^{page i note a} Brayley, History of Surrey, 1841, ii. p. 97, attributes it to William Nicholas, but the hand is undoubtedly that of his eldest brother.

^{page ii note a} Bray supposed that they came to Wotton with the papers of Sir Richard Browne, John Evelyn's father-in-law. He died, however, as early as 1683, long after which date they were still at West Horsley.

^{page iii note a} All matter taken from Dr. Birch's MS. is distinguished by an asterisk in the margin.

^{page vii note a} Hyde cautions Nicholas against him, 27 Jan. 165½, “Remember how many mistakes your intelligencer (who is still my noble friend) hath been always subject to, and the vexation that must still attend believing all that he says. All the discontented persons and the humorous resort to him, and from those he gathers what he writes, and is it like that can be all ingenuous?” (Clar. St. Pap. iii. p. 44). He mentions him again 17 May, 1652, “Till the receipt of yours I knew not that Lord Hatton discontinued writing to you. The intelligence is ill lost. These late alarms frighted him so that he removed from his house and brought all his books and fiddles to a lodging near us, where I visited him the other day. He is still my noble friend, but I have not the honour to see him often; but he lies as well as ever” (ibid. p. 70). The last words refer to Hatton's comfortable quarters, not to his want of veracity.

^{page vii note b} Nicholas's memorial and the King's engagement are in Bray's Evelyn, iv. p. 94.

^{page viii note a} His activity in this respect may be seen from a daily list of the persons to whom he wrote during 1650–1655, and 1660–1668 (Egert. MS. 2556).

^{page viii note b} He no doubt means Charles's letter of 3 Sept. 1650 (Bray's Evelyn, iv. p. 194).

^{page ix note a} In Egerton MS. 2558, f. 15, are some rough notes of a cold water cure which he successfully adopted at this time. They begin “This of Dec. att y^e Hague, 1651, I, being above y^e age of 58 yeares, did begin to use the putting my head into a payle of spring or pump water y^e coldest I could get, being then troubled with a great heavines in my head and eyes, and soe great a chillines in my head as I could not endure y^e ayre with a dubble lined capp. I was alsoe often troubled with a deafnes and noyse in my right eare caused by y^e cold I tooke in my head.”