98 BRITISH PHYSICIANS. some into other streets, it was impossible for one man to guard all the passages, so as to prevent the escape of people rendered desperate by the fright of their circumstances, by resentment of their treat- ment, as well as by the raging of the distemper itself ; so that they would talk to the watchman on one side of the house, while the family made their escape at another. In Coleman-street there were abundance of alleys ; a house was shut up in White's-alley, which had a window into another court, that had a passage into Bell-alley ; watchmen stood at the door of the house night and day ; while the family went away, in the evening, out at the window, and left the poor fellows watching and warding for near a fortnight. Near the same place a watch- man was blown up with gunpowder, and burnt dreadfully ; while he made hideous cries, and no one would venture to come near him to help him, those of the family who were able to stir, got out of the one-pair of stairs window, leaving two sick in the house, to whom nurses were sent. "A watchman had kept his post two nights at a shut-up house, and the day-watch, during one day : the day-watch was come again to his duty : all this while no noise was heard, no light was seen, nothing was called for, nor the watchman sent on any errands (which was their principal business) : one night the dead cart was stopped there, and a maid servant put into it, wrapt only in a green rug ; next day the watch heard a great crying and screaming, occasioned, as was supposed, by some of the family just dying ; the watchman knocked at the door, but none answered a great while ;
