History of the Plague in England | Page 5

corresponded abroad, and from them was handed about by word of
mouth only; so that things did not spread instantly over the whole
nation, as they do now. But it seems that the government had a true
account of it, and several counsels[5] were held about ways to prevent
its coming over; but all was kept very private. Hence it was that this
rumor died off again; and people began to forget it, as a thing we were
very little concerned in and that we hoped was not true, till the latter
end of November or the beginning of December, 1664, when two men,
said to be Frenchmen, died of the plague in Longacre, or rather at the
upper end of Drury Lane.[6] The family they were in endeavored to
conceal it as much as possible; but, as it had gotten some vent in the

discourse of the neighborhood, the secretaries of state[7] got
knowledge of it. And concerning themselves to inquire about it, in
order to be certain of the truth, two physicians and a surgeon were
ordered to go to the house, and make inspection. This they did, and
finding evident tokens[8] of the sickness upon both the bodies that
were dead, they gave their opinions publicly that they died of the
plague. Whereupon it was given in to the parish clerk,[9] and he also
returned them[10] to the hall; and it was printed in the weekly bill of
mortality in the usual manner, thus:--
PLAGUE, 2. PARISHES INFECTED, 1.
The people showed a great concern at this, and began to be alarmed all
over the town, and the more because in the last week in December,
1664, another man died in the same house and of the same distemper.
And then we were easy again for about six weeks, when, none having
died with any marks of infection, it was said the distemper was gone;
but after that, I think it was about the 12th of February, another died in
another house, but in the same parish and in the same manner.
This turned the people's eyes pretty much towards that end of the town;
and, the weekly bills showing an increase of burials in St. Giles's Parish
more than usual, it began to be suspected that the plague was among
the people at that end of the town, and that many had died of it, though
they had taken care to keep it as much from the knowledge of the
public as possible. This possessed the heads of the people very much;
and few cared to go through Drury Lane, or the other streets suspected,
unless they had extraordinary business that obliged them to it.
This increase of the bills stood thus: the usual number of burials in a
week, in the parishes of St. Giles-in-the-Fields and St. Andrew's,
Holborn,[11] were[12] from twelve to seventeen or nineteen each, few
more or less; but, from the time that the plague first began in St. Giles's
Parish, it was observed that the ordinary burials increased in number
considerably. For example:--
Dec. 27 to Jan. 3, St. Giles's 16 St. Andrew's 17 Jan. 3 to Jan. 10, St.
Giles's 12 St. Andrew's 25 Jan. 10 to Jan. 17, St. Giles's 18 St.

Andrew's 18 Jan. 17 to Jan. 24, St. Giles's 23 St. Andrew's 16 Jan. 24 to
Jan. 31, St. Giles's 24 St. Andrew's 15 Jan. 31 to Feb. 7, St. Giles's 21
St. Andrew's 23 Feb. 7 to Feb. 14, St. Giles's 24 Whereof one of the
plague.
The like increase of the bills was observed in the parishes of St. Bride's,
adjoining on one side of Holborn Parish, and in the parish of St.
James's, Clerkenwell, adjoining on the other side of Holborn; in both
which parishes the usual numbers that died weekly were from four to
six or eight, whereas at that time they were increased as follows:--
Dec. 20 to Dec. 27, St. Bride's 0 St. James's 8 Dec. 27 to Jan. 3, St.
Bride's 6 St. James's 9 Jan. 3 to Jan. 10, St. Bride's 11 St. James's 7 Jan.
10 to Jan. 17, St. Bride's 12 St. James's 9 Jan. 17 to Jan. 24, St. Bride's
9 St. James's 15 Jan. 24 to Jan. 31, St. Bride's 8 St. James's 12 Jan. 31
to Feb. 7, St. Bride's 13 St. James's 5 Feb. 7 to Feb. 14, St. Bride's 12 St.
James's 6
Besides this, it was observed, with great uneasiness by the people, that
the weekly bills in general increased very much during these weeks,
although it was at a time of the year when usually the bills are very
moderate.
The usual number of burials within the bills of mortality for a week
was from about two hundred and forty, or thereabouts,