady Jemina, Creed, Elizabeth Creed ("Why are we here, John?"), Povy, Jane Edwards, Will Hewer, John Minnes, Admiral Sir Will Penn, Margaret Penn, Will Jr, Howe, Sir Will Coventry, Peter Pett, Anthony Deane, Betty Martin, Doll Lane, Diana Crisp, the Bagwells, Robert Hooke, John Evelyn...etc, etc...in Chorus...

"Our lovely...Days..."

Thanks, Phil from Gay and me.

Elma  •  Link

Joining the chorus of lurkers who have been here from the start, I want to thank Phil and the annotators. I have had my daily Pepys with coffee, every morning. I don’t know what I will do now. Thanks again.

Linda F  •  Link

Should have foreseen that, with his usual thoroughness, Sam did not simply stop writing, but reported that fact and formally concluded the Diary.

Again, endless thanks to Phil and to all, and particularly to Jeannine, whose article linked above truly provides, as some say, "closure" -- which here at the end of this remarkable run is a great gift.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Well, here we are again, gathered together in this place for the last time. Whence and whither?

Nice to see Sam in true character mixing it up as usual - family accounts with the loyal and patient Mr W.H., meeting with DofY and furtive fumblings with one of his amours. Do we believe the No More Deb? Not sure, not sure. Will there be others?
Did he ever take a confidante, now he no longer has the journal to confide in?

It's a good life, isn't it? : "...Thence to “The World’s End,” a drinking-house by the Park; and there merry, and so home late...."

Although we are all sad at this ending, I don't think I could have bourne reading Sam's Diary entries (and I think he would have written them) about the last illness and death of Elizabeth. I like to imagine him, in church in the years to come, in the Navy Office gallery looking across at his memorial bust of his beloved and smiling.

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

"And here je did baiser elle, but had not opportunity para hazer some with her as I would have offered if je had had it....Thence to “The World’s End,"

There is a tavern in the town, in the town
And there my true love sits him down, sits him down,
And drinks his wine as merry as can be,
And never thinks of keeping up his diaree.

Says he,

Fare thee well, for I must leave thee,
Do not let this parting grieve thee,
And remember that the best of friends
Must part, must part.

Adieu, adieu kind friends, yes, adieu
I can no longer stay with you, stay with you,
I'll hang my harp on the weeping willow tree,
And may the world go well with thee.

Ramona in Idaho  •  Link

Robert Gertz,
You must post the video farewell that you and Gay
prepared. I've been waiting for it all afternoon!

Eric Walla  •  Link

Oh I forgot those closing lines--"And so I betake myself to that course, which is almost as much as to see myself go into my grave ..."--words made all the more poignant after having consumed the diary day by day for all these past years. Thank you Phil! Sam has been truly alive for us in "real time," and having the diary come to a close we must ourselves awake and remember how Sam has been gone from us for these centuries. But as with all those passed from the Earth, with a diary or without, as long as we still remember, we may yet bring them to mind, at whatever age and in whatever humour we fancy, to live before us once more. And we will live our lives as best we can before we join our friends in the eternal dance.

Bob  •  Link

Came to the diary far too late, but enjoyed what I saw very much. I feel regret that Mr. Pepys had such an affliction that caused him to stop his diary.

If we readers were to emulate him, what would others, several centuries hence have to say, I wonder?

lisaschamess  •  Link

Many thanks for this, these many years.

Chris Squire  •  Link

Samuel will live on for another 34 years; his death was recorded by his friend, John Evelyn:

“26th May, 1703. This day died Mr. Samuel Pepys, a very worthy, industrious and curious person, none in England exceeding him in knowledge of the navy, in which he had passed through all the most considerable offices. Clerk of the Acts and Secretary of the Admiralty, all which he performed with great integrity.

When King James II. went out of England, he laid down his office, and would serve no more; but withdrawing himself from all public affairs, he lived at Clapham with his partner, Mr. Hewer, formerly his clerk, in a very noble house and sweet place, where he enjoyed the fruit of his labors in great prosperity. He was universally be-loved, hospitable, generous, learned in many things, skilled in music, a very great cherisher of learned men of whom he had the conversation.

His library and collection of other curiosities were of the most considerable, the models of ships especially. Besides what he published of an account of the navy, as he found and left it, he had for divers years under his hand the History of the Navy, or Navalia, as he called it; but how far advanced, and what will follow of his, is left, I suppose, to his sister's son, Mr. Jackson, a young gentleman, whom Mr. Pepys had educated in all sorts of useful learning, sending him to travel abroad, from whence he returned with extraordinary accomplishments, and worthy to be heir.

Mr. Pepys had been for near forty years so much my particular friend, that Mr. Jackson sent me complete mourning, desiring me to be one to hold up the pall at his magnificent obsequies; but my indisposition hindered me from doing him this last office.”

http://archive.org/stream/diaryof…

Thank you Phil for having the idea and the skill and the character to create this wonderful website: I look forward to hearing about whatever you get up to next. I would welcome a republication of the diary as a blog so that my RSS aggregator would pick it up automatically evey evening for me to read when I stagger home from the pub . .

Murasaki_1966  •  Link

Thank Phil, for this labour of love, and thanks, Sam, for sharing your life with us across the centuries. I will be visiting your Library in October.

languagehat  •  Link

Thanks to Phil and to all of you, and of course to Sam for providing us with the occasion for our revels. Ave atque vale!

nix  •  Link

What a beautiful and fitting conclusion.

Thank you Samuel, thank you Phil, and thank you all.

Robert Watson  •  Link

I am sorry that I, as many others, found this site only comparatively recently. I hadn't made a note of it, but I think I have been following Pepys' diary here for perhaps almost two years. During that time I had a heart attack --late Feb 2011--- and before that had some other health problems. Reading the Dairy was something to hold onto, and has been a daily read and a mental exercise.

I have always had an interest in history since my childhood. I loved "old things" ---playing my grandmother's 78s on her Victrola when I was 5 or 6 yrs old. I first hear of Pepys' Diary when I was in my teens, and I thought it was the writings of an old man. I realised later that he was comparatively young and very much aware of the happenings of the day. I am 51 now. I wish I had found this site when the Diary began.

Tomorrow I will begin to look at the archives, as a daily discipline.

Best wishes to all the annotators!

Katherine  •  Link

The names of the annotators to this post are perhaps even more familiar to me than the plethora of characters we've met over the past nine years. I will miss seeing your names and your annotations, which have helped immeasurably in filling out the history of the diary. Many, many thanks from Kay in California.

M  •  Link

Thank you so much for a daily routine I have been following since the very beginning.

Not sure what I am going to do with this small bit of reclaimed time, now...

I agree with others above! Start over again tomorrow!

Robert Watson  •  Link

I do find it interesting, that up to the end of the Diary, Samuel is feeling up women. What a man! And he feels the need to include it in his final entry. At least he is honest.

Larry Bunce  •  Link

I first read excerpts of Pepys' Diary in my high school reading anthology, and saw the Pepys display at the Museum of the City of London in '79, but never could have read the whole diary without this site. All of us here owe Phil an enormous debt of gratitude. I also thank my former English teacher, Charles Harkin, for introducing me to Pepys. He unfortunately did not live to visit pepysdiary.com, but he was given the L&M edition as a retirement gift. I will miss all of my fellow posters. Saying goodbye is the price of all relationships. Farewell, Sam, and everyone else here.

Robert Watson  •  Link

Also interesting that his last entry has a reference to Deb. (Besides his other paramour.) He must have been very infatuated/in love with her. A sort of sadness there, I think. A genuine affection in that he was fully intending to be ending his writing and yet he made mention of Deb -- and Betty, too. I am not so judgemental as some are here.

mary k mcintyre  •  Link

Thanks to Phil, for his patience, tenacity and great labours on our behalf.

And thanks to my fellow Pepysians, lurkers and posters alike, for the fellowship and insights of the past 9 years.

See you in the Yahoo group!

Mary

Jim Mullins  •  Link

Another lurker, let me add my profound thanks to Phil and the Annotators (sounds like a great band!).

Ever since my community theater performed a show at All Hallows by the Tower - at one end of Seething Lane, where Sam climbed to watch the fire - and I stayed in a 16th century house on Crutched Friars - at the other end of the lane - I've been a good friend of Sam's. Thanks, Phil, for bringing us together again.

Get some rest, Phil!

Joe Phelan  •  Link

Along with so many, let me add my thanks to Mr. Gyford and the eloquent regulars for bringing Samuel Pepys' diary to life these last nine years.

It's been a beautiful demonstration of what «duce et utile» means.

Margaret  •  Link

Thank you, Phil, for giving us this gift for nearly ten years.

And thanks to Chris Squire for giving us John Evelyn's words--very touching.

And so to bed.

Bryan M  •  Link

What a wonderful, enriching experience it's been. The Diary comes to an end but the memories will be treasured for many more years. Thanks Phil, best wishes for the future to you and all the annotators and lurkers.

Snow  •  Link

As a reader from the beginning I shall miss my morning ritual of opening this site (though I'm sure I'll do it out of habit for a while). My sincere thanks to Phil for his sterling efforts and to Terry Foreman, Robert Gertz and all the other regular annotators who enlightened me on the details I'd missed/didn't understand. Bye bye, Sammy, bye bye.

Hamish Mack  •  Link

Thanks for all your work Phil. Pepys is an engaging person, much as I deplore his cheating on Elizabeth. I hope his later years were good and I hope he stayed interested until the end.

martinb  •  Link

This was a well-conceived and beautifully executed idea which has obviously made a difference to many people's lives.

By way of special thanks, I'd like to propose Messrs Gyford, Foreman and Gertz for honorary online knighthoods for their extraordinary services to Samuel Pepys. Arise Sirs Phil, Terry and Robert!

James Warnock  •  Link

An amazing achievement from the first day, and the internet at its best. Thanks for entertainment and enlightenment to all annnotators (both the ingenious and the prating buffleheads - my favourite word in the whole diary); and awestruck thanks and congratulations to Sir Phil.

ONeville  •  Link

The best entry ever, for me. His words come across the centuries as if he was speaking directly to us, knowing that sooner or later his diary would be read by someone. Although he did things that he was not particularly proud of, he was willing to let his record stand or fall. Altogether a warm, kind and intelligent man to whom the Nation owes a debt of gratitude and who has lit up my mornings over the years.

I second the honorary knighthoods proposed by martinb with, of course, one real one for Sam, who showed what can be achieved by merit and sheer energy.

Tony Eldridge  •  Link

Well done Sam, to finish on a day containing work (of course), kissing one of his paramours (of course) and trips to the park and the inn to be merry (of course).

His moving final paragraph would be heart-breaking if we did not know that he did not go blind - something that must have been terrifying him at the time.

Thanks again to everyone.

Teresa Forster  •  Link

It was a fitting place for Sam to end, though, with an exciting journey and holiday coming up. I hope he took comfort from the fact that he gave Elizabeth this great adventure before her untimely death.

Thank you Phil, and all contributors and indeed lurkers. It was nice to know that this wonderful experience was shared with you all, unseen yet empathic.

Murray  •  Link

For 9 years and a few months this lurker has enjoyed the diary and the comments.
To Phil, your work has brought so much pleasure to so many people – thank you.
To Sam, if only your eyes were better. If only you had kept writing. If only you’d started earlier. If only Elizabeth hadn’t caught that fever. If only….

Stan Oram  •  Link

And as another prolific writer has said 'parting is such sweet sorrow'. It's a bit like hearing of a close friends passing.
As others here have hinted this gives just a glimpse of what the internet might be used for in the future. I doubt I will see the day but I can foresee the day when all the written records on Earth are searchable on line - what a feast for historians, genealogists and scholars all when that day dawns.

Well done Phil and thanks.

Glyn  •  Link

"and, therefore, resolve, from this time forward, to have it kept by my people in long-hand, and must therefore be contented to set down no more than is fit for them and all the world to know"

Ye Saga Continueth! Watch with Pepys at the hanging of Du Vall, the romantick highwayman! Stand with him as he is imprisoned in the Tower! Shudder as he sets sail through pirate infested waters!

http://tinyurl.com/bsf38qj

Actually, it's pretty dull stuff as he kept his promise about only setting down innocuous stuff - even Robert Gertz couldn't make it interesting.

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

I second all the thanks reflected above, and agree that Phil, Terry and RGertz deserve special honors. I could name, as well, Jeannine, Mary, Glyn, Australian Sue, Language Hat, Pauline, the irrepressible Vincent man of many names, Carl in Boston, Todd Bernhardt, Nix, the Jennys and others who have enlivened my journey. Especial thanks today go to Chris Squire for posting John Evelyn's moving obituary note for Sam. Goodbye, all.

Mike  •  Link

Phil,

Many thanks for this wonderful trip back in time.
Now to start over with day 1...
:-)

James Streit  •  Link

Sam ends the diary in his inimitable style, with work, companionship, a drink and hope for what's to come. I hope we can all share the same. I've looked forward to these postings each day since the beginning. Over the years, I've wondered what each of the annotators were really like -- almost like that ancient of concepts, "pen pals." Especially, in the early days, trying to decipher the Geordie/Latin musings of Vincent/cum grano salis. Thank you Phil and all the annotators. It's been wonderful.

Bill  •  Link

I've been lurking on this site since some time in its second year; it's been my home page all this time, so that Sam's daily entry is the first thing I see in the morning. I have no idea what I'll replace it with. Thanks to Phil for doing this, and to all those whose annotations made it more interesting.

john  •  Link

"to set down no more than is fit for them and all the world to know"

And we are grateful for what came before.

What a labour of love from all, especially Sam(uel) and Phil. I purchased the L&M before Phil began; I dipped in it but without Phil, I would not have read it all.

(The ending seems personal to me. I can understand his concern with blindness. When I lost the sight in one eye and the other suddenly changed, I had the same sentiments.)

Clement  •  Link

I add my great thanks and praise to Phil and all of our contributors and fellow lurkers. My life has been wonderfully enriched by this site, which has been my "home page" for more than eight years.

I've enjoyed sharing special moments with family and friends, and exposing others to the site when I lead web-based training for work and "accidentally" leave my diary page up for viewing for extended periods.

Phil, I know you're a young man still, but no matter what great work you have yet to contribute this gift of your time and talent to us has been enormous.

And thanks to Sam, whose perhaps unique contribution to literature has opened a window, both internal and external, like no other.

Barry P. Reich  •  Link

Wonderful finish to the Diary. Especially glad to see the familiar "baiser elle" and "para hazer" in the final entry. I will miss you all.

Betty Birney  •  Link

I will miss Sam and the whole cast of characters. Thanks to him. And thanks to you, Phil, for all your work and for keeping Sam alive.

kim oliver  •  Link

Thanks to you all. You have enriched my life. You will all be missed, especially Sam, Elizabeth and Phil.

Can the Queen be petitioned to make Sam a knight?

Again, thank you.

So to bed.....

Michiel van der Leeuw  •  Link

I've been following the diary from the beginning "with great pleasure".

Phil, thank you ever so much for sharing it with us in this delightful way. May this site from now on become an encyclopedia for London life in the 1660's.

Thanks again!

Trevor  •  Link

I have been a long time lurker reading Sam's diary nearly every day. I want to send out a huge thank-you to Phil for bringing this site to the world, and to all the annotators- thank you for making the 1660's more real to me with your in-depth knowledge and links to further articles, images and books. I will miss my time here incredibly.

arby  •  Link

I said my goodbyes earlier, but I'd like to thank Jeaninne for The Next Chapter. Again, thanks to Phil and the whole gang, it's been wonderful. rb

DiPhi  •  Link

What a treat these years have been! I could never have plowed through the diary on my own, but in daily bits and augmented by the erudition and wit of the whole community, it has been a deep and lasting pleasure.

I love Sam. I love him for being the first modern civil servant, pursuing his responsibilities earnestly and capably. I love him for taking such delight in the pleasures of his life, licit and illicit. I love him for living and writing in such a rich, exciting time and sharing it with us in all its muddy, royal glory.

I couldn't make it to any of the get togethers, but I myself plan to raise a pint in Sam's honor tonight. I'll toast Sam, and Phil, and all of you! I'll miss you!

To quote Sam himself, "Thus was this entertainment over, the best of its kind, and the fullest of honour and content to me, that ever I had in my life: and shall not easily have so good again." (January 23, 1668/69)

Dinah from Santa Cruz, CA

Matt Lee  •  Link

Well now, I guess I need a new homepage. Yes, the diary has been my home page for the past nine years. It has always been a wonderful way to end the day -- seeing the new entry. Thank you Phil for being an amazing webmaster. One who truly cares about having a top quality site. Thank you to the regular and irregular annotators, who allowed me to lurk most of the time, mostly because you came up with the same comment I would have, but with far more research and care. You have made this site a truly wonderful experience.

laura k  •  Link

Many, many thanks to Phil, to all the annotators, and to Samuel Pepys. It's been grand.

jeannine  •  Link

The was a man named Samuel Pepys
A Diary Samuel did keep
He recorded his life
I’ll miss him and his wife
But all of you my dear friends, I will keep……

Many thanks to the world’s most wonderful host, Phil Gyford, all of the annotators and lurkers who’ve shared the adventure. It’s been a wonderful community to share each day.

Paul Chapin  •  Link

And so the time machine that let us witness daily life for more than nine momentous years in London has come to rest. Although Sam won't be telling us about them, great things lie ahead in his lifetime. Jeannine's must-read essay about Sam's life after the diary gives us a well researched and beautifully written look at that life. Let me mention here just a few particularly significant events.

1685: J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel are born
1687: Newton publishes _Principia Mathematica_, with the imprimatur of S. Pepys, President of the Royal Society
1688: The Glorious Revolution establishes Parliament as the supreme political authority in England
1690: John Locke (SP's exact contemporary) publishes _Treatises on Government_, laying the philosophical foundation for the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution

Many have amply and justly lauded Phil for making this adventure happen, and Terry for filling in so many blanks. In farewell to our happy band of time travelers, I'd like to give a shout out to a few annotators who have not been so widely mentioned, but who have added immensely to the pleasure of this journey and its value as a learning experience:

- Michael Robinson, bibliographer extraordinary
- Mary, whose brief contributions revealed her wealth of historical and linguistic knowledge
- Language Hat, with whom I had the fun of debating several issues that only linguists could love
- Australian Susan, for buoyant good humor and vast understanding of the religious milieu of SP's life
- Glyn, whose walking tours were my guides during my visit to London at the diary's midpoint
- Jeannine, for her wonderful sidebar essays
- Our inimitable (in the strictest sense of the word) man of many monikers, Michael Vincent (CGS, IAS, etc., etc.), who shared with us his experiences of a world in some ways closer to Sam's than our own, in a delightfully eccentric prose style. Language Hat aptly said of him, "I may not understand all the words, but I sure like the music."

Thanks to all for an experience I'll never forget. And now, adieu.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

What a moving entry, both because of its poignant closing paragraphs, and because the entry up to that point is, as others have mentioned, Classic Sam.

Can't add much more here that hasn't already been said, both on this page and on the "Roll Call" page ( http://www.pepysdiary.com/about/a… ), so I'll just thank Phil once more (we really can't thank him enough for this monumental achievement) and, to all assembled, sign off with a hearty and optimistic "See ya later." It's been grand.

Carl in Boston  •  Link

Alas, poor Samuel, I knew him well.

MaggieNY  •  Link

Thank you so much Phil for bringing Sam and Elizabeth into our lives everyday for nearly 10 years. I plan to go and read the continuing story and then,...back to the beginning. Reading this every day for years is such a part of me now I can't let it go...
And a special thank you to Robert Gertz for all the laughs.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

So who (besides our Sam and Bess of course) would you most like to spend a dinner evening with among our cast? While John Evelyn and Robert Hooke are obvious choices, I'd rather fancy a night with the Pierces...There's a neat mix of urbane sophistication, wit, and shrewdness about James and Betty. I like James' quiet support of Betty's independence that seeps through Sam's comments and Betty is a hoot...Beautiful, elegant, and so cleverly able to hold Sam off via constant pregnancy and strategic placement of her numerous offspring, yet able to appreicate his charm. And of course her hardheaded, practical management of the Pierce family interest during the prize goods affair is priceless. While James is an endless source of interesting tales about the Court...

Maurie Beck  •  Link

I'd like to spend time with William Coventry.

Like Sam, my eyesight went south. Unlike Sam, modern medicine restored it. As my eyesight dimmed from cataracts, I began to understand in a more visceral sense what I was losing. When I got it back it was like receiving the greatest toy; every day was a new view.

I'm looking forward to reading Jeannine's essay and much more about Sam's life. The whole diary experience that Phil has allowed everyone to create has been downright remarkable; living breathing alive.

markv  •  Link

Thanks, Phil, for the wonderful job you've done over the years.

Brian  •  Link

I have thoroughly enjoyed Sam Pepys diary. I have lurked for several years, I may have to go back and read the earlier entries. Thank you Phil.

Raymond  •  Link

Thank you so much Phil for all your efforts it has been great, you have done a fantastic job, it has been really appreciated, you brought it all to life so well , very very well done.

Sinclair  •  Link

Thank you Phil for 9 years of your time; reading the diary and the annotations from contributors was both beguiling and educational and I didn't miss a day.

Nick Hedley  •  Link

I should also like to thank Phil also for the brilliant original idea of posting daily Pepys blogs and allowing annotations that have without fail been funny, knowledgeable or insightful (and frequently all three). You have really attracted a wonderful group of followers who have been great companions during this stroll through the diary.

Although sad for us that the diary has stopped, it is perhaps for the best that he has bowed out at the top of his game, wielding substantial influence, with money in the bank (or in the strong room), with good friends to dine and be merry with and most of all with Elizabeth still with him. I personally would have loved to hear of his time as president of the Royal Society but alas that is not to be.

I shall now take a break (mourning) and start again in January since there is something particularly satisfying with knowing what Samuel was doing on this day 343 years ago or 353 years ago when I start again. I hope that Phil’s much deserved break will allow him to contemplate what a great and good thing he has constructed and I further hope that he can be persuaded to allow further annotations since they will surely be even more funny, knowledgeable and insightful for having passed that way before.

jean-paul  •  Link

Thank you, everybody. Unforgettable…

Steve Shervais  •  Link

Thanks for a job well done. Since 2005 this diary has been the first item on my Internet reading list. I shall miss it.

Marta Vinhais  •  Link

I read Isabel Coutinho's article at "Publico" and found it so interesting I decided to read it.
I just read the last entry, but I will check the archives.
Thank you.
Marta Vinhais (Porto, Portugal)

roboto  •  Link

Thanks for the journey. I enjoyed every entry over the entire time.

-roboto

Scott Fletcher  •  Link

Thank you all for this wonderful gift! I have only been reading the online diary since February of this year, after beginning Tomalin's biography for the second time. It is an almost daily ritual for me and even though I cannot 'speak' to you all since the posts and annotations I am reading are now 10 years old, I enjoy them immensely and am learning so much because of them. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Spin2Win  •  Link

This will really be missed! I followed daily in our Toronto newspaper, but heard about the end on NPR.

I do hope that the diary is replayed, but it will be for another generation to enjoy. We have too much invested in this to start over again immediately!

Peter Easton (PHE)  •  Link

Thank you Phil for all the work in managing the site. And thank you Mr Pepys for your endless entertainment. One of the most underrated and misrepresented characters in English history. When I have saved up enough, I will buy a bottle of Haut Brion and drink to you. We all feel we know you personally, despite the 350 year gap, and regret we can never share a 'merry' dinner with you. You were vain, and knew it, but knew you were only human. You would appreciate the respect and affection you still have from strangers centuries later.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Sat down at my laptop this Monday morning, coffee to hand, cat on lap and then realised - no Diary entry to read before settling to work. Feeling really bereft.

Dan Jones  •  Link

It's hard for me to believe that 10 years have gone by. Thanks so very much Phil and an amazing cast of commentators and annotators.

Ruben  •  Link

A diary is an account of life, and as such, one day it ends. In Sam's case, thanks to Phil, his diary received the best treatment possible: being read by many, single day after single day.
This diary is so full of information, that I may assure you that you probably do not remember most details. So those that got the habit of reading an entry, can go back to the first day and read again, with the added benefit of the annotations, already in place. Still better, Phil assured me last week that the blog wil be there for us, so may be, something new may be annotated that escaped our attention the first time or were shy to annotate. I intend to continue to organize something in Facebook, where I already posted some 70 images concerning the diary (mostly not from Wikipedia). You are all invited to enter my facebook album at "Ruben Lenger" and I would like to read comments and have more photos to add. When in London I visited young Samuel Pepys at the National Portrait Gallery. I also find there a bust of James II and Charles, etc. I took some pictures and I will add them to the album in a few days.

Linda F  •  Link

Yes, bereft. Still checking in to see further postings, while really appreciating what we have had here.

Spin2Win  •  Link

Yikes! The National Post has started the diary over again - today's paper had the June 4 entry from 1660. Looks like we're going in again!

Robert Watson  •  Link

The National Post's version is not very user-friendly. It doesn't seem to be a daily feature.
I Googled it, and took a look at what came through and it is not something we could look at as we have been on this site. Maybe I am confused by it all, but that is the point. It isn't done in the same way as Phil's site, so it is useless.

Katherine  •  Link

Still checking in every day, hoping to see posts from dearly loved annotators. Should I be checking the Yahoo group instead? I don't think I'll be able to stand the silence.

vanderleun  •  Link

What a wonderful, wonderful roll it has been. My appreciation and applause to all.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I wonder if anyone has mapped out Sam and Bess' trip?

Heartbreaking as the end of it was, we can always note that in an infinite multiverse where every possible timeline can exist, surely there's one where one of us or our descendants hotwired a time machine and got some antibiotics/antivirals back to Bess...Or better yet, brought our beloved couple to that alternate future to reside immortality with History's most famous #nice and pretty nice# people.

Linda F  •  Link

Katherine (and All),
Yes, do check the Yahoo group. There are related posts and links and a nascent project to present the diary of Sir John Evelyn -- seeking volunteers.

Linda F  •  Link

Correction: It is John Evelyn, and not Sir John Evelyn, who is the diarist and Pepys's frequent correspondent.

Mary  •  Link

Plain 'John' indeed. Though quite unlike Pepys in character, Evelyn was another diarist and dedicated public servant (viz. his work for wounded and destitute military and naval veterans) who failed to be recognised with a knighthood.

TIM DAY  •  Link

After reading the " The shorter Pepys" some years ago, I came across this site which I would vist nearly every day or catch up a few days missed.
I would just like to a big Thank You to all concerned for this wonderful site, I will miss it deeply, it's akin to losing an old friend.
Thank You

andy  •  Link

I've been away travelling in Pridnestrovye and Ukraine (= poor internet connections# and just got back to read Sam's final entry - a quick kiss with a beautiful woman, a trip to the tavern, a little political business and a dignified, formal conclusion to his audience.

Perhaps he could be seen as a #Lermontov) Pechorin of a man?

An amazing feat for Phil to have achieved. Thank you.

Ryan  •  Link

After reading the ” The shorter Pepys” some years ago, I came across this site which I would visit nearly every day or catch up a few days missed. Thanks for updating me with all the wisdom of that great book.

Second Reading

Ezekiel  •  Link

Upon reading his last entry, I felt sad that I couldn't read any more further than this. I wish that during the time Samuel Pepys was writing this, there was a treatment to help with his poor eyes. Thank you, Samuel, for giving us an insight to what your life was like back then and also, how Britain lived during your lifetime.

Silver Smith  •  Link

I have been reading the diary, including the annotations, straight through on a daily basis over the last 16 months and have finally come to Sam's last entry. I thank Samuel Pepys for his treasury of a diary that has allowed all of us to essentially travel back to the England of the 17th century. I only wish I had found this excellent Phil Gyford masterpiece when he first started it online. Thank you Phil for your dedication and tremendous effort in bringing Samuel Pepys Diary to this modern forum. I also want to thank all the annotators, esp. Terry, Robert, and Jeannine, for the historical expansion and details that you provided to all us readers. Sam remained the true Sam through his final entry. It was a great read and I loved every minute of it!
Luther Smith (Silver Smith)
Meridian, Mississippi
October 26, 2016

psw  •  Link

This has been such a pleasure. Thanks to all, esp Phil Gyford and all the erudite annotator-educators. Fascinating stuff.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

“To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.” -- John Milton (1608-1674).

Milton dictated the whole of Paradise Lost because he really was blind. Fortunately Pepys' fears were not fulfilled. But a dictated Diary would not have been nearly so much fun. Thank you, Mr. Pepys.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I must endeavour to keep a margin in my book open, to add, here and there, a note in short-hand with my own hand."

L&M: He never kept any such record. His eyesight appears to have improved after his holiday abroad in the following autumn (q.v. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… )
for from at least February 1670 he was avle to make a limited use of shorthand (see e.g. CSPD 1670 pp. 94, 480, 516, 639). He later composed journals (written up by clerks) for specific purposes -- to record his his examination by the Privy Council about the Brooke House Committee's report (3 January-17 February 1670; PL 2874, pp. 385-403), and to help him with his defence when accused of treaton during the Popish Plot (10 May-June 1679, 24 January-10 April 1680, PL 2881, pp. 45-83, ib,, 28882, ff,. 1169-1235///////0, and to record the work of the special Commission of 1686 (PL 1490. pp. 7-79). What is sometimes called his 'second diary' is the short Journal (30 July-1 December 1683), closely written in shorthand, of his voyage to Tangier, when he went with the expeditionwhich dismantled and evuated it (Rawl C 859 B and C; the accompanyin obaervations are much longer than the journal itself). The best edition is by E. Chappelll (Navy Rec. Soc., 11935). Geing a livre d'occasion it is quite different in character and scale from the diary which now ends.

Liz  •  Link

Finally a 40 year itch has been scratched! I have read the Diary straight through, taking a leisurely 17.5 months (approx), something I’ve wanted to do since seeing the volumes in my local library reference section all those years ago.
Huge thanks to Phil for setting up and maintaining this site and to the annotators who have explained and amused throughout and to the great man himself for so candidly revealing what life was like for him and people back then.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I spoke too soon. It took yet another day for Cosmo, the future Grand Duke of Turin, to say his farewells to the Stuart Brothers.

I've standardized the spelling of names I know, corrected scanning errors I could figure out, and increased the number of paragraphs. Sometimes I got confused making the N.S./O.S. date conversions, so I apologize if they are wrong:

373

31 May/10 June, 1669 after mass, his highness went, with the Chevalier Castiglioni and Colonel Gascoyne, to Whitehall, to the audience of leave, which had been fixed by his majesty for that morning, after the service of the chapel.

He went privately into the cabinet where his majesty was, omitting all exterior formality, as being inconsistent with his incognito.

After the audience, which lasted a considerable time, his highness met Prince Robert [RUPERT], and, having mutually complimented each other, they went each his Way.

At noon he went to the house of Lord Clifford, the treasurer of the household, where, in compliance with his urgent and repeated solicitations, his highness had resolved to dine that day.

He was entertained with all possible attention by the treasurer, who did not suffer himself to be outdone by any of the others in respect or in magnificence. There were at table, below his highness (who on this as on all other occasions occupied the highest seat) besides the 2 that his highness took with him, other gentlemen invited to render the entertainment more lively, and to drink to his highness's prosperous voyage.

When the tables were removed, his highness retired for a short time into another room, till it was time for his audience and visit of, leave to the Duke and Duchess of York.

At the appointed hour the prince repaired to his audience of the duke and duchess, without making any alteration in the formalities practiced at the preceding one, and which were suitable to the moderation invariably observed by his highness during his visit to London and to other courts.

374

When he had got over these visits, as it was not yet the time fixed for his audience of the queen, he availed himself of the opportunity to despatch some other visits of ceremony which still remained to be paid to other ladies,

and then repaired to the palace to his audience of the queen, who was in her bedchamber with some of her ladies; and here again he observed, without any variation, the same form as at that of the king.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

His majesty arrived at the queen's apartments while his highness was on the point of taking leave, and took this opportunity of entering into conversation till it was time to go to Hyde Park, whither his majesty was pleased to take his highness in his carriage, seating him in the second place of honor, the Duke of Buckingham, the king's principal Master of the Horse and confidential servant, being in the third, and my Lord Mandeville, Gentleman of the Guard, in the fourth.

In the evening his majesty returned from Hyde Park, and his highness along with him, going directly to the queen's apartments, on which occasion the prince repeated his parting compliments to his majesty.

375

At night, his majesty, who, during the whole time of his highness's residence at his court, had testified, in the most lovely manner, the consideration in which he held. him, wished to give a final proof of it by some positive and public demonstration; and for that purpose, on this evening, which preceded the morning fixed for his departure, resolved to sup at the house of his highness, who had already made the requisite preparations with the utmost splendor and magnificence: going downstairs, therefore, his majesty reentered the same carriage which had just before conveyed him and his highness from Hyde Park to Whitehall, placing beside him in the second place the Duke of York, in the third the Prince, and in the fourth the Duke of Buckingham, and thus proceeded publicly, with trumpets sounding and lighted torches, accompanied by his horse guards, and attended by the usual retinue of his courtiers and gentlemen, towards his, highness' house, where a crowd of people had assembled in the square out of curiosity to see this procession, which was so much more than usually ceremonious.

On alighting from the carriage, his highness, with delicate politeness, wished to offer his majesty his arm, but the king would not permit it; and alighting, his majesty, escorted by the noblemen and gentlemen of his own court, and those of his highness's court, who stood waiting for him at the door of the house, proceeded towards the upper apartments, along with the duke and the prince who, to shew greater respect to his royal guest, kept rather behind him. The staircase was lighted by torches, which were carried before and close to his majesty.

376

He was preceded by one of his highness's gentlemen with a candle, ,^i3d when be,r^acl|e^ |Ue salc^.^pji^in^^^r^tj^^^ql^- iijtv^^f the supper, being the largest apartment in the house, he immediately entered into another adjoining /l?CTi )T)lBWKlfe^iR^^*^y^'?"5^ ^;^*^^^'^ office were prepared, owing to the smallness of the place, and from this into another corresponding one, which was the apartment of his highness: here his majesty conversed till supper-time With his highness and the noblemen of his retinue, with the same freedom as is practiced in the queen's cabinet.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

PART 3

The apartment before mentioned, suitably ornamented, was chosen for the supper, in preference to the others which the house contained. From the ceiling was suspended a chandelier of rock crystal with lighted tapers.

In the middle of the room the table was set out, being of an oval figure, convenient both for seeing and convers splendid armchair, and in front of it, by themselves, a knife and fork, tastefully disposed for his majesty; but he ordered the chair to be removed, and a stool without a back, according to the custom of the country.

In respects similar to those of the rest of the company, to be put in its place. Haying sat down, his majesty called the Duke of York to 'Sit by' him on his right hand, and the prince on his left; after them, the Duke of Monmouth, the Duke of Buckingham, the Duke of Ormonde, iiij^ Lord Howard, Earl of Arundel, my Lord Philip Howard, his brother, my Lord Gerard, my Lord Croft, my Lord Manchester, my Lord Arlington, [WILLIAM HOWARD], lord Stafford, Henry Jermyn, Mr. Thynne, and of his highness's gentlemen Colonel Gascoyne and the Chevalier Dante, all of whom, to the number of 17; il^^P^ 'WccStiimodatMdP found the table, some on one side and some on the other, and there were as many knives and forks, which, when they had sat down, they found before them, arranged in a fanciful and elegant manner.

The rest of his highness's gentlemen, with some who belonged to the king's court and that of the duke, stood round the table, near their masters.
The entertainment was most superb, both as to the quantity and quality of the dishes, and as to the rarity and exquisiteness of the best Italian wines, and those of other countries.

377

The supper was served up in 80 magnificent dishes; many of which were decorated with other smaller ones, filled with various delicious meats. To the service of fruit, succeeded a most excellent course of confectionary, both those of Portugal and other countries famous for the choiceness of their sweetmeats, which was in all respects on a par with the supper that preceded it.

But scarcely was it set upon the table, when the whole was carried off and plundered by the people who came to see the spectacle of the entertainment; nor was the presence of the king sufficient to restrain them from the pillage of these very delicate viands, much less his majesty's soldiers armed with carabines, who guarded the entrance of the saloon, to prevent all ingress into the inside, lest the confinement and too great heat should prove annoying; so that his majesty, to avoid the crowd, was obliged to rise from table, and retire to his highness's apartment.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

PART 4

In addition to the other festivities of the table, there was no want of toasts, proposed by his highness, to the welfare of his majesty and the royal family, and returned by his majesty to his highness's fortunate voyage, and to the prosperity of his Serene House,

379

These were successively repeated to the same effect by the rest of the guests, so that, by their conviviality, the entertainment was protracted to a great length, and finally concluded with a most kind wish tendered to his highness by his majesty, and seconded by all present, for the continuation of a sincere friendship, and a confirmation of the alliance between the royal family and the most Serene House of Tuscany.

After supper his majesty passed nearly an hour in conversation in the prince's apartments, till he was informed that the carriages were ready for his return to the palace.

The king then went downstairs with the duke, and with the whole of his retinue, in the same form that he had observed in coming, and was accompanied by his highness to the door of the house, and as far as the carriage.

Having stepped into the carriage with the duke, his majesty renewed his expressions of courtesy and gratitude to his highness; and when the carriage was about to drive off, the king's majesty intreated the prince to retire to rest as soon as possible, on account of the fatigue which he would have to undergo on the following day, which was fixed for his departure; but his highness, keeping his hand upon the door of the carriage to prevent it from being closed, instead of taking leave, with great address stepped himself into the carriage to wait on his majesty to the palace, in spite of the opposition of the latter.

380

On alighting, his highness repeated the politeness of offering his arm to his majesty, who would by no means accept of it.

They went up to the king’s apartments, where his majesty and his highness renewed their mutual compliments; the king confirming his expressions of goodwill by embraces and the most signal tokens of cordiality.

When he had taken leave of the king, he exchanged fresh salutations with the Duke of York, who, while the prince was with his majesty, had retired into another room; and taking leave of his royal highness, went to his carriage to return home, whither, by the king's order, he was waited upon by the Duke of Buckingham, and the Chevalier Castiglione, who had followed him in another carriage when he went with his majesty to court.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

PART 5

On alighting from his carriage, his highness would not suffer the duke, who was desirous of waiting upon him to his apartments, to attend him any farther, it being now late, and considerably past midnight; but, dismissing him, retired to bed.

@@@

Not a bad send off for an "incog." visit. In Cosmo's travelogue, “incognito” is generally shortened to "incog." and I think the meaning was "unofficial, informal", as opposed to "having one's true identity concealed" which is today's definition.

From:
TRAVELS OF COSMO THE THIRD, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY,
THROUGH ENGLAND,
DURING THE REIGN OF KING CHARLES THE SECOND (1669)
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN MANUSCRIPT
https://archive.org/stream/travel…

His highness, Cosmo, must be considered only as a traveler. Under his direction, the narrator of the records was Count Lorenzo Magalotti, afterwards Secretary to the Academy del Cimento, and one of the most learned and eminent characters of the court of Ferdinand II.

arby  •  Link

Thanks for the second time around Phil and everyone else. I may leave the Pepys tab open for a few more days, it's been open for nearly 20 years through two laptops.
My best to you and your presumed keyboard cat, San Diego Sarah, and thanks for the entries this time around. Best wishes to you all, thanks again, Phil.

mountebank  •  Link

Thanks Phil for doing this again (a two decade commitment!) and providing a second chance for some of us to experience the journey of 1660s Pepys. Without this website I doubt I would have read the whole of Pepys diary, and my life would have been poorer as a result. It's also been a joy reading a website for a decade having a clear presentation free of the visual gimmicks that are popular these days.

Goodbye to the other annotators. You've added so much to the experience.

Now, what to do with the Pepys-shaped hole in my life?

Phil Gyford  •  Link

I've just created this Site News post which I'll update with some stats etc about the site over the past two decades or so: https://www.pepysdiary.com/news/2…

Feel free to post thoughts, goodbyes, thanks, etc in the comments there!

Stephane Chenard  •  Link

Our little boat comes to rest on the shore, with a dry hiss of its paper hull against the fine sand. Behind us the immense sea of paper churns and heaves, stirred by the fights of the Archival monsters deep within. Sam Pepys neatly stows the oars, stands up, adjusts his golden lace cuffs and his periwig, steps ashore and walks away without a word or a look back.

"Mr. Pepys", we say, "we urge utmost caution! Those are the Sands of Time! People have been known to disappear in them. On this Sea and with us you would be safer".

Up and down the shore, dozens of other boats, of all styles and sizes, are similarly beached, and from them dozens of Sam Pepyses step out. The Annotators all plead like us, to no avail. Some leave their boats to trudge after Sam up the beach, but he's already disappeared behind a dune.

It's a problem for the Annotators. We are, you see, mostly from the future. But most of us are in fact from our past, though we converse with them almost as in the present. And now we have no future, because the past has stopped; the past has no future anymore. What to do?

Why, of course the past has a future. It is the past itself – the deeper past! We fell into this boat, in Sam's company, on 1 January, 1665. And so we will turn our boat around, round this little cape here, on which stands this tavern appropriately named The World's End, and the shop where they make these elegant white walking sticks for the blind. Then we will resume our progress from 1 January, 1660. Aye, that is our designe. The past will then be younger! Sam, younger, fresher and poorer. The King, still brushing off ashes from the recent past. London, still a warren of timbered, combustible narrow lanes, and the plague still on its way to Constantinople.

The Annotators, also younger, though this much older, and bringing to the past their new wisdom from the future – for we know the past's future, the past years 1665-69 that will all be the future (but only then, in the past of the past) and these future people that we will meet in the past will not yet have seen this future. That is, we will do this in the future, if the Diary Gods allow, as we pray.

On the dune, two seagulls contemplate us. "This one's severely confused, isn't he", one remarks to the other. "Didn't bring us any fish, though. Is it going to be like this every ten years, then? We should put up a sign: 'Bring fish for the Time Gulls'."

Ah well. We have six months now to find January 1, 1660 and haul our little boat there. Sure, we could just cross over, and be there already, but who wants to read of wintertime at the height of summer?

So see you soon! Let's meet again, ten years ago in six months. How shall we survive until then? Not to worry; just scoop some Gazettes, some State Papers, from the bountiful sea. Onward, now! Onward, to the past!

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I'm so going to miss all of you (and Pepys and gang of course) ... but it's the unexpected gems we come up with that really make my day.
I do hope Phil is up for another go-around, back to the future, as Stephane so poetically said.

jude cooper  •  Link

So it's come to an end. Already looking forward to Jan 1st when it starts again...!

William Crosby  •  Link

This is my second complete reading of the diary and I want to extend my great appreciation to Phil and all the amazing annotators, comment contributors, and for the incredible resources added through the years. I hope this Time Machine will be ready to convey us back 1659/60 again next year.

James Waddell  •  Link

I only started reading these diairies a few weeks ago! I shall miss not having it as part of my daily routine. Well done to everyone involved for keeping it running for so long.

Timo  •  Link

Would love of course to echo everyone’s thanks to Samuel and Phil for the amazing experience… I’m not sure I could commit to going around again but will definitely be popping in for a browse from time to time if it restarts next year. The annotations have made this experience even more rewarding and, although I skimmed 99% of RG’s commentary and his rather odd obsession with the guy’s wife, I have always enjoyed his erudite historical observations and I particularly liked the question he posed here. Out of a cast of hundreds, I think I would choose Knepp to hang out with for the night - she sounded like a LOT of fun and always seemed to remain just out of Sam’s reach. A real live wire and the one that got away…

If haven’t finished the whole loop or you’re going around again, enjoy the ride!

Scube  •  Link

Timo - great post. Knepp would have my vote as well for a night out on the town. Anyway, after a few years of Sam being the first event when I reach my desk, I keep hitting the link now just out of habit and the forlorn hope that Sam will resume writing. Desire trumping reality I guess.

Thanks again to all who made this such a rewarding experience.

Larry Neal  •  Link

Let me echo everyone from 2012 onward to say thanks, Phil, for my daily visit with a slice of the past that, thanks to Mr. Pepys, often seems close enough to touch. Sam went on to lead a life no less extraordinary than during his diary years, and I'm sorry we cannot know about it in the same, familiar way. As for the future, I do hope you'll consider making one more run with the diary. I might even live long enough to see Pepys off to sea a third time.

Sam Ursu  •  Link

I too join my voice to the chorus singing the praises of this wonderful diary and the people who put it together and contributed their knowledge, wisdom, and insight. This website is always my first stop in the morning. Thank you!

Stuart Miller  •  Link

Thank you so much for creating this group and allowing us an insight into Pepys (journaled) life.
The daily email has been my breakfast read over the last year or so.
I'll miss it and hope the diary will restart from the beginning.

Mary K  •  Link

If you look at the Article outlining the important discovery of the wreck of the Gloucester you will find reference to today's feature on the same subject in the UK Daily Telegraph.

The diary site may be taking a bit of a breather, but it's still accepting some new information - keep checking.

AHB  •  Link

Thank you Phill for confirming there will be a third read-through.

I was a reader of the site way back in the first round but kept missing days and then weeks, months and years as business got busier and life got livelier. I remember thinking the diary would work as one of the new-fangled blog thingies, but I only discovered the RSS version about a month ago - aargh!

I'm so glad I'll finally be able to follow Sam for the next ten years. I'm another reader by RSS through Feedly. Have a great Christmas (first Xmas wishes of the year!) and roll on January '23!

Matt Newton  •  Link

As we bid goodbye to another year I hope my old friends here join me in another read through of our favourite diary.
And thanks to Phil of course.

Scube  •  Link

I second Matt's comments. Phil, thanks so much for taking this on. I only caught parts of the first two read throughs and looking forward to attempting a full read through on this pass. Just because some of us lurk more than we comment doesn't mean we don't enjoy it!
Wishing you all a happy New Year.

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