river, and this not only
up quite to the town, between the houses which we call Ratcliff and
Redriff, which they name the Pool, but even down the whole river as far
as the head of Long Reach, which is as far as the hills give us leave to
see it.

I cannot guess at the number of ships, but I think there must be several
hundreds of sail; and I could not but applaud the contrivance: for
ten thousand people and more who attended ship affairs were certainly
sheltered here from the violence of the contagion, and lived very safe
and very easy.

I returned to my own dwelling very well satisfied with my day's journey,
and particularly with the poor man; also I rejoiced to see that such
little sanctuaries were provided for so many families in a time of such
desolation. I observed also that, as the violence of the plague had
increased, so the ships which had families on board removed and went
farther off, till, as I was told, some went quite away to sea, and put
into such harbours and safe roads on the north coast as they could best
come at.

But it was also true that all the people who thus left the land and
lived on board the ships were not entirely safe from the infection, for
many died and were thrown overboard into the river, some in coffins, and
some, as I heard, without coffins, whose bodies were seen sometimes to
drive up and down with the tide in the river.

But I believe I may venture to say that in those ships which were thus
infected it either happened where the people had recourse to them too
late, and did not fly to the ship till they had stayed too long on shore
and had the distemper upon them (though perhaps they might not perceive
it) and so the distemper did not come to them on board the ships, but
they really carried it with them; or it was in these ships where the
poor waterman said they had not had time to furnish themselves with
provisions, but were obliged to send often on shore to buy what they had
occasion for, or suffered boats to come to them from the shore. And so
the distemper was brought insensibly among them.

And here I cannot but take notice that the strange temper of the people
of London at that time contributed extremely to their own destruction.
The plague began, as I have observed, at the other end of the town,
namely, in Long Acre, Drury Lane, &c., and came on towards the city very
gradually and slowly. It was felt at first in December, then again in
February, then again in April, and al