Few of these family connections were left when Pepys himself died, for in the long list of persons to whom rings and mourning were given the following relations only are noticed:- Samuel and John Jackson, sons of Pall Jackson (born Pepys), the two nephews; Balthazar St. Michel, brother-in-law, and his daughter Mary; Roger Pepys, of Impington, Edward Pickering, Tim Turner, the minister of Tooting; Mr. Bellamy, Mr. and Mrs. Mathews, Dr. Montagu, Dean of Durham; and the Earl of Sandwich. Dr. Daniel Milles, the minister of St. Olave's, Hart Street, was one of Pepys's life-long acquaintances we can hardly call him friend, for the Diarist never seems to have cared much for him. We read how he "nibbled at the Common Prayer," then how he took to the surplice, and gradually changed from the minister under the Commonwealth to the Church of England rector under Charles. A year or two after he ought to have been accustomed to the Prayer-Book, he made an extraordinary blunder in reading the service. Instead of saying, "We beseech Thee to preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth," he said: "Preserve to our use our gracious Queen Katherine."1 In 1667 he was pre sented to the rectory of Wanstead, in Essex, and in order to qualify him for holding two livings at the same time, he was made one of the Duke of York's chaplains. 2 It is often amusing to notice how frequently Pepys changed his opinion of certain persons: for instance, in 1660, he calls Mr. Milles "a very 1 "Diary," April 17, 1664. 2 May 29, 1667. good minister," while in 1667 he styles him "a lazy fat priest." Two men who occupy a considerable space in the "Diary" are the two clerks, Thomas Hayter and William Hewer. Most of those who were in any way connected with Pepys were helped on by him in the struggle of life, and his clerks were no exception to this rule. Hayter was appointed Clerk of the Acts in 1674, and Secretary of the Admiralty in 1679; and subsequently Hewer was a Commissioner of the Navy and Treasurer for Tangier. Some of those whose fortunes had been made by Pepys turned out ungrateful when their patron was out of power; but Hewer continued to be a comfort to the old man to the last. Allusion has already been made to Pepys's helpers in the arrangement of his books and papers, and therefore much need not be said about them here. While the "Diary was being written, Pepys obtained help from his wife and brother-in-law and servants; but when he became more opulent he employed educated men to write for him. One of these was Cesare Morelli, an Italian, recommended by Thomas Hill. He arranged Pepys's musical papers, and in 1681 he acknowledged the receipt of £7, which made a total of £85 17s. 6d. received from Pepys during a period extending from November 4th, 1678, to August 13th, 1681.3 This friendship, which does Pepys much credit, caused him some trouble, as Morelli was a Ro 1 "Diary," Aug. 19, 1660. 2 June 3, 1667. 3 Smith's "Life, Journals, &c., of Samuel Pepys,” vol. i. p. 270. man Catholic, and the zealots falsely affirmed that he was also a priest. Pepys early made the acquaintance of Dr. Petty, who was a member of the Rota Club; and he frequently mentions him and his doublebottomed boat (named "The Experiment") in the "Diary." Many anecdotes are told of Petty by Aubrey-how he was poor at Paris, and lived for a week on three pennyworth of walnuts ; how, while teaching anatomy at Oxford, he revived Nan Green after her execution, and how he obtained the Professorship of Music at Gresham College by the interest of Captain John Graunt, author of "Observations on the Bills of Mortality." At the Restoration Petty was knighted, and made Surveyor-General of Ireland, where he gathered a large fortune. Pepys considered Sir William Petty to be one of the most rational men that he ever heard speak with tongue;1 and he was also an excellent droll. The latter character was proved when a soldier knight challenged him to fight. He was very short-sighted; and, having the privilege of nominating place and weapon for the duel, he chose a dark cellar for the place, and a great carpenter's axe for the weapon. This turned the challenge into ridicule, and the duel never came off. Petty was a prominent Fellow of the Royal Society, and about 1665 he presented a paper on "The Building of Ships," which the President (Lord Brouncker) took away and kept to himself, according to Aubrey, with the remark, that "'twas too great an arcanum of State to be 1 "Diary, Jan. 27, 1663-64. commonly perused." Aubrey also relates an excellent story apropos of the Royal Society's anniversary meeting on St. Andrew's Day. The relater had remarked that he thought it was not well the Society should have pitched upon the patron of Scotland's day, as they should have taken St. George or St. Isidore (a philosopher canonized). No," said Petty, "I would rather have had it on St. Thomas's Day, for he would not believe till he had seen and put his fingers into the holes, according to the motto, Nullius in verba." 66 Among the City friends of Pepys, the Houblons stand forward very prominently. James Houblon, the father, died in 1682, in his ninetieth year, and was buried in the church of St. Mary Woolnoth, his epitaph being written in Latin by Pepys. His five sons are frequently mentioned in the "Diary," but James and Wynne were more particularly his friends, and were among those who received mourning rings after his death. In 1690, when Pepys was committed to the Gate-house, and four gentlemen came forward to bail him, James Houblon was one of these four.1 Alderman Backwell, the chief goldsmith of his time, had many dealings with Pepys, who went to him at one time to change some Dutch money, and at another to weigh Lord Sandwich's crusados. Probably our Diarist was rather trouble 2 1 Smith's "Life, &c., of Pepys," vol. ii. p. 352. 2 A Portuguese coin worth from 2s. 3d. to 4s. :— some at times, for once he bought a pair of candlesticks, which soon afterwards he changed for a cup, and at last he obtained a tankard in place of the cup. In 1665 there was a false report that Backwell was likely to become a bankrupt; but in 1672, on the closing of the Exchequer, the King owed him £293,994 16s. 6d., and he was in consequence ruined by Charles's dishonest action. On his failure many of his customers' accounts were taken over by the predecessors of the present firm of Child and Co., the bankers. We shall have occasion to allude in the next chapter to some of those who were brought in contact with Pepys in the way of business; but it is necessary to say a few words here about two men who were both official acquaintances and personal friends. Sir Anthony Deane was one of the most accomplished shipbuilders of his time, and a valuable public servant, but he did not escape persecution. A joint charge of betraying the secrets of the British navy was made against Pepys and Deane in 1675. In 1668 Deane had held the office of shipwright at Portsmouth, and afterwards he was appointed a Commissioner of the Navy. In 1680 he resigned his post, but in 1681 he again formed one of the new Board appointed by James II., and hoped to help in improving the condition of the navy, which was then in a very reduced state. After the Revolution he sought retirement in Worcestershire, and the two old men corresponded and compared notes on their states of mind. Deane wrote to Pepys: "These are only to let you know I am alive. I have nothing to do but read, |
