arises from these holes so stowed with dead bodies, especially in
sultry seasons and after rain, one may appeal to all who approach
them.

In the early part of the century, only about one child in
four, born in London, survived; and probably the infant
mortality was higher in the mushroom towns of the north.
In the midst of death, the people sought palliatives and
found them in drink, gambling and violence. The consump-
tion of gin -- drunk mixed with fruit cordials -- was pro-
digious, but largely confined to London, where it may have
affected the death rate in the thirties, although virulent in-
fluenza epidemics also took their toll. Gambling was an
antidote favoured by all classes of society; the wealthy
favoured stocks, cards and lottery tickets; the poor, crown
and anchor, pitch and toss, or bull baiting and cock fight-
ing. Violence, born of despair and greed, belonged to the
poor alone. Most of the new towns were still, constitution-
ally speaking, villages; and they usually had no more than
two parish constables to keep order. London, Bristol, Liver-
pool and a few other large corporate towns were better off
because they had resident justices who could read the Riot
Act, but even their forces for keeping order were pitifully
inadequate, and burning, looting and destruction by the
mob were commonplaces of life. And yet these towns drew
an endless stream of emigrants from the countryside.

In London, which drew the most, conditions varied con-
siderably. The eastern suburbs, Westminster and parts of
Southwark were as bad as the provincial towns. The area
controlled by the City of London was better administered,
although the social amenities were negligible. An attempt
had been made to light the city in 1684. The lamps were
shaped like frying pans and the fat used was derived from
animals' intestines. The experiment was not a success. In
1734 a new system of street lighting was introduced which
dispelled some of the nocturnal gloom. To contemporaries,

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