Constitutional history -- Great Britain; Great Britain -- History -- 1689-1714 -- Sources; Great Britain -- History -- Restoration, 1660-1688 -- Sources
Having seen as much as I could now, I away to White Hall by appointment,
and there walked to St. James's Parke, and there met my wife and Creed
and Wood and his wife and walked to my boat; and there upon the water
again, and to the fire up and down, it still increasing, and the wind
great. So near the fire as we could for smoke; and all over the Thames,
with one's face in the wind, you were almost burned with a shower of
fire drops. This is very true; so as houses were burned by these drops
and flakes of fire, three or four, nay, five or six houses, one from
another. When we could endure no more upon the water, we to a little
ale-house on the Bankside, over against the Three Cranes, and there
staid till it was dark almost, and saw the fire grow; and, as it grew
darker, appeared more and more, and in corners and upon steeples, and
between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the
City, in a most horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flame
of an ordinary fire.... We staid till, it being darkish, we saw the fire
as only one entire arch of fire from this to the other side the bridge,
and in a bow up the hill for an arch of above a mile long: it made me
weep to see it. The churches, houses, and all on fire and flaming at
once; and a horrid noise the flames made, and the cracking of houses at
their ruine. So home with a sad heart, and there find every body
discoursing and lamenting the fire; and poor Tom Hater come with some
few of his goods saved out of his house, which is burned upon
Fish-streete Hill. I invited him to lie at my house, and did receive his
goods, but was deceived in his lying there; so as we were forced to
begin to pack up our owne goods, and prepare for their removal; and did
by moonshine (it being brave dry, and moonshine, and warm weather) carry
much of my goods into the garden, and Mr. Hater and I did remove my
money and iron chests into my cellar, as thinking that the safest place.
And got ready my bags of gold into my office, ready to carry away, and
my chief papers of accounts also there, and my tallys into a box by
themselves. So great was our fear, as Sir W. Batten hath carts come out
of the country to fetch away his goods this night. We did put Mr. Hater,
poor man, to bed a little; but he got but very little rest, so much
noise being in my house, taking down of goods.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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