So the Diary goes on to its pathetic
close:--"And thus ends all that I doubt I shall ever be able to do with
my own eyes in the keeping of my Journal, I being not able to do it any
longer, having done now so long as to undo my eyes almost every time
that I take a pen in my hand; and, therefore, whatever comes of it, I
must forbear; and, therefore, resolve, from this time forward, to have
it kept by my people in long-hand, and must be contented to set down
no more than is fit for them and all the world to know; or, if there be
anything, I must endeavour to keep a margin in my book open, to add,
here and there, a note in shorthand with my own hand.
"And so I betake myself to that course, which is almost as much as to
see myself go into my grave; for which, and all the discomforts that
will accompany my being blind, the good God prepare me!--S.P."
It is comforting to know that, in spite of these fears, he did not grow
blind, but preserved a certain measure of sight to the end of his
career.
In regard to money and accounts, his character and conduct present the
same extraordinary mixture as is seen in everything else that concerns
him.
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