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Part 6




It may be proper to ask here how long it may be supposed men

might have the seeds of the contagion in them before it discovered

itself in this fatal manner; and how long they might go about

seemingly whole; and yet be contagious to all those that came near

them。  I believe the most experienced physicians cannot answer this

question directly any more than I can; and something an ordinary

observer may take notice of; which may pass their observations。  The

opinion of physicians abroad seems to be that it may lie dormant in

the spirits or in the blood…vessels a very considerable time。  Why else

do they exact a quarantine of those who came into their harbours and

ports from suspected places?  Forty days is; one would think; too long

for nature to struggle with such an enemy as this; and not conquer it or

yield to it。  But I could not think; by my own observation; that they

can be infected so as to be contagious to others above fifteen or

sixteen days at furthest; and on that score it was; that when a house

was shut up in the city and any one had died of the plague; but nobody

appeared to be ill in the family for sixteen or eighteen days after; they

were not so strict but that they would connive at their going privately

abroad; nor would people be much afraid of them afterward; but

rather think they were fortified the better; having not been vulnerable

when the enemy was in their own house; but we sometimes found it

had lain much longer concealed。



Upon the foot of all these observations I must say that though

Providence seemed to direct my conduct to be otherwise; yet it is my

opinion; and I must leave it as a prescription; viz。; that the best physic

against the plague is to run away from it。  I know people encourage

themselves by saying God is able to keep us in the midst of danger;

and able to overtake us when we think ourselves out of danger; and

this kept thousands in the town whose carcases went into the great pits

by cartloads; and who; if they had fled from the danger; had; I believe;

been safe from the disaster; at least 'tis probable they had been safe。



And were this very fundamental only duly considered by the people

on any future occasion of this or the like nature; I am persuaded it

would put them upon quite different measures for managing the

people from those that they took in 1665; or than any that have been

taken abroad that I have heard of。  In a word; they would consider of

separating the people into smaller bodies; and removing them in time

farther from one another … and not let such a contagion as this; which

is indeed chiefly dangerous to collected bodies of people; find a

million of people in a body together; as was very near the case before;

and would certainly be the case if it should ever appear again。



The plague; like a great fire; if a few houses only are contiguous

where it happens; can only burn a few houses; or if it begins in a

single; or; as we call it; a lone house; can only burn that lone house

where it begins。  But if it begins in a close…built town or city and gets

a head; there its fury increases: it rages over the whole place; and

consumes all it can reach。



I could propose many schemes on the foot of which the government

of this city; if ever they should be under the apprehensions of such

another enemy (God forbid they should); might ease themselves of the

greatest part of the dangerous people that belong to them; I mean such

as the begging; starving; labouring poor; and among them chiefly

those who; in case of a siege; are called the useless mouths; who being

then prudently and to their own advantage disposed of; and the

wealthy inhabitants disposing of themselves and of their servants and

children; the city and its adjacent parts would be so effectually

evacuated that there would not be above a tenth part of its people left

together for the disease to take hold upon。  But suppose them to be a

fifth part; and that two hundred and fifty thousand people were left:

and if it did seize upon them; they would; by their living so much at

large; be much better prepared to defend themselves against the

infection; and be less liable to the effects of it than if the same number

of people lived dose together in one smaller city such as Dublin or

Amsterdam or the like。



It is true hundreds; yea; thousands of families fled away at this last

plague; but then of them; many fled too late; and not only died in their

flight; but carried the distemper with them into the countries where

they went and infected those whom they went among for safety;

which confounded the thing; and made that be a propagation of the

distemper which was the best means to prevent it; and this too is an

evidence of it; and brings me back to what I only hinted at before; but

must speak more fully to here; namely; that men went about

apparently well many days after they had the taint of the disease in

their vitals; and after their spirits were so seized as that they could

never escape it; and that all the while they did so they were dangerous

to others; I say; this proves that so it was; for such people infected the

very towns they went through; as well as the families they went

among; and it was by that means that almost all the great towns in

England had the distemper among them; more or less; and always they

would tell you such a Londoner or such a Londoner brought it down。



It must not be omitted that when I speak of those people who were

really thus dangerous; I suppose them to be utterly ignorant of their

own conditions; for if they really knew their circumstances to be such

as indeed they were; they must have been a kind of wilful murtherers

if they would have gone abroad among healthy people … and it would

have verified indeed the suggestion which I mentioned above; and

which I thought seemed untrue: viz。; that the infected people were

utterly careless as to giving the infection to others; and rather forward

to do it than not; and I believe it was partly from this very thing that

they raised that suggestion; which I hope was not really true in fact。



I confess no particular case is sufficient to prove a general; but I

could name several people within the knowledge of some of their

neighbours and families yet living who showed the contrary to an

extreme。  One man; a master of a family in my neighbourhood; having

had the distemper; he thought he had it given him by a poor workman

whom he employed; and whom he went to his house to see; or went

for some work that he wanted to have finished; and he had some

apprehensions even while he was at the poor workman's door; but did

not discover it fully; but the next day it discovered itself; and he was

taken very in; upon which he immediately caused himself to be

carried into an outbuilding which he had in his yard; and where there

was a chamber over a workhouse (the man being a brazier)。  Here he

lay; and here he died; and would be tended by none of his neighbours;

but by a nurse from abroad; and would not suffer his wife; nor

children; nor servants to come up into the room; lest they should be

infected … but sent them his blessing and prayers for them by the

nurse; who spoke it to them at a distance; and all this for fear of giving

them the distemper; and without which he knew; as they were kept up;

they could not have it。



And here I must observe also that the plague; as I suppose all

distempers do; operated in a different manner on differing

constitutions; some were immediately overwhelmed with it; and it

came to violent fevers; vomitings; insufferable headaches; pains in the

back; and so up to ravings and ragings with those pains; others with

swellings and tumours in the neck or groin; or armpits; which till they

could be broke put them into insufferable agonies and torment; while

others; as I have observed; were silently infected; the fever preying

upon their spirits insensibly; and they seeing little 

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