and Throngs, unconcern’d at the Danger of the Infection, not concerned at the Houſes they went into, at the Goods they handled, or at the Perſons or the People they came among: But ſo it was that excepting that in Cripplegate Pariſh, and two or three little Eruptions of Fires, which were preſently extinguiſh’d, there was no Diſaſter of that kind happen'd in the whole Year. They told us a Story of a Houſe in a Place call’d Swan-Alley, paſſing from Goſwell-ſtreet near the End of Oldſtreet into St. John-ſtreet, that a Family was infected there, in ſo terrible a Manner that every one of the Houſe died; the laſt Perſon lay dead on the Floor, and as it is ſuppoſed, had laid her ſelf all along to die juſt before the Fire; the Fire, it ſeems had fallen from its Place, being of Wood, and had taken hold of the Boards and the Joiſts they lay on, and burnt as far as juſt to the Body, but had not taken hold of the dead Body, tho’ ſhe had little more than her Shift on, and had gone out of itſelf, not hurting the Reſt of the Houſe, tho’ it was a ſlight Timber Houſe. How true this might be, I do not determine, but the City being to ſuffer ſeverely the next Year by Fire, this Year it felt very little of that Calamity.
Indeed conſidering the Deliriums, which the Agony threw People into, and how I have mention’d in their Madneſs, when they were alone, they did many deſperate Things; it was very ſtrange there were no more Diſaſters of that kind.
It has been frequently ask’d me, and I cannot ſay, that I ever knew how to give a direct Anſwer to it, How it came to paſs that ſo many infected People appear’d abroad in the Streets, at the ſame time that the Houſes which were infected were ſo vigilantly ſearched, and all of them ſhut up and guarded as they were.
I confeſs, I know not what Anſwer to give to this, unleſs it be this, that in ſo great and populous a City as this is, it was impoſſible to diſcover every Houſe
