An Historical Narrative of the Great and Terrible Fire of London, Sept. 2nd 1666Harvey, Gideon
History
An Historical Narrative of the Great and Terrible Fire of London, Sept. 2nd 1666
Harvey, Gideon
Great Fire, London, England, 1666 -- Early works to 1800
It must be observed, that this fire happened at a part of the town,
where, though the commodities were not very rich, yet they were so
bulky that they could not be removed, so that the inhabitants of that
part where it first began, have sustained very great loss; but, by the
best inquiry we can make, the other parts of the town, where the
commodities were of greater value, took the alarm so early, that they
saved most of their goods of value, which possibly may have diminished
the loss; though some think, that if the whole industry of the
inhabitants had been applied to the stopping of the fire, and not to
the saving their particular goods, the success might have been much
better; not only to the public, but to many of them in their own
particulars.
Through this sad accident it is easy to be imagined how many persons
were necessitated to remove themselves and goods into the open fields,
where they were forced to continue some time, which could not but work
compassion in the beholders; but his Majesty's care was most signal on
this occasion, who, besides his personal pains, was frequent in
consulting all ways for relieving those distressed persons, which
produced so good effect, as well by his Majesty's proclamations and
orders issued to the neighbouring justices of the peace, to encourage
the sending provisions into the markets, which are publicly known, as
by other directions, that when his Majesty, fearing lest other orders
might not yet have been sufficient, had commanded the victualler of
his navy to send bread into Moorfields for the relief of the poor,
which, for the more speedy supply, he sent in biscuit out of the sea
stores; it was found that the market had been already so well supplied
that the people, being unaccustomed to that kind of bread, declined
it, and so it was returned in great part to his Majesty's stores
again, without any use made of it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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