ke a family
that trusts in him as thou dost." So I gave him four other shillings,
and bid him go lay them on the stone, and call his wife.

I have not words to express the poor man's thankfulness; neither could
he express it himself but by tears running down his face. He called his
wife, and told her God had moved the heart of a stranger, upon hearing
their condition, to give them all that money; and a great deal more such
as that he said to her. The woman, too, made signs of the like
thankfulness, as well to Heaven as to me, and joyfully picked it up; and
I parted with no money all that year that I thought better bestowed.

I then asked the poor man if the distemper had not reached to Greenwich.
He said it had not till about a fortnight before; but that then he
feared it had, but that it was only at that end of the town which lay
south towards Deptford[171] Bridge; that he went only to a butcher's
shop and a grocer's, where he generally bought such things as they sent
him for, but was very careful.

I asked him then how it came to pass that those people who had so shut
themselves up in the ships had not laid in sufficient stores of all
things necessary. He said some of them had; but, on the other hand, some
did not come on board till they were frightened into it, and till it was
too dangerous for them to go to the proper people to lay in quantities
of things; and that he waited on two ships, which he showed me, that had
laid in little or nothing but biscuit bread[172] and ship beer, and that
he had bought everything else almost for them. I asked him if there were
any more ships that had separated themselves as those had done. He told
me yes; all the way up from the point, right against Greenwich, to
within the shores of Limehouse and Redriff, all the ships that could
have room rid[173] two and two in the middle of the stream, and that
some of them had several families on board. I asked him if the distemper
had not reached them. He said he believed it had not, except two or
three ships, whose people had not been so watchful as to keep the seamen
from going on shore as others had been; and he said it was a very fine
sight to see how the ships lay up the Pool.[174]

When he said he was going over to Greenwich as soon as the tide began
to come in, I asked if he would let me go with him, and bring me back,
for that I had a great mind to see how the ships were ranged, as he had
told me. He told me if I would assure him, o