Adrian did not rest only with the exertions he could make with regard to his own possessions.  He addressed himself to the wealthy of the land; he made proposals in parliament little adapted to please the rich; but his earnest pleadings and benevolent eloquence were irresistible.  To give up their pleasure-grounds to the agriculturist, to diminish sensibly the number of horses kept for the purposes of luxury throughout the country, were means obvious, but unpleasing.  Yet, to the honour of the English be it recorded, that, although natural disinclination made them delay awhile, yet when the misery of their fellow-creatures became glaring, an enthusiastic generosity inspired their decrees.  The most luxurious were often the first to part with their indulgencies.  As is common in communities, a fashion was set.  The high-born ladies of the country would have deemed themselves disgraced if they had now enjoyed, what they before called a necessary, the ease of a carriage.  Chairs, as in olden time, and Indian palanquins were introduced for the infirm; but else it was nothing singular to see females of rank going on foot to places of fashionable resort.  It was more common, for all who possessed landed property to secede to their estates, attended by whole troops of the indigent, to cut down their woods to erect temporary dwellings, and to portion out their parks, parterres and flower-gardens, to necessitous families.  Many of these, of high rank in their own countries, now, with hoe in hand, turned up the soil.  It was found necessary at last to check the spirit of sacrifice, and to remind those whose generosity proceeded to lavish waste, that, until the present state of things became permanent, of which there was no likelihood, it was wrong to carry change so far as to make a reaction difficult.  Experience demonstrated that in a year or two pestilence would cease; it were well that in the mean time we should not have destroyed our fine breeds of horses, or have utterly changed the face of the ornamented portion of the country.

It may be imagined that things were in a bad state indeed, before this spirit of benevolence could have struck such deep roots.  The infection had now spread in the southern provinces of France.  But that country had so many resources in the way of agriculture, that the rush of population from one part of it to another, and its increase through foreign emigration, was less felt than with us.  The panic struck appeared of more injury, than disease and its natural concomitants.

Winter was hailed, a general and never-failing physician.  The embrowning woods, and swollen rivers, the evening mists, and morning frosts, were welcomed with gratitude.  The effects of purifying cold were immediately felt; and the lists of mortality abroad were curtailed each week.  Many of our visitors left us:  those whose homes were far in the south, fled delightedly from our northern winter, and sought their native land, secure of plenty even after their fearful visitation.  We breathed again.  What the coming summer would bring, we knew not; but the present months were our own, and our hopes of a cessation of pestilence were high.