, 1886-04-20
THE SUMMER rIMe oF 1ees.
wA.- tn. ri.su. ns..th4s upsu "a.
People OF Ls.don-r~rrfkls Re.tltes-

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People OF Lsndon3rerriRls Heziites.
When the terrible peatilence rirs,
breathed upon the people. there passed
one night over the city u comet -of a
faint, dull. languid color. and its motion
very solemn aud Slow What may be
thus described has been seen since, but
in an age OF -fortune-teiiers, cunning
men, and a~strologers." this event gave
birth to many strange stories and pre-
dictions. to dreams and interpretations Of
dreams. and to a great dread amongst
the simple and ignorant. aud even the
educated people. In this hour Of terror
the turn Of these money-makers had
come; grave men in velvet jackets, bands,
and black cloaks frequented the STREETS;
their houses were hung with signs and
inscriptions. Here lives a fortune-tel-
Ter; here lives an astrologer: here you
may have your nativity calculated" and
80 on. And from the doorways, here and
there, enc saw the sign Of -Friar Bacon's
Brazen Head" or that OF Mother Ship
ton," or the -Merlin's Head To the
proprietors OF these newly-hung signs
terrified people fiocked in great numbers.
The streets. with their shops and man
sions side by side, which a few weeks
before had been gay, with throngs of
effeminate courtiers and handles, old
soldiers, wealthy citizens, and whistling
apprentices, were now thronged with
wagons, carts and coaches, loaded with
women and children, with tents and bed
ding; and numberless men upon horse
back clattered over the stones, some with
and some without servants, carrying bag
gage, all hurrying away from the doomed
city. Morning, noon, and night, the
lord mayors door was besieged with peo-
pie, eager for passes and certificates Of
health; and morning, noon, and night,
the city rapidly emptied itself.
The gates were closed in vain, the
walls had withstood armies, but death
crept through them. over them. under
them, stalked in the streets, stared
through cottage and palace window
alike, and before it pale people fled. Add
ing horror to all this confusion, there
ran through the streets distracted Great
ures proclaiming the destruction of the
city, and one was reported to have run
almost naked, with a voice and counte-
nance full of horror, > repeating ~continu-
ally. ooh. the great and the dreadful
Godi- We are told that at the coming
of the terrible realities OF the visitation,
sectarian distinctions sickened and died
away. Denominations were reconciled,
-the people focked. without distinction to
hear the preachers, not much inquiring
who or what opinion they were Of. But
after the sickness was over that spirit of
charity abated." aa A.li
So commenced the plague. while all
who could afford to fly had fed before it,
which after all was very few compared
with those who remained. Quickly peo-
Pile died in such numbers that they could
no more toll the bells or even bury the
lead in collins. Like a fire, the distem-
per ragged most tiercely in lines. one
house conveyed it to the next, leaving
ruin and desolation behind, and devour-
ing street after street till the whole tow
was wrapt in the burning of its dread
full flame. About June, the lord mayor,
Sir John Lawrence, and his aldermen
prepared, and on the first of July pub
lished, compulsory ~orders' for the
ninety-tw w parishes within the city
itself. lfnN ra
BY these regulations all infected
houses were to be shut up and guarded
by specially appointed ~watchmen," one
by day and one by night. No one was
suffered to leave these houses, and it
was thereby hoped that the plague might
be stayed, -if it should so please God
The noble conduct OF the lord mayor
and his officers strangely c~ontrasted with
that OF the king and his court, who all
fed away at the beginning and left
things to look after themselves. During
September the plague reached its height;
there died as many as 1000 a day, and
the bills of mortality for the months Of
August and September registered 90, $40,
from all diseases. Including two days
which the bills are short of he two
months, there died of the plague alone
the terrible sum of 90, 600 people.
Yet was it impossible that these &c
counts should register the true tale Of
death; hundreds whose names were not
known persisted in the river, voluntarily
quenching their burning agonies in its
waters. According to the city records,
the distemper destroyed So, 500 persons in
all; but this figure. prodigious though it
is, for the reasons assigned above is prob
ably far below the actual number
Robert Woburn in Sunday Magazine.