hey were preserved even beyond expectation, though
not to a miracle, that abundance went and came and were not touched; and
that was much for the encouragement of the poor people of London, who
had been completely miserable if the people that brought provisions to
the markets had not been many times wonderfully preserved, or at least
more preserved than could be reasonably expected.

But now these new inmates began to be disturbed more effectually, for
the towns about them were really infected, and they began to be afraid
to trust one another so much as to go abroad for such things as they
wanted, and this pinched them very hard, for now they had little or
nothing but what the charitable gentlemen of the country supplied them
with. But, for their encouragement, it happened that other gentlemen in
the country who had not sent them anything before, began to hear of them
and supply them, and one sent them a large pig--that is to say, a porker
another two sheep, and another sent them a calf. In short, they had meat
enough, and sometimes had cheese and milk, and all such things. They
were chiefly put to it for bread, for when the gentlemen sent them corn
they had nowhere to bake it or to grind it. This made them eat the
first two bushel of wheat that was sent them in parched corn, as the
Israelites of old did, without grinding or making bread of it.

At last they found means to carry their corn to a windmill near
Woodford, where they had it ground, and afterwards the biscuit-maker
made a hearth so hollow and dry that he could bake biscuit-cakes
tolerably well; and thus they came into a condition to live without any
assistance or supplies from the towns; and it was well they did, for the
country was soon after fully infected, and about 120 were said to have
died of the distemper in the villages near them, which was a terrible
thing to them.

On this they called a new council, and now the towns had no need to
be afraid they should settle near them; but, on the contrary, several
families of the poorer sort of the inhabitants quitted their houses and
built huts in the forest after the same manner as they had done. But it
was observed that several of these poor people that had so removed
had the sickness even in their huts or booths; the reason of which was
plain, namely, not because they removed into the air, but, () because
they did not remove time enough; that is to say, not till, by openly
conversing with the other people t