EVELYN’S “Sylva,” though perhaps not interesting for its matter except to those who have the great good fortune to love the woods, contains notable examples of the quaintest elaboration of style in essay writing. His celebrated “Diary,” while its style is much looser, shows that he knew the secret of handling facts and incidents so as to give them their greatest possible interest. Critics are divided on their theories of his methods as a diarist. Some assert with confidence that “he had no thought of publication”; others are equally confident that after having found the advantage of the diary as a literary subterfuge, he wrote essays, descriptions, and anecdotes, and dated them to suit the subjects dealt with. In any event, the “Diary” is a landmark in English literature. Evelyn was born at Wotton in Surrey, October 31st, 1620. After ending his studies at Oxford and in the Temple, he traveled over continental Europe, returning in 1647 to side with the king against Cromwell. When the Royal cause became hopeless, he accepted the situation and retired to Wotton to study the life of the woods and fields. After the Restoration he was a court favorite, and used his influence to promote the work of the Royal Society and for similar purposes, indicating his benevolence and liberality. Besides the “Diary” and the “Sylva,” he wrote “The State of France,” “The Character of England,” “Fumifugium,” “The Garden Calendar,” “The Complete Gardener,” and other works which show that he had as an actual and practical fact of his every-day life the tranquillity of soul which philosophers say is the highest object of existence. He died at Wotton, February 27th, 1706.