A Journal of the Plague Year: Being Observations or Memorials of the Most Remarkable Occurrences, as Well Public as Private, Which Happened in London During the Last Great Visitation in 1665. Written by a Citizen Who Continued All the While in LondonDefoe, Daniel
History
A Journal of the Plague Year: Being Observations or Memorials of the Most Remarkable Occurrences, as Well Public as Private, Which Happened in London During the Last Great Visitation in 1665. Written by a Citizen Who Continued All the While in London
Defoe, Daniel
Great Fire, London, England, 1666 -- Fiction; Historical fiction; London (England) -- History -- 17th century -- Fiction; Plague -- Fiction
But the following week it returned again, and the distemper was
spread into two or three other parishes, viz., St Andrew’s,
Holborn; St Clement Danes; and, to the great affliction of the
city, one died within the walls, in the parish of St Mary
Woolchurch, that is to say, in Bearbinder Lane, near Stocks
Market; in all there were nine of the plague and six of the
spotted-fever. It was, however, upon inquiry found that this
Frenchman who died in Bearbinder Lane was one who, having lived
in Long Acre, near the infected houses, had removed for fear of
the distemper, not knowing that he was already infected.
This was the beginning of May, yet the weather was temperate,
variable, and cool enough, and people had still some hopes. That
which encouraged them was that the city was healthy: the whole
ninety-seven parishes buried but fifty-four, and we began to hope
that, as it was chiefly among the people at that end of the town,
it might go no farther; and the rather, because the next week,
which was from the 9th of May to the 16th, there died but three,
of which not one within the whole city or liberties; and St
Andrew’s buried but fifteen, which was very low. ’Tis true St
Giles’s buried two-and-thirty, but still, as there was but one of
the plague, people began to be easy. The whole bill also was very
low, for the week before the bill was but 347, and the week above
mentioned but 343. We continued in these hopes for a few days,
but it was but for a few, for the people were no more to be
deceived thus; they searched the houses and found that the plague
was really spread every way, and that many died of it every day.
So that now all our extenuations abated, and it was no more to be
concealed; nay, it quickly appeared that the infection had spread
itself beyond all hopes of abatement. That in the parish of St
Giles it was gotten into several streets, and several families
lay all sick together; and, accordingly, in the weekly bill for
the next week the thing began to show itself. There was indeed
but fourteen set down of the plague, but this was all knavery and
collusion, for in St Giles’s parish they buried forty in all,
whereof it was certain most of them died of the plague, though
they were set down of other distempers; and though the number of
all the burials were not increased above thirty-two, and the
whole bill being but 385, yet there was fourteen of the
spotted-fever, as well as fourteen of the plague; and we took it
for granted upon the whole that there were fifty died that week
of the plague.
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