they intended to have gone north, away to Highgate; but were stopped at Holloway, and there they would not let them pass; so they crossed over the fields and hills to the eastward, and came out at the Boarded-river;* and so avoiding the town, they left Hornsey on the lefthand, and Newington on the right-hand, and came into the great road about Stamford-hill, on that side, as the three travellers had done on the other side and now they had thoughts of going over the river [the Lea] in the marshes, and make forward to Epping Forest, where they hoped they should get leave to rest. It seems they were not so poor—at least, not so poor as to be in want; they had enough to sustain them moderately for two or three months, when, as they said, they were in hopes the cold weather would check the infection, or at least the violence of it would have spent itself; and would abate, if it were only for want of people left alive to be infected.

This was much the fate of our three travellers; only that they seemed to be the better furnished for travelling, and had it in their view to go farther off; for, as to the first, they did not propose to go farther than one day's journey, so that they might have intelligence, every two or three days, how things were at London.

But here our travellers found themselves under an unexpected inconvenience-namely, that of their horse; for, by means of the horse to carry their luggage, they were obliged to keep in the road; whereas the people of this other band went over the fields or roads, path or no path, way or no way, as they pleased; neither had they any occasion to pass through any town, or come near any town, other than to buy such things as they wanted for their necessary subsistence; and in that, indeed, they were put to much difficulty.

The Boarded-river was a part of the New River, so called, near Hornsey-wood House, where formerly the water was conveyed over a low valley in a sort of trough.

S. IV.

L

But our three travellers were obliged to keep the road, or else they must commit spoil, and do the country a great deal of damage in breaking down fences and gates, to go over enclosed fields, which they were loth to do if they could help it.

They had some difficulty in passing the Ferry at the river side, the ferryman being afraid of them; but, after some parley at a distance, the ferryman was content to bring his boat to a place distant from the usual ferry, and leave it there for them to take it; so, putting themselves over, he directed them to leave the boat; and, he having another boat, said he would fetch it again, which it seems, however, he did not do for above eight days. Here, giving the ferryman money before-hand, they had a supply of victuals and drink, which he brought and left in the boat for them; but not without, as I said having received the money before-hand.

But now our travellers were at a great loss and difficulty how to get the horse over, the boat being small, and not fit for it; and at last could not do it without unloading the baggage, and making him swim over. From the river they travelled towards the forest; but when they came to Walthamstow, the people of that town refused to admit them, as was the case everywhere. The constables and the watchmen kept them off at a distance, and parleyed with them: they gave the same account of themselves as before; but these gave no credit to what they said, giving it for a reason, that two or three companies had already come that way, and made the like pretences; but that they had given several people the distemper in the towns where they had passed, and had been afterwards so hardly used by the country (though with justice, too, as they had deserved), that about Brentwood, or that way, several of them perished in the fields, whether of the Plague, or of mere want and distress, they could not tell.

This was a good reason, indeed, why the people of

Walthamstow should be very cautious, and why they should resolve not to entertain anybody, that they were not well satisfied of. But as Richard the Joiner, and one of the other men who parleyed with them, told them, it was no reason why they should block up the roads, and refuse to let people pass through the town, and who asked nothing of them but to go through the street; that if their people were afraid of them, they might go into their houses and shut their doors; they would neither show them civility nor incivility, but go on about their business.

The constables and attendants, not to be persuaded by reason, continued obstinate, and would hearken to nothing; so the two men that talked with them went back to their fellows to consult what was to be done. It was very discouraging in the whole, and they knew not what to do for a good while; but at last John the Soldier and Biscuit-baker, considering awhile, "Come," says he, "leave the rest of the parley to me." He had not appeared yet, so he sets the joiner, Richard, to work to cut some poles out of the trees, and shape them as like guns as he could; and in a little time he had five or six fair muskets, which at a distance would not be known; and about the part where the lock of a gun is, he caused them to wrap cloth and rags, such as they had, as soldiers do in wet weather to preserve the locks of their pieces from rust, the rest was discoloured with clay or mud, such as they could get; and all this while the rest of them sat under the trees by his direction, in two or three bodies, where they made fires at a good distance from one another.

While this was doing, he advanced himself and two or three with him, and set up their tent in the lane, within sight of the barrier which the town's men had made, and set a sentinel just by it with the real gunthe only one they had-and who walked to and fro with the gun on his shoulder, so as that the people of the

town might see them; also, he tied the horse to a gate in the hedge just by, and got some dry sticks together, and kindled a fire on the other side of the tent, so that the people of the town could see the fire and the smoke, but could not see what they were doing at it.

After the country people had looked upon them very earnestly a great while, and, by all that they could see, could not but suppose, that they were a great many in company, they began to be uneasy, not for their going away, but for staying where they were; and, above all, perceiving they had horses and arms, for they had seen one horse and one gun at the tent, and they had seen others of them walk about the field on the inside of the hedge, by the side of the lane, with their muskets (as they took them to be) shouldered;-I say, upon such a sight as this, you may be assured they were alarmed and terribly frighted; and it seems they went to a Justice of the Peace to know what they should do. What the Justice advised them to do, I know not; but towards the evening they called from the barrier, as above, to the sentinel at the tent.

"What do you want?" says John.

"Why, what do you intend to do?" says the Constable.

"To do," says John; "what would you have us to do?"

Constable. "Why don't you begone? What do you stay there for?"

John. "Why do you stop us on the King's highway, and refuse us leave to go on our way?"

Constable. "We are not bound to tell you our reason; though we did let you know, it was because of the Plague."

John. "We told you we were all sound, and free from the Plague, which we were not bound to have satisfied you of, and yet you pretend to stop us on the highway."

Constable. "We have a right to stop it up, and our

own safety obliges us to do so; besides, this is not the King's highway-it is a way upon sufferance: you see here is a gate, and if we do let people pass here, we make them pay toll."

John. "We have a right to seek our own safety as well as you; and you may see, we are fleeing for our lives, and it is very unchristian and unjust to stop us."

Constable. "You may go back from whence you came; we do not hinder you from that."

John. "No; it is a stronger than you that keeps us from doing that, or else we should not have come hither." Constable. "Well, you may go any other way then." John. "No, no; I suppose you see we are able to send you going, and all the people of your parish, and come through your town when we will; but since you have stopped us here, we are content. You see we have encamped here, and here we will live; we hope you will furnish us with victuals."

Constable. "We furnish you! what mean you by that?"

John. "Why! you would not have us to starve, would you? If you stop us here you must keep us."

Constable. "You will be ill-kept at our maintenance." John. "If you stint us, we shall make ourselves the better allowance."

Constable. "Why! you will not pretend to quarter upon us by force, will you?"

John. "We have offered no violence to you yet; why do you seem to oblige us to it? I am an old soldier, and cannot starve; and if you think, that we shall be obliged to go back for want of provisions, you are mistaken."

Constable. "Since you threaten us, we shall take care to be strong enough for you: I have orders to raise the county upon you."

John. "It is you that threaten, not we; and since you are for mischief, you cannot blame us, if we do not