d useless, and their craft had been at an end. But they
always talked to them of such-and-such influences of the stars, of the
conjunctions of such-and-such planets, which must necessarily bring
sickness and distempers, and consequently the plague. And some had the
assurance to tell them the plague was begun already, which was too true,
though they that said so knew nothing of the matter.

The ministers, to do them justice, and preachers of most sorts that were
serious and understanding persons, thundered against these and other
wicked practices, and exposed the folly as well as the wickedness of
them together, and the most sober and judicious people despised and
abhorred them. But it was impossible to make any impression upon
the middling people and the working labouring poor. Their fears were
predominant over all their passions, and they threw away their money in
a most distracted manner upon those whimsies. Maid-servants especially,
and men-servants, were the chief of their customers, and their question
generally was, after the first demand of 'Will there be a plague?' I
say, the next question was, 'Oh, sir I for the Lord's sake, what will
become of me? Will my mistress keep me, or will she turn me off? Will
she stay here, or will she go into the country? And if she goes into the
country, will she take me with her, or leave me here to be starved and
undone?' And the like of menservants.

The truth is, the case of poor servants was very dismal, as I shall have
occasion to mention again by-and-by, for it was apparent a prodigious
number of them would be turned away, and it was so. And of them
abundance perished, and particularly of those that these false prophets
had flattered with hopes that they should be continued in their
services, and carried with their masters and mistresses into the
country; and had not public charity provided for these poor creatures,
whose number was exceeding great and in all cases of this nature must
be so, they would have been in the worst condition of any people in the
city.

These things agitated the minds of the common people for many months,
while the first apprehensions were upon them, and while the plague was
not, as I may say, yet broken out. But I must also not forget that the
more serious part of the inhabitants behaved after another manner. The
Government encouraged their devotion, and appointed public prayers and
days of fasting and humiliation, to make public confession of sin