were infected, and several people sick; but the distemper was
so well concealed, the examiner, who was my neighbor, got no knowledge
of it till notice was sent him that the people were all dead, and that
the carts should call there to fetch them away. The two heads of the
families concerted their measures, and so ordered their matters as that,
when the examiner was in the neighborhood, they appeared generally at a
time, and answered, that is, lied for one another, or got some of the
neighborhood to say they were all in health, and perhaps knew no better;
till, death making it impossible to keep it any longer as a secret, the
dead carts were called in the night to both the houses, and so it became
public. But when the examiner ordered the constable to shut up the
houses, there was nobody left in them but three people (two in one
house, and one in the other), just dying, and a nurse in each house, who
acknowledged that they had buried five before, that the houses had been
infected nine or ten days, and that for all the rest of the two
families, which were many, they were gone, some sick, some well, or,
whether sick or well, could not be known.

In like manner, at another house in the same lane, a man, having his
family infected, but very unwilling to be shut up, when he could conceal
it no longer, shut up himself; that is to say, he set the great red
cross upon the door, with the words, "LORD, HAVE MERCY UPON US!" and so
deluded the examiner, who supposed it had been done by the constable, by
order of the other examiner (for there were two examiners to every
district or precinct). By this means he had free egress and regress into
his house again and out of it, as he pleased, notwithstanding it was
infected, till at length his stratagem was found out, and then he, with
the sound part of his family and servants, made off and escaped; so they
were not shut up at all.

These things made it very hard, if not impossible, as I have said, to
prevent the spreading of an infection by the shutting up of houses,
unless the people would think the shutting up of their houses no
grievance, and be so willing to have it done as that they would give
notice duly and faithfully to the magistrates of their being infected,
as soon as it was known by themselves; but as that cannot be expected
from them, and the examiners cannot be supposed, as above, to go into
their houses to visit and search, all the good of shutting up houses
will be defeat