quire into their insolencies; and the proofs which have been given in concerning the fire, and who have been accessory thereunto.

No, I would rather endeavour to turn people's eyes from men to God; for whoever were the instruments, God was the author of this evil which hath come upon us; there being no evil in the city (that is, evil of punishment) which the Lord, as a righteous, and the supream Judge, doth not inflict. And surely more of the extraordinary hand of God, than of any men, did appear in the burning of the city of London. God could have prevented men, by discovering their plots (as he did that of the gunpowder-treason) before they had taken effect. God could have directed and given a blessing unto means for the quenching of it when it was first kindled. God, who hath the winds in his fist, could have gathered in the wind, and laid it asleep, or so turned it the other way, that it should have been a defence to the city: or God, who hath the clouds at his command, and the bottles of heaven in his hand, could have gathered his thick clouds together, and squeez'd them, opened his bottles and poured rain in abundance upon the city, so that if the wind had blown as it did, it should have blown water upon the fire, which would quickly have put it out. But the heavens at that time were brass, no showring cloude to be seen: the fire begins, is quickly taken notice of, though in the midst of the nightFire, fire, fire, doth resound in the streets; many citizens start out of their sleep; look out of their windows; some dress themselves and run to the place. The Lord Maior of the city comes with his officers; a confusion there is: councell is taken away; and London, so famous for wisdom and dexterity, can now find neither brains nor hands to prevent its ruine. The hand of God was in it: the decree was come forth: London must now fall; and who could prevent it? No wonder, when so many pillars are removed, if the building tumbles; the prayers, tears, and faith, which sometimes London hath had,

might have quenched the violence of the fire, might have opened heaven for rain, and driven back the wind; but now the fire gets mastery and burns dreadfully; and God with his great bellows blowes upon it, which makes it spread quickly, and go on with such force and rage, overturning all so furiously, that the whole city is brought into jeopardy of desolation. That night most of the Londoners had taken their last sleep in their houses; they little thought it would be so when they went into their beds; they did not in the least suspect, when the doors of their ears were unlockt, and the casements of their eyes were opened in the morning, to hear of such an enemie's invading the city, and that they should see him with such fury enter the doors of their houses, break into every room, and look out of their casements with such a threatening countenance.

That which made the ruin more dismal was, that it was begun on the Lord's-day morning: never was there the like Sabbath in London; some churches were in flames that day; and God seems to come down and to preach himself in them as he did in Mount Sinai, when the mount burned with fire ; such warm preaching those churches never had; such lightning dreadful sermons never were before delivered in London. In other churches ministers were preaching their farewel sermons, and people were hearing with quaking and astonishment. Instead of a holy rest, which Christians have taken on this day, there is a tumultuous hurrying about the streets towards the place that burned, and more tumultuous hurrying upon the spirits of those that sat still, and had only the notice of the eare of the quick and strange spreading of the fire.

Now the train-bands are up in arms watching at every quarter for outlandish men, because of the general fears and jealousies and rumours that fire-balls were thrown into houses by several of them, to help on and provoke the too furious flames. Now goods are hastily removed from the lower parts of the city; and the body of the people begin to retire. Yet

some hopes were entertained on the Lord's-day that the fire would be extinguished, especially by them who lived in the remote parts; they could scarcely imagine that the fire a mile off should be able to reach their houses.

But the evening draws on, and now the fire is more visible and dreadful; instead of the black curtains of the night which used to be spread over the city, now the curtains are yellow ; the smoke that arose from the burning parts seemed like so much flame in the night, which being blown upon the other parts by the winde, the whole city at some distance seemed to be on fire. Now hopes begin to sink, and a general consternation seiseth upon the spirits of the people; little sleep is taken in London this night; the amazement which the eye and ear doth effect upon the spirits, doth either dry up or drive away the vapour which used to bind up the senses. Some are at work to quench the fire with water; others endeavour to stop its course by pulling down of houses, but all to no purpose.

On the Lord's-day night the fire had run as far as Garlick hithe in Thames Street, and had crept up into Cannon Street, and levelled it with the ground; and still is making forward by the water-side, and upward to the brow of the hill on which the city was built.

On Munday Grace-church Street is all in flames, with Lumbard Street on the left hand, and part of Fenchurch Street on the right; the fire working (though not so fast) against the winde that way before it were pleasant and stately houses, Behind it ruinous and desolate heaps. The burning then was in the fashion of a bow; a dreadful bow it was, such as mine eyes never before had seen; a bow which had God's arrow in it with a flaming point: it was a shining bow, not like that in the cloud which brings water with it, and withal signifieth God's covenant not to destroy the world any more with water, but it was a bow which had fire in it, which signified God's anger, and his intention to destroy London with fire.

Now the flames break in upon Cornhill, that large and spacious street, and quickly crosse the way by the train of wood that lay in the streets untaken away, which had been pulled down from houses to prevent its spreading: and so they lick the whole street as they go; they mount up to the top of the highest houses; they descend down to the bottom of the lowest vaults and cellars; and march along on both sides of the way with such a roaring noise as never was heard in the city of London: no stately building so great as to resist their fury; the Royal Exchange itself, the glory of the merchants, is now invaded with much violence; and when once the fire was entred, how quickly did it run round the galleries; filling them with flames; then came down staires, compasseth the walkes, giving forth flaming volleys, and filleth the courts with sheets of fire; by and by down fall all the kings upon their faces, and the greatest part of the stone building after them (the founder s statue only remaining) with such a noise as was dreadful and astonishing.

Then, then, the city did shake indeed; and the inhabitants did tremble, and flew away in great amazement from their houses, least the flames should devour them. Rattle, rattle, rattle, was the noise which the fire struck upon the eare round about, as if there had been a thousand iron chariots beating upon the stones; and if you opened your eye to the opening of the streets where the fire was come, you might see in some places whole streets at once in flames, that issued forth as if they had been so many great forges from the opposite windowes, which folding together were united into one great flame throughout the whole street; and then you might see the houses tumble, tumble, tumble, from one end of the street to the other with a great crash, leaving the foundations open to the view of the heavens.

Now fearfulness and terrour doth surprise the citizens of London; confusion and astonishment doth fall upon them at

this unheard of, unthought of judgement. It would have grieved the heart of an unconcern'd person to see the rufull looks, the pale cheeks, the tears trickling down from the eyes, (where the greatness of sorrow and amazement could give leave for such a vent) the smiting of the breast, the wringing of the hands; to hear the sighs and groans, the dolefull and weeping speeches of the distressed citizens, when they were bringing. forth their wives (some from their childbed) and their little ones, (some from their sick-bed) out of their houses, and sending them into the countreys, or somewhere into the fields with their goods. Now the hopes of London are gone, their heart is sunk; now there is a general remove in the city, and that in a greater hurry than before the plague, their goods being in greater danger by the fire than their persons were by the sickness. Scarcely are some returned but they must remove again, and not as before, now without any more hopes of ever returning, and living in those houses any more.

Now carts and draies and coaches and horses, as many as could have entrance into the city, were loaden, and any money is given for help: 51. 10. 207. 301. for a cart to bear forth into the fields some choice things which were ready to be con sumed; and some of the countreys had the conscience to accept of the highest price, which the citizens did then offer in their extremity; I am mistaken if such money do not burn worse than the fire out of which it was rak'd. Now casks of wine and oyl and other commodities are tumbled along, and the owners shove as much of their goods as they can towards the gate: every one now becomes a porter to himself, and scarcely a back either of man or woman that hath strength but had a burden on it in the streets. It was very sad to see such throngs of poor citizens coming in and going forth from the unburnt parts, heavy loaden with some pieces of their goods, but more heavy loaden with weighty grief and sorrow of heart, so that it was wonderful they did not quite sink under these burdens.