A Journal of the Plague Year

by Daniel Defoe

  During this Time, the younger People of the Town came frequently pretty near them, and wou’d stand and look at them, and sometimes talk with them at some Space between; and particularly it was observed, that the first Sabbath Day the poor People kept retir’d, worship’d God together, and were heard to sing Psalms.

  These Things and a quiet inoffensive Behaviour, began to get them the good Opinion of the Country, and People began to pity them and speak very well of them; the Consequence of which was, that upon the occasion of a very wet rainy Night, a certain Gentleman who liv’d in the Neighbourhood, sent them a little Cart with twelve Trusses or Bundles of Straw, as well for them to lodge upon, as to cover and thatch their Huts, and to keep them dry: The Minister of a Parish not far off, not knowing of the other, sent them also about two Bushels of Wheat, and half a Bushel of white Peas.

  They were very thankful to-be-sure for this Relief, and particularly the Straw was a very great Comfort to them; for tho’ the ingenious Carpenter had made Frames for them to lie in like Troughs, and fill’d them with Leaves of Trees, and such Things as they could get, and had cut all their Tent-cloth out to make them Coverlids, yet they lay damp, and hard, and unwholesome till this Straw came, which was to them like Feather-beds, and, as John said, more welcome than Featherbeds wou’d ha’ been at another time.

  This Gentleman and the Minister having thus begun and given an Example of Charity to these Wanderers, others quickly followed, and they receiv’d every Day some Benevolence or other from the People, but chiefly from the Gentlemen who dwelt in the Country round about; some sent them Chairs, Stools, Tables, and such Houshold Things as they gave Notice they wanted; some sent them Blankets, Rugs and Coverlids; some Earthen-ware; and some Kitchin-ware for ordering their Food.

  Encourag’d by this good Usage, their Carpenter in a few Days, built them a large Shed or House with Rafters, and a Roof in Form, and an upper Floor in which they lodged warm, for the Weather began to be damp and cold in the beginning of September; But this House being very well Thatch’d, and the Sides and Roof made very thick, kept out the Cold well enough: He made also an earthen Wall at one End, with a Chimney in it; and another of the Company, with a vast deal of Trouble and Pains, made a Funnel to the Chimney to carry out the Smoak.

  Here they liv’d very comfortably, tho’ coarsely, till the beginning of September, when they had the bad News to hear, whether true or not, that the Plague, which was very hot at Waltham-Abby on one side, and at Rumford and Brent-Wood on the other side; was also come to Epping, to Woodford, and to most of the Towns upon the Forest, and which, as they said, was brought down among them chiefly by the Higlers* and such People as went to and from London with Provisions.

  If this was true, it was an evident Contradiction to that Report which was afterwards spread all over England, but which, as I have said, I cannot confirm of my own Knowledge, namely, That the Market People carrying Provisions to the City, never got the Infection or carry’d it back into the Country; both which I have been assured, has been false.

  It might be that they were preserv’d even beyond Expectation, though not to a Miracle, that abundance went and come, and were not touch’d, and that was much for the Encouragement of the poor People of London, who had been compleatly miserable, if the People that brought Provisions to the Markets had not been many times wonderfully preserv’d, or at least more preserv’d than cou’d be reasonably expected.

  But now these new Inmates began to be disturb’d more effectually, for the Towns about them were really infected, and they began to be afraid to trust one another so much as to go abroad for such things as they wanted, and this pinch’d them very hard; for now they had little or nothing but what the charitable Gentlemen of the Country supply’d them with: But for their Encouragement it happen’d, that other Gentlemen in the Country who had not sent ’em any thing before, began to hear of them and supply them, and one sent them a large Pig, that is to say a Porker; another two Sheep; and another sent them a Calf: In short, they had Meat enough, and, sometimes had Cheese and Milk, and all such things; They were chiefly put to it for Bread, for when the Gentlemen sent them Corn they had no where to bake it, or to grind it: This made them eat the first two Bushel of Wheat that was sent them in parched Corn, as the Israelites of old did without grinding or making Bread of it.*

  At last they found means to carry their Corn to a Windmill near Woodford, where they had it ground; and afterwards the Biscuit Baker made a Hearth so hollow and dry that he cou’d bake Biscuit Cakes tolerably well; and thus they came into a Condition to live without any assistance or supplies from the Towns; and it was well they did, for the Country was soon after fully Infected, and about 120 were said to have died of the Distemper in the Villages near them, which was a terrible thing to them.

  On this they call’d a new Council, and now the Towns had no need to be afraid they should settle near them, but on the contrary several Families of the poorer sort of the Inhabitants quitted their Houses, and built Hutts in the Forest after the same manner as they had done: But it was observ’d, that several of these poor People that had so remov’d, had the Sickness even in their Hutts or Booths; the Reason of which was plain, namely, not because they removed into the Air, but because they did not remove time enough, that is to say, not till by openly conversing with the other People their Neighbours, they had the Distemper upon them, or, (as may be said) among them, and so carry’d it about them whither they went: Or, (2.) Because they were not careful enough after they were safely removed out of the Towns, not to come in again and mingle with the diseased People.

  But be it which of these it will, when our Travellers began to perceive that the Plague was not only in the Towns, but even in the Tents and Huts on the Forest near them, they began then not only to be afraid, but to think of decamping and removing; for had they stay’d, they wou’d ha’ been in manifest Danger of their Lives.

  It is not to be wondered that they were greatly afflicted, as being obliged to quit the Place where they had been so kindly receiv’d, and where they had been treated with so much Humanity and Charity; but Necessity, and the hazard of Life, which they came out so far to preserve, prevail’d with them, and they saw no Remedy. John however thought of a Remedy for their present Misfortune, namely, that he would first acquaint that Gentleman who was their principal Benefactor, with the Distress they were in, and to crave his Assistance and Advice.

  The good charitable Gentleman encourag’d them to quit the Place, for fear they should be cut off from any Retreat at all, by the Violence of the Distemper; but whither they should go, that he found very hard to direct them to. At last John ask’d of him, whether he (being a Justice of the Peace) would give them Certificates of Health to other Justices who they might come before, that so whatever might be their Lot they might not be repulsed now they had been also so long from London. This his Worship immediately granted, and gave them proper Letters of Health, and from thence they were at Liberty to travel whither they pleased.

  Accordingly they had a full Certificate of Health, intimating, That they had resided in a Village in the County of Essex so long, that being examined and scrutiniz’d sufficiently, and having been retir’d from all Conversation for above 40 Days, without any appearance of Sickness, they were therefore certainly concluded to be Sound Men, and might be safely entertain’d any where, having at last remov’d rather for fear of the Plague, which was come into such a Town, rather than for having any signal of Infection upon them, or upon any belonging to them.

  With this Certificate they remov’d, tho’ with great Reluctance; and John inclining not to go far from Home, they mov’d towards the Marshes on the side of Waltham: But here they found a Man, who it seems kept a Weer or Stop upon the River, made to raise the Water for the Barges which go up and down the River, and he Terrified them with dismal Stories of the Sickness having been spread into all the Towns on the River, and near the River, on the side of Middlesex and Hertfordshire; that is to say, into Waltham, Waltham-Cross, E
nfield and Ware, and all the Towns on the Road, that they were afraid to go that way; tho’ it seems the Man impos’d upon them, for that the thing was not really true.

  However it Terrified them, and they resolved to move cross the Forest towards Rumford and Brent-Wood; but they heard that there were numbers of People fled out of London that way, who lay up and down in the Forest call’d Henalt Forest, reaching near Rumford, and who having no Subsistence of Habitation, not only liv’d oddly, and suffered great Extremities in the Woods and Fields for want of Relief, but were said to be made so desperate by those Extremities, as that they offer’d many Violences to the County, robb’d and plunder’d, and kill’d Cattle, and the like; that others building Hutts and Hovels by the Road-side Begg’d, and that with an Importunity next Door to demanding Relief; so that the County was very uneasy, and had been oblig’d to take some of them up.

  This, in the first Place intimated to them, that they would be sure to find the Charity and Kindness of the County, which they had found here where they were before, hardned and shut up against them; and that on the other Hand, they would be question’d where-ever they came, and would be in Danger of Violence from others in like Cases as themselves.

  Upon all these Considerations, John, their Captain, in all their Names, went back to their good Friend and Benefactor, who had reliev’d them before, and laying their Case truly before him, humbly ask’d his Advice; and he as kindly advised them to take up their old Quarters again, or if not, to remove but a little further out of the Road, and directed them to a proper Place for them; and as they really wanted some House rather than Huts to shelter them at that time of the Year, it growing on towards Michaelmas, they found an old decay’d House, which had been formerly some Cottage or little Habitation, but was so out of repair as scarce habitable, and by the consent of a Farmer to whose Farm it belong’d, they got leave to make what use of it they could.

  The ingenious Joyner and all the rest by his Directions, went to work with it, and in a very few Days made it capable to shelter them all in case of bad Weather, and in which there was an old Chimney, and an old Oven, tho’ both lying in Ruins, yet they made them both fit for Use, and raising Additions, Sheds, and Leantoo’s on every side, they soon made the House capable to hold them all.

  They chiefly wanted Boards to make Window-shutters, Floors, Doors, and several other Things; but as the Gentlemen above favour’d them, and the Country was by that Means made easy with them, and above all, that they were known to be all sound and in good health, every Body help’d them with what they could spare.

  Here they encamp’d for good and all, and resolv’d to remove no more; they saw plainly how terribly alarm’d that County was every where, at any Body that came from London; and that they should have no admittance any where but with the utmost Difficulty, at least no friendly Reception and Assistance as they had receiv’d here.

  Now altho’ they receiv’d great Assistance and Encouragement from the Country Gentlemen and from the People round about them, yet they were put to great Straits, for the Weather grew cold and wet in October and November, and they had not been us’d to so much hardship; so that they got Colds in their Limbs, and Distempers, but never had the Infection: And thus about December they came home to the City again.

  I give this Story thus at large, principally to give an Account what became of the great Numbers of People which immediately appear’d in the City as soon as the Sickness abated: For, as I have said, great Numbers of those that were able and had Retreats in the Country, fled to those Retreats; So when it was encreased to such a frightful Extremity as I have related, the midling People who had not Friends, fled to all Parts of the Country where they cou’d get shelter, as well those that had Money to relieve themselves; as those that had not. Those that had Mony always fled farthest, because they were able to subsist themselves; but those who were empty, suffer’d, as I have said, great Hardships, and were often driven by Necessity to relieve their Wants at the Expence of the Country: By that Means the Country was made very uneasie at them, and sometimes took them up, tho’ even then they scarce knew what to do with them, and were always very backward to punish them, but often too they forced them from Place to Place, till they were oblig’d to come back again to London.

  I have, since my knowing this Story of John and his Brother, enquir’d and found, that there were a great many of the poor disconsolate People, as above, fled into the Country every way, and some of them got little Sheds, and Barns, and Out-houses to live in, where they cou’d obtain so much Kindness of the Country, and especially where they had any the least satisfactory Account to give of themselves, and particularly that they did not come out of London too late. But others, and that in great Numbers, built themselves little Hutts and Retreats in the Fields and Woods, and liv’d like Hermits in Holes and Caves, or any Place they cou’d find; and where, we may be sure, they suffer’d great Extremities, such that many of them were oblig’d to come back again whatever the Danger was; and so those little Huts were often found empty, and the Country People suppos’d the Inhabitants lay Dead in them of the Plague, and would not go near them for fear, no not in a great while; nor is it unlikely but that some of the unhappy Wanderers might die so all alone, even sometimes for want of Help, as particularly in one Tent or Hutt, was found a Man dead, and on the Gate of a Field just by, was cut with his Knife in uneven Letters, the following Words, by which it may be suppos’d the other Man escap’d, or that one dying first, the other bury’d him as well as he could;

  O mIsErY!

  We BoTH ShaLL DyE,

  WoE, WoE.

  I have given an Account already of what I found to ha’ been the Case down the River among the Sea-faring Men, how the Ships lay in the Offing, as ’tis call’d, in Rows or Lines a-stern of one another, quite down from the Pool as far as I could see. I have been told, that they lay in the same manner quite down the River as low as Gravesend, and some far beyond, even every where, or in every Place where they cou’d ride with Safety as to Wind and Weather; Nor did I ever hear that the Plague reach’d to any of the People on board those Ships, except such as lay up in the Pool, or as high as Deptford Reach, altho’ the People went frequently on Shoar to the Country Towns and Villages, and Farmers Houses, to buy fresh Provisions, Fowls, Pigs, Calves, and the like for their Supply.

  Likewise I found that the Watermen on the River above the Bridge, found means to convey themselves away up the River as far as they cou’d go; and that they had, many of them, their whole Families in their Boats, cover’d with Tilts and Bales,* as they call them, and furnish’d with Straw within for their Lodging; and that they lay thus all along by the Shoar in the Marshes, some of them setting up little Tents with their Sails, and so lying under them on Shoar in the Day, and going into their Boats at Night; and in this manner, as I have heard, the River-sides were lin’d with Boats and People as long as they had any thing to subsist on, or cou’d get any thing of the Country; and indeed the Country People, as well Gentlemen as others, on these and all other Occasions, were very forward to relieve them, but they were by no means willing to receive them into their Towns and Houses, and for that we cannot blame them.

  There was one unhappy Citizen, within my Knowledge, who had been Visited in a dreadful manner, so that his Wife and all his Children were Dead, and himself and two Servants only left, with an elderly Woman a near Relation, who had nurs’d those that were dead as well as she could: This disconsolate Man goes to a Village near the Town, tho’ not within the Bills of Mortality, and finding an empty House there, enquires out the Owner, and took the House: After a few Days he got a Cart and loaded it with Goods, and carries them down to the House; the People of the Village oppos’d his driving the Cart along, but with some Arguings, and some Force, the Men that drove the Cart along, got through the Street up to the Door of the House, there the Constable resisted him again, and would not let them be brought in. The Man caus’d the Goods to be unloaden and lay’d at the Door, and sent the Cart away; upon whic
h they carry’d the Man before a Justice of Peace; that is to say, they commanded him to go, which he did. The Justice order’d him to cause the Cart to fetch away the Goods again, which he refused to do; upon which the Justice order’d the Constable to pursue the Carters and fetch them back, and make them re-load the Goods and carry them away, or to set them in the Stocks till they came for farther Orders; and if they could not find them, nor the Man would not consent to take them away, they should cause them to be drawn with Hooks from the House-Door and burnt in the Street. The poor distress’d Man upon this fetch’d the Goods again, but with grievous Cries and Lamentations at the hardship of his Case. But there was no Remedy; Self-preservation oblig’d the People to those Severities, which they wou’d not otherwise have been concern’d in: Whether this poor Man liv’d or dy’d I cannot tell, but it was reported that he had the Plague upon him at that time; and perhaps the People might report that to justify their Usage of him; but it was not unlikely, that either he or his Goods, or both, were dangerous, when his whole Family had been dead of the Distemper so little a while before.

  I kno’ that the Inhabitants of the Towns adjacent to London, were much blamed for Cruelty to the poor People that ran from the Contagion in their Distress; and many very severe things were done, as may be seen from what has been said; but I cannot but say also that where there was room for Charity and Assistance to the People, without apparent Danger to themselves, they were willing enough to help and relieve them. But as every Town were indeed Judges in their own Case, so the poor People who ran abroad in their Extremities, were often ill-used and driven back again into the Town; and this caused infinite Exclamations and Out-cries against the Country Towns, and made the Clamour very popular.