liv INTRODUCTION 



VII 



Evelyn's Literary Works. 



Evelyn's earliest publications, some of which have already 

 been referred to, consisted mostly in translations from the 

 French, Latin, and Greek, that of the first book of Lucretius' 

 De Rerum Natura being in verse. Their authorship was 

 usually veiled either under Greek pseudonyms or else more 

 thinly under the initials J.E. ' That on A Character of 

 England (1659), a tract purporting to have been written by 

 a foreigner, appeared anonymously. 



Of all these seven publications appearing before the Rest- 

 oration, the only one of any importance was The French 

 Gardener^ the translation of a work by N. de Bonnefons, 

 which appeared at the end of 1658 and was thus referred to 

 in the diary, >' Dec. 6th. Now was publish'd my " French 

 Gardener, " the first and best of the kind that introduc'd ye 

 use of the Olitorie garden to any purpose'. Subsequent 

 editions of it appeared in 1669, 1672, 1691, bearing Evelyn's 

 name on the titlepage in place of the Philocepos on its first 

 publication. 



With the Restoration, bringing to him greater personal 

 freedom of thought and speech, came the most active period 

 of Evelyn's literary production. His loyalty at once found 

 opportunity to answer a libel on King Charles (entitled News 

 from Brussels] in The late News from Brussels unmasked, a long 

 vindication of his Majesty from the calumnies and scandal 

 therein fixed on him. From a literary and antiquarian point 

 of view, however, far greater interest attaches to a much 

 shorter treatise entitled Fumifugium : or the Inconvenience of 

 the Aer and SmoaJ^ of London Dissipated^ together with some 

 Remedies humbly proposed. As this is the earliest reference to 

 the great London Smoke Nuisance, which, like the poor, we 

 have always with us, it is of more than passing interest to 

 know how large this difficult problem of curing it loomed 

 about two and a half centuries ago. Moreover, this short 

 work affords a very typical example of Evelyn's literary style, 

 while at the same time well exemplyfying his profusely 



