many.'

After the Restoration Evelyn's life as a courtier was practically at an
end, as he never quite approved the enforced abdication of King James.
So henceforth he spent his time, without further attendance at Court or
seeking after office or appointment, in study, literary work, and
retirement. He did not like the new regime, with its 'Court offices
distributed amongst Parliament men.... Things far from settled as was
expected, by reason of the slothfull, sickly temper of the new King, and
the Parliament's unmindfullness of Ireland, which is likely to prove a
sad omission.' He even seems to have regretted that his son was in March
1692 made 'one of the Commissioners of the Revenue and Treasury of
Ireland, to which employment he had a mind far from my wishes.' This son
contracted serious illness in Ireland, and died 'after a tedious
languishing sickness' early in 1699, aged 44 years, leaving one son,
then a student at Oxford.

Some time before this his elder brother, George, having lost his last
son and heir, had settled the Wotton estate upon John Evelyn. In May
1694, yielding to the request to make Wotton his home, he went to
Wotton, leaving Sayes Court in charge of his daughter Susanna and her
husband William Draper, whose marriage had been celebrated about a year
previously. In 1696 it was let for three years to Admiral Benbow, who
sublet it in 1698 to Peter the Great, then visiting the Deptford
Dockyards for three months as his Majesty's guest. So great was the
destruction done to the gardens, trees, and holly-hedges, that Wren was
asked to report on the compensation suitable, and L162-7-0 were paid to
Evelyn for damage to the house and garden.

Early in 1695 Evelyn accepted the offer of the Treasurership of
Greenwich Hospital, then about to be rebuilt and endowed for the
maintainence of decayed seamen, which was made to him by Lord Godolphin,
who had been the husband of his former friend Miss Blagg. During the
days of Charles II. some such transformation of the Palace had been
under consideration, but it was the 30th June 1696 before Evelyn and Sir
Christopher Wren 'laid the first stone of the intended foundation,
precisely at 5 o'clock in the evening, after we had din'd together.'
This appointment carried with it 'the salary of L200 per ann. of which I
have never yet receiv'd one penny of the tallies assign'd for it, now
two years at Lady-day; my son-in-law Draper is my substitute.' When the
new Commissio