Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

withal, having taken some cold, as they thought, by standing too long talking at the wooden window to his watchman.

In short, the sweating had relieved him effectually, and in two or three days he was about house again and tolerably well, though weak by sweating a little too much.

While the master of the house lay thus, the family had no joy of the decrease of the plague; for what was the decrease to them if it broke out anew in their own house? But as soon as the master recovered a little, then they began to look abroad again for intelligence. And now they could see through their windows a new countenance of things in the streets and upon the houses; that the people began to go up and down the streets very frequently; and some began to open their shops, at least to open them half-way; the hackney coaches also were heard rumbling in the streets; so that without calling to the porter they could easily perceive that the distemper was greatly decreased, and that the people that were left had more courage than before, and, in a word, that the plague was going off, at least in the city, and chiefly on that side where they lived.

Their porter or watchman confirmed it to them the next day, when the weekly bill came about, which he brought to them. The master contented himself with hearing how it was, but would not let the bill be taken in, nor would he yet abate one tittle of his strict guarding his family from conversing with the streets by any means.

[ocr errors]

It was now the last week in October, and so greatly was the plague decreased, that there was but twenty-two buried of it in all Cripplegate parish, and but twenty-eight the week before, which was almost as surprising as the great rise of it at first; though even this week the bills were high in Stepney parish and in Southwark also.

Now, though this was joyful news to this as well as to other families, yet he was as anxious about the danger of opening his doors too soon, as he was before of keeping them open at first too long. He was aware that people would be rash in their joy, and that presuming on the health of the city being re-established, they would return to their houses and bring out their goods on which others had died, and air them too soon, and so perhaps bring back the infection. And it was just as he had said, for about the middle of November the bills on a sudden increased 400 at once, and rose from 1000 to 1400, and the city was in a terrible fright upon this occasion.

But it pleased God that it went off again, and the weather coming in cool, the distemper abated again, and the bills continued decreasing till in the third week of November they were once more under 1000 a week of all distempers, whereof but 652 of the plague.

It is true that, considering the number of people who were dead, which was very near 100,000, and the great number fled away, which, according to the most moderate guess, was at least three times as many; considering the numbers who had had the distemper and were recovered, who though, as was

evident in the case of the second porter, they were not entirely free from the return of the distemper, yet they were not so very easily infected as others,I say, considering this, the dying of 652 a week now was as much as the dying of 2000 a week was at the beginning of August; and this made him continue his caution with the same rigour as ever, and indeed with rather more; for he remembered well what a consternation the people were everywhere in when the plague was so increased as to die from 800 to 1000 a week of all distempers; and even this week I now speak of, which was from the 14th of November to the 21st, the bill stood at 905, whereof 652 of the plague.

Besides, there died in the city of the plague that very week above twice the number as died in the week from 21st to the 28th of July, when the bill was 1761 in all; for then there died but 56 in all the city within the walls, whereas now there died 127, I mean of the plague, so that the city was not so healthy then as the outparts. For example, the great parish of Cripplegate was so strangely restored, that there died in the week from the 21st to the 28th of November no more than ten persons in all, and but two of them of the plague; which perhaps was the least number that had been known in that parish before or since for above an hundred years.

All these things he calculated exactly, and, as he said, was very loth to lose all the fruit of his care and caution, and of the close confinement he had submitted to, I say, he was very loth to lose it all at once by a rash and needless adventure. His reasons were so

good, and their own safety so much concerned in it, that his family submitted to it with the more cheerfulness, though they began to labour hard for breath at that time, and to be very desirous of air, having been shut up so close and so long, as above.

The first of December, like Noah, who opened the window of the Ark to send out his dove, he opened his street door for the first time and walked out. The bill of mortality the week before was 544 of all diseases, whereof only 333 of the plague, whereof nearly half of that number were out of Stepney parish, and the Southwark side of the river, where the sickness continued longest, and was longest before it began.

The first of December, I say, he walked out, but suffered none of his family to stir but himself; he viewed the streets, the houses and shops, but conversed with nobody, nor did he see anybody that he knew, except a few just in his own neighbourhood. A vast number of houses were standing empty and deserted, the inhabitants being gone into the country; yet in some of those he observed servants, returned, who had opened the windows and doors, and were, as we call it, airing the houses and the goods, making fires in all the rooms, opening the windows, and burning perfumes in the rooms, preparing them in that manner for the return of the families that belonged to them.

The numbers of people in the streets were greater indeed than he expected; but this seemed to be occasioned rather by the curiosity of the people which were left, which led them to go more abroad than

otherwise they would have done, for in the back streets and ways less frequented he found very few people.

He came home again in a few hours, not having visited anybody, or made any inquiries after any of his friends, or any one else, and resolved to keep up to his close quarters one week longer; nor would he buy any fresh provisions, or suffer any one to go to market, but resolved upon some new measures which he put in practice the week following. He went out early in the morning, and taking his eldest son and his apprentice with him, they walked on foot as far as Tottenham High Cross, and finding a house there of one of his acquaintance, which had not been affected at all, he took lodgings or apartments in it for his whole family, and the same day returned to London. The same week he removed them all thither, carrying his own goods and some part of his own provisions; all which he caused to be fetched by waggons belonging to the country people, and such as he had good information were sound and had not been infected at all.

Here he not only relieved his family with fresh air, which they so much wanted, but with fresh provisions also, which he had now brought to them from Waltham Market by his old higgler who had supplied the family at the beginning of the year.

He left his house at London fast locked up, except the gate in his yard, the key of which he gave to the honest watchman, and went himself, or his son, or his apprentice, two or three times a week, to see that everything was safe and in good order. And thus

« ElőzőTovább »