Calamy on the Plague in his Nonconformist memorial

In the year 1665, the plague broke out, which carried of about an hundred thousand persons in the city of London. The ejected ministers had, till this time, preached very privately, and only to a few : but now, when the clergy in the city-churches fled, and left their flocks in the time of their extremity, several of the Nonconformists pitying the dying and distressed people, who had none to help them to prepare for another world, nor to comfort them in their terrors, when about 10,000 died in a week; were convinced that no obedience to the laws of man could justify their neglecting men's souls and bodies in such extremities. They therefore resolved to stay with them, to enter the deserted pulpits, and give them what assistance they were able, under such an awakening providence; to visit the sick, procure what relief they could for the poor, especially such as were shut up. The persons that determined upon this good work were Mr. T. Vincent, Mr. Chester, Mr Janeway, Mr Turner, Mr Grimes, Mr Jackson, Mr Franklyn, and some others. The face of death so awakened preachers and hearers, that the former exceeded themselves in lively fervent preaching; and the latter heard with a peculiar ardour and attention. Througli the blessing of God, many were converted, and religion took such hold on their hearts, that it could never afterwards be efaced. While God was consuming the people by this judgment and the Nonconformists were labouring to save their souls, the parliament, which sat at Oxford, was busy in making an act to render their case incomparably harder than it was before, by putting upon them a certain oath, which if they refused, they must not come (unless upon the road) within five miles of any city or corporation, any place that sent burgesses to parliament, any place where they had been ministers, or had preached after the act of oblivion ....