INTRODUCTION.

The Parish of Plympton St. Mary, at a distance of about four miles from Plymouth, is bounded on the west by the river Plym. From Long-Bridge, which crosses the river, it extends eastward nearly six miles. The population, [1] at the time of the census of 1831, consisted of 2152, and is scattered over an area of nearly thirty square miles. Independently of gentlemen’s seats, numerous farm houses, and small clusters of cottages in isolated spots, there are seven villages within the parish; viz., Ridgeway, Underwood, Colebrook, Hemerdon, Sparkwell, Venton, and a part of Lee-Mill-Bridge, containing, upon an average, in each, from 150 to 300 inhabitants, chiefly agricultural labourers.

Near the western extremity, stands the venerable Parish Church, in a picturesque valley, within a few hundred yards of the three first-named villages. Colebrook is on the lowest ground, adjacent to a small river; Ridgeway is situated higher; and Underwood, the main scene of the disastrous ravages of the cholera (having been nearly decimated out of a population of 300, and where, at one time, 200 individuals were affected, more or less, with symptoms of the fearful epidemic), lies east and west on the north slope of a hill which rises above a valley [2] terminating at the river Plym. A small brook winds its way at the foot of the hill; and a little stream, issuing from a spring which rises at the western end, runs through a part of the village, in an open gutter on the side of the road.

The poorer portion of the inhabitants are as well conducted and cleanly in their habits as the generality of labouring people; and their cottages, for the most part, are kept in a creditable condition.

The four last-named villages are at the eastern end of the parish, three or four miles distant from the Church, and are situated on elevated ground, bordering on the Moors. The air in the neighbourhood is considered to be very healthy. No such density of population exists in any one locality which might be supposed to produce a prejudicial effect on the salubrity of the atmosphere. Therefore, as far as local advantages could be depended upon, every thing tended to encourage the idea, that the parish was not so liable to be infected with the cholera as many other places.

Up to the month of July, 1832, when that disease was making fearful havoc at Plymouth and the adjoining towns, a flattering hope was still entertained that, by the mercy of God, we should escape. But it pleased Him “who ordereth all things with infinite wisdom,” and “whose ways are past finding out,” that it should be otherwise; and on the 13th of July, the first instance of a case of the cholera in the parish, occurred at Underwood.

It must not be supposed, however, that no precautionary steps had been taken. The great importance and necessity of sanatory measures had been felt and acted upon in the neighbourhood, long before. A public meeting, especially convened for that purpose, was held at Ridgeway, on the 8th of November, 1831. The principal gentlemen of the parish were present. A Board of Health was formed; and the immediate attention of the board was directed to the following objects:—

“1. The state of the highways, dung pits, and gutters.

“2. The state of the houses of the poor, as regards whitewashing, ventilation, and bedding.

“3. The providing common necessaries, and requisite medicines.

“4. The engaging (provisionally, so as to be able to enter it at a moment’s warning) a proper house, to be used as a hospital; or, otherwise, to arrange with adjoining parishes for a joint occupation of any such convenient building; so that the distance for the removal of the sick should be as small as possible.

“5. That two members of the board (to be arranged among themselves) do daily take the duty of superintending the due execution of the above regulations.

“6. That a subscription be forthwith entered into for the above purposes.

“7. That the Rev. W. I. Coppard be requested to act as treasurer and secretary.”

A subscription was immediately raised; and the measure, as far as it was practicable, was carried into effect under the superintendence of those gentlemen who were members of the committee, at the villages which were contiguous to their respective residences.

During the month of November, the poor who whitewashed their dwellings, in compliance with the recommendation of the committee, were paid for the time they had lost. Lime was conveyed to their houses, and delivered to them free of expense. If unable to use the whitewash themselves, masons were employed for them.

All heaps of manure, &c., which had been accumulated near dwelling-houses, were removed; drains were cleansed, and some enlarged. In several instances, blankets were supplied to those whose bedding was in a bad state, or too scanty.

Thus far, sanatory measures were adopted more than eight months before any symptoms of the disease appeared in the parish.

From this time to the month of July, 1832, it pleased God, in mercy, to spare us. The pestilence, however, was raging far and near. The dark and threatening cloud still lowered around. But months passed on; until, at last, it approached with awful warning. Then “fearfulness and trembling came upon us.” And “in the time of trouble we called upon the Lord.” Then were acknowledged “the neglect of God’s ordinances, the misuse of his bounties, and the offences which had been multiplied in the land.”

As, long before this, temporal precautions had been resorted to, with the hope that, under the blessing of God, they might be instrumental towards the averting of the impending danger; so, trembling penitents also sought, in humble prayer, the only effectual remedy to assist in setting their spiritual house in order,—the merciful aid of a pardoning God, through the merits and intercession of a crucified Saviour. Humbled to the dust, under a sense of sin and unworthiness, which now appeared in fearful reality, they pleaded for mercy before the Throne of Grace, comforted by the promise of their Heavenly Advocate, “Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” They fled in earnest to the “Rock of Ages,” for shelter from the storm. Having been thus prepared for the approaching trial, when it did fall on them, they experienced a merciful answer to their cry for help, and were supported in their last hour; for the nearer death approached, it was, in numerous instances, met with resignation, tranquillity, and peace.

When we ponder these things, and reflect upon the uncertainty of life, whether exhibited in the ordinary or the extraordinary course of nature, we cannot but feel how important it is to cherish within us a spirit of watchfulness and prayer. This, by the blessing of God, and the merits of the Saviour, will disarm death of its sting, and dispel, or at least mitigate, the fears which assail us in the time of danger. Amidst the varying scenes of life, this frame of mind carries a blessing with it; and, when we are about to quit them, it will bring us peace at the last.

“Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”

“Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching.”

God grant that the recollection of the fearful events which the following plain narrative recalls, may revive, and render permanent, not the terrors of the mere outward circumstances, but the pious vows and resolutions which accompanied them.

It may be necessary here to remark, in reference to the prominent allusion, in the following pages, to the writer himself, that in the details of a Diary it could not be avoided. A panic had spread in the neighbourhood, from a conviction that the disease was not only epidemic, but contagious. The consequence was, that all intercourse between the inhabitants of other villages with Underwood, was either prohibited, or avoided as much as possible. As one proof of this, a servant in another part of the parish, who went to Underwood to see a relation, at a house where there was no sickness, was immediately discharged.

Thus the difficulty of obtaining assistance, and of providing nurses, was lamentably increased. The sick and dying, who had no one to help them, sought their minister, as their only earthly friend: and in the closing scenes of their existence, they called aloud for his presence. Such an appeal, both to the common feelings of humanity, as well as to one of the highest obligations of a Christian minister, could not be otherwise than irresistible. There is nothing remarkable, therefore, in the circumstance of a clergyman, residing close to the village afflicted with such an awful visitation, having endeavoured to render all the assistance in his power, independently of attending to the important duties of his sacred office. Who, among the clergy, would not have done the same, in a similar case of emergency? Many names are on record, of those who exerted all their energies, in a manner far more valuable and important.

When we recollect the scenes at Bilston, Sedgly, Plymouth, and other populous districts, where the epidemic spread among thousands, it is evident that the labour and exertion of those whose duty called upon them to attend the sick, must have been past description. Few, under such circumstances, had an opportunity of remaining any great length of time to watch the progress of particular cases, or of taking minutes of them. But where the disease was confined within narrower limits, and not more than two or three hundred had been affected by it, the difficulty of taking notes became proportionably less. This has probably been done in many instances, which, at present, have not been made known. But it has been strongly urged that the publication of them might be highly useful; as an opportunity would be thus afforded for those who are the most competent for the undertaking, to compare the details of variation of character, which this extraordinary disease may have exhibited under different circumstances; and by these means to arrive at some additional conclusions as to how far it has resisted or yielded to the application of particular modes of treatment.

The Christian Observer (No. 381, Sept. 1833, page 511) expresses this opinion in the following words:—

“It might be well if clergymen, or other persons, would draw up a record of any remarkable circumstances, in their respective vicinities, connected with the visitation. These local narratives would form valuable notices towards a history of this mysterious disease.

“It would not be uninteresting to compare the memoranda, moral and physical, of an inland manufacturing town like Bilston, suffering under the affliction, with those of a scattered rural district, or a seaport population, such as that of Plymouth, which the disease visited with almost unexampled rigour.”