INTRODUCTION xxix 



IV 



Evelyn's Attitude during the Commonwealth 1647-1660. 



Arrived at Wotton, he at once went to kiss his Majesty's 

 hand at Hampton Court and convey tidings from Paris, 

 King Charles * being now in the power of those execrable 

 villains who not long after murder'd him. ' Thence he 

 betook himself to Sayes Court, near Deptford in Kent, the 

 estate belonging to his father-in-law, where he * had a lodging 

 and some bookes. ' It was here that he was living when his 

 first literary work was published, Of Liberty and Servitude, a 

 translation from the French of Le Vayer, in January, 1 649, 

 though the dedication of it to his brother George bears 

 date 25th January, 1647. He was very near getting into 

 trouble about the preface to this, because in his own copy he 

 noted that c I was like to be call'd in question by the Rebells 

 for this booke, being published a few days before his 

 Majesty's decollation. ' Although he took no prominent 

 part in politics at this particular time, yet he could hardly 

 help playing with the fire. Thus, on nth December, * I got 

 privately into the council of ye rebell army at Whitehall, 

 where I heard horrid villanies. ' Having money in hand, 

 either from savings during the four years ' sojourn abroad, 

 where his expenses (including all purchases of objects of art 

 and vertu) did not amount to more than 300 a year, or 

 else from his child-wife's dowry, he dabbled in land specu- 

 lation with the fairly satisfactory result that on the whole he 

 does not appear to have lost much by it. 



On iyth January, 1649, he ' heard the rebell Peters incite 

 the rebell powers met in the Painted Chamber to destroy his 

 Majesty, and saw that archtraytor Bradshaw, who not long 

 after condemn'd him. ' But his loyalty kept him from being 

 present at the death-scene. 'The villanie of the rebells 

 proceeding now so far as to trie, condemne and murder our 

 excellent King on the 3Oth of this month, struck me with 

 such horror that I kept the day of his martyrdom a fast, and 

 would not be present at that execrable wickednesse, receiving 

 the sad account of it from my Brother George and Mr. Owen, 



