INTRODUCTION Ixiii 



ing a succint account of Traffick in general ; etc. etc to the 



beginning of our late differences with Holland ; in which his 

 Majesties title to the Dominion of the Sea is asserted against the 

 Novel and later Pretenders. (1674). His own account of the 

 stoppage of the work is given in the diary for 1 9th August 

 1 674, { His Majesty told me how exceedingly the Dutch were 

 displeas'd at my treatise of the " Historic of Commerce; " that 

 the Holland Ambassador had complain'd to him of what I had 

 touch'd of the Flags and Fishery, etc., and desired the booke 

 might be call'd in; whilst on the other side he assur'dmehewas 

 exceedingly pleas'd with what I had done, and gave me many 

 thanks. However, it being just upon conclusion of the treaty 

 of Breda (indeed it was design'd to have been publish'd some 

 moneths before and when we were at defiance), his Majesty 

 told me he must recall it formally, but gave order that what 

 copies should be publiqly seiz'd to pacific the Ambassador, 

 should immediately be restor'd to the printer, and that neither 

 he nor the vendor should be molested. The truth is, that 

 which touch'd the Hollander was much lesse than what the 

 King himself furnish'd me with, and oblig'd me to publish, 

 having caus'd it to be read to him before it went to the 

 presse ; but the error was, it should have been publish'd before 

 the peace was proclaim'd. The noise of this book's suppress- 

 ion made it presently be bought up, and turn'd much to the 

 stationer's advantage. It was no other than the Preface 

 prepar'd to be prefix'd to my History of the whole Warr ; 

 which I now pursued no further. ' Years afterwards, how- 

 ever, he wrote somewhat bitterly on this subject to his intimate 

 friend Pepys, in a letter dated 28th April 1682, in which he 

 says, c In sum, I had no thanks for what I had done, and 

 have been accounted since, 1 suppose, an useless fop, and fit 

 only to plant coleworts, and I cannot bend to mean submiss- 

 ions ; and this, Sir, is the history of the Historian. I confess 

 to you, I had once the vanity to hope, had my patron 

 continued in his station, for some, at least, honorary title 

 that might have animated my progress, as seeing then some 

 amongst them whose talents I did not envy : but it was not 

 my fortune to succeed. ' This certainly seems as if Evelyn 

 had been hoping for knighthood from King Charles. If his 

 desire lay this way, it is difficult to reconcile such private 



