Letter

Thomas Smith writes to his friend Daniel Fleming to tell him the news about the Great Fire of London he has received in other letters. He describes the fire, listing the places burnt and the reaction of Londoners, who, he writes, are dealing with it without a 'murmuring word or ill looke'.

He then relates the actions of King Charles II: 'ye goodness and tender care of ye King, who made the round of the fire informally twice every day, & for many hours together, sometimes on horse-back & sometimes on foot, giving orders for performing ye worke, by commands, threatenings, desires by example & good store of money wch [which] he himself distributed to ye workers out of 100 li [pound] bagg, carried by him for that purpose.'

It appears that letters have gone astray and that people were grasping every snippet of news to find out what had happened. This letter is dated September 13, a week after the fire was over.