chambers and houses; for the parish was, and is still, remarkable,
particularly above all the parishes in London, for a great number of
alleys and thoroughfares, very long, into which no carts could come,
and where they were obliged to go and fetch the bodies a very long way,
which alleys now remain to witness it; such as White's Alley, Cross Keys
Court, Swan Alley, Bell Alley, White Horse Alley, and many more. Here
they went with a kind of handbarrow, and laid the dead bodies on, and
carried them out to the carts; which work he performed, and never had
the distemper at all, but lived about twenty years after it, and was
sexton of the parish to the time of his death. His wife at the same time
was a nurse to infected people, and tended many that died in the parish,
being for her honesty recommended by the parish officers; yet she never
was infected, neither.[146]

He never used any preservative against the infection other than holding
garlic and rue[147] in his mouth, and smoking tobacco. This I also had
from his own mouth. And his wife's remedy was washing her head in
vinegar, and sprinkling her head-clothes so with vinegar as to keep them
always moist; and, if the smell of any of those she waited on was more
than ordinary offensive, she snuffed vinegar up her nose, and sprinkled
vinegar upon her head-clothes, and held a handkerchief wetted with
vinegar to her mouth.

It must be confessed, that, though the plague was chiefly among the
poor, yet were the poor the most venturous and fearless of it, and went
about their employment with a sort of brutal courage: I must call it so,
for it was founded neither on religion or prudence. Scarce did they use
any caution, but ran into any business which they could get any
employment in, though it was the most hazardous; such was that of
tending the sick, watching houses shut up, carrying infected persons to
the pesthouse, and, which was still worse, carrying the dead away to
their graves.

It was under this John Hayward's care, and within his bounds, that the
story of the piper, with which people have made themselves so merry,
happened; and he assured me that it was true. It is said that it was a
blind piper; but, as John told me, the fellow was not blind, but an
ignorant, weak, poor man, and usually went his rounds about ten o'clock
at night, and went piping along from door to door. And the people
usually took him in at public houses where they knew him, and would give
him dri