at the managingtheir tent.
Here they went to sleep; but the joiner, a grave and sober man, and notpleased with their lying at this loose rate the first night, could notsleep, and resolved, after trying it to no purpose, that he would getout, and, taking the gun in his hand, stand sentinel, and guard hiscompanions. So, with the gun in his hand, he walked to and again beforethe barn; for that stood in the field near the road, but within thehedge. He had not been long upon the scout, but he heard a noise ofpeople coming on as if it had been a great number; and they came on, ashe thought, directly towards the barn. He did not presently awake hiscompanions, but in a few minutes more, their noise growing louder andlouder, the biscuit baker called to him and asked him what was thematter, and quickly started out too. The other being the lame sailmaker,and most weary, lay still in the tent.
As they expected, so the people whom they had heard came on directly tothe barn, when one of our travelers challenged, like soldiers upon theguard, with, "Who comes there?" The people did not answer immediately;but one of them speaking to another that was behind them, "Alas, alas!we are all disappointed," says he; "here are some people before us; thebarn is taken up."
They all stopped upon that, as under some surprise; and it seems therewere about thirteen of them in all, and some women among them. Theyconsulted together what they should do; and by their discourse, ourtravelers soon found they were poor distressed people too, likethemselves, seeking shelter and safety; and besides, our travelers hadno need to be afraid of their coming up to disturb them, for as soon asthey heard the words, "Who comes there?" they could hear the women say,as if frighted, "Do not go near them; how do you know but they may havethe plague?" And when one of the men said, "Let us but speak to them,"the women said, "No, don't, by any means; we have escaped thus far bythe goodness of God; do not let us run into danger now, we beseech you."
Our travelers found by this that they were a good sober sort of people,and flying for their lives as they were; and as they were encouraged byit, so John said to the joiner, his comrade, "Let us encourage themtoo, as much as we can." So he called to them. "Hark ye, good people,"says the joiner; "we find by your talk that you are flying from the samedreadful enemy as we are. Do not be afraid of us; we are only three poormen of us. If you are free from the distemper, you shall not be hurt byus. We are not in the barn, but in a little tent here on the outside,and we will remove for you; we can set up our tent again immediatelyanywhere else." And upon this a parley began between the joiner, whosename was Richard, and one of their men, whose said name was Ford.
_Ford._ And do you assure us that you are all sound men?
_Rich._ Nay, we are concerned to tell you of it, that you may not be uneasy, or think yourselves in danger; but you see we do not desire you should put yourselves into any danger, and therefore I tell you that we have not made use of the barn; so we will remove from it, that you may be safe and we also.
_Ford._ That is very kind and charitable; but if we have reason to be satisfied that you are sound, and free from the visitation, why should we make you remove, now you are settled in your lodging, and, it may be, are laid down to rest? We will go into the barn, if you please, to rest ourselves awhile, and we need not disturb you.
_Rich._ Well, but you are more than we are. I hope you will assure us that you are all of you sound too, for the danger is as great from you to us as from us to you.
_Ford._ Blessed be God that some do escape, though it be but few! What may be our portion still, we know not, but hitherto we are preserved.
_Rich._ What part of the town do you come from? Was the plague come to the places where you lived?
_Ford._ Ay, ay, in a most frightful and terrible manner, or else we had not fled away as we do; but we believe there will be very few left alive behind us.
_Rich._ What part do you come from?
_Ford._ We are most of us from Cripplegate Parish; only two or three of Clerkenwell Parish, but on the hither side.
_Rich._ How, then, was it that you came away no sooner?
_Ford._ We have been away some time, and kept together as well as we could at the hither end of Islington, where we got leave to lie in an old uninhabited house, and had some bedding and conveniences of our own, that we brought with us; but the plague is come up into Islington too, and a house next door to our poor dwelling was infected and shut up, and we are come away in a fright.
_Rich._ And what way are you going?
_Ford._ As our lot shall cast us, we know not whither; but God will guide those that look up to him.
They parleyed no further at that time, but came all up to the barn, andwith some difficulty got into it. There was nothing but hay in the barn,but it was almost full of that, and they accommodated themselves as wellas they could, and went to rest; but our travelers observed that beforethey went to sleep, an ancient man, who, it seems, was the father of oneof the women, went to prayer with all the company, recommendingthemselves to the blessing and protection of Providence before they wentto sleep.
It was soon day at that time of the year; and as Richard the joiner hadkept guard the first part of the night, so John the soldier relievedhim, and he had the post in the morning. And they began to be acquaintedwith one another. It seems, when they left Islington, they intended tohave gone north away to Highgate, but were stopped at Holloway, andthere they would not let them pass; so they crossed over the fields andhills to the eastward, and came out at the Boarded River, and so,avoiding the towns, they left Hornsey on the left hand, and Newington onthe right hand, and came into the great road about Stamford Hill on thatside, as the three travelers had done on the other side. And now theyhad thoughts of going over the river in the marshes, and make forwardsto Epping Forest, where they hoped they should get leave to rest. Itseems they were not poor, at least not so poor as to be in want: atleast, they had enough to subsist them moderately for two or threemonths, when, as they said, they were in hopes the cold weather wouldcheck the infection, or at least the violence of it would have spentitself, and would abate, if it were only for want of people left aliveto be infected.
This was much the fate of our three travelers, only that they seemed tobe the better furnished for traveling, and had it in their view to gofarther off; for, as to the first, they did not propose to go fartherthan one day's journey, that so they might have intelligence every twoor three days how things were at London.
But here our travelers found themselves under an unexpectedinconvenience, namely, that of their horse; for, by means of the horseto carry their baggage, they were obliged to keep in the road, whereasthe people of this other band went over the fields or roads, path or nopath, way or no way, as they pleased. Neither had they any occasion topass through any town, or come near any town, other than to buy suchthings as they wanted for their necessary subsistence; and in that,indeed, they were put to much difficulty, of which in its place.
But our three travelers were obliged to keep the road, or else they mustcommit spoil, and do the country a great deal of damage in breaking downfences and gates to go over inclosed fields, which they were loath to doif they could help it.
Our three travelers, however, had a great mind to join themselves tothis company, and take their lot with them; and, after some discourse,they laid aside their first design, which looked northward, and resolvedto follow the other into Essex. So in the morning they took up theirtent and loaded their horse, and away they traveled all together.
They had some difficulty in passing the ferry at the riverside, theferryman being afraid of them; but, after some parley at a distance, theferryman was content to bring his boat to a place distant from theusual ferry, and leave it there for them to take it. So, puttingthemselves over, he directed them to leave the boat, and he, havinganother boat, said he would fetch it again; which it seems, however, hedid not do for above eight days.
Here, giving
the ferryman money beforehand, they had a supply ofvictuals and drink, which he brought and left in the boat for them, butnot without, as I said, having received the money beforehand. But nowour travelers were at a great loss and difficulty how to get the horseover, the boat being small, and not fit for it, and at last could not doit without unloading the baggage and making him swim over.
From the river they traveled towards the forest; but when they came toWalthamstow, the people of that town denied[197] to admit them, as wasthe case everywhere; the constables and their watchmen kept them off ata distance, and parleyed with them. They gave the same account ofthemselves as before; but these gave no credit to what they said, givingit for a reason, that two or three companies had already come that wayand made the like pretenses, but that they had given several people thedistemper in the towns where they had passed, and had been afterwards sohardly used by the country, though with justice too, as they haddeserved,