I would like to tell you about the epidemic of plague in London and about the Great Fire there.

More than 400,000 people lived within the London walls.

But one day the plague was brought from the ships. People fell ill one after another and died in a few days. They began to run out of the city but the special guard didn’t let them go. No one could run away.

A large cross was painted on the gates where sick people lived. The dead cart went around the streets catching the bodies.

People were afraid to come to London. In a few months there were nearly 100,000 dead people in the city.

In 1666 the Great Fire broke out. 3000 houses and 97 churches were destroyed. It so happened that the fire began in a house where a little kitchen boy lived. He left his stove open for the night, and in a few hours the house was in fire.

All the houses that were in fire and the houses standing near-by were pulled down. In spite of all there are many old houses and historical memorials in London.