New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-22
PEPYS'S DIARY.
MIR. WIEATLEY'S NEW EDITION of -
AND IT'S MERITS COMPARED WITH
THE OLD EDITIONS.

editor and Mcssrs Bell as publishers Inc hIS'
complete edition of Pepys, sag the pu"'
in loud tone. But it presently appears '"
complete is used in sense wiich ~ 49,
knowledge of publishers English, OF u Wv
custom of the trade, TO understand 'seo II w.,
sense it means incomplete. There are ip,.ah9,s
in Pepys which Mr. Wheatlcy, or MS pu''i' ,
or BOTH consider unprintabe ines II" rua
omitted 4 complete Pcpys is still In 'he iu'u'''
W. .h. Rev MINORS Bright published his
.o,,, ,rorscrint and new edition OF fcpys' ne
,nodo tho following curious observation
Mr. Pins his Diary immortaized by l"aot-
.,.r "a co we'll known, and his nam" Is now sucn
household word, that think nave ITO "''"
10 apologize for giving the pupnc i"'' "'
10 lie domestic affairs. l have therefore pun
ushoa Tho whole of the Diary, with the exception
~ sucb parts as thought would ne TEDIOUS 10
The reader or that are unit Tor pnoiica'lon.
The parts which the Rev MINORS pi,s"'
.boucht would be tedious to the reader are those
which Mr. Wheatcy has now added Mr. brlsn'
gives elsewhere fuller explanation OF Ms
o,oissions which now become Mr. Wheatlcy
additions: L., M,
at il impossible for any one who mas ho'
rood the entire Diary fully TO appreciate fepvs
industry and diligence in his Office OF S'cfr.a's
20 .ho Admiralty but it would have been tealous
70 the reader if had copied from the oia'S '"'
account of his daily work at the ONCE
On this state of facts arise two ques'ioii' %
editorial ethics first. whether MI Nir'NS
notion Of what is unprintable ought 70 ne hs
~,,;aa - su,,ross;rc passages of undoubed inter
est: and second, whether Pcpys or .he ''''o.
Gains ANYTHING by the publication of the account
~ his daily work at the Admiralty once.
The LAWYERS could perhaps settle the hr'' poi'i''
rather Imagine that the omitted passages u
some of them, might expose the respec'aoie pu,-
,;sh.rs n prosecution under Lord Calnphers
40. and mono of us would wish TO see the respect
oble publisher looking out from BEHIND PriSo"
bars However we have only guesscs 10 20 w
and nobody really knows what the Kew Wy "UI'
pr;cbt or MFR. IT, b. Wheatley may regard as the
true standard of propriety, or oil lmproprir'S' u
20 what extent their objections are founded U"
mare soueamishness If the passages in question
oro really gross, il might still he possible 10
nr,nt them privately, even if it were only Tor Tue
british Museum. The student Of English history
In the seventeenth century is entitled 10 nave
all Pepys before him. on.xon.
The second question raises very ui,'i'"'
issuo An editor of Pepys may yer! "eii soy
that his obligations to his author are not OF 'nc
usual kind, not what they would NJ IL icPS'
had meant his Diary TO be published. IT. Is a.
certain as anything human can De 'ha' |" ",'
not mean il to be published. lie wrote IT IN
down things which were not meant, ana coui'
not no meant for the public. His character MS
nositiop everything in the circumstances Oh HIS
ito nj tho time and still more surely la1cr III
III. mako the theory that this record was IN
tended for publication, untenable; aoso'"'eN
ur,orable The Diary slept in cipher and IN
,.anusc,int for 100 wears II was first decphered
about seventy years ago. The first edition was
nnhlishcd in 1s@j. with Lord ITHym'oNc d.
cditor In lS4s ne issued a third EDITION WIFI
,,ooa dea, more Of the Diary than he had at
first thought fit to print. That renamed tiie
standard edition till Mr.. Brisht's, in 1880. oo-
v;ouslr. no editor stands in the same relation 10
. work Of this kind with such history, as
Tho editor Of a cassie stands TO the teAt oil MS
author The editor of the classic ls bound 10
resnect his classic lie publishes the whole II nc
nnblshes any, True, Shakespeare has been bo"u-
ierized. but the garblcd edition OF the gIea'
dramatist is not that which holds the market
The Bible escaped Mr.. Bowdler though, II 'here
be any excuse or pretcN Tor eNpWea''"7 "
classic the Bible stands at least much in need
Of this process as Shakespeare. CONSIDERATIONS
of this sort apply TO both the questions asked
.bovc The second would he better answered
nv nuttng aside the claims Of the author, on thc
grounds already indicated. and keeping IN NINA
only tho claims Of the reader.
Now. for the general reader. there is already
enough of Pepys. He fills IN MI bright
edition six large octave volumes. II is very
doubtful whether the matter newly gwen 70 the
world by Mr. Bright was worth giving whether
!. added ANYTHING really valuable to our knowl-
e0ee OF Pepys or of his time Mr.. Lowell
Thought not When tie Bright edition came out
SIR Lowell read it, and his verdict was that
,cvervthing Of Pepys which was vital or OF
genuine interest was to be found in LORD Bray
brooke's edition of 1853 But the craze fol
what il called completeness serves well enough
as a prcteXt for new edition
u one were 10 take Mr.. Mynors Bright liter
ally in the passage above quoted 1t might be
thought that Pepys owes his fame to Ihackeray
That is not quite Incomplete and inadequate
ss was Lord Braybroollcs first edition OF Pepys
the book at once found admirers and friends
Sir Walter Scott one of tie first Lore
Jeffrey was another, Lord Macaulay WAS third
II is idle TO cite names. Pepys IS and was from
tho first. though in a very peculiar sense
classic He is moro than that; he is unique y
all writer's who, more or less truthiuily, nave
drawn their own portraits, Pcpys is at the head
md he is undoubtedly there for the reason tina
Lo never dreamed that any other eye than Ill
own wouh look on the portrait 1t Is not ever
nan who is frank even with himself fepy
f. and so frank that one sometimes leelS II
reading him as if TO read him were an act 0
;ndeIicacy. The reader is looking over HI
,houlder. or pecping through the keylole
Among the books which have reputation 10
frankness are st Augustins Confessions, " Mon
taiqne's Essays" "Rousseau's Confessions ah'
"Boswell,7 who in some points beats them all
Not one comes near Pcpys, for every one wro'
,or others and not for himself only rcpy
kent his Diary as kind of conscience. ii n
goes 70 bed drunk, which happens only TOO oitcf
be notes il down with much fidelity as il
Goes his nfdclities to his wife. lie swclrs OF
and breaks his VOW. He drinks 80 much win
hat he describes himself "even almost foAed,
and "durst not read prayers for fear of bcln
perceived by my servants in what case l was