THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS

A Tale of Old London

by

EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN

CHAPTER I. A WARNING WHISPER. 

"I don't believe a word of it!" cried the Master Builder, with someheat of manner. "It is just an old scare, the like of which I haveheard a hundred times ere now. Some poor wretch dies of thesweating sickness, or, at worst, of the spotted fever, and in amoment all men's mouths are full of the plague! I don't believe aword of it!"

"Heaven send you may be right, good friend, " quoth Rachel Harmer, asshe sat beside her spinning wheel, and spoke to the accompaniment ofits pleasant hum. "And yet, methinks, the vice and profligacy of thisgreat city, and the lewdness and wanton wickedness of the Court, areenough to draw down upon us the judgments of Almighty God. The sinand the shame of it must be rising up before Him day and night. "

The Master Builder moved a little uneasily in his seat. For his ownpart he thought no great harm of the roistering, gaming, andgallantries of the Court dandies. He knew that the times were verygood for him. Fine ladies were for ever sending for him to altersome house or some room. Gay young husbands, or those who thoughtof becoming husbands, were seldom content nowadays without pullingtheir house about their ears, and rebuilding it after somenew-fangled fashion copied from France. Or if the structure werelet alone, the plenishings must be totally changed; and MasterCharles Mason, albeit a builder by trade, and going generallyamongst his acquaintances and friends by the name of MasterBuilder, had of late years taken to a number of kindred avocationsin the matter of house plenishings, and so forth. This had broughthim no small profit, as well as intimate relations with many a finehousehold and with many grand folks. Money had flowed apace intohis pocket of late. His wife had begun to go about so fine that itwas well for her the old sumptuary laws had fallen into practicaldisuse. His son was an idle young dog, chiefly known to theneighbourhood as being the main leader of a notorious band ofScourers, of which more anon, and many amongst his former friendsand associates shook their heads, and declared that Charles Masonwas growing so puffed up by wealth that he would scarce vouchsafe anod to an old acquaintance in the street, unless he were smart andprosperous looking. 

The Master Builder had a house upon Old London Bridge. Once he hadcarried on his business there, but latterly he had grown too finefor that. To the disgust of his more simple-minded neighbours, hehad taken some large premises in Cheapside, where he displayed manyfine stuffs for upholstering and drapery, where the new-fashionedIndian carpets were displayed to view, and fine gilded furniturefrom France, which a little later on became the rage all throughthe country. His own house was now nothing more than a dwellingplace for himself and his family; even his apprentices and workmenwere lodged elsewhere. The neighbours, used to simpler ways, shooktheir heads, and prophesied that the end of so much pride would bedisaster and ruin. But year after year went by, and the MasterBuilder grew richer and richer, and could afford to laugh at theprognostications of those about him, of which he was very wellaware. 

He was perhaps somewhat puffed up by his success. He was certainlyproud of the position he had made. He liked to see his wife sweepalong the streets in her fine robes of Indian silk, which seemed toset a great gulf between her and her neighbours. He allowed his sonto copy the fopperies of the Court gallants, and even to pick upthe silly French phrases which made the language at Court a mongrelmixture of bad English and vile French. All these things pleasedhim well, although he himself went about clad in much the samefashion as his neighbours, save that the materials of his clothingwere finer, and his frills more white and crisp; and it was in hisfavour that his friendship with his old friend James Harmer hadnever waned, although he knew that this honest tradesman by nomeans approved his methods. 

Perhaps in his heart of hearts he preferred the comfortable livingroom of his neighbour to the grandeur insisted upon by his wife athome. At any rate, he found his way three or four evenings in theweek to Harmer's fireside, and exchanged with him the news of theday, or retailed the current gossip of the city. 

Harmer was by trade a gold and silver lace maker. He carried on hisbusiness in the roomy bridge house which he occupied, which wasmany stories high, and contained a great number of rooms. He housedin it a large family, several apprentices, two shopmen, and hiswife's sister, Dinah Morse, at such times as the latter was not outnursing the sick, which was her avocation in life. 

Mason and Harmer had been boys together, had inherited these twohouses on the bridge from their respective fathers, and had bothprospered in the world. But Harmer was only a moderately affluentman, having many sons and daughters to provide for; whereas Masonhad but one of each, and had more than one string to his bow in thematter of money getting. 

In the living room of Harmer's house were assembled that Februaryevening six persons. It was just growing dusk, but the dancingfirelight gave a pleasant illumination. Harmer and Mason wereseated on opposite sides of the hearth in straight-backed woodenarmchairs, and both were smoking. Rachel sat at her wheel, with hersister Dinah near to her; and in the background hovered twofine-looking young men, the two eldest sons of the household--Reuben, his father's right-hand man in business matters now; and Dan, whohad the air and appearance of a sailor ashore, as, indeed, was thecase with him. 

It was something which Dinah Morse had said that had evoked therather fierce disclaimer from the Master Builder, with therejoinder by Rachel as to the laxity of the times; and now it wasDinah's voice which again took up the word. 

"Whether it be God's judgment upon the city, or whether it be dueto the carelessness of man, I know not, " answered Dinah quietly; "Ionly say that the Bill of Mortality just published is higher thanit has been this long while, and that two in the Parish of St. Giles have died of the plague. "

"Well, St. Giles' is far enough away from us, " said the MasterBuilder. "If the Magistrates do their duty, there is no fear thatit will spread our way. There were deaths over yonder of the plaguelast November, and it seems as though they had not yet stamped outthe germs of it. But a little firmness and sense will do that. Wehave nothing to fear. So long as the cases are duly reported, weshall soon be rid of the pest. "

Dinah pressed her lips rather closely together. She had that fineresolute cast of countenance which often characterizes those whoare constantly to be found at the bedside of the sick. Her dresswas very plain, and she wore a neckerchief of soft, white Indianmuslin about her throat, instead of the starched yellow one whichwas almost universal amongst the women citizens of the day. Herhands were large and white and capable looking. Her only ornamentwas a chatelaine of many chains, to which were suspended themultifarious articles which a nurse has in constant requisition. Infigure she was tall and stately, and in the street strangers oftenpaused to give her a backward glance. She was greatly in requestamongst the sick of the better class, though she was often to befound beside the sick poor, who could give her nothing but thanksfor her skilled tendance of them. 

"Ay, truly, so long as the cases are duly reported, " she repeatedslowly. "But do you think, sir, that that is ever done where meansmay be found to avoid it?"

The Master Builder looked a little startled at the question. 

"Surely all good folks would wish to do what was right by theirneighbours. They would not harbour a case of plague, and not makeit known in the right quarter. "

"You think not, perhaps. Had you seen as much of the sick as Ihave, you would know that men so fear and dread the distemper, asthey most often call it, that they will blind their eyes to it tothe very last, and do everything in their power to make it out assomething other than what they fear. I have seen enough of the waysof folks with sickness to be very sure that all who have friends toprotect the fearful secret, will do so if it be possible. It iswhen a poor stranger dies of a sudden that it becomes known thatthe plague has found another victim. Why are there double thenumber of deaths in this week's bill, if more than are set down assuch be not the distemper?"

All the faces in the room looked very grave at that, for in truthit was a most disquieting thought. The sailor came a few stepsnearer the fire, and remarked:

"It has all come from those hounds of Dutchmen! Right glad am Ithat we are to go to war with them at last, whether the cause berighteous or not. They have gotten the plague all over their land. I saw men drop down in the streets and die of it when I was last inport there. They send it to us in their merchandise. "

"My wife will die of terror if she hears but a whisper of thedistemper being anigh us, " remarked the Master Builder, with a sighand a look of uneasiness. "But men are always scaring us with talesof its coming and, after all, there is but a death here and onethere, such as any great city may look to have. "

At that moment the door was thrown open, and a pretty young damsel, wearing a crimson cloak and hood, stepped lightly in. 

"O father, mother, do but come and look!" she cried, with the airof coaxing assurance which bespoke a favoured child. "Such astrange star in the sky! Men in the streets are all looking andpointing; and some say that it is no star, but a comet, and that itpredicts some dreadful thing which is coming upon this land. Docome and look at it! There is a clear sky tonight, and one can seeit well. And I heard that it has been seen by some before this, when at night the rain clouds have been swept away by the wind. Docome to the window above the river and look! One can see it finefrom there. "

This sudden announcement, falling just upon the talk of pestilenceand peril, caused a certain flutter and sensation through the room. All the persons there rose to their feet and followed therosy-cheeked maiden out upon the staircase, and to a window fromwhich the great river could be seen flowing beneath. A largeexpanse of sky could also be commanded from here, and as the insideof the house was almost dark, it was easy to obtain an excellentview of the strange appearance which was attracting so muchattention in the streets. 

It certainly was no star that was glowing thus with a red andsullen-looking flame. Neither shape nor position in the heavensaccorded with that of any star of magnitude. 

"It was certainly, " so said Reuben Harmer, who had some knowledgeof the heavenly bodies, "no star, but one of those travellingmeteors or comets which are seen from time to time, and which fromremote ages have been declared to foretell calamity to the landsover which they appear to travel. "

The Harmer family were godly people of somewhat Puritanic leaning, yet they were by no means entirely free from the superstition oftheir times, nor would Rachel have called it superstition to regardthis manifestation as a warning from God. Why should He not sendsome such messenger before He proceeded to take vengeance upon anungodly city? Was not even guilty Sodom warned of its approachingdoom?

All faces then were grave, but that of the Master Builder wore alook of fear as well. 

"I must to my wife, " he said. "If she sees this comet, she will bevastly put about. I must to her side to reassure her. Pray Heaventhat no calamity be near to us!"

"Amen!" replied Harmer, gravely; and then the Master Builderretreated down the staircase, whilst from a room below a cheerfulvoice was heard announcing that supper was ready. 

The party therefore all moved downstairs towards the kitchen, whereall the meals were taken in company with the apprentices, shopmen, and serving wenches. 

Dorcas, the maiden who had brought news of the comet, slipped her. Hand within Reuben's arm, and asked him in a whisper:

"Thinkest thou, Reuben, that it betides evil to the city?"

"Nay, I know not what to think, " he answered. "It is a strangething, and men often say it betides ill; but I have no knowledge ofmine own. I never saw the like before. "

"They spoke of it at my Lady Scrope's today, " said Dorcas. "I wasbehind her chair, with her fan and essence bottles, and the lapdogs, when in comes one and another of the old beaux who beguiletheir leisure with my lady's sharp speeches; and they spoke of thisthing, and she laughed them to scorn, and called them fools forlistening to old wives' fables. It is her way thus to revile allwho come anigh her. She said she had lived through a score of suchscares, and would snap her fingers at all the comets of the heavensat once. Sometimes it makes me tremble to hear her talk; butmethinks she loveth to raise a shudder in the hearts of those whohear her. She is a strange being. Sometimes I almost fear to go toand fro there, albeit she treats me well, and seldom speaks harshlyto me. But men say she is above a hundred years old, and she leadsso strange a life in her lonely house. Fancy being there alone of anight, with only that deaf old man and his aged wife within doors!It would scare me to death. But she will not let one other of herservants abide there with her!"

"Ay, it is her whimsie. Women folks are given to such, " answeredReuben, tolerantly. "She is a strange creature, albeit I doubt notthat men make her out stranger than she is. Well, well, the cometat least will do us no hurt of itself; and if it be God's way ofwarning us of peril to come, we need not fear it, but only setourselves to be ready for what He may send us. "

Below stairs there was a comfortable meal spread upon the table, simple and homely, but sufficient for the appetites of all. Thethree rosy-faced apprentices, of whom a son of the house made one, formed a link at table between the family and the shopmen andserving wenches. All sat down together, and Rebecca, the daughterwho lived at home, served up the hot broth and puddings. The eldestdaughter was a serving maid in the household of my Lady Howe, andwas seldom able to get home for more than a few hours occasionally, even when that fashionable dame was in London. Dorcas spent eachnight under the shelter of her father's roof, and went daily to thequaint old house close beside Allhallowes the Less, where lived theeccentric Lady Scrope, her mistress, of whom mention has been made. The youngest son was also from home, being apprenticed to acarpenter in the service of the Master Builder next door, and helived, as was usual, in the house of his employer. Thus four out ofHarmer's seven children lived always at home, and Dan the sailorwas with them whenever his ship put into the river after a voyage. 

No talk of either comet or plague was permitted at table; indeedthe meal was generally eaten in something approaching to silence. Sometimes the master of the house would address a question to oneof the family, or suppress by a glance the giggling of the lads atthe lower end of the table. Joseph's presence there ratherencouraged hilarity, for he was a merry urchin, and stood not inthe same awe of his father as did his comrades. Kindness was thelaw of the house, but it was the kindness of thorough discipline. Neither the master nor the mistress believed in the liberty thatbrings licence in its train. 

Life went very quietly, smoothly, and monotonously within the wallsof that busy house. Trade was brisk just now. The fashion latelyintroduced amongst fine ladies of having whole dresses of gold orsilver lace, brought more orders for the lace maker than he wellknew how to accomplish in the time. He and his son and hisapprentices were hard at work from morning to night; and gladenough was the master of the daily-increasing daylight, whichenabled him and those who were glad to earn larger wages to workextra hours each day. 

Being thus busy at home, he went less than was his wont abroad, andheard but little either of the sullen comet which hung night afternight in the sky, or of the whispers sometimes circulating in thecity of fresh cases of the distemper. 

These last, however, were growing fewer. The scare of a few weeksback seemed to be dying down. People said the pest had been stampedout, and the brighter, hotter weather cheered the hearts of men, albeit in case of sickness it might be their worst enemy, as someamongst them well knew. 

"I never believed a word of it!" said the wife of the MasterBuilder, as she sat in her fine drawing room and fanned herselfwith a great fan made of peacock's feathers. She was veryhandsomely dressed, far muore like a fine Court dame than the wifeof a simple citizen. Her comnpanion was a very pretty girl of aboutnineteen, whose abundant chestnut hair was dressed after afashionable mode, although she refused to have it frizzed over herhead as her mother's was, and would have preferred to dress itquite simply. She wished she might have plain clothes suitable toher station, instead of being tricked out as though she were a finelady. But her mother ruled her with a rod of iron, and girls inthose days had not thought of rising in rebellion. 

The Master Builder's wife considered that she had gentle blood inher veins, as her grandfather had been a country squire who wasruined in the civil war, so that his family sank into poverty. Oflate she had done all in her power to get her neighbours to accordher the title of Madam Mason, which she extorted from her servants, and which was given to her pretty generally now, although as muchin mockery, it must be confessed, as in respect of her finery. Shedid not look a very happy woman, in spite of all the grandeur abouther. She had frightened away her simpler neighbours by her airs ofcondescension and by the splendour of her house, and yet she couldnot yet see any way of inducing other and finer folks to come andsee her. Sometimes her husband brought in a rich patron and hiswife to look at the fine room, and examnine the furniture in it, and these persons would generally be mighty civil to her whilstthey stayed; but then they did not come to see her, but only in theway of business. It was agreeable to be able to repeat what my lordthis or my lady that said about the cabinets and chairs; but afterall she was half afraid that her boasting deceived nobody, andGertrude would never come to her aid with any little innocent fibsabout their grand visitors. 

"I never did believe a word of it, " repeated Madam, after a pause. "Gertrude, why do you not answer when I speak to you? You are asdull as a Dutch doll, sitting there and saying nothing. I wouldthat Frederick were at home! He can speak when he is spoken to; butyou are like a deaf mute!"

"I beg your pardon, ma'am. I was reading--I did not hear. "

"That is always the way--reading, reading, reading! Why, what gooddo you think reading will do you? Why don't you get your silkembroidery or practise upon the spinnet? Such advantages as youhave! And all thrown away on a girl who does not know when she iswell off. I have no manner of patience with you, Gertrude. If I hadhad such opportunities in my girlhood, I should never have been amere citizen's wife now. "

A slightly mutinous look passed across Gertrude's face. Submissivein word and manner, as was the rule of the day, she was by no meanssubmissive in mind, and had her mother's ears been sharper shemight have detected the undertone of irony in the reply shereceived. 

"I think nobody would take you for a citizen's wife, ma'am. As forme, I am not made to shine in a higher sphere than mine own. I havenot even the patience to learn the spinnet. I would sooner bebaking pies with Rebecca next door, as we used to do when we werechildren, before father grew so rich. "

Madam's face clouded ominously. She heartily wished she had neveradmitted her children to intimacy with the Harmers next door. Ithad done no harm in the case of Frederick. He was his mother's son, every inch of him, and was as ready to turn up a supercilious noseat his old comrades as ever Madam could wish. 

But Gertrude was different--she was excessively provoking at times. She did not seem able to understand that if one intended to rise inthe world, one must cut through a number of old ties, and startupon a fresh track. It was not easy in those times to rise; butstill the wealthier citizens did occasionally make a position forthemselves, and get amongst the hangers-on of the Court party, especially if they were open handed with their money. 

Madam often declared that if they only moved into another part ofthe town, everything she wanted could be attained; but on thatpoint her husband was inexorable. He loved the old bridge house. There he had been born, and there he meant to die, and he had notthe smnallest intention of removing elsewhere to please even thewife to whom he granted so many indulgences. 

"You are a fool!" cried Madam, angrily; "you say those things onlyto provoke me. I wish you had some right feeling and someconversation. You are as dull as ditch water. You care for nothing. I don't believe it would rouse you to hear that the plague was inthe next street!"

"Well, we shall see, " answered Gertrude, with a calmness that wasat least a little provoking, "for people say it is spreading veryfast, and may soon be here. "

"What!" cried Madam, in a sudden panic; "who says that? What do youmean, girl?"

"It was Reuben who told me, " answered Gertrude, with a little blushwhich she tried to conceal by turning her face towards the window. 

But her ruse was in vain. Madam's hawk eye had caught the risingcolour, and her brow contracted sharply. 

"Reuben! what Reuben? Have I not told you a hundred times that Iwould have none of that sort of talk any more? Reuben, indeed! asthough you were boy and girl together! Pray tell me this, youforward minx, does he dare to address you as Gertrude when he hasthe insolence to speak to you in the streets, where alone I presumehe can do so?"

Gertrude's face was burning with indignation. She had to clasp herhands tightly together to restrain the hot words which rose to herlips. 

"We have been children together--and friends, " she said, "theHarmers and I. How should we forget that so quickly--even thoughyou have forgotten! My father does not mind. "

Madam's face was as red as her daughter's. She was about to makesome violent retort, when the sound of a footstep on the stairschecked the words upon her lips. 

"There is Frederick!" she said. 

CHAPTER II. LONDON'S YOUNG CITIZENS. 

The door of the room where mother and daughter sat was flung wideopen with scant ceremony, and to the accompaniment of a boisterouslaugh. Into the room swaggered a tall, fine-looking young man ofsome three-and-twenty summers, dressed in all the extravagance of alavish and extravagant age. Upon his head he wore an immense perukeof ringlets, such as had been introduced at Court the previousyear, and which was almost universal now with the nobles andgentry, but by no means so amongst the citizens. The periwig wassurmounted by a high-crowned hat adorned with feathers and ribbons, and ribbons floated from his person in such abundance that tounaccustomed eyes the effect was little short of grotesque. Eventhe absurd high-heeled shoes were tied with immense bows of ribbon, whilst knees, wrists, throat, and even elbows displayed their bowsand streamers. The young dandy wore the full "petticoat breeches"of the period, with a short doublet, a jaunty cloak hung from theshoulders, and an abundance of costly lace ruffles adorned the neckand wrists of the doublet, he wore at his side a short rapier, andhad a trick of laying his hand upon the hilt, as though it wouldtake very little provocation to make him draw it forth upon anadversary. 

His step was not altogether so steady as it might have been, as heswaggered into his mother's presence. His handsome face was deeplyflushed. He was laughing boisterously; but there was that in hisaspect which made his sister turn away with a look of repulsion, though his mother's glance rested on him with a look of admiringpride that savoured of adoration. In her fond and foolish eyes hewas perfection, and the more he copied the vices and the follies ofthe gallants about the person of the King, the prouder did his vainand weak mother become of him. 

"Ho! ho! ho! such a bit of fun!"

It is impossible to give Frederick Mason's words verbatim, as heseldom opened his lips without an oath, and inter-larded his talkwith coarse jests in English and fragments of ribaldry in vileFrench, till it would scarce be intelligible to the reader oftoday. 

"Such a prime bit of fun! Who would have thought that little Dorcasnext door would grow up such a marvelous pretty damsel! By mytroth, what a slap she did give me in return for my kiss!"

Gertrude suddenly turned upon her brother with flashing eyes. 

"Think shame of yourself, Frederick! You disgrace your boastedmanhood. How dare you annoy with your coarse gallantry the daughterof our father's oldest friend, and that too in the open streets!"

"How dare you speak so to your brother, girl?" cried Madam, bristling up like an angry mother hen. "What call have you to chidehim? Is he answerable to you for his acts?"

Gertrude subsided into silence, for she could not answer back asshe would have liked. It was not for her to argue with her mother;and Madam, having vanquished her daughter, turned upon her son. 

"You must have a care how you vex our neighbours, for your fatherwould take it ill an he heard of it. Nay, I would not myself thatyou mixed yourself up too much with them. They are honest goodfolks enow, but scarce such as are fitting company for us. What ofthis girl Dorcas? Is not she the one who is waiting maid to thatmad old witch woman in Allhallowes, Lady Scrope?"

"That may well be. I saw her come forth from a grim portal hard byAllhallowes the Less. I knew not who it was, but I gave chase, andere she put her foot upon the bridge, I had plucked the hood fromoff her pretty curls, and had kissed her soundly on both cheeks. And at that she gave me such a cuff as I feel yet, and ran like afawn, and I after her, till she vanished within the door of ourneighbour's house; and then it came to me that it was Dorcas, grownwondrous pretty since I last took note of her. If she comes alwayshome at this hour, I'll waylay my lady again and take toll of her. "

"You had better be careful not to let Reuben get wind of it" saidGertrude, with suppressed anger in her voice. "If he were to catchyou insulting his sister, it is more than a slap or a cuff youwould get. "

Frederick burst into a boisterous laugh. 

"What! do you think a dirty shopman would dare lay hands upon me?I'd run him through the body as soon as look at him. He'd betterkeep out of reach of my sword arm. You can tell him so, fairsister, if you have a tendresse for the young counter jumper. "

Gertrude's sensitive colour flew up, and her brother laughed loudand long, pointing his finger at her, and adding one coarse jest toanother; but the mother interposed rather hastily, being uneasy atthe turn the talk was taking. 

"Hist, children, no more of this!

"I would not that this tale came to your father's ears, Frederick;it were better to have a care where our neighbours are concerned. Let the wench alone. There are many prettier damsels than she, whowill not rebuff you in such fashion. "

"Ay, verily, but that is the spice of it all. When the wench givesyou kiss for kiss, it is sweet, but flavourless. A box on the ear, and a merry chase through the streets afterwards, is a game more tomy liking. I'll see the little witch again and be even with her, ormy name's not Frederick Mason the Scourer!"

"Your father will like it ill if it comes to his ears, " remarkedMadam, with a touch of uneasiness; "and for my part, the less wehave to do with our neighbours the better. They are no fitassociates for us. "

"Say that we are no fit associates for them, " murmured Gertrude, beneath her breath. 

Her heart was swelling with sorrow and anger. In her eyes there wasno young man in all London town to be compared with Reuben Harmer. From the day when in childhood they had playfully plighted theirtroth, she had never ceased to regard him as the one man in theworld most worthy of love and reverence, and she knew that he hadnever ceased to look upon her with the same feelings. 

Latterly they had had but scant opportunities of meeting. Madamthrew every possible obstacle in the way of her daughter's enteringthe doors of that house, and kept her own closed against those ofher former friends whom she now chose to regard as her inferiors. Madam had never been liked. She had always held her head high, andshown that she thought herself too good for the place she occupied. Her house had never been popular. No neighbours had ever been inthe habit of running in and out to exchange bits of news with her, or ask for the loan of some recipe or household convenience. It hadnot been difficult to seclude herself in her gradually increasingdignities, and only her daughter had keenly felt the differencewhen she had intimated that she wished the intimacy between herfamily and that of the Harmers to cease. 

Frederick had long since taken to himself other associates of amore congenial kind. The Master Builder went to and fro as before, permitting his wife full indulgence of her fads and fancies, butresolved to exercise his own individual liberty, and quiteunconscious of the blow that was being inflicted upon his daughter, who was naturally tied by her mother's commands, and forced toabide by her regulations. 

Madam had been quick to see that if she did not take care ReubenHarmer would shortly aspire to the hand of her daughter, and shewas not sure but that her husband would be weak enough to let thefoolish girl please herself in the matter, and throw away whatchance she had of marrying out of the city, and rising a step inlife. 

Madam pinned her main hopes of a social rise for herself in themarriages of her children. She fondly believed that Frederick, withhis good looks and his wealth, could take his pick even amongsthigh-born ladies, and not all the good-natured ridicule of herhusband served to weaken this conviction. She was not a greatadmirer of her daughter's charms, but she knew that the girl wasadmired, and had been noticed more than once by the fine ladies whohad come to look at her furniture and hangings. She had a plan ofher own for getting Gertrude into the train of some fine Courtdame, and once secured in such a position, her fair face and ampledowry might do the rest. If her son and daughter were well married, she would have two houses where she could make a home for herselfmore to her liking. No end of ambitious dreams were constantlyfloating in her shallow brain, and as all these were more or lessbound up with the future of her son and daughter, it was naturalthat she should desire to put down with a strong hand the smallestindication of a love affair between Gertrude and Reuben. She hadeven persuaded her husband that Gertrude ought to make a goodmarriage; and as he was able to give her an ample dowry, and wasproud of her good looks, he himself was of opinion that she mightdo something rather brilliant, even if she did not realize hermother's fond dreams. 

All this was very well known to poor Gertrude by this time, and itwas seldom now that she did more than catch a passing glimpse ofReuben, or exchange a few hasty words with him in the street. Theyoung man was proud, and knew that he was looked down upon by theMaster Builder and his wife. This made him very reticent of showinghis feelings, and reduced Gertrude often to the lowest ebb ofdepression. 

So the coarse jests of her brother were a keen pain to her, and shepresently rose and left the room in great resentment, followed by amocking laugh from the ill-conditioned young man. 

Having lost one victim, that amiable youth next turned hisattention to his mother, and began to torment her with the samezest as he had displayed in the baiting of his sister. 

"All the town is talking of the plague, " he remarked, in would-besolemn tones. "They say that in St. Giles' and St. Andrew'sparishes they are burying them by the dozen every day;" and as hismother uttered a little scream, and shrank away even from him, hewent on in the same tone, "All the fine folks from that end of thetown are thinking of moving into the country. The witches andwizards are declaring openly in the streets that the whole city isto be destroyed. Some folks say that soon the Lord Mayor and theMagistrates will have all the infected houses shut up straitly, sothat none may go in or come forth when it is known that thedistemper has appeared there. The door will be marked with a redcross, and the words 'Lord, have mercy upon us!' writ large aboveit. So, good mother, when I come home one day with the marks of thedistemper upon me, the whole house will be closed, and none will beable to go forth to escape it. So we shall all perish together, asa loving family should do. "

The blasphemies and ribald jokes with which this good-for-nothingyoung man adorned his speech made it sound tenfold more hideousthan I can do. Even his mother shrank away from him, in terror andamaze at his levity, and cried aloud in her fear so that instantlythe door opened, and her husband entered to know what was amiss. 

Frederick looked a little uneasy then, for he still held his fatherin a wholesome awe; but the mother made no complaint of her son, but only said she had been affrighted by hearing that there weremore deaths from the plague than she had thought would ever be thecase after all the care the Magistrates had taken, and was it truethat the Lord Mayor had spoken of shutting up the houses, and socausing the sound ones to become diseased and to perish with thestricken ones?

The Master Builder answered gravely enough; for he had himself butjust come in from hearing that the weekly Bills of Mortality wereterribly high, and that the deaths in certain of the westernparishes had been beyond all reckoning since the last years whenthe plague had visited the city. True, there were not many put downas having died of the plague; but it was known how much was done toget other diseases set down in the bills, so that there was notmuch comfort to be got out of that. 

The Master Builder thought that the houses would not be shut upunless things became much worse. The matter had been spoken of, ashe himself had heard; but the people were much against it, and itwould be a measure most difficult to enforce, and would tend tomake men conceal from the authorities any case of distemper whichappeared amongst them. But he said it was true enough that personsof high degree were beginning to move into the country, at leastfrom the western part of the town; but that all felt very sure thedistemper would speedily be checked, and would not come within thecity walls at all, nor extend eastward beyond its boundaries. 

Madam breathed a little more freely on hearing this, but made aneager suggestion to her husband that they should go away if thedistemper began to spread. 

But the Master Builder shook his head impatiently. 

"A fine thing to run away from a chance ill, and court a certainruin! How do you think business will thrive if all the men run awayfrom their shops like affrighted sheep? No, no; it is often safestto stay at home with closed doors than to run helter skelter tostrange places where one knows not who may have been last. Keepindoors with your perfumes and spices, and keep the wench closewith you. That is the best way of outwitting the enemy. Besides, ithas come nowhere near us yet. "

Madam had certainly no mind to be ruined, nor was she one who lovedchange or the discomforts of travel. So she thought on the wholeher husband's advice was good. It would be much more comfortable tostay here with closed doors, surrounded by the luxuries of home. 

Now as Frederick sat with outstretched legs in one of the easiestchairs in the room, and heard his father speak of these things, athought came into his head which tickled his fancy so vastly thatthroughout the evening he kept bursting into smothered laughter, somuch so that his sister threw him many suspicious glances, anddivined that he had some evil purpose in his head. 

The May light lasted long in the sky; but as it failed Frederickwent out, as was his wont, and for many hours he spent his timewith a number of kindred spirits in a neighbouring tavern, quaffinglarge potations, and dicing and gaming after the fashion of theCourt gallants. 

The bulk of the young roisterers thus assembled belonged to one ofthose bands of Scourers of which Frederick claimed to be the head. They were the worthy successors to the "Roaring Boys" orBonaventors of past centuries, and their favourite pastime was, after spending the night in revelry and play, to start forthtowards dawn and scour the streets, upsetting the baskets or cartsof the early market folks bringing their wares into the town, scattering the merchandise in the gutter, kissing the women, cuffing the men, wrenching off knockers from house doors, andgetting up fights with the watch or with some rival band ofScourers which resulted in broken heads and sometimes in actualbloodshed. 

The Magistrates treated these misdemeanours with wonderfultolerance when the culprits were from time to time brought beforethem, and the nuisance went on practically unchecked--the peoplebeing used to wild and dissolute ways and much brawling--andlooking on it as one of the necessary ills of life. 

But upon this bright May morning, before the streets began toawaken, even before the market folks were astir, Frederick ledforth his band intent upon a new sort of mischief. Some of thenumber carried pots of red paint in their hands, and others pots ofwhite paint. 

Up and down the empty streets paraded these worthies, pausing hereand there at the door of some citizen that presented a temptingsurface. One of their number would paint upon it the ominous redcross, whilst another who had skill enough (for writing was not theaccomplishment of every citizen even then) would add in staringwhite letters the legend, "Lord, have mercy upon us!"

It was a brutal jest at such a time, when the dread visitor hadactually appeared as it were in their midst, and all sober men werein fear of what might betide, and of the methods already spoken offor the suppression of the distemper. But it was its verywickedness which gave it its charm in the opinion of theperpetrators, and as they went from street to street, Fredericksuddenly exclaimed:

"Ha! we are close to Allhallowes. Let us adorn the door of the oldmadwoman, Lady Scrope. They say she lives quite alone, and that herservants come in the morning and leave at night. Sure they willnone of them have courage to pass the threshold when that signadorns it, and the old hag will have to come forth herself to seekthem. An excellent joke! I will watch the house, and give her akiss as she comes forth. "

Whereupon the whole crew burst into shouts of drunken laughter, andmade a rush to the door, which stood flush in a grim-looking walljust beneath the shadow of the church of Allhallowes the Less. 

Frederick had the paint pot in his hand, and he traced a fine redcross upon the door, all the while making his ribald jests upon theold woman within, he and his companions alike, far too drunk withwine and unholy mirth to have eyes or ears for what was happeningclose beside them. They did not hear the sound of an opening windowjust above them. They did not see a nightcapped head poked forth, the great frilled cap surrounding a small, wizened, butkeenly-courageous face, in which the eyes were glittering likepoints of fire. 

None of them saw this. None of them heeded, and the head was for amoment silently withdrawn. Then it was again cautiously protruded, and the next minute there descended on the head of Frederick ablack hot mass of tar and bitumen. It scalded his face, it blindedhis eyes. It choked and almost poisoned him by its vaporouspungency. It matted itself in his voluminous periwig, and plasteredit down to his shoulders; it clotted his lace frills, and ran infilthy rivulets down his smart clothes. In a word, it rendered himin a moment a disgusting and helpless object, unable to see orhear, almost unable to breathe, and quite unable to rid himself ofthe sticky, loathsome mass in which he had suddenly become encased. 

Then from the window above came a shrill, jeering cry:

"To your task, bold Scourers--to your task! Scour your own finefriend and comrade. Scour him well, for he will need it. Scour himfrom head to foot. A pest upon you, young villains! I would everycitizen in London would serve you the same!"

Then the window above was banged to. The mob of roisterers fledhelter skelter, laughing and jeering. Not one amongst them offeredto assist their wretched leader. They left him alone in his sorryplight to get out of it as best he might. They had not the smallestconsideration for one even of their own number overtaken bymisfortune. Roaring with laughter at the frightful picture hepresented, they dispersed to their own homes, and the wretchedFrederick was left alone in the street to do the best he could withhis black, unsavoury plaster. 

He strove in vain to clear his vision, and to remove the peruke, which clung to him like a second skin. He was in a horrible frightlest he should be seen and recognized in this ignominious plight;and although he felt sure his comrades would spread the story ofhis discomfiture all over the town, he did not wish to be seen bythe watch, or by any law-abiding citizens who knew him. 

But how to get home was a puzzle, blind and half suffocated as hewas; and he scarce knew whether anger or relief came uppermost tohis mind when he felt his arm taken, and a voice that he knew saidin his ear:

"For shame, Frederick! It is a disgrace to London the way you andyour comrades go on. And now of all times to jest when the foe isat our doors. Shame upon you! The old dame has given you no morethan your due. But come with me, and I will get you home ere thetown be awake; and have a care how you offend again like this, forthe Magistrates will not suffer jests of such a kind at such atime. Know you not that it is almost enough to frighten a timidserving wench into the distemper to see such signs upon the doors?And if it break out in the midst of us, who can say where it willend?"

It was Reuben Harmer who spoke, as Frederick very well knew. Theyoung men had been boys together, and as Reuben was two years theelder, he assumed a tone in speaking which Frederick now keenlyresented. But it was no time to repel an overture of help, and hesullenly forced himself to accept Reuben's good offices. The greatclotted periwig was with some difficulty got off, and then it waspossible to remove the worst of the tar from face and eyes. Frederick at last could see clearly and breathe freely, butpresented so lamentable an object that he only longed to get safehome to the shelter of his father's house. 

The costly periwig of curls had perforce to be left in the gutter, hopelessly ruined, and Frederick, who had given more money for itthan he could well afford, shook his fist at the house whichcontained the redoubtable old woman who had thus fooled and bestedhim. 

"You Scourers will find that you can play your meddlesome games toooften, " remarked Reuben sternly, his eyes upon the red cross andthe half-completed words above. "I would that all the city were ofthe same spirit as Lady Scrope. She always keeps a quantity of hotpitch or tar beside her bed, with a lamp burning beneath it, incase of attacks from robbers. You may thank your stars that itdescended not boiling hot upon your head. Had she been so minded topunish you, she would have done so fearlessly. You may be thankfulit was no worse. "

Frederick sullenly picked up his hat, which he had laid aside whilepainting the door, and which had thus escaped injury, pulled it asfar over his face as it would go, and turned abruptly away fromReuben. 

"I'll be revenged on the old hag yet!" he muttered between histeeth. "I've got a double debt to pay to this house now. I'll notforget it either. "

He turned abruptly away and scuttled home by the narrowest alleyshe could find, whilst Reuben went about looking for the redcrosses, and giving timely notice to the master of the house, thatthey might be erased, as quietly and quickly as possible. 

Accident had led Reuben early abroad that day, but he made use ofhis time to undo as far as he was able the mischievous jesting ofFrederick's band of Scourers. 

CHAPTER III. DRAWING NEARER. 

"Brother Reuben, I cannot think what can be the reason, but my LadyScrope has bidden me beg of thee to give her speech upon themorrow. All this day she has been in a mighty pleasant humour: shegave me this silken neckerchief when I left today, and bid me bringmy brother with me on the morrow--and she means thee, Reuben. "

"What can be the meaning of that?" asked Rachel Harmer, with a lookof curiosity. "Doth she often speak to thee of thy kindred, child?"

"If the whim be on her, and she has naught else to amuse her, shewill bid me tell of the life at home, and of our neighbours andfriends, " answered Dorcas. "But never has she spoke as she didtoday. Nor can I guess why she would have speech with Reuben. "

"I can guess shrewdly at that, " said the young man. "It so befellthis morning that I found a party of roisterers at her door, who weremarking it with a red cross, as though it were a plague-strickenhouse--as the Magistrates talk of marking them now if the distemperspreads much further and wider. The bold lady had herself put thesefellows to the rout by pouring pitch upon them from a window above;but I stopped to rebuke the foremost of them myself, and to erasetheir handiwork from the door. I did not know that I was either seenor known; but methinks my Lady Scrope has eyes in the back of herhead, as the saying goes. "

"You may well say that!" cried Dorcas, with a laugh and a shrug. "Never was there such a woman for knowing everything and everybody. But she spoke not to me of any roisterers. Would I had been thereto see her pouring her filthy compound over them! She always has itready. How she must have rejoiced to find a use for it at last!"

"It is an evil and a scurvy jest at such a time to mock at theperil which is at our very doors, and which naught but the mercy ofGod can avert from us, " said the master of the house, very gravely. 

Then, looking round upon his assembled household, he added in thesame very serious way, "I have been this day into the heart of thecity. I have spoken with many of the authorities there. The LordMayor and the Magistrates are in great anxiety, and I fear me therecan be no longer any doubt that the distemper is spreadingfearfully. It has not yet appeared within the city nor upon theother side of the river; but in the western parishes it isspreading every way, and they say that all who are able are fleeingaway from their houses. Perchance for those who can do so this maybe the safest thing to do. But soon they will not be permitted toleave, unless they have a bill of health from the Lord Mayor, as inthe country beyond the honest folks are taking alarm, and arecrying out that we are like to spread the plague all over thekingdom. "

"I, too, have heard sad tales of the mortality, " said Dinah, raising her calm voice and speaking very seriously. "I met a goodphysician, under whom I often laboured amongst the sick, and hetells me that there be poor stricken wretches from whom all theworld flee in terror the moment it appears they have the distemperupon them. Many have died already untended and uncared for, whilstothers have in the madness of the fever and pain burst out of therooms in which they have been shut up, and have run up and down thestreets, spreading terror in their path, till they have droppeddown dead or dying, to be carried to graveyard or pest house as thecase may be. But who can tell how many other victims such amiserable creature may not have infected first?"

"Ay, that is the terror of it, " said Harmer. "All are saying thatnurses must be found to care for the sick, and many are veryresolved that the houses where the distemper is found should bestraitly shut up and guarded by watchmen, that none go forth. It isa hard thing for the whole to be thus shut in with the infected;but as men truly say, how shall the whole city escape if somethingbe not done to restrain the people from passing to and fro, andspreading the distemper everywhere?"

"I have thought, " said Dinah, very quietly, "that it may be givento me to offer myself as a nurse for these poor persons. I havepassed unscathed through many perils before now. Once I verilybelieve I was with one who died even of this distemper, albeit thephysician called it the spotted fever, which frights men less thanthe name of plague. There be many herbs and simples and decoctionswhich men say are of great value in keeping the infection at bay. And even were it not so, we must not be thinking only at such timesof saving our own lives. There be some that must be ready to riskeven life, if they may serve their brethren. The good physiciansare prepared to do this, to say nothing of the Magistrates andthose who have the management of this great city at such a time. And it seems to me that women must always be ready to tend the sickeven in times of peril. I seem to hear a call that bids me offermyself for this work; but none else shall suffer through me. If Igo, I return hither no more. I shall live amongst the sick untilthis judgment be overpast, or until I myself be called hence, asmay well be. "

All faces were grave and full of awe. Yet perhaps none who knewDinah were overmuch surprised at her words. Her life had been livedamongst the sick for many years. She had never shrunk from danger, or had spared herself when the need was pressing. Her sisterRachel, although the tears stood in her eyes, said nothing todissuade her. 

Nor indeed was there much time for discussion then, for the MasterBuilder looked in at that moment with a face full of concern. Hebrought the news that fresh revelations were being hourly made asto the terrible rapidity with which the plague was spreading in theparishes without the walls; and he added that even the gay andgiddy Court had been at last alarmed, and that the King had beenheard to say he should quit Whitehall and retire with his Court andhis minions to Oxford in the course of a week or a fortnight, unless matters became speedily much better. 

"Ay, that is ever the way, " said Harmer, sternly. "The recklessmonarch and his licentious Court draw down upon the city the wrathof God in judgment of their wickedness, and those who have provokedthe judgment flee from the peril, leaving the poor of the city toperish like sheep. "

"Well, well, well; fine folks like change, and it is easy for themto go elsewhere. I would do the same, perchance, were I so placed, "said the Master Builder; "but we men of business must stick to ourwork as long as it sticks to us. 

"What about your mistress, Lady Scrope, Dorcas? Has she said aughtof leaving London? She is one who could easily fly. Not but what Itrust the distemper will be kept well out of the city by the caretaken. "

"She has spoken no word of any such thing, " answered Dorcas. "Shereads and hears all that is spoken about the plague, and makes myblood run cold by the stories she tells of it in other lands, andduring other outbreaks which she can remember. Methinks sometimesthe very hair on my head is standing up in the affright her wordsbring me. But she only laughs and mocks, and calls me a littlepoltroon. I trow that she would never fly; it would not be likeher. "

"Men and women do many things unlike themselves in stress ofparticular and deadly peril, " said the Master Builder. "Lady Scropewould do well to consider leaving whilst the city has so good abill of health; it may be less easy by-and-by, should the distemperspread. "

"Thou canst speak to her of this thing, Reuben, when thou dost seeher on the morrow, " observed his father. "Perchance she has notconsidered the peril of being detained if she puts off flight toolong. "

Reuben said he would name the matter to the lady; and when Dorcasset forth upon the morrow for her daily walk, her brotheraccompanied her, and told her in confidence what he had not told tohis family--how Frederick Mason had been served by the irate oldlady, and what a sorry spectacle he had presented afterwards. 

Dorcas laughed heartily at the story. She had no love forFrederick, and she told her brother that she suspected he had beenthe half-tipsy gallant who had striven to kiss her in the streets, and had partially succeeded. This put Reuben into a great wrath, and he promised whenever he could do so to come and escort hissister home from the house in Allhallowes. True, the distance wasbut very short, yet the lane to the bridge head was lonely andnarrow, and Frederick was known for a most ill-conditioned youngman. 

Lady Scrope received Reuben in a demi-toilet of a peculiar kind, and a very strange and wizened object did she appear. She thankedhim for the rebuke she had heard him administer to the roisterer, enjoyed a hearty laugh over his wretched appearance, and thenproceeded to indulge her insatiable taste for gossip by demandingof him all the city news, and what all the world there was talkingabout. 

"Since this plague bogey has got into men's minds I see nobody andhear nothing, " she said. "All the fools be flying the place like somany silly sheep; or, if they come to sit awhile, their talk is allof pills and decoctions, refuses and ointments. Bah! they will buythe drugs of every foolish quack who goes about the streets sellingplague cures, and then fly off the next day, thinking that theywill be the next victim. Bah! the folly of the men! How glad I amthat I am a woman. "

"Still, madam, " said Reuben, taking his cue, "there be many nobleladies who think it well to remove themselves for a time from thisinfected city. Not that for the time being the city itself isinfected, and we hope to keep it free--"

"Then men are worse fools than I take them for, " was the sharpretort. "Keep the plague out of the city! Bah! what nonsense willthey talk next! Is it not written in the very heavens that the cityis to be destroyed? Heed not their idle prognostications. I tellyou, young man, that the plague is already amongst us, even thoughmen know it not. In a few more weeks half the houses in the verycity itself will be shut up, and grass will be growing in thestreets. We may be thankful if there are enough living to bury thedead. Keep it out of the city, forsooth! Let them do it if theycan; I know better!"

Dorcas paled and shrank, fully convinced that her redoubtablemistress possessed a familiar spirit who revealed to her the thingsthat were coming; but Reuben fancied that the old lady was butguessing, and he saw no reason to be afraid at her words. Sayingsuch things would not bring them to pass. 

"Then, madam, " he answered, "if such be the case, would it not bewell to consider whether you do not remove yourself ere thesethings comne to pass? Pardon me if I seem to take it upon mnyselfto advise you, but I was charged by my father, who is like to beappointed for a time one of the examiners of health whom the Mayorand Magistrates think it well to institute at this time, that soonit may not be so easy to get away from the city as it is now;wherefore it behoves the sound whilst they are yet sound to bethinkthem whether or not they will take themselves away elsewhere. Alsomy mother wished me to ask the question of your ladyship, forasmuchas she would like to know whether my sister in such case would berequired to accompany you. "

Lady Scrope nodded her head several times, an odd light of mockerygleaming in her keen black eyes. 

"Tell your worthy father, good youth, that I thank him for his goodcounsel; but also tell him that nothing will drive me from thisplace--not even though I be the only one left alive in the city. Here I was born, and here I mean to die; and whether death comes bythe plague or by some other messenger what care I? I tell thee, lad, I am far safer here than gadding about the country. Here I canshut myself up at pleasure from all the world. Abroad, I am at themuercy of any plague-stricken vagabond who comes to ask an alms. Let all sensible folks stay at home and shut themselves up, and letthe fools go gadding here, there, and all over. As for Dorcas, lether come and go as long as she safely may; but if your good motherwould keep her at home, then let her abide there, and return to mewhen the peril is overpast. I like the wench, and if she likes toabide altogether with me she may do so. Let her mother choose. "

Dorcas, however, had no wish to live in that lonely housealtogether, and for the present there was no reason why she shouldnot go backwards and forwards to her father's abode. Her parentswere grateful to Lady Scrope for her offer, but for the presentthere was no reason for making any change. 

The weather during these bright days of May had been cool andfresh, and in spite of all evil auguries, sanguine persons hadtried hard to believe and to make others believe that the peril ofa visitation of the plague had been somewhat overrated. Yet thechoked thoroughfares leading out of London gave the lie to thesesuppositions, and for many weeks the bridge was a sight in itself, crowded with carriages and waggons all filled with the richer folksand their goods, hastening to the pleasant regions of Surrey toforget their fears and escape the pestilential atmosphere of thecity. 

Then towards the end of the month a great heat set in, and at once, as it were, the infection broke out in a hundred different andunsuspected places, not only without but within the city walls. Howthe distemper had so spread none then dared to guess. It seemedeverywhere at once, none knew why or how. Doubtless it was ininnumerable instances the tainted condition of the wells from whichthe bulk of the people still drew their water; but men did notthink of these things long ago. They looked each other in the facein fear and terror, none knowing but that his neighbour in thestreet might be carrying about with him the seeds of the dreaddistemper. 

It now behoved all careful citizens to bethink them well what theywould do, with the fearful foe knocking as it were at their verydoors, and the matter was brought home right early to the Harmerhousehold, by a thing that befell them at the very outset of theaccess of hot weather which told so fatally upon the city almostimumediately afterwards. 

Rachel Harmer was awakened from sleep one night by the sound ofsomething rattling upon the bed-chamber floor, as though it hadfallen from the open casement, and as she came to her wakingsenses, she heard a voice without calling in urgent accents:

"Mother! mother! mother!"

Rising in some alarm, she went to the window which projected overthe lower stories of the house, as was usual at that time, and onputting out her head she beheld a female figure standing in theroadway below. When the moonlight fell upon the upturned face, shesaw it was that of her daughter Janet, who was in the service ofLady Howe, and was her waiting maid, living in her house not farfrom Whitehall, and earning good wages in that gay household. 

In no little alarm at seeing her daughter out alone in the streetat night, she spoke her name and bid her wait at the door till shecould let her in, which she would do immediately; but Janetinstantly replied:

"Nay, mother, come not to the door; come to the little window atthe corner, where I can speak quietly till I have told you all. Open not the door till you have heard my lamentable tale. I knownot even now that I am right to come hither at all. "

In great fear and anxiety the mother cast a loose wrapper abouther, and descended quickly to the little storeroom close againstthe shop, where there was a tiny window which opened direct uponthe street. At this window, but a few paces away, she found herdaughter awaiting her, and by the light of the rush candle that shecarried she saw that the girl's face was deadly white. 

"Child, child, what ails thee? Come in and tell me all. Thou mustnot stand out there. I will open the door and fetch thee in. "

"No, mother, no--not till thou hast heard my tale, " pleaded Janet;"for the sake of the rest thou must be cautious. Mother, I havebeen with one who died of the plague at noon today!"

"Mercy on us, child! How came that about?"

"It was my fellow servant and bed fellow, " answered Janet. "We werelike sisters together, and if ever I ailed aught she tended me asfondly as thou couldst thyself, mother. Today, when we rose, shecomplained of headache and a feeling of illness; but we went downand took our breakfast below with the rest. At least I took mine asusual, though she did but toy with her food. Then all of a suddenshe put her hand to her side and turned ghastly white, and fell offher chair. A scullery wench set up a cry, 'The plague! the plague!'and forthwith they all fled this way and that--all save me, whocould not leave her thus. I made her swallow some hot cordial whichI think they call alexiteric water, and which is said to be verybeneficial in cases of the distemper; and she was able to crawlupstairs after a while to her bed once more, where I put her. Iknew not for some hours what was passing in the house, though Iheard a great commotion there, and presently there stole in amincing physician who attends my lady, holding a handkerchiefsteeped in vinegar to his nose, and smelling like an apothecary'sshop. He looked at poor Patience, who lay in a stupor, heedingnone, and he directed me to uncover her neck for him to see if shehad the tokens upon her. There had been none when I put her to bedagain, so that I had hoped it was but a colic or some suchaffection; but, alas, when I looked at his direction, there werethe black swellings plainly to be seen. Forthwith he fled withindecent haste, and only stopped to say he would send a nurse andsuch remedies as should be needful. "

"O my child! and thou wast with her all the time!--thou didst eventouch and handle her?"

"Mother, I could not leave her alone to die. And hardly had thedoctor gone than the fever came upon her, and it was all I could doto keep her from rushing out of the room in her pain. But it lastedonly a brief while--for the poison must have gotten a sore hold onher--and just after noon she fell back in mine arms and died. 

"O mother, I see her face now--so livid and terrible to look upon!O mother, mother, shall I too look like that when my turn comes todie?"

"Hush, hush, my child! God is very merciful. It may be His goodpleasure to spare thee. Thy aunt doth go to and fro amongst thesmitten ones, and she is yet in her wonted health. But ere I callthy father and ask counsel what we are to do, tell me the rest ofthy tale. Who came to thy relief? and how camest thou hither solate?"

"I could not come before. I dared not go forth by day, lest I boreabout the seeds of the distemper. The nurse came at three o'clock, and finding her patient already dead, wrapped her in a sheet, andsaid that a coffin would be sent at dark, and that the bearerswould fetch her for burying when the cart came round, and that whenI heard the bell ring I must call to them from the window and letthem in. I asked why the porter should not do that, but she told methat already every person in the house had fled. My lady had falleninto an awful fright on hearing that one of her servants wassmitten, and before any knowledge could have been received of it bythe authorities, she had applied for and obtained a clean bill forherself and her household, and every one of them had fled. Thehouse was empty, save for me and the poor dead girl; and I wasbidden to stay till her corpse was removed, for the nurse said shewas wanted in a dozen places at once, and that she had too much todo with the sick to attend upon the dead. "

"And thou wert willing to wait?"

"I could not leave her alone. Besides, I feared to walk the streetstill night. The nurse bid me not linger after the body was taken, for no man knows when the houses will be shut up, so that none cango forth who have been with an infected person. But it is not sodone yet, and I was free. But I dared not come home amongst you allto bring, perhaps, death with me. I waited in the house till themen and the cart came, and they brought a coffin and took poorPatience away. They told me then that soon there would be no morecoffins, and that they would have to bury without them. "

Janet paused and shuddered strongly. 

"O mother, mother, mother!" she wailed, "what shall I do? What willbecome of me? Shall I have to die in the streets, or to go to thepest house? Oh, why do such terrible things befall us?"

The mother was weeping now, but the next moment she felt the touchof her husband's hand upon her shoulder, and his voice said in itsquiet and authoritative way:

"What means all this coil and to do? Why does the child speak thus?Tell me all; I must hear the tale. 

"Janet, my girl, never ask the why and the wherefore of any of theLord's just judgments. It is for us to bow our heads in repentanceand submission, trusting that He will never try us above what weare able to bear. "

Comforted by the sound of her father's voice, Janet repeated hertale to him in much the same words as before, the father listeningin thoughtful silence, without comment or question; till at theconclusion of the tale he said to his wife:

"Go upstairs and bring down with thee my heavy riding cloak whichhangs in the press;" and when she had obeyed him, he added, "Now goup to thy room, and shut thyself in till I call thee thence. "

Implicit obedience to her husband was one of Rachel'scharacteristics. Although she longed to know what was to be done, she asked no questions, but retired upstairs and fell on her kneesin prayer. The master of the house went to a great cask of vinegarwhich stood in the corner, and after pretty well saturating theheavy cloak in that pungent liquid, he unbarred the door, andbeckoning to his daughter to approach, threw about her the heavymantle and bid mer follow him. 

He led her through the house and up to a large spare guest chamber, rather away from the other sleeping chambers of the house, and hequickly brought to her there a bath and hot water, and certainherbs specially prepared--wormwood, woodsorrel, angelica, and soforth. He bid her wash herself all over in the herb bath, wrappingall her clothing first in the cloak, which she was to put outsidethe door. Then she was to go to bed, whilst all her clothing wasburnt by his own hands; and after that she must submit to remainshut up in that room, seeing nobody but himself, until such timeshould have gone by as should prove whether or not she had becomeinfected by the distemper. 

Janet wept for joy at being thus received beneath her father'sroof, having heard so many fearsome tales of persons being turnedout of doors even by their nearest and dearest, were it butsuspected that they might carry about with them the seeds of thedreaded distemper. But the worthy lace maker was a godly man, andbrave with the courage that comes of a lively faith. He had learnedall that could be told of the nature of the distemper; and after hehad burnt all his daughter's clothing with his own hands, and hadassured himself that she felt sound and well, and had alsofumigated his own house thoroughly, he felt that he had done all inhis power against the infection, and that the rest must be left inthe hands of Providence. 

The mother hovered anxiously about, but came not near her husbandtill permitted by him. She did not enter the room where herdaughter now lay comfortably in a soft bed, but she prepared somegood food for her, which was carried in by the father later on, andpromised her that by the morning she should have clothing to puton, and that she should have every care and comfort during the daysof her captivity. 

Janet thanked God from the very bottom of her heart that night forhaving given to her such good and kindly parents, and earnestlybesought that she might be spared, not only for her own unworthysake, but for their sakes who had risked so much rather than thatshe should be an outcast from home at such a time of peril and horror. 

CHAPTER IV. JAMES HARMER'S RESOLVE. 

It was with a grave face, yet with a brave and cheerful mien, thatthe worthy Harmer met his household upon the following morning. Hehad passed the remainder of that strangely interrupted night inmeditation and prayer, and had arrived now at a resolution which heintended to put into immediate effect. 

His household consisted, it will be remembered, of his own family, together with apprentices, shopmen, and serving wenches. To all ofthese he now addressed himself, told the story which his daughterhad related of the treatment received in the house of the high-bornlady by the poor girl stricken by the pestilence, and how it hadmade even his own child almost fear to enter her father's house. 

"My friends, " said the master, looking round upon the ring of graveand eager faces, "these things ought not to be. In times of commontrouble and peril the hearts of men should draw closer together, and we should remember that God's command to us is to love ourneighbour as ourself. If we were to lie stricken of mortal illness, should we think it a Christ-like act for all men to flee away fromus? But inasmuch as we ought all of us to take every care not torun into needless peril, so must we take every right and reasonableprecaution to keep from ourselves and our homes this just butterrible visitation, which God has doubtless sent for ouradmonition and chastisement. "

After this preface, Harmer proceeded to tell his household what hehad himself resolved upon. His two apprentices--other than his ownson Joseph--were sons of a farmer living in Greenwich; and hepurposed that very day to get his sailor son Dan to take them downthe river in a boat, that he might deliver the lads safe and soundto their parents before further peril threatened, advising them tokeep them at home till the distemper should have abated, andarranging with them for a regular supply of fresh and untaintedprovisions, to be conveyed to his house from week to week by water, so long as there should be any fear of marketing in the city. Heforesaw that very soon trade would come almost to a standstill. Thescare and the pestilence together were emptying London of all itswealthier inhabitants. There would be soon no work for eithershopmen or apprentices, and he counselled the former, if they hadhomes out of London to go to, to remain no longer in town, but totake their wages and seek safety and employment elsewhere, untilthe calamity should be overpast. He also gave the same liberty tothe serving wenches, one of whom came from Islington and the otherfrom Rotherhithe. And all of these persons having home and friends, decided to leave forthwith, to be out of the danger of infection, and of that still more dreaded danger of being shut up in aninfected house with a plague-stricken person. 

The master gave liberally to each of his servants according totheir past service, and promised that if he should escape thepestilence, and continue his business in more prosperous times, hewould take them back into his house again. 

For the present, however, it seemed good to him that only his ownfamily should remain with him. His wife and three daughters couldwell manage the house, and he did not desire that any other personshould be imperilled through the course of action he himselfintended to take. 

When he took boat with his apprentices, he offered to Joseph toaccompany his companions and remain under the charge of the farmerand his wife at Greenwich; but the boy begged so earnestly toremain at home with the rest, that he was permitted to do so. Truthto tell, Joseph was more fascinated than alarmed by the thought ofthe advance of the dreaded plague, and was by no means anxious tobe taken away from the city when all the world was saying that suchstrange things would be seen ere long. The lad felt so safe beneaththe care of wise and loving parents, that he would never of his ownwill consent to leave them. 

The moment the party had started by boat, the shop being that dayshut for the first time, albeit for some days nothing had beenstirring in the way of custom--Joseph darted away down a network ofalleys hard by in search of his younger brother Benjamin, who wasapprenticed to a carpenter in Lad Lane, off Wood Street, andtherefore much nearer to the infected parishes than the house onthe bridge. Benjamin was sure to know the latest news as to thespread of the pestilence. Joseph was of opinion that it was allrather fine fun, especially since it seemed like to get him a spellof unwonted holiday. 

Already as he passed through the streets he noted a great manyempty and shut-up houses. Men were going about with grave andanxious faces. Often they would look askance at some passerby whomight be walking a little feebly or unsteadily, and once Joseph sawa man some fifty paces in advance of him stagger and fall to theground with a lamentable cry. 

Instead of flying to his assistance, all who saw him fled interror, crying one to the other, "It is the pestilence! Send forthe watch to get him away!"

And presently there came two men who lifted him up and carried himaway, but whether he was then alive or dead the boy did not know, and a great awe fell upon him; for he had never seen such a thingbefore, and could not understand how death could come so suddenly. 

"Is it always so with them?" he asked of a woman who was craningher head out of a window to see where the bearers were taking him. 

"I cannot tell, " she answered. "They say that there be many walkingabout amongst us daily in the streets who carry death to all intheir breath and in their touch, and yet they know it notthemselves, and none know it till they fall as yon poor man did, and die ofttimes in a few minutes or hours. If such be so, whoknows when he is safe? May the Lord have mercy upon us all! Therebe seven lying dead in this street today, and though folks say theydied of other fevers and distempers, who can tell? They bribe thenurses and the leeches to return them dead of smaller ailments, butI verily believe the pestilence is stalking through our very midsteven now. "

She shut down the window with a groan, and Joseph pursued his waywith somewhat modified feelings, half elated at being in the thickof so much that was terrible and awesome, and yet beginning tounderstand somewhat of the horror that was possessing the minds ofall. He found himself walking in the middle of the street, andavoiding too close contact with the passersby; indeed all seemeddisposed to give strangers a wide berth just now, so that it wasnot difficult to avoid contact. 

Yet crowds were to be seen, too, at many open spaces. Sometimes afervid preacher would be declaiming to a pale-faced group on thesubject of God's righteous judgments upon a wicked and licentiouscity. Sometimes a wizened old woman or a juggling charlatan wouldbe seen selling all sorts of charms and potions as specificsagainst the plague. Joseph pressing near in curiosity to one ofthese vendors, found him doing a brisk trade in dried toads, whichhe vowed would preserve the wearer from all infection. Another hadpackets of dried herbs to which he gave terribly long names, andwhich he declared acted as an antidote to the poison. Another hadsmall leaflets on which directions were given for applying acertain ointment to the plague spots, which at once cured them asby magic. The leaflets were given away, but the ointment had to bebought. Those, however, who once read what the paper said, seldomwent away without a box of the precious specific. 

Joseph would have liked one himself, but had no money, and wasfurther restrained by a sense of conviction that his father wouldsay it was all nonsense and quackery. 

Church bells were ringing, and many were tolling--tolling for thedead, and ringing the living into the churches, where specialprayers were being offered and many excellent discourses preached, to which crowds of people listened with bated breath. Joseph creptinto one church on his way for a few minutes, but was too restlessto listen long, and soon came forth again. 

He was now near to Lad Lane, and hastening his steps lest he mightbe further delayed, came quickly upon the back premises of thecarpenter's shop, where the sound of hammer and chisel and saw madequite a clamour in the quiet air. 

"They are busy here at all events, " muttered Joseph, as he pushedopen the gate of the yard, and in truth they were busy within; butyet the sight that presented itself to his eyes was anything hut acheerful one, for every man in the large number assembled there wasat work upon a coffin. Coffins in every stage of construction stoodeverywhere, and the carpenters were toiling away at them as if fordear life. Nothing but coffins was to be seen; and scarcely was onefinished, in never so rude a fashion, but it was borne hurriedlyaway by some waiting messenger, and the master kept coming into theyard to see if his men could not work yet faster. 

"They say they must bury the corpses uncoffined soon, " Joseph heardhim whisper to his foreman as he passed by. "No bodies may waitabove ground after the first night when the cart goes its round. Six orders have come in within the last hour. No one knows how manywe shall have by nightfall, or how many men we shall have workingsoon. I sent Job away but an hour since. I hope it was not thedistemper that turned his face so green! They say it has broken outin three streets hard by, and that it is spreading like wildfire. "

Joseph shuddered as he listened and crept away to the corner wherehis brother was generally to be found. And there sure enough wasBenjamin, a pretty fair-haired boy, who looked scarce strong enoughfor the task in hand, but who was yet working might and main withchisel and hammer. His face brightened at sight of his brother, yethe did not relax his efforts, only saying eagerly:

"How goes it at home with them all, Joseph? I trow it is the coffinmakers, not the lace makers, who have all the trade nowadays! Weare working night and day, and yet cannot keep up with the orders. "

Benjamin was half proud of all this press of business, but he didnot look as though it agreed with him. His face was pale, and whenat last he threw down his hammer it was with a gasp of exhaustion. The day was very hot, and he had been at work before the dawn. Itwas no wonder, perhaps, that he looked wan and weary, yet themaster passing by paused and cast an uneasy glance at him. For itwas from the very next stool that he had recently dismissed the manJob of whom he had spoken, and of whose condition he felt gravedoubts. 

Seeing Joseph close by he gave him a nod, and said:

"Hast come to fetch home thy brother? Two of my apprentices havebeen taken away since yesterday. He is a good lad, and does hisbest; but he may take a holiday at home if he likes. You arehealthier at your end of the town, and they say the distemper comesnot near water. 

"Wilt thou go home to thy mother, boy? We want men rather than ladsat our work in these days. "

Joseph had had no thought of fetching home his brother when hestarted, but it seemed to him that Benjamin would be much better athome than in this crowded yard, where already the infection mighthave spread. The boy confessed to a headache and pains in hislimbs; and so fearful were all men now of any symptom of illness, however trifling, that the master sent him forth without delay, bidding Joseph take him straight home to his mother, and keep himthere at his father's pleasure. A young boy was better at home inthese days, as indeed might well be the case. 

Benjamin was well pleased with this arrangement, having hadsomething too much of over hours and hard work. 

"He thinks perchance I have the distemper upon me, " he remarkedslyly to Joseph, "but it is not that. It is but the long hours andthe heat and noise of the yard. I shall be well enough when I gethome to mother. "

And this indeed proved to be the case. The child was overdone, andwanted but a little rest and care and mothering; and right gladwere both his parents to have him safe under their own wing. 

Upon that hot evening, almost the first in June, James Harmer hadthe satisfaction of feeling that he had every member of his familyunder his own roof, and that his household contained now none whowere not indeed his very own flesh and blood. Janet had sleptpeacefully almost the whole day, and had conversed happily andaffectionately through the closed door with her sisters, who wererejoiced to have her there. She spoke of feeling perfectly well butdesired to remain in seclusion until certain that she could injurenone beside. She was not therefore able to be present when herfather unfolded his plans to the rest of the family, though she wasquickly apprised of the result later on. 

"My dear wife and dutiful children, " said the master of the house, as he sat at table and looked about him at the ring of dear facesround him, "I have been thinking much as to what it is right for usto do in face of this peril and scourge which God has sent upon thecity; and albeit I am well aware that it is the duty of every manto take reasonable care of himself and his household, yet I alsofeel very strongly that in the protection of the Lord is ourgreatest strength and safeguard, and that our best and strongestdefence is in throwing ourselves upon His mercy, and asking day byday for His merciful protection for a household which looks to Himas the Lord of life and death. "

Then the good man proceeded to quote from Holy Writ certainpassages in which the pestilence is represented as being thescourge of the Lord, and is spoken of as being an angel of the Lordwith a drawn sword slaying right and left, yet ever ready to sparewhere the Lord shall bid. 

"I shall then, " continued Harmer, "daily and nightly confide thoseof this household into the keeping of Almighty God, and pray to Himfor His protection and special blessing. It may be (since His earsare always open to the supplication of His children) that He willsend His angel of life to watch over us and keep us from harm; andhaving this confidence, and using such means as seem wise andreasonable for the protection of all, I shall strive--and you mustall strive with me--to dismiss selfish terrors and the horror thatbegets cruelty and callousness, that we may all of us do our dutytowards those about us, and show that even the scourge of arighteous and offended God may become a blessing if taken inmeekness and humility. "

Then the good man proceeded to say what precautions he was about totake for the preservation of his family. He did not propose to flythe city. He had many valuable goods on the premises, which hemight probably lose were he to shut up his house and leave. He hadno place to go to in the country, and believed that the scourgemight well follow them there, were every householder to seek toquit his abode. Moreover, never was there greater need in the cityfor honest men of courage and probity to help to meet the comingcrisis and to see carried out all the wise regulations proposed bythe Mayor and Aldermen. He had resolved to join them--sincebusiness was like to be at a standstill for a while--and dowhatsoever a man could do to forward that good work. His son Reubenwas of the same mind with him; whilst his wife would far ratherface the peril in her own house than go out, she knew not whither, to be perhaps overtaken by the plague on the road. Her heart hadyearned over the sick ever since she had heard her daughter'sharrowing tale, and knew that her sister was at work amongst thestricken. She knew not what she might be able to do, but shetrusted to her husband for guidance, and would be entirely underhis direction. 

Some citizens spoke of victualling their houses as for a siege, andentirely secluding themselves and their families till the plaguewas overpast--and indeed this was many times done with success, although the plan broke down in other cases--but this was notHarmer's idea. He did indeed advise his wife and daughters to becareful how they adventured themselves abroad, and where they went. He had arranged at the farm near Greenwich for a regular supply ofprovisions to be brought by water to the stairs hard by the bridge;and since their house was supplied by water from the New River, they were sure of a constant fresh supply. But he had no intentionof incarcerating himself or any of his household, and preventingthem from being of use to afflicted neighbours, whilst he himselfanticipated having to go into many stricken homes and into infectedhouses. All the restriction he imposed was that any person sallyingforth into places where infection might be met should change hisraiment before going out, in a small building in the rear of theshop which he was about to fit up for that purpose, and to keepconstantly fumigated by the frequent burning of certain perfumes, of oil of sulphur, and of a coarse medicated vinegar which was saidto be an excellent disinfectant. On returning home again, theperson who had been exposed would doff all outer garments in thislittle room, would resume his former clothing, and hang up thediscarded garments where they would be subjected to thisdisinfecting fumigation for a number of hours, and would be thensafe to wear upon another occasion. He intended burning regularlyin his house a fire of pungent wood such as pine or cedar, whichwas to be constantly fed with such spices and perfumes anddisinfectants as the physicians should pronounce most efficacious. Perfect cleanliness he did not need to insist upon, for his wifecould not endure a speck of dust upon anything in the house. 

A careful diet, regular hours, and freedom from needless fearswould, he was assured, do much towards maintaining them all inhealth, and he concluded his address by kneeling down in the midstof his sons and daughters, and commending them all most ferventlyto the protection of Heaven, praying for grace to do their dutytowards all about them, and for leading and guidance that they rannot into needless peril, but were directed in all things by theSpirit of God. 

They had hardly risen from their knees before a knock at the doorannounced the arrival of a visitor, and Joseph running to answerthe summons--since there was now no servant in the house--came backalmost immediately ushering in the Master Builder, whose face worea very troubled look. 

"Heaven guard us all! I think my wife will go distraught with theterror of this visitation, if it goes on much longer. What is a manto do for the best? She raves at me sometimes like a maniac for nothaving taken her away ere the scourge spread as it is doing now. But when I tell her that if she is bent upon it she must e'en gonow, she cries out that nothing would induce her to set her footoutside the house. She sits with the curtains and shutters fastclosed, and a fire of spices on the hearth, till one is fairlystifled, and will touch nothing that is not well-nigh soaked invinegar. And each time that Frederick comes in with some freshtale, she is like to swoon with fear, and every time she vows thatit is the pestilence attacking her, and is like to die from sheerfright. What is a man to do with such a wife and such a son?"

"Surely Frederick will cease to repeat tales of horror when he seesthey so alarm his mother, " said Rachel; but the Master Buildershook his head with an air of more than doubt. 

"It seems his delight to torment her with terror; and she appearsalmost equally eager to hear all, though it almost scares her outof her senses. As for Gertrude, the child is pining like a cagedbird shut up in the house and not suffered to stir into the freshair. I am fair beset to know what to do for them. Nothing willconvince Madam but that there be dead carts at every street corner, and that the child will bring home death with her every time shestirs out. Yet Frederick comes to and fro, and she admits him toher presence (though she holds a handkerchief steeped in vinegar toher nose the while), and she gets no harm from him. "

"Poor child!" said Rachel, thinking of Gertrude, whom once she hadknown so well, running to and fro in the house almost like one ofher own. "Would that we could do somewhat for her. But I fear meher mother would not suffer her to visit us, especially since poorJanet came home last night from a plague-stricken house. "

Reuben's eyes had brightened suddenly at his mother's words, butthe gleam died out again, and he remained quite silent whilst thestory of Janet's appearance at home was told. The Master Builderlistened with interest and sighed at the same time. Perhaps he wascontrasting the nature of his neighbour's wife with that of hisown. How would Madam have acted had her child come to her in such aplight?

Harmer then told his neighbour the rules he was about to lay downfor his own household, all of which the Master Builder, who was akeen practical man, cordially approved. He was himself likely soonto be in a great strait, for most probably he would be appointed indue course to serve as an examiner of health, and would ofnecessity come into contact with those who had been amongst thesick, even if not with the infected themselves, and how his wifewould bear such a thing as that he scarce dared to think. Business, too, was at a standstill, all except the carpentering branch, andthat was only busy with coffins. If London became depopulated, there would be nothing doing in the building and furnishing linefor long enough. Some prophets declared that the city was doomed toa destruction such as had never been seen by mortal man before. Even as it was the plague seemed like to sweep away a fourth of theinhabitants; and if that were so, what would become of such tradesas his for many a year to come? Already the Master Builder spoke ofhimself as a half-ruined man. 

His neighbour did all he could to cheer him, but it was only tootrue that misfortune appeared imminent. Harmer had always been acareful and cautious man, laying by against a rainy day, and notstriving after a rapid increase of wealth. But the Master Builderhad worked on different lines. He had enlarged his borders whereverhe could see his way to doing so, and although he had a largecapital by this time, it was all floating in this and that venture;so that in spite of his appearance of wealth and prosperity, he hadoften very little ready money. So long as trade was brisk thismattered little, and he turned his capital over in a fashion thatwas very pleasing to himself. But this sudden and totallyunexpected collapse of business came upon him at a time when hecould ill afford to meet it. Already he had had to discharge thegreater part of his workmen, having nothing for them to do. Theexpenses which he could not put down drained his resources in a waythat bid fair to bring him to bankruptcy, and it was almostimpossible to get in outstanding accounts when the rich persons inhis debt had fled hither and thither with such speed and haste thatoften no trace of them could be found, and their houses in townwere shut up and absolutely empty. 

"As for Frederick, he spends money like water--and his motherencourages him, " groaned the unhappy father in confidence to hisfriend. "Ah me! when I look at your fine sons, and see theirconduct at home and abroad, it makes my heart burn with shame. Whatis it that makes the difference? for I am sure I have deniedFrederick no advantage that money could purchase. "

"Perhaps it is those advantages which money cannot purchase that helacks, " said James Harmer, gravely--"the prayers of a godly mother, the chastisement of a father who would not spoil the child bysparing the rod. There are things in the upbringing of children, mygood friend, of far more value than those which gold willpurchase. "

The Master Builder gave vent to a sound almost like a groan. 

"You are right, Harmer, you are right. I have not done well in thisthing. My son is no better than an idle profligate. I say it to myshame, but so it is. Nothing that I say will keep him from hisriotous comrades and licentious ways. I have spoken till I am wearyof speaking, and all is in vain. And now that this terrible scourgeof God has fallen upon the city, instead of turning from their evilcourses with fear and loathing, he and such as he are but the morereckless and impious, and turn into a jest even this fearfulvisitation. They scour the streets as before, and drink themselvesdrunk night by night. Ah, should the pestilence reach some amongstthem, what would be their terrible doom! I cannot bear even tothink of it! Yet that is too like to be the end of my wretched boy, my poor, unhappy Frederick!"

CHAPTER V. THE PLOT AND ITS PUNISHMENT. 

Strange as it may appear, the awful nature of the calamity whichhad overtaken the great city had by no means the subduing influenceupon the spirits of the lawless young roisterers of the streetsthat might well have been expected. No doubt there were someamongst these who were sobered by the misfortunes of their fellows, and by the danger in which every person in the town now stood; butit seemed as if the very imminence of the peril and the fearfulspread of the contagion exercised upon others a hardeninginfluence, and they became even more lawless and dissolute thanbefore. "Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die, " appeared to betheir motto, and they lived up to it only too well. 

So whilst the churches were thronged with multitudes of pious orterrified persons, assembled to pray to God for mercy, and tolisten to words of godly counsel or admonition; whilst the cityauthorities were doing everything in their power to check thecourse of the frightful contagion, and send needful relief to thesufferers, and many devoted men and women were adventuring theirlives daily for the sake of others, the taverns were still filledday by day and night by night with idle and dissolute young men, tainted with all the vices of a vicious Court and an unbelievingage--drinking, and making hideous mockery of the woes of theirtownsmen, careless even when the gaps amid their own ranks showedthat the fell disease was busy amongst all classes and ranks. Indeed, it was no unheard of thing for a man to fall stricken tothe ground in the midst of one of these revels; and although themaster of the house would hastily throw him out of the door as ifhe had staggered forth drunk, yet it would ofttimes be thedistemper which had him in its fatal clutches, and the dead cartwould remove him upon its next gloomy round. 

For now indeed the pestilence was spreading with a fearfulrapidity. The King, taking sudden alarm, after being careless andcallous for long, had removed with his Court to Oxford. The fiatfor the shutting up of all infected houses had gone forth, and wasbeing put in practice, greatly increasing the terror of thecitizens, albeit many of them recognized in it both wisdom andforesight. Something plainly had to be done to check the spread ofthe infection. And as there was no means of removing the sick fromtheir houses--there being but two or three pest houses in allLondon--even should their friends be prompt to give notice, andpermit them to be borne away, the only alternative seemed to be toshut them up within the doors of the house where they lay stricken;and since they might already have infected all within it, condemnthese also to share the imprisonment. It was this that was thehardship, and which caused so many to strive to evade the law byevery means in their power. It drove men mad with fear to think ofbeing shut up in an infected house with a person smitten with thefell disease. Yet if the houses were not so closed, and guarded bywatchmen hired for the purpose, the sick in their delirium wouldhave constantly been getting out and running madly about thestreets, as indeed did sometimes happen, infecting every personthey met. Restraint of some sort was needful, and the closing ofthe houses seemed the only way in which this could be accomplished. 

It may be guessed what hard work all this entailed upon such of thebetter sort of citizens as were willing to give themselves to thebusiness. James Harmer and his two elder sons, Reuben and Dan, offered themselves to the Lord Mayor to act as examiners orsearchers, or in whatever capacity he might wish to employ them. Dan should by this time have been at sea, but his ship being stillin the docks when the plague broke out remained yet unladed. Nonefrom the infected city would purchase merchandise. The sailingmaster had himself been smitten down, and Dan, together with quitea number of sailors, was thrown out of employment. 

Many of these poor fellows were glad to take service as watchmen ofinfected houses, or even as bearers and buriers of the dead. At atime when trade was at a standstill, and men feared alike to buy orto sell, this perilous and lugubrious occupation was all that couldbe obtained, and so there were always men to be found for the taskof watching the houses, though at other times it might have beenimpossible to get enough. 

Orders had been sent round the town that all cases of the distemperwere to be reported within a few hours of discovery to the examinerof health, who then had the house shut up, supplied it with a dayand a night watchman (whose duty it was to wait on the inmates andbring them all they needed), and had the door marked with theominous red cross and the motto of which mention has been madebefore. Plague nurses were numerous, but too often these were womenof the worst character, bent rather upon plunder than desirous ofrelieving the sufferers. Grim stories were told of their neglectand rapacity. Yet amongst them were many devoted and excellentwomen, and the physicians who bravely faced the terrors of the timeand remained at their post when others fled from the peril, deserveall honour and praise; the more so that many amongst these died ofthe infection, as indeed did numbers of the examiners and searcherswho likewise remained at their post to the end. 

It will therefore be well understood that good Master Harmer andhis sons had no light time of it, and ran no small personal risk intheir endeavours to serve their fellow citizens in this crisis. Although the pestilence had not as yet broken out in this part ofthe town with the virulence that it had shown elsewhere, stillthere were fresh cases rumoured day by day; and it often appearedthat when one case in a street was reported, there had been manyothers there before of which no notice had been given, and thatperhaps half a dozen houses were infected, and must be forthwithshut up. At first neglectful persons were brought before theMagistrates; but soon these persons became too numerous, and theMagistrates too busy to hear their excuses. An example was made ofone or another, to show that the laws must be kept; but Newgateitself becoming infected by the disease, it was not thought fit tosend any malefactor there except for some heinous offence. 

Dan joined the force of the constables, and day by day had excitingtales to tell about determined persons who had escaped frominfected houses either by tricking or overpowering the watchman. All sorts of clever shifts were made to enable families whereperhaps only one lay sick to escape from the house, leaving thesick person sometimes quite alone, or sometimes in charge of anurse. Dan said it was heartrending to hear the cries andlamentations of miserable creatures pleading to be let out, convinced that it was certain death to them to remain shut up withthe sick. Yet, since they might likely be themselves alreadyinfected, it was the greater peril and cruelty to let them forth;and he had ghastly tales to tell of the visitation of certainhouses, where the watchmen reported that nothing had been asked forfor long, and where, when the house was entered by searchers orconstables, every person within was found either dead or dying. 

The precautions duly observed by the Harmer family had hithertoproved efficacious, and though the father and his sons going abouttheir daily duties came into contact with infected personsfrequently, yet, by the use of the disinfectants recommended by theCollege of Physicians, and by a close and careful attention totheir directions, they went unscathed in the midst of much peril, and brought no ill to those at home when they returned thither forneedful rest and refreshment. Janet had had a slight attack ofillness, but there were no absolute symptoms of the distemper withit. Her father was of opinion that it might possibly be a very mildform of the disease, but the doctor called in thought not, and sotheir house escaped being shut up, and after a prudent intervalJanet came down and took her place in the family as before. Motherand daughters worked together for the relief of the sick poor, making and sending out innumerable dainties in the way of broth, possets, and light puddings, which were gratefully received by poorfolks in shut-up houses, who, although fed and cared for at thepublic expense when not able to provide for themselves, weregrateful indeed for these small boons, and felt themselves notquite so forlorn and wretched when receiving tokens of goodwillfrom even an unknown source. 

The harmony, tranquillity, and goodwill that reigned in thishousehold, even in the midst of so much that was terrible, was agreat contrast to the anguish, terror, and ceaseless recriminationswhich made the Masons' abode a veritable purgatory for its lucklessinhabitants. As the news of the spreading contagion reached her, sodid Madam's terror and horror increase. As her husband had saidlong since, she sat in rooms with closed windows and drawncurtains, burned fires large enough to roast an ox, and halfpoisoned herself with the drugs she daily swallowed, and which shewould have forced upon her whole household had they not rebelledagainst being thus sickened. As a natural consequence of her follyand ungovernable fears, Madam was never well, and was for everdiscovering some new symptom which threw her into an ecstasy ofterror. She would wake in the night screaming out in uncontrollablefear that she had gotten the plague--that she felt a burning tumourhere or there upon her person--that she was sinking away into adeadly swoon, or that something fatal was befalling her. By day shewould fall into like passions of fear, call out to her daughter tosend for every physician whose name she had heard, and upbraid andrevile her in the most unmeasured terms if the poor girl venturedto hint that the doctors were beginning to be tired of coming tolisten to what always proved imaginary terrors. 

The only times when husband or daughter enjoyed any peace was whenFrederick chose to make his appearance at home. On these occasionshis mother would summon him to her presence, although in mortalfear lest he should bring infection with him, and make him tell herall the most frightful stories which he had picked up about theawful spread of the disease, about the iniquities and abominationspractised by nurses and buriers, of which last there was plenty ofgossip (although probably much was set down in malice and muchexaggerated) and all the prognostications of superstitious orprofane persons as to the course the pestilence was going to take. Eagerly did she listen to all of these stories, which Fredericktook care should be very well spiced, as it was at once hisamusement to frighten his mother and spite his sister; for Gertrudein private implored him not to continue to alarm their mother withhis frightful tales, and also begged him for his own sake torelinquish his evil habits of intemperance, which at such a time asthis might lead to fatal results. 

The good-for-nothing youth only mocked at her, and derided hisfather when he gave him the same warning. He had become perfectlyunmanageable and reckless, and nothing that he heard or saw abouthim produced any impression. Although taverns and ale houses wereclosely watched, and ordered to close at nine o'clock, and thegatherings of idle and profligate youths of whatever condition oflife sternly reprobated and forbidden by the authorities, yet theseworthies found means of evading or defying the regulations, andtheir revels continued as before, so that Frederick was seldomthoroughly sober, and more reckless and careless even than of old. In vain his father strove to bring him to a better mind; in vain hewarned him of the peril of his ways and the danger to his health ofsuch constant excesses. Frederick only laughed insolently;whereupon the Master Builder, who had but just come from hisneighbour's house, and was struck afresh with the contrastpresented by the two homes, asked him if he knew how Reuben Harmerwas passing his time, and made a few bitter comparisons between hisson and those of his neighbour. 

This was perhaps unfortunate, for Frederick, like most men of histype, was both vain and spiteful. The mention of the Harmers puthim instantly in mind of his grudge against Reuben and hissuddenly-aroused admiration for rosy-cheeked Dorcas, both of whichmatters had been put out of his head by recent events. He haddiscovered also that Reuben generally accompanied his sister homefrom Lady Scrope's house in the evening, so that it had not beensafe to pursue his attempted gallantries towards the maid. But ashe heard his father's strictures upon his conduct, coupled withlaudations of his old rival Reuben, a gleam of malice shone in hiseyes, and he at once made up his mind to contrive and carry out aproject which had been vaguely floating in his brain for some time, and which might be the more easily arranged now that the town wasin a state of confusion and distress, and the streets were often soempty and deserted. 

In that age of vicious licence, it seemed nothing but an excellentjoke to Frederick and his boon companions to waylay a pretty citymaiden returning to her home from her daily duties. Frederick meantno harm to the girl; but he had been piqued by the way in which hiscompliments and kisses had been received, and above all he wasdesirous to do a despite to Reuben, whose rebukes still rankled inhis heart, though he had quickly forgotten his good offices on theoccasion of his escapade before Lady Scrope's door. Moreover, heowed that notable old woman a grudge likewise, and thought he couldpay off scores all round by making away with pretty Dorcas, at anyrate for a while. So he and his comrades laid their plans with whatthey thought great skill, resolved that they should be carried outupon the first favourable opportunity. 

For a while Dorcas had been rather nervous of leaving the house inAllhallowes unless Reuben was waiting for her. But as she had seenno more of the gallant who had accosted her, and as it was said onall hands that these had left London in hundreds, she had takencourage of late, and had bidden her brother not incommode himselfon her account, if it were difficult for him to be her escort home. 

Of late he had oftentimes been kept away by pressure of otherduties. Sometimes Dan had come in his stead. Sometimes she hadwalked back alone and unmolested. Persons avoided each other in thestreets now, and hurried by with averted glances. Although upon herhomeward route, which was but short, she had as yet no infectedhouses to pass, she always hastened along half afraid to look abouther. But her father's good counsel and his daily prayers for hishousehold so helped her to keep up heart, that she had not yet beenfrightened from her occupation, although her mistress alwaysdeclared on parting in the evening that she never expected to seeher back in the morning. 

"If the plague does not get you, some coward terror will. Nevermind; I can do without you, child. I never looked for you to havekept so long at your post. All the rest have fled long since. "

Which was true indeed, only Dorcas and the old couple who lived inthe house still continuing their duties. Fear of the pestilence haddriven away the other servants, and they had sought safety on theother side of the water, where it was still believed infectionwould not spread. 

"I will come back in the morning. My father bids us all do ourduty, and sets us the example, madam, " said Dorcas, as she preparedto take her departure. 

It was a dark evening for the time of year; heavy thundercloudswere hanging low in the sky and obscuring the light. The air wasoppressive, and seemed charged with noxious vapours. Part of thiswas due to the cloud of smoke wafted along from one of the greatfires kept burning with the object of dispelling infection. ButDorcas shivered as she stepped out into the empty street, andlooked this way and that, hoping to see one of her brothers. Butnobody was in sight and she had just descended the steps and wasturning towards her home when out from a neighbouring porch thereswaggered a very fine young gallant, who made an instant rushtowards her, with words of welcome and endearment on his lips. 

In a moment Dorcas recognized him not only as the gallant who hadaddressed her once before, but also as Frederick Mason, herbrothers' old playfellow, of whom such evil things were spoken nowby all their neighbours on the bridge. 

Uttering a little cry of terror, the girl darted back, turned, andcommenced running like a hunted hare in the opposite direction, careless where she went or what she did provided she only escapedfrom the address and advances of her pursuer. But fleet as were herown steps, those in pursuit seemed fleeter. She heard her tormentorcoming after her, calling her by name and entreating for a hearing. She knew that he was gaining upon her and must soon catch her up. She was in a lonely street where not a single passerby seemed to bestirring. She looked wildly round for some way of escape, and justat that moment saw a man come round a corner and fit a key into thedoor of one of the houses. 

Without pausing to think, Dorcas made a rush towards him, and sosoon as the door was opened she dashed within the house, and fledup the staircase--fled she knew not whither--uttering breathless, frightened cries, whilst all the time she knew that her pursuer wasclose behind, and heard his voice mingled with angry cries ofremonstrance from the man they had left below. 

Suddenly a door close to Dorcas opened, and a new terror wasrevealed to her horror-stricken gaze. A gaunt, tall figure, wrappedin a long white garment that looked like grave clothes, sprang outinto the stairway with a shriek that was like nothing human. Dorcassank, almost fainting with terror, to the ground; but thespectre--for such it seemed to her--paid no heed to her, but sprangupon her pursuer, who had at that moment come up, and the nextmoment had his arms wound about him in a bearlike embrace, whilstall the time he was laughing an awful laugh. Then lifting theunfortunate young man off his feet with a strength that was almostsuperhuman, he bore him rapidly down the stairs and rushed out withhim into the street. 

All this happened in so brief a moment of time that Dorcas had noteven time to regain her feet, or to utter the scream of terrorwhich came to her lips. But as she found breath to utter her cry, another door opened and a scared face looked out, whilst a woman'svoice asked in lamentable accents:

"What do you here, maiden? What has happened to bring any personinto this shut-up house? Child, child, how didst thou obtainentrance here? The plague is in this house, and we are straitlyshut up!"

Before Dorcas could answer for fright and the confusion of herfaculties, a pale-faced watchman came hurrying up the stairs. 

"Where is the maid?" he asked, and then seeing Dorcas he graspedher by the wrist and cried, "Unless you wish to be shut up for amonth, come away instantly. This is a stricken house. Whatpossessed you to seek shelter here? Better anything than that. 

"As for your son, mistress, he is fled forth into the street; Icould not hinder him. We are undone if the constable comes. But ifwe can get him back again ere that, all may be well. I will let youforth to lead him hither if he will listen to your voice. "

From the room whence the sick man had appeared a frightened facelooked forth, and a half-tipsy old crone whimpered out:

"The fault was none of mine. I had but just dropped asleep for amoment. But when a man has the strength of ten what can one poorold woman do?"

Without paying any heed to this creature, the watchman and themother of the plague-stricken man, together with Dorcas, whohurriedly told her tale as they moved, ran down the dark staircaseand out into the street. There, a little way off, was the tallspectre-like figure, still hugging in bearlike embrace the haplessFrederick, and dancing the while a most weird and fantastic dance, chanting some awful words which none could rightly catch, but theburden of which was, "The dance of death! the dance of death! Nonewho dances here with me will dance with any other!"

"For Heaven's sake release him from that embrace!" cried themother, who knew that her son was smitten to death. "If all be truethat the maid hath said, he is not fit to die, and that embrace isa deadly one!--O my son, my son! come back, come back!

"Mercy on us, here is the watch! We are undone!"

Indeed the trampling of many hasty feet announced the arrival of anumber of persons upon the scene. It seemed like enough to be theconstables or the watch; but the moment the newcomers appearedround the corner, Dorcas, uttering a little shriek of joy andrelief, threw herself upon the foremost man, who was in fact noneother than Reuben himself--Reuben, followed closely by his brotherDan, and they by several young roisterers, the boon companions ofFrederick. 

It had chanced that almost as soon as Dorcas had run from LadyScrope's door, hotly pursued by Frederick, her brothers had come upto fetch her thence. It was also part of that worthy's plan thatthey should hear she had been carried off, though not by himself. His half-tipsy comrades, therefore, who had come to see the sport, immediately informed the young men that the maid had been pursuedby a Scourer in such and such a direction; and so quickly had thebrothers pursued the flying footsteps of the pair--guided by thefootmarks in the dusty and untrodden streets--that they had comeupon this strange and ghastly scene almost at its commencement, andin a moment their practised eyes took in what had happened. 

The open door marked with the ominous red cross, the troubled faceof the watchman, the ghastly apparition of the deliriousplague-stricken man, the horror depicted in the face of themother--all this told a tale of its own. Scenes of a like kind werenow growing common enough in the city; but this was more terribleto the young men from the fact that the face of the unhappy andhalf-fainting Frederick was known to them and that they understoodthe awful peril into which this adventure had thrown him. They knewthe strength of delirious patients, and the peril of contagion intheir touch. To attempt to loosen that bearlike clasp might bedeath to any who attempted it. 

Reuben looked about him, still holding his sister in his arms asthough to keep her away from the peril; and Dan, who had taken onestep forward towards the sheeted spectre, paused and mutteredbetween his teeth:

"The hound! he has but got his deserts!"

"True, " said Reuben, for he was certain now that it had beenFrederick who was Dorcas's pursuer; "yet we must not leave himthus. He will be strangled or choked by the pestilential smell ifwe cannot get him away. Take Dorcas, Dan. Let me see if I can doaught with him. "

But even as Reuben spoke, and Dorcas clung closer than ever to himin fear that he was about to adventure himself into greater peril, the delirious man suddenly flung Frederick from him, so that hefell upon the pavement almost as one dead; and then, with a hideousshriek that rang in their ears for long, fled back to the house asrapidly as he had left it, and fell down dead a few moments laterupon the bed from which he had so lately risen. 

That fact they learned only the next day. For the moment it wasenough that the patient was safely within doors again, and that thewatchman could make fast the door. The roisterers had fled at thefirst sight of the plague-stricken man with their hapless leader inhis embrace, and now the darkening street contained only theprostrate figure on the pavement, the two brothers, and thewhite-faced Dorcas, who felt like to die of fear and horror. 

As chance or Providence would have it, up at that very moment camethe Master Builder himself, and seeing his son in such a plight, shook his head gravely, thinking him drunk in the gutter. ButReuben went up and told all the tale, as far as he knew or guessedit, and Dorcas having confirmed the same more by gestures thanwords, the unhappy father smote his brow, and cried in a voice oflamentation:

"Alas that I should have such a son! O unhappy, miserable youth!what will be thy doom now?"

At this cry Frederick moved, and got slowly upon his feet. He hadbeen stunned by the violence of his fall, and for the first momentbelieved himself drunk, and caught at his father's arm for support. 

"Have a care, sir, " said Reuben, in a low voice; "he may beinfected already by the contact. "

But the Master Builder only uttered a deep sigh like a groan, as heanswered, "I fear me he is infected by a distemper worse then theplague. I thank you, lads, for your kindly thoughts towards him andtowards me, but I must e'en take this business into mine own hands. Get you away, and take your sister with you. It is not well formaids to be abroad in a city where such things can happen. Lord, indeed have mercy upon us!"

CHAPTER VI. NEIGHBOURS IN NEED. 

Gertrude Mason sat in the topmost attic of the house, leaning outat the open window, and drinking in, as it were, great draughts offresh air, as she watched the lights beginning to sparkle fromeither side of the river, and the darkening volume of waterslipping silently beneath. 

This attic was Gertrude's haven of refuge at this dread season, when almost every other window in the house was shuttered andclose-curtained; when she was kept like a prisoner within the wallsof the house, and half smothered and suffocated by the fumes of thefires which her mother insisted on burning, let the weather be everso hot, as a preventive against the terrible infection which wasspreading with fearful rapidity throughout all London. 

But Madam Mason's feet never climbed these steep ladder-like stairsup to this eyrie, which all her life had been dear to Gertrude. Inher childhood it had been her playroom. As she grew older, she hadgradually gathered about her in this place numbers of childish andgirlish treasures. Her father bestowed gifts upon her at varioustimes. She had clever fingers of her own, and specimens of herneedlework and her painting adorned the walls. At such times as thefastidious mistress of the house condemned various articles offurniture as too antiquated for her taste, Gertrude would get themsecretly conveyed up here; so that her lofty bower was neither barenor cheerless, but, on the contrary, rather crowded with furnitureand knick-knacks of all sorts. She kept her possessionsscrupulously clean, lavishing upon them much tender care, and muchof that active service in manual labour which she found no scopefor elsewhere. Her happiest hours were spent up in this lonelyattic, far removed from the sound of her mother's plaints or herbrother's ribald and too often profane jesting. Here she kept herbooks, her lute, and her songbirds; and the key of her retreat hungalways at her girdle, and was placed at night beneath her pillow. 

This evening she had been hastily dismissed from her father'spresence, he having come in with agitated face, and bidden herinstantly take herself away whilst he spoke with her mother. Shehad obeyed at once, without pausing to ask the questions whichtrembled on her lips. That something of ill had befallen she couldnot doubt; but at least her father was safe, and she must wait withwhat patience she could for the explanation of her suddendismissal. 

She knew from her brother's reports that already infected houseswere shut up, and none permitted to go forth. But so straitly hadshe herself been of late imprisoned within doors, that she felt itwould make but little difference were she to hear that a watchmanguarded the door, and that the fatal red cross had been paintedupon it. 

"Our neighbours are not fearful as we are. They go to and fro inthe streets. They seek to do what they can for the relief of thesick. My father daily speaks of their courage and faith. Why maynot I do likewise? I would fain tend the sick, even though my lifeshould be the forfeit. We can but live once and die once. Farsooner would I spend a short life of usefulness to my fellow men, than linger out a long and worthless existence in the pursuit ofidle pleasures. It does not bring happiness. Ah! how littlepleasure does it bring!"

Gertrude spoke half aloud and with some bitterness, albeit shestrove to be patient with the foibles of her mother, and to thinkkindly of her, her many faults notwithstanding. But the terror ofthese days was taking with her a very different form from what itdid with Madam Mason. It was inflaming within her a great desire tobe up and doing in this stricken city, where the fell disease waswalking to and fro and striking down its victims by hundreds andthousands. Other women, in all lands and of all shades of belief, had been found to come forward at seasons of like peril, and devotethemselves fearlessly to the care of the sick. Why might not shemake one of this band? What though it should cost her her life?Life was not so precious a thing to her that she should set allelse aside to preserve it!

She was awakened from her fit of musing by an unwonted sound--ahollow tapping, tapping, tapping, which seemed to come from acorner of the attic where the shadows gathered most dun and dark. The girl drew in her head from the window with a startledexpression on her face, and was then more than ever aware of thestrange sound which caused a slight thrill to run through herframe. 

What could it be? There was no other room in their house from whichthe sound could proceed. She was not devoid of the superstitiousfeelings of the age, and had heard before of ghostly tappings thatwere said to be a harbinger of coming death or misfortune. 

Tap! tap! tap! The sound continued with a ceaseless regularity, andthen came other strange sounds of wrenching and tearing. These wereperhaps not quite so ghostly, but equally alarming. What could itbe? Who and what could be behind that wall? Gertrude had heardstories of ghastly robberies, committed during these past days inplague-stricken houses, which were entered by worthless vagabonds, when all within were dead or helpless, and from which vantageground they had gained access into other houses, and had sometimesbrought the dread infection with them. 

Gertrude was by nature courageous, and she had always made it apoint of duty not to add to her mother's alarms by permittingherself to fall a victim to nervous terrors. Frightened though sheundoubtedly was, therefore, she did not follow the impulse of herfear and run below to summon her father, who was, she suspected, bent on some serious work of his own; but she stood very still andquiet, pressing her hands over her beating heart, resolved ifpossible to discover the mystery for herself before giving anyalarm. 

All at once the sounds grew louder; something seemed to give way, and she saw a hand, a man's hand, pushed through some smallaperture. At that she uttered a little cry. 

"Who is there?" she cried, in a shaking voice; and immediately thehand was withdrawn, whilst a familiar and most reassuring voicemade answer:

"Is anybody there? I beg ten thousand pardons. I had thought theattic would be hare and empty. "

"Reuben!" cried Gertrude, springing forward towards the smallaperture in the wall. "Oh, what is it? Is it indeed thou? And whatart thou doing to the wall?"

"Gertrude! is that thy voice indeed? Nay, now, this is a good hap. Sweet Mistress Gertrude, have I thy permission to open once againbetwixt thy home and mine that door which as children thy brotherand we did contrive, but which was presently sealed up, though notover-strongly?"

"Ah, the door!" cried Gertrude, coming forward to the place andfeeling with her hands at the laths and woodwork; "I had forgot, but it comes to me again. Yes, truly there was a rude door once. Oh, open it quickly! I will get thee a light and hold it. Dost thouknow, Reuben, what has befallen to make my father look as he didbut now? I trow it is something evil. My heart is heavy within me. "

"Ay, I know, " answered Reuben; "I will tell thee anon, sweetmistress, if thou wilt let me into thy presence. "

"Nay, call me not mistress, " said Gertrude, with a little accent ofreproach in her voice. "Have we not played as brother and sistertogether, and do not times like this draw closer the bonds offriendship? Thou canst not know how lonesome and dreary my life hasbeen of late. I pine for a voice from the world without. Thou wiltindeed be welcome, good Reuben. "

Gertrude was busying herself with the tedious preparations forobtaining a light, and being skilful by long practice, she soon hada lamp burning in the room; and in a few minutes more, by thediligent use of hammer and chisel, Reuben forced open the littlerough door which long ago had been contrived between the boys ofthe two households, and which had not been done away withaltogether, although it had been securely fastened up by the ordersof Madam Mason when she found her son Frederick taking too greatadvantage of this extra means of egress from the house, though shehad other motives than the one alleged for the checking of thegreat intimacy which was growing up between her children and thoseof her neighbour. 

The door once opened, Reuben quickly stood within the attic, andlooked around him with wondering and admiring eyes. 

"Nay, but it is a very bower of beauty!" he cried, and then he cameforward almost timidly and took Gertrude by the hand, looking downat her with eyes that spoke eloquently. 

"Is this thy nest, thou pretty songbird?" he said. "Had I known, Ishould scarce have dared to invade it so boldly. "

Gertrude clung to him with an involuntary appeal for protectionthat stirred all the manhood within him. 

"Ah, Reuben, tell me what it all means!" she cried, "for methinksthat something terrible has happened. "

Still holding the little trembling hand in his, Reuben told her ofthe peril her brother had been in. He spoke not of Dorcas, notdesiring to pain her more than need be, but he had to say that herbrother was, in a half-drunken state, pursuing some maiden in idlesport, and that, having been so exposed to contagion, there wasgreat fear now for him and for his life. 

Gertrude listened with pale lips and dilating eyes; her quickapprehension filled up more of the details than Reuben desired. 

"It was Dorcas he was pursuing, " she cried, recoiling and puttingup her hands to her face; "I know it! I know it! O wretched boy!why does he cover us with shame like this? I marvel that thou canstlook kindly upon me, Reuben. Am I not his most unhappy sister?"

"Thou art the sweetest, purest maiden my eyes ever beheld, "answered Reuben, his words seeming to leap from his lips againsthis own will. Then commanding himself, he added more quietly, "Buthe is like to be punished for his sins, and it may be the lessonlearned will be of use to him all his life. It will be a marvel ifhe escapes the distemper, having been so exposed, and that whilstinflamed by drink, which, so far as I may judge, enfeebles thetissues, and causes a man to fall a victim far quicker than if hehad been sober, and a temperate liver. "

"My poor brother!" cried Gertrude, beneath her breath. "Oh, whathas my father done with him? What will become of him?"

"Your father brought him hither at once--not within the house, butinto one of his old offices where in past times his goods were wontto be stored. He has now gone to consult with your mother whetheror not the poor lad should be admitted within the house or not. Ifyour mother will not have him here, he will remain for a whilewhere he is; and if he falls sick, he will be removed to the pesthouse. "

"Oh no! no! no!" cried Gertrude vehemently, "not whilst he has asister to nurse him--a roof, however humble, to shelter him. Lethim not die amongst strangers! I fear not the infection. I will goto him this minute. Already I have thought it were better to die ofthe plague, doing one's duty towards the sick and suffering, thanto keep shut up away from all. They shall not take him away to dieamidst those scenes of horror of which one has heard. Even mymother will be brave, methinks, for Frederick's sake. I trow shewill open her doors to him. "

"That is what your father thinks. It may be that even now he isbringing him within. But, sweet mistress, if Frederick comes here, it may well be that in another week this house will be straitlyshut up, with the red cross upon the door, and the watchman beforethe portal day and night. That is why I have come hither at once, to open the little door between our houses; for I cannot bear thethought of knowing naught that befalls you for a whole long month. And since, though my work takes me daily into what men call theperil of infection, I am sound and bring no hurt to others, I amnot afraid that I shall bring hurt to thee. I could not bear tohave no tidings of how it fared with thee. Thou wilt not chide mefor making this provision. It came into my head so soon as I knewthat peril of infection was like to come within these walls. Wemust not let thee be shut quite away from us. We may be able togive thee help, and in times of peril neighbours must play aneighbourly part. "

The tears stood in Gertrude's eyes. She was thinking of theunkindly fashion in which her mother had spoken of late years ofthese neighbours, and contrasting with that the way in which theywere now coming forward to claim the neighbour's right to help intime of threatened trouble. The tears were very near her eyes asshe made answer:

"O Reuben, how good thou art! But if our house be infected, how canit be possible for thee to come and go? Would it not be a wrongagainst those who lay down these laws for the preservation of thecity?"

Then Reuben explained to her that, though the magistrates andaldermen were forced to draw up a strict code for the ordering ofhouses where infection was, these same personages themselves, together with doctors, examiners, and searchers of houses, hadperforce to go from place to place; yet by using all needful andwise precautions, both for themselves and others, they hadreasonable hope of doing nothing to spread the contagion. Reuben, as a searcher under his father, had again and again been ininfected houses, and brought face to face with persons dying of themalady; yet so far he had escaped, and by adopting the wiseprecautions ordered at the outset by their father, no case ofillness had appeared so far amongst them. If every person who couldbe of use excluded himself from all chance of contagion, therewould be none to order the affairs of the unhappy city, or to carryrelief to the sufferers. There must be perforce some amongst themwho were ready to run the risk in order to assist the sufferers, and they of the household of James Harmer were all of one mind inthis. 

"We do naught that is rash. We have herbs and drugs and all thosethings which the doctors think to be of use; and thou shalt have asupply of all such anon--if indeed thy mother be not already amplyprovided. But I cannot bear for thee to be straitly shut up; I mustbe able to see how it goes with thee. And should it be that thouwert thyself a victim, thou shalt not lack the best nursing thatall London can give. "

She looked up at him with fearless eyes. 

"Do men ever recover when once attacked by the plague?"

"Yes, many do--though nothing like the number who die. Amongst ournurses and bearers of the dead are numbers who have had thedistemper and have survived it. They go by the name of the 'safepeople. ' Yet some have been known to take it again, though I thinkthese cases are rare. "

"If Frederick takes it, will he be like to live?" asked Gertrude;and Reuben was silent. 

Both knew that the unhappy young man had long been given todrunkenness and debauchery, and that his constitution wasundermined by his excesses. The girl pressed her hands together andwas silent; but after a few moments' pause she looked up at Reuben, and said, "You have given me courage by this visit. Come againsoon. I must to my mother now. I must ask her what I can do to helpher and my unhappy brother. "

"Take this paper and this packet before you go, " said Reuben. "Theone contains directions for the better lodging and tending of thesick. The other contains prepared herbs which are useful aspreventives--tormentil, valerian, zedoary, angelica, and so forth;but I take it that pure vinegar is as good an antidote to infectionas anything one can find. Keep some always about you. Let yourkerchief be always steeped in it. Then be of a cheerful courage, and take food regularly, and in sufficient quantities. All thesethings help to keep the body in health; and though the most healthymay fall victims, yet methinks that it is those who are underfed orweakened by disease or dissipation upon whom the malady fastenswith most virulent strength. I will come anon and learn what isbetiding. Farewell for the nonce, sweet mistress, and may God bewith you. "

Greatly cheered and strengthened by this unexpected interview, Gertrude descended to the lower part of the house in search of hermother, and found her, with her face tied up in a cloth soaked invinegar, bending over the unhappy Frederick, who lay with a face aswhite as death upon a couch in one of the lower rooms. 

To her credit be it said, the motherhood in the Master Builder'swife had triumphed over her natural terror at the thought of theinfection. When her husband had brought her the news that Frederickwas in one of the old shop buildings, awaiting her permission(after what had occurred) to enter the house; when she knew thatshould he sicken of the plague he would be taken away to the pesthouse to be tended there, and as she believed assuredly to die, sheburst into wild weeping, and declared that she would riskeverything sooner than that should happen. So it had been speedilyarranged that the unhappy youth should be provided with a vinegarand herb bath and a complete change of raiment out there in thedisused shop, and that then he should come into the house, hismother being willing to take the risk rather than banish him fromhome. 

This had been quickly done, under the direction of good JamesHarmer, who as one of the examiners of health was well qualified togive counsel in the matter. He also told his neighbour that shouldthe young man be attacked by the plague, he would strive ifpossible to gain for him the services of his sister-in-law, DinahMorse, who was one of the most tender and skilful nurses nowworking amongst the sick. She was always busy; but so fell was theaction of the plague poison, that her patients died daily, despiteher utmost care, and she was constantly moving from house to house, sometimes leaving none alive behind her in a whole domicile. Acertain number recovered, and these she made shift to visit dailyfor a while; but her main work lay amongst the dying, whose friendstoo often left them in terror so soon as the fatal marks appearedwhich bespoke them sickening of the terrible distemper. 

The Master Builder received this promise with gratitude, havingheard gruesome stories of the evil practices of many of those whocalled themselves plague nurses, but who really sought their owngain, and often left the patient alone and untended in his agony, whilst they coolly ransacked the house from which the other inmateshad often contrived to flee before it was shut up. 

Frederick, utterly unnerved and overcome by the horror of the thingwhich had befallen him, looked already almost like one stricken todeath. His mother was striving to get him to swallow some of themedicines which were considered as valuable antidotes, and to sipat a cup of so-called plague water--a rather costly preparationmuch in vogue amongst the wealthier citizens at that time. But thenausea of the horrible smell of the plague patient was still uponhim, sickening him to the refusal of all medicine or food, and toGertrude's eyes he looked as though he might well be smittenalready. 

Her father was the only person who had eyes to notice her approach, and he strode forward and took her by the hands as though to keepher away. 

"Child, thou must not come here. Thy brother has been in a terribledanger--half strangled by a creature raving in the delirium of thedistemper. It may be death to approach him even now. I would havehad thy mother keep away. Come not thou near to him. Let us notincrease the peril which besets us. "

Gertrude stood quite still, neither resisting her father, nor yetyielding to the pressure which would have forced her from the room. 

"Dear sir, " she said, with dutiful reverence, "I must fain submitto thee in this thing. Yet I prithee keep me not from my brother inthe hour of his extremity. Methinks that a more terrible thing thanthe plague itself is the cruel fear which it inspires, wherebyfamilies are rent asunder, and the sick are neglected and desertedin the hour of their utmost need. If indeed Frederick should fall avictim, this house will be straitly shut up; and if it be true whatmen say, the infection will spread through it, do what we will tokeep it away. Then what can it matter whether the risk be a littlemore or less? Is it not better that I should be with my mother andmy brother, than that I should seek my own safety by shuttingmyself up apart from all, a readier prey to grief and terror?Methinks I should the sooner fall ill thus shut away from all. Prithee let me take my place beside Frederick, and relieve mymother when she be weary; so do I think it will be best for me andher. "

The father's face quivered with emotion as he took his daughter inhis arms and kissed her tenderly. 

"Thou shalt do as thou wilt, my sweet child, " he said. "Theseindeed are fearful days, and it may be that happier are they wholet their heart be ruled by love instead of by fear. Fear hasbecome a cruel thing, from what men tell us. Thou shalt do thydesire. Yet methinks thy brother has scarce deserved this grace atthy hands. "

"Let us not think of that, " said Gertrude, with a look of pain inher eyes; "let us only think of his peril, and of the terribleretribution which may fall upon him. God grant that he may findrepentance and peace at the last!"

"Amen!" said the Master Builder, with some solemnity, thinking ofthe fashion in which his son's time had been spent of late, and ofthe very escapade which had brought this evil upon him. 

All that night mother and sister watched beside the bed of theunhappy young man, who moaned and tossed, and too often broke intoblasphemous railings at the fate which had overtaken him. He gavehimself up for lost from the first, and having no hope or realbelief as regards the future life, was full of darkness andbitterness of heart. He would not so much as listen when Gertrudewould have spoken to him of the Saviour's love for sinners, butanswered with mocking and profane words which made her heart diewithin her. 

Towards morning he fell into a restless sleep, from which hewakened in a high fever, not knowing any of those about him. Thefather coming in, went towards him with a strange look in his eyes, and after bending over him a few seconds, turned a haggard facetowards his wife and daughter, saying:

"May the Lord have mercy upon us! he has the tokens upon him!"

Instantly the mother uttered a scream of lamentation, and fell halfsenseless into her husband's arms; whilst Gertrude stood suddenlyup with a white face and said:

"Let me take word to our neighbours next door. Master Harmer is anexaminer. We must needs report it to him; and they will tell uswhat we must do, and give us help if any can. "

"Ay, that they will, " answered the Master Builder, with someemotion in his voice. "Go, girl, and report that the distemper hasbroken out in the house, and that we submit ourselves to the ordersof the authorities for all such as be infected. "

Gertrude sped upstairs. She preferred that method of transit to theone by the street door. But she had no need to go further than herattic; for upon opening the door she saw two figures in the room, and instantly recognized Reuben and his sister Janet. The lattercame forward with outstretched hands, and would have taken Gertrudeinto her embrace, but that she drew back and said in a voice ofwarning:

"Take heed, Janet; touch me not. I have passed the night by thebedside of my brother, and he is stricken with the plague!"

"So soon?" quoth Reuben, quickly; whilst Janet would not be deniedher embrace, saying softly:

"I have no longer a fear of that distemper myself, for I have beenwith it erstwhile, and my aunt Dinah tells me that I have had avery mild attack of the same ill, and that I am not like to take itagain. "

"If indeed Frederick is smitten, we must take precautions to closethe house, " said Reuben. "Is there aught you would wish to do eregiving the notice to my father?"

"Nay, I was on my way to him, " said Gertrude, speaking with thecalmness of one upon whom the expected blow has at last fallen. "Let what must be done be done quickly. Can we have a nurse? formethinks Frederick must needs have tendance more skilled than anywe can give him. But let it not be one of those women"--Gertrudepaused and shuddered, as though she knew not how to finish hersentence. 

"Trust me to do all for you that lies in my power, " answeredReuben, in a voice of emotion; "and never feel shut up altogetherfrom the world; even when the outer door be locked and guarded by awatchman. I have already hung a bell within our house, and the cordis tied here upon this nail. In any time of need you have but toring it, and be sure that the summons will be speedily answered. "

A mist rose before Gertrude's eyes and a lump in her throat. Shepressed Janet's hand, and said to Reuben in a husky voice:

"I have no words today. Some day I will find how to thank you forall this goodness at such a time. "

Before many hours had passed Dinah Morse was installed beside thesick man. Strong perfumes were burnt in and about his room, and theterrible tumours which bespoke the poison in his blood were treatedskilfully by poultices and medicaments, applied by one whothoroughly understood the nature of the disease and the course itran. 

But from the first it was apparent to a trained eye that the youngman was doomed. There was too much poison in his blood before, andhis constitution was undermined by his reckless and dissolute life. All that was possible was done to relieve the sufferings and abatethe fever of the patient. One of the best and most devoted of thedoctors who remained courageously at his post during this terribletime was called in. But he shook his head over the patient, and bidhis parents make up their minds for the worst. 

"You have the best nurse in all London, " said Dr. Hooker. "If skilland care could save him, he would be saved. But I fear me thepoison has spread all over. Be cautious how you approach him, forhe breathes forth death to those who are not inoculated. I would Icould do more for you, but our skill avails little before thisdread scourge. "

And so, with looks and words of friendly compassion and goodwill, the doctor took his departure; and before nightfall Frederick wascalled to his last account. 

Just as the hour of midnight tolled, a sound of wheels was heard inthe street below, a bell rang, and a lugubrious voice called out:

"Bring forth your dead! bring forth your dead!"

Directed by Reuben, who was on the alert, the bearers themselvesentered the house and removed the body, wrapped in its linenswathings, but without a coffin, for by this time there was notsuch a thing to be had for love or money; nor could the carts havecontained their loads had each corpse been coffined. 

Gertrude alone, from an upper window, saw the body of her brotherlaid decently and reverently, under Reuben's direction, in theominous-looking vehicle. For the mother of the dead youth wasweeping her heart out in her husband's arms, and was not allowed toknow at what hour nor in what manner her son's body was conveyedaway. 

"Will they fling him, with never a prayer, into some great pit suchas I have heard spoken of?" asked Gertrude of Dinah, who stoodbeside her at the window, fearful lest she should be overwhelmed bythe horror of it all. 

She now drew her gently and tenderly back into the room, whilst thecart rumbled away upon its mournful errand, and smoothing thetresses of the girl, and drawing her to rest upon a couch hard by, she answered:

"Think not of that, dear child. For what does it matter whatbefalls the frail mortal body? With whatsoever burial we may beburied now, we shall rise again at the last day in glory andimmortality! That is what we must think of in these sorrowfultimes. We must lift our hearts above the things of this world, andlet our conversation and citizenship be in heaven. "

Then the tears gushed out from Gertrude's eyes, and she wept freelyand fully the healing tears of youth. 

CHAPTER VII. SISTERS OF MERCY. 

"Father, dear father, prithee let me go!"

"What, my child? Have I not lost all but thee? Am I to send theeforth to thy death in this terrible city, stricken by the hand ofGod?"

Into Gertrude's face there crept a wonderful light and brightness. Her eyes shone with the intensity of her feeling. 

"Father, " she said, "it is even because I hold the city to besmitten by God that I ask thy permission to go forth to minister tothe sick and stricken ones. It seems to me as though in my heart avoice had spoken, saying, 'Go, and I will be with thee. ' Father, listen, I pray thee. I heard that voice first, methought, upon theterrible night when they came and took Frederick away. When motherwas next laid low, and as I watched beside her, and watchedlikewise how Dinah soothed and comforted and assuaged her anguishof mind and body, the voice in my heart grew ever louder andlouder. Whilst she lived, I knew my place was beside her; but ithas pleased God to take her away. No tie binds me here now. If Istay, I shall but eat out my heart in fruitless longing, shut intothese walls, and by no means permitted to sally forth. From aplague-stricken house I may only go to those smitten with thedistemper. Father, let me go! prithee let me go! Dinah will takeme; she will let me be with her. Ask her; she will tell thee. "

As the girl made her appeal to her father, the grave-faced, gentlewoman who had remained with this household for nigh fourteen daysstood quietly by. Dinah Morse had not quitted the house since theday upon which the hapless Frederick had been stricken down by thefell disease. For hardly had his remains been borne from the housebefore the mother fell violently ill of a wasting fever. At firstthere were no special indications of the plague in her malady; butafter a week's time these suddenly developed themselves. From thefirst she had declared herself smitten by the distemper, andwhether this conviction helped to develop the germs of the maladynone could say. But be that as it might, the dreaded tokensappeared upon her body at last, and within three days from thattime she lay dead. 

All that the kindness of friends and neighbours could avail hadbeen done. The Harmer family, in particular, had showed so muchattention and sympathy in this trying time, that Gertrude was oftenovercome with shame as she recalled in what uncivil fashion theyhad been treated by her mother of late years, and how they were nowreturning good for evil, just at a time when so many men werefinding themselves forsaken even by their nearest and dearest inthe hour of their affliction. 

The whole experience through which she had passed had made a deepand lasting impression upon Gertrude. She had already watched twoof the beings nearest and dearest to her fall victims to the diredisease which was raging in the city and laying low its thousandsdaily. It seemed to her that there was but one thing to be done nowby those whose circumstances permitted it, and that was to go forthamid the sick and smitten ones, and do what lay within human powerto mitigate their sufferings, and to afford them the solace andcomfort of feeling that they were not altogether shut off from thelove and sympathy of their fellow men. 

"Father, " she urged, as she saw that her parent still hesitated, "what would have become of us without Dinah? What should we havedone had no help come to us in our hour of need? Think of thehundreds and thousands about us longing for some such tendance andlove as she brought hither to us! What would have become of us hadno kind neighbours befriended us? And are we not bidden to do untoothers as we would have them do unto us in like case?"

"But the risk, my child, the risk!" he urged. "Am I to lose my lastand only stay and solace?"

"Mother died in this house, which is now doubly infected. I waswith her and with Frederick both, and yet I am sound and whole, andthou also. Why should we so greatly fear, when no man can say whowill be smitten and who will escape? Methinks, perchance, those whoseek to do their duty to the living, as our good neighbours and thecity aldermen and magistrates and doctors are doing, will bespecially protected of God. Father, let me go! Truly I feel that Ihave been bidden. Here I should fret myself ill in fruitlesslonging. Let me go forth with Dinah. Let me obey the call whichmethinks God has sent me. Truly I think I shall be the safest so. And who can say in these days, take what precaution he will, thathe may not already have upon him the dreaded tokens? If we mustdie, let us at least die doing good to our fellow men. Did not ourLord say to those who visited the sick in their necessity, 'Ye havedone it unto me'?"

"Child, " said the Master Builder, in a much-moved voice, "it shallbe as you desire. Go; and may the blessing of God go with you. Iwill offer myself for any post, as searcher or examiner, which maybe open, if indeed I may go forth from this house ere thetwenty-eight days be expired. If Dinah will take you, and if theHarmers will let you both sally forth from the house, I will notkeep you back. It may be indeed that God has called you; and if so, may He keep and bless you both. "

Father and daughter embraced each other tenderly. 

In those times the shadow of death was so very apparent that no oneknew from day to day what might befall him ere the morrow. Strongmen, leaving their homes apparently in their usual health, wouldsink down in the streets an hour afterwards, and perhaps die beforethe very eyes of the passersby, none of whom would be found willingso much as to approach the sufferer with a kind word. Men wouldhasten by with vinegar-steeped cloths held closely over theirfaces; and later on some bearer with a cart or barrow would be sentto carry away the corpse and fling it into the nearest pit, ofwhich there was now an ever-increasing number in the variousparishes. 

It will well be understood that in such days as these the need fornurses for the sick was terribly great. The majority of thoseso-called nurses were women of the lowest class, whose motive waspersonal gain, not a loving desire to mitigate the sufferings ofthe stricken. 

Whether all the dismal tales told by the miserable beings shut upin their houses, and left to the mercy of watchmen and nurses, weretrue may be well open to doubt. Many poor creatures became halfdemented by terror, and scarcely knew what they said. But enoughwas from time to time substantiated to prove how very terrible werethe scenes which sometimes went on within these sealed abodes; andmore than once some careless watchman or thieving and neglectfulnurse had been whipped through the streets for misdemeanoursbrought home to them by the authorities. 

But now things were growing too pressing for individual cases toattract much attention. Do as men would to cope with the evil, thespread of the fell disease was something terrible to witness. Uptill quite recently, the cases in the southern and eastern parishesand within the city walls had been few as compared with those inthe north and west; but now the scourge seemed to have fallen uponthe city itself, and the resources of the authorities were taxed tothe uttermost. 

The Harmer family welcomed back Dinah with joy; but when they heardof Gertrude's resolve, they looked grave and awed. Then Janetstepped forward suddenly, and addressing her father, said:

"Dear father, what Gertrude has desired for herself is nothing lessthan what I myself have often wished. Let me go forth also to tendthe sick. If our neighbour can dare to let his only child do thisthing, surely thou wilt spare me. Every day brings terrible talesof the woe and the pressing need of hundreds and thousands aroundus. Let me go, too. I am like to be safer than many, seeing that Imay already have been touched by the distemper, though I knew itnot. "

The example of his neighbour was not without effect upon the worthycitizen. Moreover, it seemed to him that those who went about theirdaily duties, and shrank not from contact with the sick when it wasneedful, fared better than many who shut themselves up at home, andfeared to look forth even from their windows. As an examiner ofhealth he was frequently brought into contact with the sick, andhis son even oftener, and yet both kept their health wonderfully. True, there were many amongst those who filled these perilousoffices who did fall victims, but not more in proportion thanothers who shunned all contact with peril. Steady nerves and astout heart seemed as good preventives as any antidote; and thephysicians who laboured ceaselessly and devotedly amongst thestricken ones seemed seldom to suffer. Moreover, after all theseweeks of terror, the minds of persons of all degrees were growingused to the sense of uncertainty and peril, and Janet's requestaroused no very strenuous opposition from any member of her family. 

"She shall please herself, " said her father, after some discussionon the subject. "God has been very merciful to us so far. We willput our trust in Him during all this time. If the girl has had acall, let her do her duty, and He will he with her. "

That night the three devoted women slept beneath the roof of thebridge house. Upon the morrow they sallied forth to their strangetask, but were told by the master of the house that they mightreturn thither at any time they chose, provided they took theprescribed precautions with regard to their clothing before theyentered. 

The sun was blazing hotly down on the streets as they opened thedoor to go forth. Sultry weather had now set in, no rain fellthrough the long, scorching days, and the heat was a terriblefactor in the spread of the epidemic. Dinah, who had been nigh uponfourteen days shut up in one house, looked about her with grave, watchful eyes. Already she saw a great difference in the look ofthe bridge. Four houses were marked with the ominous red cross; andthe tide of traffic, bearing the stream of persons out from thestricken city, had almost ceased. Bills of health were difficult toobtain now. The country villages round were loth to receive inmatesof London. All roads were watched, and many hapless stragglers sentback again who had thought to escape from the city of destruction. Myriads had already left, and others were still flying--they couldmake shift to escape. But the continuous stream had ceased to crossthe bridge. Foot passengers were few, and all walked in the middleof the road, avoiding contact with one another. Many kept ahandkerchief or cloth pressed to their faces. Strangers eyed eachother askance, none knowing that the other might not be alreadysickening of the disease. Between the stones of the streets bladesof grass were beginning to grow up. Dinah pointed to these tokensand gave a little sigh. 

Just before they turned off from the bridge a flying figure wasseen approaching, and Janet exclaimed quickly:

"Why, it is Dorcas!"

Since her fright of a fortnight back, Dorcas had remained an inmateof Lady Scrope's house by her own desire. Although she knew thatpoor Frederick would annoy her no more, she had come to have ahorror of the very streets themselves. She had never forgotten theapparition of that white-robed figure, clad in what seemed like itsdeath shroud; and as Lady Scrope was by no means ill pleased tokeep her young maiden by night as well as by day, her father wasglad that she should be saved the risk even of the short walk toand fro each day. 

But here she was, flying homewards as though there were wings toher feet; and she would almost have passed them in her haste, hadnot Janet laid hold of her arm and spoken her name aloud. Then shegave a little cry of relief and happiness, and turning upon heraunt, she cried:

"Ah, how glad I am to see thee! I was praying thou mightst still beat home. Lady Scrope has been suddenly seized by some malady, Iknow not what. Everyone in the house but the old deaf man and hiswife has fled. Three servants left before, afraid of passing to andfro. The rest only waited for the first alarm to seize whateverthey could lay hands upon and fly. I could not stop them. I didwhat I could, but methinks they would have rifled the house had itnot been that the mistress, ill as she was, rose from her bed andchased them forth. They feared her more than ever when they thoughtshe had the plague upon her. And now I have come forth for help;for I am alone with her in the house, and I know not which way toturn. 

"Ah, good aunt, come back with me, I prithee. I am at my wit's endwith the fear of it all. "

Without a moment's delay the party turned towards the house inAllhallowes, and speedily found themselves at the grim-lookingportal, which Dorcas opened with her key. The house felt cool andfresh after the glare of the hot streets. Although by no means astately edifice outside, it was roomy and commodious within, andthe broad oak staircase was richly carpeted--a thing in those daysquite unusual save in very magnificent houses. Doors stood open, and there were traces of confusion in some of the rooms; but Dorcaswas already hurrying her companions up the stairs, and the silenceof the house was broken by the sound of a shrill voice demanding inimperious tones who were coming and what was their business. 

"Fear not, mistress, it is I!" cried Dorcas, springing forward inadvance of the others. 

She disappeared within an open door, and her companions heard thesharp tones of the answering voice saying:

"Tush, child! who talks of fear? It is only fools who fear! Dostthink I am scared by this bogey talk of plague? A colic, child--acolic; that is all I ail. I have always suffered thus in hotweather all my life. Plague, forsooth! I could wish I had had it, that I might have given it as a parting benediction to those knavesand hussies who thought to rob me when I lay a-dying, as many awoman has been robbed before! I only hope they may sicken of purefright, as has happened to many a fool before now! Ha! ha! ha! howthey did run! They thought I was tied by the leg for once. But Ihad them--I had them! I warrant me they did not take the worth of asixpence from my house!"

The chuckling laugh which followed bespoke a keen sense ofenjoyment. Certainly this high-spirited old lady was not much likethe ordinary plague patient. Dinah knocked lightly at the door, andentered, the two girls following her out of sheer curiosity. 

"Heyday! and who are these?" cried Lady Scrope. 

That redoubtable old dame was sitting up in bed, her great frillednightcap tied beneath her chin, her hawk's eyes full of life andfire, although her face was very pinched and blue, and there werelines about her brow and lips which told the experienced eyes ofthe sick nurse that she was suffering considerable pain. 

Dinah explained their sudden appearance, and asked if they could beof any service. The old lady gazed at them all in turn, and herface relaxed as she broke into rather a grim laugh. 

"Plague nurses, by all the powers! Certes, this is very prettycompany! If all that is said be true, ye be the worst harpies ofall. I had better have my own minions to rob me than be left toyour tender mercies. Three of you, too! Verily, 'wheresoever thecarcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together, '" and thepatient laughed again, as though tickled at her own grimpleasantry. 

Dorcas would have expostulated and explained and apologized, buther mistress cut her short with a sharp tap of her fan. 

"Little fool, hold thy peace! as though I didn't know an honestface when I see it!

"Come, good people, look me well over, and you'll soon see I havenone of the tokens. It is but a colic, such as I am well used to atthis season of the year; but in these days let a body's finger butache, and all the world runs helter skelter this way and that, calling out, 'The plague! the plague!' The plague, forsooth! asthough I had not lived through a score of such scares of plague. Ifmen would but listen to me, there need never be any more plagues inLondon. But the fools will not hear wisdom. "

"What is your remedy, madam?" asked Dinah, who saw very clearlythat the old lady had gauged her symptoms aright; and although shehad alarmed her attendants by a partial collapse an hour before, was mending now, and had no symptom of the distemper upon her. 

"My remedy is too simple for fools. Fill up every well inLondon--which is just a poison trap--and drink only New Riverwater, and make every house draw its supply from thence, and weshall soon cease to hear of the plague! That's my remedy; but whenI tell men so, they gibe and jeer and call me fool for my pains. Fools every one of them! If it would only please Providence to burntheir city about their ears and fill up all the old wells with therubbish, you would soon see an end of these scares of plague. Tush!if men will drink rank poison they deserve to have the plague--thatis all I have to say to them. "

Such an idea as this was certainly far in advance of the times, andit was small wonder that Lady Scrope found no serious listenerswhen she propounded her scheme. Dinah did not profess to have anopinion on such a wide question. Her duties were with the sick. Others must seek for the cause of the outbreak. That was not theprovince of women. 

Something in her way of moving about and performing her littleoffices pleased the fancy of the capricious old woman, as did alsothe aspect of the two girls, who were assisting Dorcas to set theroom to rights after the confusion of the morning, when themistress had suddenly been taken with a violent colic, which hadturned her blue and rigid, and had convinced her household that shewas taken for death, and that by a seizure of the prevailingmalady. 

She asked Dinah of herself and her plans, and nodded her head withapproval as she heard that the two girls were to attend the sicklikewise under her care. 

"Good girls, brave girls--I like to see courage in old and youngalike. If I were young myself, I vow I would go with you. It's afine set of experiences you will have. 

"Young woman, I like you. I shall want to hear of you and yourwork. Listen to me. This house is my own. I have no one with mehere save the child Dorcas, and I don't think she is of the stuffthat would be afraid; and I take good care of her, so that she isin no peril. Come back hither to me whenever you can. This houseshall be open to you. You can come hither for rest and food. It isbetter than to go to and fro where there be so many young folks asin the place you come from. Bring the girls with you, too. They begood, brave maidens, and deserve a place of rest. I have victualledmy house well. I have enough and to spare. I like to hear the news, and none can know more in these days than a plague nurse. 

"Come, children, what say you to this? Go to and fro amongst thesick; but come home hither and tell me all you have done. What sayyou? Against rules for persons to pass from infected houses intoclean ones? Bah! in times like these what can men hope to do bytheir rules and regulations? Plague nurses and plague doctors areunder no rules. They must needs go hither and thither wherever theyare called. If I fear not for myself, you need not fear for me. Ishall never die of the plague; I have had my fortune told me toomany times to fear that! I shall never die in my bed--that they allagree to tell me. Have no fears for me; I have none for myself. 

"Make this house your home, you three good women. I am not a goodwoman myself, but I know the kind when I see them. They are rare, but all the more valued for that. Come, I say; you will not find abetter place!"

Dorcas clasped her hands in rapture and looked from one to theother. The fear of the distemper was small in comparison with thepleasure of the thought of seeing her sister and aunt and friend atintervals, now that she was so completely shut up in this lonelyhouse, and that the servants had all fled never to return. 

It was just such an eccentric and capricious whim as was eminentlycharacteristic of Lady Scrope. She had had nothing but her ownwhims to guide her through life, and she indulged them at herpleasure. She had taken a fancy to Dinah from the first moment. Sheknew all about the family of her young companion, from havinglistened to Dorcas's chatter when in the mood. Keenly interested inthe spread of the plague, which had driven away all her fashionablefriends, she was eager for news about it, and the more ghastly thetales that were told, the more did she seem to revel in them. Tohave news first hand from those who actually tended the sick seemedto her a capital plan; and Dinah recognized at once the advantageof having admittance for herself and the two girls to this solitaryand commodious house, where rest and refreshment could be readilyobtained, and where their coming and going would not be likely tobe observed or to hurt any one. 

"If your ladyship really means it--" she began. 

"My ladyship generally does mean what she says--as Dorcas will tellyou if you ask her, " was the rather short, sharp reply. "Say nomore, say no more; I hate chitter-chatter and shilly-shally. Thething's settled, and there's an end of it. Go your ways, go yourways; I'm none too ill for Dorcas to look to, now that the littlefool is assured that I haven't got the plague. But you may havebrought it here yourself, so you are bound in duty to come back andlook after us the first moment you can. Go along with you all, andbring me word what London is doing, and what the streets are like. They say there be courts down in the worst parts of the town wherenot a living person remains, and where there be none left to givenotice of the deaths. You go and bring me word about all that. 

"A fine thing truly for our grand city! The living soon will not beenough to bury the dead! Go! go! go! I shall wait and watch foryour return. None will interfere with anything that goes on in myhouse. You can come and go at will. Dorcas will give you a key. Iwill trust you. You have a face to be trusted. "

"It is quite true--nobody ever dares interfere with her, " saidDorcas, as she led the way downstairs. "They think she is a witch;and truly, methinks she is the strangest woman that ever drewbreath! But I shall love her for what she has said and done today. I pray you be not long in coming again. None can want you much moresorely than I do!"

CHAPTER VIII. IN THE DOOMED CITY. 

The clocks in the church steeples were chiming the hour of ten asDinah and her two companions started forth a second time upon theirerrand of mercy and charity. It was an hour at which in ordinarytimes all the city should be alive, the streets filled withpassersby, wagons lumbering along with heavy freights, fine folksin their coaches or on horseback picking their way from place toplace, and shopmen or their apprentices crying their wares fromopen doorways. 

Now the streets were almost empty. The shops were almost all shutup. Here and there an open bake house was to be seen, orders havingbeen issued that these places were to remain available for thepublic, come what might; and women or trembling servant maids wereto be seen going to and fro with their loads of bread or dough forbaking. 

But each person looked askance at the other. Neighbours were afraidto pause to exchange greetings, and hurried away from all contactwith one another; and children breaking away from their mothers'sides were speedily called back, and chidden for their temerity. 

Some of the churches stood wide open, and persons were seen tohurry in, lock themselves for a few minutes into separate pews, andpour out their souls in supplication. Often the sound oflamentation and weeping was heard to issue from these buildings. Atcertain hours of the day such of the clergy as were not scared awaythrough fear of infection, or who were not otherwise occupiedamongst the sick, would come in and address the persons gatheredthere, or read the daily office of prayer; but although at firstthese services had been well attended--people flocking to thechurches as though to take sanctuary there--the widely-increasedmortality and the fearful spread of the distemper had caused apanic throughout the city. The magistrates had issued warningsagainst the assembling of persons together in the same building, and the congregations were themselves so wasted and decimated bydeath and disease that each week saw fewer and fewer able toattend. 

From every steeple in the city the bells tolled ceaselessly for thedead. But it was already whispered that soon they would toll nomore, for the deaths were becoming past all count, and there mightlikely enough be soon no one left to toll. 

At one open place through which Dinah led her companions, a tallman, strangely habited, and with a great mass of untrimmed hair andbeard, was addressing a wild harangue to a ring of breathlesslisteners. In vivid and graphic words he was summing up thewickedness and perversity of the city, and telling how that thewrath of God had descended upon it, and that He would no longerstay His hand. The day of mercy had gone by; the day of vengeancehad come--the day of reckoning and of punishment. The innocent mustnow perish with the guilty, and he warned each one of his hearersto prepare to meet his Judge. 

The man was gazing up overhead with eyes that seemed ready to startfrom their sockets. Every face in the crowd grew pale with horror. The man seemed rooted to the spot with a ghastly terror. Theyfollowed the direction of his gaze, but could see nothing save thequivering sunshine above them. 

Suddenly one in the crowd gave a shriek which those who heard itnever forgot, and fell to the ground like one dead. 

With a wild, terrible laugh the preacher gathered up his long gownand fled onwards, and the crowd scattered helter skelter, terrifiedand desperate. None seemed to have a thought for the miserable mansmitten down before their very eyes. All took care to avoidapproaching him in their hasty flight. He lay with his faceupturned to the steely, pitiless summer sky. A woman comingfurtively along with a market basket upon her arm suddenly set up adolorous cry at sight of him, and setting down her basket rantowards him, the tears streaming down her face. 

"Why, it is none other than good John Harwood and his wifeElizabeth!" cried Janet, making a forward step. "Oh, poorcreatures, poor creatures! Good aunt, prithee let us do what we canfor their relief. I knew not the man, his face was so changed, butI know him now. They are very honest, good folks, and have workedfor us ere now. They live hard by, if so be they have not changedtheir lodgings. Can we do nothing to help them?"

"We will do what we can, " said Dinah. "Remember, my children, allthat I have bidden you do when approaching a stricken person. Benot rash, neither be over-much affrighted. The Lord has preservedme, and methinks He will preserve you, too. "

With that she stepped forward and laid a hand upon the shoulder ofthe poor woman, who was weeping copiously over her husband, andcalling him by every name she could think of, though he lay rigidwith half-open eyes and heeded her not. 

"Good friend, " said Dinah, in her quiet, commanding fashion, "it isof no avail thus to weep and cry. We must get your goodman withindoors, and tend him there. See, there is a man with a handcart overyonder. Go call him, and bid him come to our help. We must not letyour goodman lie out here in the streets in this hot sunshine. "

"God bless you! God bless you!" cried the poor distracted woman, unspeakably thankful for any help at a time when neighbours andfriends were wont alike to flee in terror from any stricken person. "But alas and woe is me! Tell me, is this the plague?"

"I fear so, " answered Dinah, who had bent over the smitten man;"but go quickly and do as I have said. There be some amongst thesick who recover. Lose not heart at the outset, but trust in God, and do all that thou art bidden. "

The woman ran quickly, and the man, who was indeed one of thoseforlorn creatures who, for a livelihood, were even willing to scourthe streets and remove from thence those that were stricken down bydeath as they went their way amongst their fellows, came with herat her request, and lifting her husband into his cart, wheeled himaway towards a poor alley where lay her home. 

As she turned into it she looked at the three women who followed, and said:

"God have mercy upon us! I would not have you adventure yourselveshere. There be but three houses in all the street where thedistemper has not come, and of those, mine, which was one, must nowbe shut up. Lord have mercy upon us indeed, else we be all deadmen!"

Dinah paused for a brief moment, and looked at her young charges. 

"My children, " she said, "needs must that I go where the need is sogreat. But bethink you a moment if ye have strength and wish tofollow. I know not what sad and terrible sights we may have toencounter. Think ye that ye can bear them? Have ye the strength togo forward? If not, I would have you go back ere you have reachedthe contamination. "

Janet looked at Gertrude, and Gertrude looked at Janet; but thoughthere was great seriousness and awe in their faces, there was nofear. Gertrude had gone through so much already within the walls ofher home that she had no fear greater than that of remaining inhelpless idleness there, alone with her own thoughts and memories. As for Janet, she had much of the nature of her aunt--much of thateager, intense sympathy and compassion for the sick and sufferingwhich has induced women in all ages to go forth in times of direneed, and risk their lives for their stricken and afflictedbrethren. 

So after one glance of mutual comprehension and sympathy, they bothanswered in one breath:

"No, we will not turn back. We will go with you. Where the need issorest, there would we be, too. "

"God bless you! God bless you for angels of mercy!" sobbed the poorwoman, who heard their words, and knowing both Dinah and Janet, understood something of the situation, "for we be perishing likesheep here in this place, shut away from all, and with never anurse to come nigh us. There be some rough fellows placed outsidethe houses to see that none go in or out, and perchance they dotheir best to find nurses; but at such a time as this it is smallwonder if ofttimes none are to be found. And some they have broughtare worse than none. The Lord protect us from the tender mercies ofsuch!"

The narrow court into which they now turned was cool in comparisonwith the sunny street; but there was nothing refreshing in thecoolness, for fumes of every sort exhaled from the houses, and atthe far end there burned a fire of resinous pine logs, the smokefrom which, when it rolled down the court, was almost choking. 

"They say it will check the spread of the distemper to the streetsbeyond, " said the woman, "but methinks it does as much harm asgood. If the Lord help us not, we be all dead men. The cart tookaway a score or more of corpses last night. Pray Heaven it take notaway my poor husband tonight!"

The bearer of the handcart stopped at the door indicated by thewoman, and lifted the stricken man in his arms. It was one of thevery few doors all down that street which did not bear the ominousred cross. 

As Gertrude looked up and down the court her heart sank within herfor pity. The houses were closed. Watchers lounged at the doors, drinking and smoking and jesting together, being by this timerecklessly and brutally hardened to their office. They knew notfrom day to day when their own turn might come; but this knowledgeseemed to have an evil rather than a sobering effect upon them. 

The better sort of watchmen were employed, as a rule, to keep thebetter sort of houses. When these crowded courts and alleys wereattacked, the authorities had to send whom they could rather thanwhom they would. Indefatigable and courageously as they worked, themagnitude of the calamity was such that it taxed their resources tothe utmost; and had it not been for the bountiful supplies of moneysent in by charitable people, from the king downwards, for therelief of the city in this time of dire need, thousands must haveperished from actual want, as well as those who fell victims to theplague itself. Yet do as these brave and devoted men could, thesufferings of the poor at this time were terrible. 

As the sound of voices was heard in the street below, windows werethrown up, and heads protruded with more or less of caution. Fromone of the windows thus thrown up there issued a lamentablewailing, and a woman with a white, wild face cried out in tones ofpassionate entreaty:

"Help! help! help! good people. Ah, if that be a nurse, let hercome hither. There be five dying and two dead in the house, andnone but me to tend them, and methinks I am stricken to the death!"

"Janet, " said Dinah, with a searching glance at her niece, "methinks I must needs answer that cry. Go with this good woman, and do what thou canst for her husband. Thou dost know what is bestto be done. I will come to thee anon; but thou wilt not fear to bethus left? There is but one sick in this house. The need is sorerelsewhere. "

"Go, I will do my best. At least I can make a poultice, and seethat he is put to bed. I have medicaments in my bag. I would nothinder thee. Sure there is work for all in this terrible place!"

"And this is only one of many scattered throughout the city!"breathed Gertrude softly, her heart swelling within her. 

Ever since she had halted before this house she had been aware ofthe sound of plaintive weeping and wailing proceeding from theadjoining tenement; and as Dinah moved away towards the dooropposite, she asked Elizabeth Harwood what the sound meant, and ifthere was trouble in the next house. 

"Trouble?--trouble and death everywhere!" was the answer. "The manwas taken away in the cart yesternight. God alone knows who isalive in the house now. There be seven little children there withtheir mother, but which of them be living and which dead by now noone knows. I have heard nothing of the woman's voice these manyhours. Pray Heaven she be not dead--and the little helplesschildren all alone with the dead corpse!"

"Oh, surely that could not be!" cried Gertrude. "Surely thewatchman would go to them! Oh, that must not be! I will go andspeak with him. He would not leave them to perish so!"

The woman shook her head, and hurried up the stairs whither herhusband had been carried. Her heart was too full of her own anxiousmisery to have room for more than a passing sympathy for the needsand troubles of others. 

But Gertrude could not rest. She neither followed Janet into thishouse nor her aunt across the street. She went to the door of thenext house, upon which the red cross had been painted; and seeingher so stand before it, a man detached himself from a group hard byand asked her business, since the house was closed. 

"I am a nurse, " answered Gertrude, boldly. "I have come to nursethe sick. Let me into this house, I pray, for I hear the need isvery sore. "

"Sore enough, mistress, " answered the man, fumbling with his key, for of course there was admittance to plague nurses and doctorsinto infected houses; "but if you take my advice, you'll notventure within the door. The dead cart has had four from it theselast two days. Like enough by this time they are all dead. Theyhave asked for nothing these past ten hours--not since the cartcame last night. "

With a shudder of pity and horror, but without any personalshrinking, Gertrude signed to the man to open the door, which heproceeded to do in a leisurely manner. Then she stepped across thethreshold, the door was closed behind her, and she heard the keyturn in the lock. 

Truly her work had now begun. She was incarcerated in aplague-stricken house, and this time by her own will. 

For the first few seconds she stood still in the dark entry, unableto see her way before her; but soon her eyes grew used to the dimlight, and she saw that there was a door on one side of the passageand a steep flight of stairs leading upwards, and it was from someupper portion of the house from which the sound of cryingproceeded. 

Just glancing into the lower room, which she found quite empty, andwhich was unexpectedly clean, she mounted the rickety staircase, the wailing sound growing more distinct every step she took. Thehouse was a very tiny one even for these small tenements, and therewere only two little rooms upon the upper floor. It was from one ofthese that the crying was proceeding, but Gertrude could not besure which. 

With a beating heart she opened the first door, and saw a sightwhich went to her heart. Upon a narrow bed lay two little formswrapped in the same sheet, rigidly still, waiting their lasttransit to the common grave. Except for the two dead children theroom was empty, and Gertrude, softly closing the door, andbreathing a silent prayer, she scarce knew whether for herself, forthe living, or for the dead, she opened the other, and came upon ascene, the pathos and inexpressible sadness of which made a lastingimpression upon her, which even after events did not efface fromher memory. 

There was a bed in this room too, and upon it lay the emaciatedform of a woman; asleep, as the girl first thought--dead, as sheafterwards quickly discovered. By her side there nestled a littlechild, hardly more than an infant, wailing pitifully with thatplaintive, persistent cry which had attracted her attention at theoutset. Three children, varying in age from four to eight, sathuddled on the floor in a corner, their tear-stained faces allturned in wondering expectancy upon the newcomer. Stretched uponthe floor beside the bed was another child, so still that Gertrudefelt from the first that it, too, was dead, and when she lifted upthe little form, she saw the dreaded death tokens upon the waxenskin. 

With a prayer in her heart for grace and strength and guidance, Gertrude laid the dead child beside its dead mother--for she sawthat the woman was cold and stiff in death; and then she gatheredthe living children round her, and taking the infant in her arms, she led them all down into the lower room, and quickly kindled thefire that was laid ready in the grate. 

She found nothing of any sort in the house, and the children werecrying for food; but the watchman quickly provided what wasneedful, being, perhaps, a little ashamed of the condition in whichthis household had been found. 

Gertrude tended and fed and comforted the little ones, her heartoverflowing with sympathy. They clung about her and fondled her aschildren will do those who have come to them in their hour of direnecessity; and as their hunger became appeased, and they grewconfident of the kindness of their new friend, they told theirpathetic tale with the unconscious graphic force of childhood. 

There had been a large household only a few days before. Father, mother, two grownup sons, and one or two daughters--evidently by aformer marriage. The big brothers had gone away--probably to act asbearers or watchmen--and the little ones knew nothing of them. Oneof the sisters had been in service, but came home suddenly, complaining of illness, sat down in a chair, and died almost beforethey realized she was ill. They had kept that death a secret, hadobtained a certificate of some other ailment than the distemper, and for a week all had gone on quietly, when suddenly three becameill together. 

Numbers of houses were shut up all round them. Theirs was reportedand closed. For a few days there had been hope. Then the fathersickened, and all the grownup persons had died almost together, save the mother, and had been taken away the night before last. 

What had happened since was dim and confused to the children. Theirmother had seemed like one stunned--had hardly noticed them, orattended to their wants. Then two of them had been taken away intothe other room. They had heard their mother weeping aloud for awhile, but she would not let them in to her. By and by she had comeback to them, and had taken the baby in her arms and lain down uponthe bed. She had never moved after that--not even when little Harryhad called to her, and had lain crying and moaning on the floor. The children thought she was asleep, and by and by Harry had goneto sleep too. They had slept together on the floor, huddledtogether in helpless misery and confusion of mind, until awakenedby the ceaseless wailing of the baby, which never roused theirmother. They were too much bewildered and weakened to make anyattempt to call for help, and were just waiting for what wouldhappen, when Gertrude had come amongst them like an angel of mercy. 

Her tears fell fast as the story was told, but the children hadshed all theirs. They were comforted now, feeling as thoughsomething good had happened, and they crept about her and clunground her, begging her not to leave them. 

Nor had she any wish to do so. It seemed to her as though this mustsurely be her place for the present--amongst these helpless littleones to whom Providence had sent her in the hour of their extremenecessity. 

The baby was sleeping in her arms. She looked down into its tinyface, and wondered if it would be possible that its life could besaved. For a whole night it had lain at its dead mother's side. Could it have escaped the contagion? The three older childrenappeared well, and even grew merry as the hours wore slowly away. 

From time to time Gertrude looked out into the street, but therewas nothing to be seen save the men on guard; and only from time totime was the silence broken by the cry of some delirious patient, or a shriek for mercy from some half-demented woman driven franticby the terrors by which she was surrounded. 

When afternoon came, she prepared more food for the children, andpartook of it with them, and wondered how and where she shouldspend the night. The infant in her arms had grown strangely stilland quiet. It could not be roused, and breathed slowly and heavily. 

"Harry looked just like that before he went to sleep, " said theeldest of the children, coming and peeping into the small waxenface; and Gertrude gave a little involuntary shiver as she thoughtof the four still forms lying sleeping upstairs, and wonderedwhether this would make a fifth for the bearers to carry forth atnight. 

Just as the dusk began to fall, there came the sound of a slightparley without. Then the key turned in the house door, and the nextminute, to Gertrude's unspeakable relief, Dinah entered the room. 

"My poor child, did you think I was never coming to you?"

"I did not know if you could, " answered Gertrude. "Oh, tell me, what must I do for all these little ones--and for the baby? Is hedying too? It is so long since he has moved. I am afraid to look athim lest I disturb him, but--but--"

Dinah bent over the little form, and lifted it gently fromGertrude's arms. 

"Poor little lamb, its troubles are all over, " she said, after afew moments. "The little ones often go like that--quite peacefullyand quietly. It has not suffered at all. It has been a gentle andmerciful release. You need not weep for it, my child. "

"I think my tears are for the living rather than for the dead, "answered Gertrude, with brimming eyes. "There are but three leftout of seven living yesterday, and what is to become of them?"

"We must report their case to the authorities. There are numbers ofpoor children left thus orphaned, and it is hard to know what willbecome of them. I will send at once to my brother-in-law, andreport the matter to him. He will know what it were best to do. Meantime I shall remain here with you. Janet is busy next door. Herpatient is mending, and none besides in the house is sick. But oh, the things I have seen and heard this day! There is not one livingnow in the house to which I went first, and I have seen ten men andwomen die since I saw you last. 

"God alone knows how it is to end. It seems as though His hand wereoutstretched, and as though the whole city were doomed!"

CHAPTER IX. JOSEPH'S PLAN. 

"Ben, boy, I am sick to death of sitting at home doing naught, andseeing naught of all the sights that be abroad, and of which menare for ever speaking. What boots it to be alive, if one is buriedor shut up as we are? Art thou afraid to come forth? or shall I goalone?"

"Where wilt thou go, brother?" asked Ben, looking up from a bit ofwood carving upon which he was engrossed, with an eager light inhis eyes. Perhaps these two young lads had felt the calamity whichhad befallen the city more than any one else in the house; forwhilst the father, mother, sisters, and two elder sons were allhard at work doing all in their power for the relief of the sick, the younger lads were kept at home, to be as far as possible out ofharm's way, and they had felt the confinement and idleness as mostirksome. Their mother employed them about the house when she could, but it was not much she could find for them to do. To be sure therewas some amusement to be found in watching the life on the river;for though traffic was suspended, many whole families were livingon board vessels moored on the river, and hoped by this device tokeep the plague away from them. Yet the time hung very heavy ontheir hands, and the stories of the increasing ravages of theplague could not but depress them, seeming as they did to lengthenout indefinitely the time of their captivity. 

Three of the sisters were practically living away from the house(of which more anon), and the loneliness of the silent house wasbecoming unbearable. To lads used to an active life and plenty ofexercise, the distemper itself seemed a less evil than this closeconfinement between four walls. The bridge houses did not evenpossess yards or strips of garden, and without venturing out intothe streets--which had for some weeks been forbidden by theirfather--the boys could not stir beyond the walls of their home. 

August had now come, a close, steaming, sultry August, and theplague was raging with a virulence that threatened to destroy thewhole city. The Bills of Mortality week by week were appalling inmagnitude; and yet those who knew best the condition of the lowercourts and alleys were well aware that no possible record could bekept of those crowded localities, where whole households andfamilies, even whole streets, were swept away in the course of afew days, and where there were sometimes none left to give warningand notice that there were dead to be borne away. So the registereddeaths could only show a certain proportionate accuracy; for eventhe dead carts could keep no reckoning of the numbers they bore tothe common grave, and the bearers themselves were too oftenstricken down in the performance of their ghastly duties, and shotby their comrades into the pit amongst those whom they had carriedforth an hour before. 

It was small wonder that the father had forbidden his younger sonsto adventure themselves in the streets, where the pestilence seemedto hang in the very air. But the magnitude of the peril wasbeginning to rob even the most cautious persons of any confidencein their methods, for it seemed as if those working hardest amongstthe sick and dead were quite as much preserved from peril as thosewho shunned their neighbours and never came abroad unless direnecessity compelled them. Indeed, despite many deaths ofindividuals, it began to be noted that the magistrates, aldermen, examiners of health, and nurses of the plague-stricken sickened anddied less, in proportion, than almost any other class. And of thephysicians who remained at their posts to tend the sick, not manydied, although some few here and there were stricken, and of thesea certain proportion succumbed. But, as a whole, the workers whotoiled with a good heart and gentle spirit amongst the sick (notjust for daily bread or love of gain) fared better in theprevailing mortality than many others who held themselves aloof andlived in deadly fear of the pestilence. Wherefore it was notstrange that at the last a sort of recklessness was bred amongstthe citizens, and they kept themselves less close now when thingswere in so terrible a pass than they had done when the deaths werefewer and the conditions less fatal. 

James Harmer had always been one of those who had put hisconfidence more in the providence of God than in any merely humanprecautions, and although he had always insisted upon prudence andcare, he had steadily discouraged in his household any of thatfeeling of panic or of despair which he believed had been a strongfactor in the spread of the distemper in its earlier stages. Healso agreed in part with Lady Scrope's views regarding the watersupply of the city--the old wells and the contaminated river water. He let nothing be drunk in his house save what was supplied fromthe New River, and he impressed the same advice upon all hisneighbours. 

But to return to the boys and their weariness of the shut-up lifeof the house. The heat had grown intolerable, their pining afterfresh air and liberty was become too strong for resistance. Benjamin's eyes glowed at the very thought of escape from theregion of streets and shut-up houses, and he drank in the sense ofhis brother's words eagerly. 

"Hark ye, " cried Joseph, in a rapid undertone, for they did notwish their mother to overhear them, she being by many degrees morefearful than their father, as was but natural, "why should we staypent up here day after day and week after week, when even the girlsbe permitted abroad, and go into the very heart of the peril? Wecannot be nurses to the sick, I know right well; neither can wehelp to search houses, or do such like things, as the elder ones. But why do we tarry at home eating our hearts out, when the wholeworld is before us, and there be such wondrous things to see?

"Listen, Ben. I have a plan. Let us but once get free of thishouse, and be our own masters, and we will wander about London aswe will, and see those things of which all men be speaking. I longto look into one of those yawning pits where they shoot the dead, and to see the grass growing in the city, and to hear some of thosestrange preachers who go about prophesying in the streets. I longfor liberty and freedom. I would sooner die of the plague at lastthan fret my heart out shut up here. And we may be smitten as wellat home as abroad, as even father says himself. "

"Why, so we may; and methinks more are smitten so than those who goforth and breathe the air without!" cried Benjamin. "Our aunt livesamongst the dying, but she is not smitten; and the girls are everin peril, but they live on, whilst others are taken. But will ourfather let us go forth? For I would not like to go unless he bidus. "

"Nay, nor I, " answered Joseph quickly, for reverence for theirfather was a strong sentiment in all James Harmer's sons anddaughters; "we will strive to win his consent and blessing to ourgoing forth; but we need not say all that we purpose doing when weare free. For, indeed, it may well be that we shall meet with manyhindrances. They say that the roads leading away from the city areall closely watched, that no infected person is able to pass, andthat many sound ones are turned back lest they bring the infectionwith them. "

"Then how shall we get out?" asked Benjamin; but Joseph nodded hishead wisely, and said he had a plan. 

Before, however, he could further enlighten his brother they heardtheir father's footfall on the stair, and he came in looking wearyand sad, as it was inevitable that he should, coming as he did intopersonal contact with so much misery, sickness, and death. 

There was always refreshment ready for the workers at any hour ofthe day when they should come in to seek it. The boys rushed off toget him such things as their mother had ready, and whilst hepartook of the wholesome and appetising meal prepared for him, Joseph burst out with his pent-up weariness of the shut-up life, his longing to be free of the house and the city, and his earnestdesire that his father would permit him and Benjamin to go forthand shift for themselves in the country until the terriblevisitation was past. 

The father listened with a grave face. He too began to have a greatfear that the whole city was doomed to be swept away, and althoughupheld in his resolve to do his duty, so long as he was able, byhis strong and fervent faith in the goodness and mercy of God, hewas disposed to the opinion that all who remained would in turn becarried off victims to the fearful pestilence. Had he known fromthe beginning how terrible it would become in time, he sometimessaid to himself, he would at least have made shift to send hisfamily away; but now that they were engrossed in works of piety andcharity, he could not feel it right to bid them cease their laboursof love, nor did he feel any temptation to quit his own post. Yetthis made him the more ready to listen to the eager petition of hisboys, and to consider the project which had formed itself in thequick brain of Joseph. 

"Father, I have thought of it so much these past days. We are soundin health. Thou couldst get us the papers without which men saynone can pass the watch upon the roads. With them we can sallyforth, with a small provision of money and food, and make our wayeither by boat to the farm at Greenwich where the other 'prenticeboys live, and where there would be a welcome for us always, orelse northward to our aunt beyond Islington, who will be hungeringfor news of us, and who will be rejoiced, I am very sure, to giveus a welcome and to hear of the welfare of all, even though we cometo her from the land of the shadow of death. "

"Ay, verily do ye!" exclaimed the father, whose phrase Joseph hadpicked up and quoted. "Heaven send that my poor sister be yetnumbered among the living. I know not whether the fell disease haswrought havoc beyond the limits of the city in that direction; butat the first it raged more fiercely north and west than with us, and God alone knows who are taken and who are left!"

"Then, father, may we go?" asked Benjamin, eagerly. 

The father looked from one boy to the other with the glance of onewho thinks he may be looking his last upon some loved face. Men hadbegun to grow used to the thought that when they left their homesin the morning they might return to them no more, or that theymight return to find that one or more of their dear ones had beenstruck down and carried off in the course of a few hours. Soterrible was the malignity of the disease, that often deathsupervened after a few hours, although others would linger--oftenin terrible suffering--for many days before death (or much morerarely, recovery) relieved them of their pain. This good man knewthat if he let the lads go, he might never see them again. He orthey might be victims before they met, and might see each other'sface no more upon earth. 

Yet he did not oppose the boys' plan. He knew how bad for them wasthis shut-up life, and how the very sense of fret and compulsoryinactivity might predispose them to the contagion. If they couldonce get beyond the limits of the city, they might be far saferthan they could be here. It would be a relief to have them gone--tothink of them as living in safety in the fresh air of the country. Moreover, it pleased him to think of sending a message of lovingassurance to his favourite sister, who dwelt in the open countrybeyond the hamlet of Islington. He felt assured that if she stilllived she would have a warm welcome for his boys; and if the ladswere well provided with money and wholesome food, they had witsenough to take care of themselves for a while, until they had foundsome asylum. In all the surrounding villages, as he well knew, wereonly too many empty houses and cottages. He knew that there wasrisk; but there was risk everywhere, and he felt sympathy with thelads for their eager desire to get free of their prison. 

The mother felt more fear, but she never interfered with thedecisions of her husband. Her tears fell as she packed up in verysmall compass a few articles of clothing and some provisions forthe lads. Their father furnished them with money, the bulk of whichwas sewn up in their clothing, and with those health passes whichwere so needful for those leaving the infected city. 

The summer's night was really the best time in which to commence ajourney. The heat of the streets by day was intolerable, the dangerof encountering infected persons was greater, whilst although itwas at night that the dead carts went about, these could be easilyavoided, as the warning bell and mournful cry gave ample notice oftheir approach. 

Last thing of all, after the boys had partaken of an ample supper, and had shed a few natural tears at the thought that it might bethe last meal ever eaten beneath the roof of the old home, thefather knelt down and commended them solemnly to the care of Him inwhose hands alone lay the issues of life and death. Then he blessedthe boys individually, charged them to take every reasonable care, and finally escorted them down to the door, which he carefullyopened, and after ascertaining that the road was quite clear, hewalked with them as far as the end of the bridge, and dismissedthem on their way with another blessing. 

Much sobered by the scenes through which they had passed, yet not alittle elated by the quick and successful issue to their demand, the boys looked each other in the face by the light of the greatyellow moon, and nipped each other by the hand to make sure it wasnot all a dream. 

How strange the sleeping city looked beneath that pale white light!The boys had hardly ever been abroad after nightfall, and neverduring this sad strange time, when even by day all was so differentfrom what they had been used to see. Now it did indeed look like acity of the dead, for not even an idle roisterer, or a drunkardstumbling homewards with uncertain gait, was to be seen. Thewatchmen, sleeping or trying to sleep within the porches or uponthe doorsteps of certain houses, were the only living beings to beseen; and even they were few and far between in this locality, foralmost every house was shut up and empty, the inhabitants of manyhaving fled before the distemper became so bad, and others havingall died off, leaving the houses utterly vacant. 

"Let us go and see the house where Janet and Rebecca and MistressGertrude dwell, " said Benjamin, as they watched their father'sfigure vanish in the distance, and felt themselves quite alone inthe world; "perchance one of them may be waking, and may look forthfrom the window if we throw up a pebble. I would fain say afarewell word to them ere we go forth, for who knows whether we maysee them again?"

"Ay, verily, we may be dead or else they, " said Joseph, but in thetone of one who has grown used to the thought. "This way then; thehouse lies hard by, next door to my Lady Scrope's. Who would havethought that that cross old madwoman would have turned so kindlydisposed towards the poor and sick as she hath done?"

There were many amongst her former friends and acquaintances whowould have asked that question, had they been there to ask it. LadyScrope had never been credited with charitable feelings; and yet itwas her doing that a large house, her own property, next door tothe small one she chose to inhabit, had been made over to themagistrates and authorities of the city at this time, for thehousing of orphaned children whose parents had perished of theplague, and who were thrown upon the charity of strangers, or uponthose entrusted with the care of the city at this crisis. 

True, the house was standing empty and desolate. Its tenants hadfled, taking their goods with them. All that was left of plenishingbelonged to Lady Scrope. Pallets were easily provided by theofficers of health, and the place was speedily filled with littlechildren, who were tenderly cared for by Gertrude, Janet, andRebecca (who had joined her sister in this labour of love), allthree having given themselves up to this work, and finding theirhands too full to desire other occupation abroad. 

Joseph and Benjamin had of course heard all about this, and knewexactly where to find the house. It was marked with the red cross, for, as was inevitable, many of the little inmates were carried offby the fell disease after admission, and the numbers wereconstantly thinning and being replaced by fresh ones. But hithertothe nurses themselves had been spared, and toiled on unremittinglyat their self-chosen work. 

There was no watchman at the door as the boys stole up, but theyhad scarcely been there ten seconds before a window was thrown up, and Janet's voice was heard exclaiming, "Andrew, art thou yetreturned?"

"There is nobody here, sister, " answered Joseph, "save Ben and me. We are come to say farewell, for we are going forth this night fromthe city, to seek safety with our aunt in Islington. Can we doaught for you ere we go?"

"Alas, it is the dead cart of which we have need tonight, " answeredJanet. "We sent the watchman for physic, but it is needed nolonger. The little ones are dead already--three of them, and onlyone ill this morning. 

"Ah, brothers, glad am I to hear ye be going. God send you safetyand health; and forget not to pray for us in the city when ye arefar away. May He soon see fit to remove His chastening hand! It ishard to see the little ones suffer. "

Janet's voice was quiet and calm, but Benjamin burst into tears atthe sound of her words, and at the thought of the little deadchildren; but she leaned out and said kindly:

"Nay, nay, weep not, Ben, boy; let us think that they are taken inmercy from the evil to come. But linger not here, dear brothers. Who knows that contagion may not dwell in the very air? Go forthwith what speed you may. 

"Ah, there is the bell! The cart is on its way! And here comes goodAndrew back. Now he will do all that we need. Fare you well, brothers. Rebecca is sleeping tonight, and I would not wake her. Iwill give her your farewell love tomorrow. "

She waved them away, and they withdrew; but a species offascination kept them hanging round the spot. Moreover, they fearedto meet the death cart in that narrow thoroughfare, and the porchof the church of Allhallowes the Less was in close proximity. Theiron gate was open, and they were quickly able to hide themselvesin the porch, from whence by peeping out they could see all thatpassed. 

Nearer and nearer came the sound of the rumbling wheels and thebell, and now the cry, "Bring forth your dead! bring forth yourdead!" was clearly to be heard through the still air. Round thecorner came the strange conveyance, drawn by two weary-lookinghorses; and at some signal from the inmates it drew up at the doorof the house in front of which the boys had been standing a minutebefore. 

The watchman brought out three little shrouded forms. They werelaid upon the top of the awful pile, and the cart with its heavyload rumbled away, the bell no longer ringing, because there was noroom for more upon that journey. 

The boys stood with hands closely locked together, for althoughthey had heard of these things before, they had never seen thesight. Their bedroom at home looked out upon the river, and thedead cart only went about at night. They trembled at the thoughtwhich came to them, that had they been numbered amongst the deadduring this terrible visitation they too had been carried in thatfashion to their last resting place. 

"Come, Ben, let us be going, " said Joseph, recovering himselffirst; "we need not linger in the city if we like it not. There maybe strange things to see in all truth; but if we have no stomachfor them, why let us make our way northward with all speed. We canleave all this behind us by daybreak an we will. "

Taking hands, and feeling their courage return as they walked on, the brothers passed along the silent streets. Sometimes a windowwould be opened from above, and a doleful voice would cry aloud ingrief or anguish of mind, or some command would be shouted to thewatchman beneath, or there would be a piercing cry for the deadcart as it rumbled by. The boys at last grew used to the sound ofthe bell and the wheels. Go where they would they could not avoidhearing one or another as the men went about their dismal errand. It seemed less terrible after a time than it had done at first, andthe bold spirit within them came back. 

They wended their way northward, avoiding the narrowerthoroughfares and keeping to the broader streets. Even these wereoften very narrow and ill smelling, so that the brothers hadrecourse to their vinegar bottle or swallowed a spoonful of Venicetreacle before venturing down. Once they were forced to turn asideout of their way to avoid a heap of corpses that had been broughtout from a narrow alley to wait for the cart. They had heard ofsuch things before, but to see them was tenfold more terrible. Yetthe spirit of adventure took possession of them as they passedalong, and they were less afraid even of the most terrible thingsthan they had been of lesser ones at starting. 

In passing near to the little church of St. Margaret's, Lothbury, they were attracted by the sound of a voice crying out as if inexcitement or fear. Being filled with curiosity in spite of theirfears, they turned in the direction of the sound, and came upon aman clutching hard at the railings of the little churchyard, whichlike all others in that part was now filled to overflowing, andclosed for burials, the dead being taken to the great pits dug invarious places. Night though it was, there was a small crowd ofpersons gathered round the railings, all peering in with eagerfaces, whilst the voice of the man at the corner kept calling out:

"See! see! there she goes! She stands there by yon tall tombstonewaving her arms over her head! Now she is wringing her hands, andweeping again. 

"O my wife, my wife! do you not know me? I am here, Margaret, I amhere! Weep not for the children who are dead; weep for unhappy me, who am left alive. Ay, it is for the living that men should weepand howl. The dead are at peace--their troubles are over; but ouragony is yet to come. 

"Margaret! Margaret! look at me! pity me!

"Ah, she will not hear! She turns away! See, she is gliding hitherand thither seeking the graves of her children--

"Margaret! I could not help it. They would not let them lie besidethee! They took them away in the cart. I would have sprung in afterthem, but they held me back. 

"Ah, woe is me! woe is me! There is no place for me either amongthe living or the dead. All turn from me alike!"

The tears rolled down the poor man's face, his voice was chokedwith sobs. He still continued to point and to cry out, and toaddress some imaginary being whom he declared was wandering amongstthe tombs. The boys pressed near to look, for some in the crowdsuddenly made exclamations as though they had caught a glimpse ofthe phantom; but look as they would the brothers saw nothing, andJoseph asked of an elderly man in the little crowd what it allmeant. 

"Methinks it means only that yon poor fellow has lost his reason, "he answered, shaking his head. "His wife was one of the first todie when the distemper broke out; and men called it only a fever, though some said she had the tokens on her. She was buried here. And it is but a week since the last of his children was taken--sixin two weeks; and he has escaped out of his house, and wandersabout the streets, and comes here every night, saying that he seeshis dead wife, and that she is looking for her children, and cannotfind them because they are lying in the plague pit. He isdistraught, poor fellow; but many men gather night by night to hearhim. 

"For my part, I will come no more. Men are best at home in theirown houses; and you lads had best go home as fast as you can. It isno place and no hour for boys to be abroad. "

Joseph and Benjamin said a civil goodnight to the man, and takinghands bent their steps northward once again. They were now close tothe open Moor Fields; and although there was still another regionof houses to be passed upon the other side, they felt that whenonce they had passed the gate and the walls they should have leftthe worst of the peril behind them. 

CHAPTER X. WITHOUT THE WALLS. 

Only one trifling incident befell the boys before they foundthemselves without the city gate. They were proceeding down ColemanStreet towards Moor Gate, where they knew they should have to showtheir pass, and perhaps have some slight trouble in gettingthrough, and were rehearsing such things as they had decided totell the guard at the gate, when the sound of a dismal howlingsmote upon their ears, and they paused to look about them, for thestreet was very still, and almost every house seemed deserted andempty. 

The sound came again, and Joseph remarked:

"'Tis some poor dog who perchance has lost master and home. Therebe only too many such in the city they say. They throw them byscores into the river to be rid of them; but I have heard fathersay that it is an ill thing to do, and likely to spread thecontagion instead of checking it. Alive, the poor beasts do no ill;but their carcasses poison both the water and the air. Beshrew me, but he makes a doleful wailing!"

Going on cautiously through the darkness, for the moon was veiledbehind some clouds, the brothers presently saw, lying just outsidea shut-up house, a long still form wrapped in a winding sheet, putout ready for one of the many carts that passed up the street onthe way to the great pits in Bunhill and Finsbury Fields. Whetherthe corpse was that of a man or a woman the boys could not tell. They made a circuit round it to avoid passing near. 

But beside the still figure squatted a little dog of the turnspitvariety, and he was awakening the echoes of the quiet street by hislugubrious howls. 

Both the brothers were fond of animals, and particularly of dogs, and they paused after having passed by, and tried to get thecreature to come to them; but though he paused for a moment in hiswailing, and even wagged his tail as though in gratitude for thekind words spoken, he would not leave his post beside the corpse, and the boys had perforce to go on their way. 

"The dumb brute could teach a lesson in charity to many a humanbeing, " remarked Joseph, gravely; "he will not leave his deadmaster, and they too often flee away even from the living. Poorcreature, how mournful are his cries! I would that we could comforthim. "

At the gate they were stopped and questioned. They told astraightforward and truthful tale; their pass was examined andfound correct; and their father's name being widely known andrespected for his untiring labours in the city at this time, theboys were treated civilly enough and wished God speed and a safereturn. They were the more quickly dismissed that the sound ofwheels rumbling up to the gate made itself heard, and the guarddarted hastily away into his shelter. 

"These plague carts will be the death of us, passing continuallyall the night through with their load, " he said. "Best be gonebefore it comes through, lads. It carries death in its train. "

The boys were glad enough to make off, and found themselves for thetime being free of houses in the pleasant open Moor Fields, whichwere familiar to them as the favourite gathering place of shopmenand apprentices on all high days and holidays. The moon shone downbrightly again, although near her setting now; but before long thedawn would begin to lighten in the east, and the boys cared no whitfor the semi-darkness of a summer's night. 

Behind them still came the rumble of wheels, and they drew aside tolet the cart pass with its dreadful cargo. Behind it ran a smallblack object, and Benjamin exclaimed:

"It is the little dog! O brother, let us follow and see whatbecomes of him!"

The strange curiosity to see the burying place, which tempted onlytoo many to their death in those perilous days, was upon Joseph atthat moment. He desired greatly to see one of those plague pits, and to watch the emptying of the cart at its mouth. Forgettingtheir father's warnings, the brothers ran quickly after the cart, which was easily kept in view, and soon saw it halt and turn roundat a spot where they could discern the outline of a great mound ofearth, and the black yawning mouth of what they knew must be thepit. 

Half terrified, half fascinated, they gripped each other by thehand and crept step by step nearer. They took care to keep to thewindward of the pit, and were getting very near to it when the airwas rent by another of the doleful cries which they had heardbefore, but which sounded so strange and mournful here that theystopped short in terror at the noise. It seemed even to affect thenerves of the bearers, for one of them exclaimed:

"It is that cur again, who has left the marks of his teeth in myhand. If I could but get near him with my cudgel, he should neverhowl again. "

"I thought we had rid ourselves of the brute, but he must havefollowed us. A plague upon his doleful voice! They say that itbodes ill to hear a dog's howl at night. Perchance he will leapdown into the pit after his master. We will take good care he comesnot forth again if he does that. "

With these words the rough fellows turned to the cart, which wasnow at the edge of the pit, and finished the rude burial which wasall that could in those days be given to the dead. Every now andthen one of the men would aim a heavy stone at the poor dog, whosat on the edge of the pit howling dismally. The creature, however, was never hit, for he kept a respectful distance from his enemies. 

Their work done, the men got into the cart and drove away, withouthaving noticed the two boys crouching beside the pile of soil inthe shadow. The dog began running backwards and forwards along theedge of the pit, which being only lately dug was still deep, thoughfilling up very fast in these terrible days of drought and heat. 

The boys rose up and called to him kindly. He did not notice themat first, but finally came, and looked up in their faces withappealing eyes, as though he begged of them to give him back hismaster. 

"Touch him not, Ben, " said Joseph to his brother, who would havetaken the dog into his embrace, "he has been in a plague strickenhouse. Let us coax him to yon pool, and wash him there; and then, if he will go with us, we will take him and welcome. It may be hewill be a safeguard from danger; and it would be sorrowful indeedto leave him here. "

The dog was divided in mind between watching the pit's mouth andgoing with the kindly-spoken boys, who coaxed and called to him;but at last it seemed as though the loneliness of the place, andthe natural instinct of the canine mind to follow something human, prevailed over the other instinct of watching for the return of hismaster from this strange resting place. Perhaps the journey in thecart and the promiscuous burial had confused the poor beast's mindas to whether indeed his master lay there at all. With many wistfulglances backwards, he still followed the boys; and when they pausedat length beside a spring of fresh water, he needed little urgingto jump in and refresh himself with a bath, emerging thence inbetter spirits and ravenously hungry, as they quickly found whenthey opened their wallet and partook of a part of the excellentprovisions packed up for them by their mother. 

The young travellers were by this time both tired and sleepy, andfinding near by a soft mossy bank, they lay down and were quicklyasleep, whilst the dog curled himself up contentedly at their feetand slept also. 

When the boys awoke the sun was up, although it was still earlymorning. They were bewildered for a few moments to know where theywere, but memory quickly returned to them, and with it a sense ofexhilaration at being no longer cooped up within the walls of ahouse, but out in the open country, with the world before them andthe plague-stricken city behind. Even the presence of the dog, whoproved to be a handsome and intelligent member of his race, blackand tan in colour, with appealing eyes and a quick comprehension ofwhat was spoken to him, added greatly to the pleasure of the lads. They gave their new companion the name of Fido, as a tribute to hisaffection for his dead master; but they were very well pleased thathe did not carry his fidelity to the pass of remaining behind bythe great pit when they started forth to pursue their way to theiraunt's house beyond Islington. 

Fido ran backwards and forwards for a while whining and lookingpathetically sorrowful; but after the boys had coaxed and caressedhim, and had explained many times over that his master could notpossibly come back, he seemed to resign himself to the inevitable, and trotted at their heels with drooping tail, but with gratitudein his eyes whenever they paused to caress him or give him a kindword. 

And they were glad enough of his company along the road, for fromtime to time they met groups of very rough-looking men prowlingabout as though in search of plunder. Some of these fellows eyedthe wallets carried by the boys with covetous glances; but on suchoccasions Fido invariably placed himself in front of his youngmasters, and with flashing eyes and bristling back plainlyintimated that he was there to protect them, whilst the gleamingrows of shining teeth which he displayed when he curled up his lipsin a threatening snarl seemed to convince all parties that it wasbetter not to provoke him to anger. 

The more open parts of the region without the walls looked verystrange to the boys as they journeyed onwards. Numbers of tentswere to be seen dotted about Finsbury and Moor Fields and wholefamilies were living there in the hope of escaping contagion. Country people from regions about came daily with their produce tosupply the needs of these nomads; and it was curious to see theprecautions taken on both sides to avoid personal contact. Thevillagers would deposit their goods upon large stones set up forthe purpose; and after they had retired to a little distance, somepersons from the tents or scattered houses would come and take theproduce, depositing payment for it in a jar of vinegar set there toreceive it. After it had thus lain a short time, the vendor wouldcome and take it thence; but some were so cautious that they wouldnot place it in purse or pocket till they had passed it through thefire of a little brazier which they had with them. 

Nor was it to be wondered at that the country folks were thuscautious, for the contagion had spread throughout all thesurrounding districts, and every village had its tale of woe totell. At first the people had been kind and compassionate enough inwelcoming and harbouring apparently sound persons fleeing from thecity of destruction; but when again and again it happened that thewayfarer died that same night of the plague in the house which hadreceived him, and infected many of those who had showed himkindness, so that sometimes a whole family was swept away in two orthree days, it was no wonder that they were afraid of offeringhospitality to wayfarers, and preferred that these persons shouldencamp at a distance from them, though they were willing to supplythem with the necessaries of life at reasonable charges. It must bespoken to the credit of the country people at this time, that theydid not raise the price of provisions, as might have been expected, seeing the risk they ran in taking them to the city. There was noscarcity and hardly any advance in price throughout the dismal timeof visitation. This was doubtless due, in part, to the wise andable measures taken by the magistrates and city corporations; butit also redounds to the credit of the villagers, that they did notstrive to enrich themselves through the misfortunes of theirneighbours. 

The boys were glad to purchase fruit and milk for a lightbreakfast; and their fresh open faces and tender years seemed togive them favour wherever they went. They were not shunned, as sometravellers found themselves at this time, but were admitted toseveral farm houses on their way, and regaled plentifully, whilstthey told their tale to a circle of breathless listeners. 

Sometimes they were stopped upon the way by the men told off towatch the roads, and turn back any coming from the city who had notthe proper pass of health. But the boys, being duly provided withthis, were always suffered to proceed after some parley. Theybegan, however, to understand how difficult a thing it had nowbecome to escape from the infected city; and several times they sawtravellers turned back because their passes were dated a few daysback, and the guard declared it impossible to know what infectionthey had encountered since. 

Very sad indeed were these poor creatures at being, as it were, sent back to their death. For it began to be rumoured all about thecity that not a living creature would escape who remained there. Itwas said that God's judgments had gone forth, and that the wholeplace would be given over to destruction, even as Sodom, and thatnone who remained in it would be left alive. 

This sort of talk made the brothers very anxious and sorrowful, but, as Joseph sought to remind his brother, the people who saidthese things had nothing better to go by than the prognosticationsof old women or quacks and astrologers, whom their father hadtaught them to disbelieve. He had always taught them that God aloneknew the future and the thing that He would do, and that it wasfolly and presumption on the part of man to seek to penetrate Hiscounsels, and venture to prophesy things which He had not revealed. So they plucked up heart, these two youthful wayfarers, firmlybelieving that God would take care of their father and all thosewho were working in the cause of mercy and charity in the greatcity, and that they could leave the issues of these things in Hishands. 

Since the day was very hot, and they were somewhat weary with theirlong walk and short night, they lay down at noontide in a littlewood, not more than three miles from their aunt's house inIslington, and there they slept again, with Fido at their feet, until the sun was far in the west, and they were ready to finishtheir journey in the cool freshness of the evening. 

They had come by no means the nearest way, but had fetched a widecircuit, so as to avoid, as far as possible, all regions ofoutlying houses. Time was no particular object to them, so thatthey reached their destination by nightfall; and now they werequite in the open country, and delighting in the pure air and therural sights and sounds. 

Yet even here all was not so happy and smiling as appeared from theface of nature. The corn was standing ripe for the sickle, but intoo many districts there were not hands enough to reap it. Onebeautiful field of wheat which the brothers passed was shedding thegolden grain from the ripened ears, and flocks of birds weregathering it up. When they passed the farmstead they saw the reasonfor this. Not a sign of life was there about the place. No cattlelowed, no dog barked; and an old crone who sat by the wayside witha bundle of ripe ears in her lap shook her head as she saw thewondering faces of the boys, and said:

"All dead and gone! all dead and gone! Alive one day--dead thenext! The plague carried them off, every one of them, harvest handsand all. They say it was the men who came to cut the corn thatbrought it. But who can tell? They got yon field in"--pointing toone where the golden stubble was to be seen short and compact--"buthalf were dead ere ever it was down; and then the sickness fellupon the house, and of those who did not fly not one remains. Lordhave mercy upon us! We be all dead men if He come not to our aid. Who knows whose turn may come next?"

Truly the shadow of death seemed everywhere. But the boys were soused to dismal tales of wholesale devastation that one more or lessdid not seem greatly to matter. Perhaps the contrast was the moresharp out here between the smiling landscape and the silent, shut-up house; but the chief fear which beset them was lest theirkind aunt should have been taken by death, in which case theyscarcely knew what would become of themselves. 

They hastened their steps as they entered the familiar lane wherenestled the thatched cottage in which their aunt had her abode. Mary Harmer was their father's youngest and favourite sister. Onceshe had made one of the home party on the bridge; but that was longbefore the boys could remember. That was in the lifetime of theirgrandparents, and before the old people resigned their business tothe able hands of their son James, and came into the country tolive. 

The grandfather of Joseph and Benjamin had built this cottage, andhe and his wife had lived in it from that time till the day oftheir death. Their daughter Mary remained still in the pretty, commodious place--if indeed she had not died during the time of thevisitation. The children all loved their Aunt Mary, and esteemed avisit to her house as one of the greatest of privileges. 

Benjamin, who was rather delicate, had once passed six monthstogether here, and was called by Mary Harmer "her boy. " He grewexcited as he marked every familiar turn in the shady lane; andwhen at last the thatched roof of the rose-covered cottage came insight, he uttered a shout of excitement and ran hastily forward. 

The diamond lattice panes were shining with their accustomedcleanliness. There was no sign of neglect about the bright littlehouse. The door stood open to the sunshine and the breeze; and atthe sound of Benjamin's cry, a figure in a neat cotton gown andlarge apron appeared suddenly in the doorway, whilst a familiarvoice exclaimed: "Now God be praised! it is my own boy. Two ofthem! Thank Heaven for so much as this!" and running down thegarden path, Mary Harmer folded both the lads in her arms, tearscoursing down her cheeks the while. 

"God bless them! God bless them! How I have longed for news of youall! What news from home bring you, dear lads? I tremble almost toask, but be it what it may, two of you are alive and well; and intimes like these we must needs learn to say, 'Thy will be done!'"

"We are all alive, we are all well!" cried Joseph, hastening torelieve the worst of his aunt's fears. "Some say ours is almost theonly house in London where there be not one dead. I scarce know ifthat be true. One or two of us have been sick, and some say thatJanet and Dan have both had a touch of the distemper; but they soonwere sound again. They all go about amongst the sick. Father hasbeen one of the examiners all the time through; and though theyonly appoint them for a month, he will not give up his office. Hesays that so long as he and his family are preserved, so long willhe strive to do his duty towards his fellow men. There be many likehim--our good Lord Mayor for one; and my Lord Craven, who will notfly, as almost all the great ones have done, but stays to help togovern the city wisely, and to see that the alms are distributedaright to the poor at this season. 

"But there was naught for us to do. We were too young to be bearersor searchers, and boys cannot tend the sick. So we grew weary pastbearing of the shut-up house, and yestereve our father gave usleave to sally forth and seek news of thee, good aunt. And oh, weare right glad to find ourselves out of the city and safe withthee!"

Joseph spoke on, because Mary Harmer was weeping so plenteouslywith joy and gratitude that she had no words in which to answerhim. She had not dared to hope that she should see again any of thedear faces of her kinsfolk. True, the distemper was yet ragingfiercely, and none could say when the end would come; but it wasmuch to know that they had lived in safety through these manyweeks. It seemed to the pious woman as though God had given her asort of pledge of His special mercy to her and hers, and that Hewould not now fail them. 

She led the boys into her pretty, cheerful cottage, and set themdown to the table, where she quickly had a plentiful meal setbefore them. Fido's pathetic story was told, and he was caressedand fed in a fashion that altogether won his heart. He made themall laugh at his method of showing gratitude; for he walked up tothe fire before which a bit of meat was cooking, and plainlyintimated his desire to be allowed to turn the spit if they wouldgive him the needful convenience. This being done by the handyBenjamin, he set to his task with the greatest readiness, and theboys quite forgot all their sorrowful thoughts in the entertainmentof watching Fido turn the spit. 

Long did they sit at table, eating with the healthy appetite ofgrowing lads, and answering their aunt's minute questions as to thewelfare of every member of the household. Greatly was sheinterested in the home for desolate children provided by LadyScrope, and ordered by her nieces and Gertrude. She told the boysthat her house had often been used to shelter homeless anddestitute persons, whom charity forbade her to send away. Just nowshe was alone; but even then she was not idle, for all round in theopen fields and woods persons of all conditions were livingencamped, and some of these had hardly the necessaries of life. Outof her own modest abundance, Mary Harmer supplied food and clothingto numbers of poor creatures, who might otherwise be in danger ofperishing; and she bid the boys be ready to help her in her labourof love, because she had ofttimes more to do than one pair of handscould accomplish, and her little serving girl had run off in alarmthe very first time she opened her door to a poor sick lady with aninfant in her arms, who had escaped from the city only to die outin the country. It was not the plague that carried her off, butlung disease of long standing, and the infant did not survive itsmother many days. 

"But it frightened Sally away, poor child, just as if it had beenthe sickness; and I have since heard that she was taken with it amonth ago in her own home, and that every one there died withinthree days. These be terrible times! But we know they are sent byGod, and that He will help us through them; and surely, I think, itcannot be His will that we turn a deaf ear to the plaints of theafflicted, and think of naught but our own safety. I have work andenough to do, and will find you enough to fill your hands, boys. Itwas a happy thought indeed which sent you two hither to me. "

CHAPTER XI. LOVE IN DIFFICULTIES. 

"It means that I am a ruined man, my poor girl!"

"Ruined! O father, how can that be? Methought you were a man ofmuch substance. Mother always said so. "

Gertrude looked anxiously into the careworn face of her father, which had greatly changed during the past weeks. He paid heroccasional visits in her self-chosen home, being one of those whohad ceased to fear contagion, and went about almost withoutprecaution, from sheer indifference to the long-continued peril. Hehad been a changed man ever since the melancholy deaths of his sonand his wife; but today a darker cloud than any she had seen therebefore rested upon his brow, and the daughter was anxious to learnthe reason of it. This it was which had wrung from the MasterBuilder the foregoing confession. 

"Your poor mother was partly right, and partly wrong. I might havebeen a rich man, I might be a rich man even now--terrible as is thestate of trade in this stricken city--had it not been that shewould have me adventure beyond my means in her haste to see mewealthy before my fellows. And the end of it is that I stand heretoday a ruined man!"

Gertrude held in her arms a little child, over whom she bent fromtime to time to assure herself that it slept. Her face had grownpale and thin during her long confinement between the walls of thishouse; yet it was a happier and more contented face than it hadbeen wont to be in the days when she lived in luxurious idleness ather mother's side. She looked many years older than she had donethen, but there was a beauty and sweet serenity about herappearance now which had not been visible in the days of old. 

"What has happened during this sad time to ruin you, dear father?"asked Gertrude gently, guessing that it would ease his heart totalk of his troubles. "Is it the sudden stoppage of all trade?"

"That has been serious enough. It would have done much harm hadthat been the only thing, but there be many, many other causes. Thou art too young and unversed in the ways of business tounderstand all; but I was not content to grow rich in the course ofbusiness alone. I had ventures of all sorts afloat--on sea and onland; and through the death of patrons, through the sudden stoppageof all trade, numbers and numbers of these have come to no good. Mymoney is lost; my loans cannot be recovered. Men are dead or fledto whom I looked for payment. Half-finished houses are thrown backon my hands, since half London is empty. And poor Frederick's debtsare like the sands upon the seashore. I cannot meet them, but Icannot let others suffer for his imprudence and folly. The oldhouse on the bridge will have to go. I must needs sell it so soonas a purchaser can be found. It may be I shall have to hand it overto one of Frederick's creditors bodily. I had thought to end mydays there in peace, with my children's children round me. But theAlmighty is dealing very bitterly with me. Wife and son are takenaway, and now the old home must follow!"

Gertrude, who knew his great love for the house in which he hadbeen born, well understood what a fearful wrench this would be, andher heart overflowed with compassion. 

"O father! must it be so? Is there no way else? Methought you hadstores of costly goods laid by in your warehouses. Surely the saleof those things would save you from this last step!"

The Master Builder smiled a little bitterly. 

"Truly is it said that wealth takes to itself wings in days ofadversity. I myself thought as you do, child--at least in part; andtoday I visited my warehouses, to look over my goods and see whatthere were to fetch when men will dare to buy things which havelain within the walls of this doomed city all these months. I hadthe keys of the place. I myself locked them up when the plagueforced me to close my warehouse and dismiss my men. I saw all madesure, as I thought, with my own eyes. But what think you I foundthere today?"

"O father! what?" asked Gertrude, and yet she divined the answerall too well; for she had heard stories of robbery and daringwickedness even during this season of judgment and punishment whichprepared her for the worst. 

"That the whole place had been plundered; that there was nothingleft of any price whatever. Thieves have broken in during this timeof panic, and have despoiled me of the value of thousands ofpounds. Whilst my mind has been full of other matters, my worldlywealth has been swept away. I stand here before you a ruined man. And like enough the very miscreants who have used this time ofpublic calamity for plunder and lawlessness may be lying by thistime in the common grave. But that will not give my property backto me. "

"Alas, father, these are indeed evil days! But has no watch beenkept upon the streets that such acts can be done by the evildisposed? Is all property in the city at the mercy of the violentand wicked?"

"Only too much has vanished that same way, as I have heard frommany. Some owners are themselves gone where they will need theirvaluables no more, and others were careful to remove all they hadto their own houses, or they themselves lived over their goods andcould guard them by their presence. That is where my error lay. Igave your mother her will in this. She liked not the shop beneath, and I stored my goods elsewhere. Poor woman, she is dead and gone;we will speak no hard things of her weaknesses and follies. But hadshe lived to see this day, she had grievously lamented her resolveto have naught about her to remind her of buying and selling. "

"Ah, poor mother! I often think it was the happiest thing for herto be taken ere these fearful things came to pass. The terror wouldwell nigh have driven her distracted. Methinks she would have diedof sheer fright. But, father, is all lost past recovery? Can noneof the watch or of the constables tell you aught, or help you torecover aught?"

"Ah, child, in these days of death, who is to know so much as whereto carry one's questions? Watchmen and constables have died andchanged a score of times in the past two months. The magistrates dotheir best to keep order in the city, but who can fight against theodds of such a time as this? The very men employed as watchmen maybe the thieves themselves. They have to take the services of almostany who offer. It is no time to pick and choose. I carried my storyto the Lord Mayor himself, and he gave me sympathy and pity; but tolook for the robbers is a hopeless task. It is most like that theplague pits have received them ere now. The mortality in the lowerparts of the city is more fearful than it has ever been, and itseems as though the summer heats would never end. Belike I shall betaken next, and then it will matter little that my fortune hastaken unto itself wings. "

Gertrude came and bent over him with a soft caress. 

"Say not so, dear father. God has preserved us all this while. Letus not distrust His love and goodness now. "

"It might be the greater mercy, " answered the Master Builder in adepressed voice. "I am too old to start life again with nothing butmy broken credit for capital. As for you, child, your future isassured. I could leave you happy in that thought. You would wantfor nothing. "

Gertrude raised her eyes wonderingly to her father's face. She hadlaid the sleeping child in its cot, and had taken a place at herfather's feet. 

"What mean you, father?" she asked. "I have only you in the wideworld now. If you were to die, I should be both orphaned anddestitute. What mean you by speaking of my future thus? Whom have Iin the wide world besides yourself?"

The father passed his hand over her curly hair, and answered with asigh and a smile:

"Surely, child, thou dost know by this time that the heart ofReuben Harmer is all thine own. He worships the very ground onwhich thou dost tread. His father and I have spoken of it. Fortunehas dealt more kindly with our neighbours than with me. Good JamesHarmer has laid by money, while I have adventured it rashly in thehope of large returns. This calamity has but checked his work forthese months; when the scourge is past, he will reopen businessonce more, and will find himself but little the poorer. He is awiser man than I have been; and his wife and sons have all beenhelpful to him. The love of Reuben Harmer is my assurance for thyfuture welfare. Thou wilt never want so long as they have a roofover their heads. 

"Nay, now what ails thee, child? Why dost thou spring up and lookat me like that?"

For Gertrude's usually tranquil face was ablaze now with all mannerof conflicting emotions. She seemed for a moment almost tooagitated to speak, and when she could command herself there weretraces of great emotion in her voice. 

"Father, father!" she cried, "how can you thus shame me? You mustknow with what unmerited scorn and contumely Reuben was treated bypoor mother when it was we who were rich and they who were (in herbelief, at least) poor. She would scarce let him cross thethreshold of our house. I have tingled with shame at the way inwhich she spoke of and to him. Frederick openly insulted him atpleasure. Every slight was heaped upon him; and he was once told tohis very face that he might look elsewhere for a wife, for that myfortune was to win me the hand of some needy Court gallant. Yes, father, I heard with my own ears those very words spoken--save thatthe term 'needy' was added in mine own heart. Oh, I could haveshrunk into the earth with shame. And after all this, after allthese insults and aspersions heaped upon him in the day of ourprosperity--am I to be made over to him penniless and needy, without a shilling of dowry? Am I to be thrown upon his generosityin my hour of poverty, when I was denied to him in my day ofsupposed wealth?

"Father, father! I cannot, I will not permit it. I can work for myown bread if needs must be. But I will not owe it to the generosityof Reuben Harmer, after all that has passed. I should be humbled tothe very dust!"

The Master Builder looked at his daughter in amaze. He had neverseen Gertrude quite so moved before. 

"Why, child, " he exclaimed in astonishment. "I always thought thatthou hadst a liking for the youth!"

Then at that word Gertrude burst suddenly into tears and cried:

"I love him as mine own soul, and I am not ashamed to own it. Butthat is the very reason why I will have none of him now. I will notbe thrown upon his generosity like a bundle of damaged goods. Lethim seek a wife who can bring him a modest fortune with her, andwho has never been scornfully denied to him before. O father! canyou not see that I can never consent to be his now?

"O mother, mother! why did you do me this ill?"

The father felt that the situation had got beyond him. Never muchversed in the ways of women, he was fairly puzzled by hisdaughter's strange method of taking his confidence. He knew, ofcourse, of the tactics of his wife, which he had deplored at thetime, though he had been unable to bring her to a better frame ofmind; but since the young people liked each other, and since madamwas in her grave, it seemed absurd to let a shadow stand betweenthem and their happiness. Perhaps if left to herself Gertrude wouldreach that conclusion of her own accord, and the Master Builderrose to go without pressing the matter further. 

Gertrude, left alone, was weeping silently and bitterly beside thechild's cot, when she was aware of a little short laugh almost ather elbow, and a familiar voice said in sharp accents:

"Good child! I like a woman with a spirit of her own. Go on as youhave begun, and don't let him think he is to have it all his ownway. Lovers are all very well, but husbands soon show their wiveshow cheap they hold them when they have won them all too cheap. Throw him aside in scorn! Let him not think or see that you care asnap of the fingers for him. That will rivet the fetters all thefaster; and when you have got him like a tame bear at the end of achain--why then you can make up your mind at leisure what you willend by doing. "

Gertrude sprang up suddenly, and faced Lady Scrope with flushedcheeks and glowing eyes. 

The little witch-like woman with her black-handled stick and hermobcap was no unfrequent visitor to this shut-up house. There was acommunication between the two dwellings by means of a door in thecellars, and all this while curiosity, or some better motive, hadprompted the eccentric old woman to come to and fro between her ownluxurious house and this, paying visits to the devoted girls, andby turns terrifying and charming the children. Gertrude had beeninterested from the first by the piquant individuality of the oldaristocrat, and was a decided favourite with her. It was plain nowthat she had been listening to the conversation between father anddaughter, a thing so characteristic of her curiosity and even ofher benevolence that Gertrude hardly so much as resented it. Nevertheless, having a spirit of her own, and being by no meansprepared to be dictated to in these matters, some hot words escapedher lips almost before she knew, and were answered by Lady Scropeby an amused peal of her witch-like laughter. 

"Tut! tut! tut! Hoity toity! but she is in a temper, is she, mylady? Well a good thing too. Your saints are insipid unless theycan call up a spice of the devil on occasion! Oh, don't you beafraid of me, child. I've known all about you and young Harmer thislong time. I agree with your late mother, that you could do better;but with all the world topsy turvy as it is now, we must take whatwe can get; and that young man is estimable without doubt, and abit of a hero in his way. I don't blame you for loving him. It'sthe way with maids, and will be to the end of time, I take it. AllI say is, don't throw yourself away too fast. Show a proper pride. Keep him dangling and fearing, rather than hoping too much. Showhim that he can't have you just for the asking. Why, child, I havekept a dozen fools hanging round me for a twelvemonth togethersometimes; but I only married when I was tired of the game, andwhen I knew I had made sure of a captive who would not rebel. Iswore in church to obey poor Scrope; but, bless you, he obeyed melike a lamb to the last day of his life--and was all the better forit. "

Lady Scrope's reminiscences and bits of worldly wisdom were notmuch more to Gertrude's taste than her father's had been. It wasnot pride, but a sense of humiliation and shame, which kept herfrom facing the thought of marriage with Reuben now that she waspoor, when she had been scornfully denied to him when she wasthought to be a well-dowered maiden. The idea of keeping himdangling after her in suspense was about the last that would everhave entered her head. Her feeling was one of profound humiliationand unworthiness. Her mother's bitter words could never beforgotten by her; and after what her father had told her of hisruined state, it appeared to her simply impossible that she shouldlet Reuben take possession of her and her future when she couldbring nothing in return. 

But she could not speak of these things to Lady Scrope; and findingher favourite irresponsive and reserved, the dame shrugged hershoulders and passed on to another room, where the children weresoon heard to utter shrieks and gasps of mingled delight and terrorat the stories she told them, which stories invariably fascinatedthem to an extraordinary degree, yet left them with a sense ofundefined horror that was half delightful, half terrible. 

They all thought that she was a witch, and that she could spiritany of them away to fairy land. But since she brought sweetmeats inher capacious pockets, and had an endless fund of stories at herdisposal, her visits were always welcomed, and she had certainlyshown herself capable of a most unsuspected benevolence at thiscrisis, in presenting this house to the authorities for such apurpose, and in contributing considerably to the maintenance of thedesolate little inmates. 

She liked to hear their dismal stories almost as well as they likedto hear hers. She made a point of visiting every fresh batch ofchildren, after they had been duly fumigated and disinfected, andshe seemed to take a horrible and unnatural delight in the ghastlydetails of desolation and death which were revealed in the artlessnarratives of the children. 

She was one of those who, knowing much of the fearful corruption ofthe times, were fond of prognosticating this judgment as a sweepingaway of the dregs of the earth; although she still maintained thathad the water supply been purer and differently arranged, thejudgment of Heaven would have had to seek another medium. 

For three or four days Gertrude lived in a state of feverishexpectancy and subdued excitement. She had fancied from herfather's tone in speaking that there had been some talk of abetrothal between him and his neighbour, and that Reuben might takeher consent for granted. The idea made her restless and unhappy. She wished the ordeal of refusing him over. She believed she wasright in taking this step; but it was a hard one, and she wassometimes afraid of her own courage. The more she thought of thematter the more she convinced herself that Reuben's love was one ofcompassion rather than true affection. He had almost ceased hisattentions in her mother's lifetime, and had been very reserved inhis intercourse of late. Doubtless if he heard of her father'sruin, generosity would make him strive to do all that he could forher in her changed circumstances. It would be like him then to stepforward and avow himself ready to marry her. But it was out of thequestion for her to consent. She wished the matter settled and donewith; she wished the irrevocable words spoken. 

And yet when at dusk one evening Reuben suddenly stood before her, she felt her heart beating to suffocation, and wished that she hadany reasonable excuse for fleeing from him. 

His visits to the house were not frequent; he was too busy to makethem so. But from time to time he brought orphaned children to thehome of shelter, or took away from it some of those for whom otherhomes had been found with their kinsfolk in other places. Tonighthe had brought in three little destitute orphans; but having giventhem over into the care of his sisters, he went in search ofGertrude, who was with the youngest of the children in a separateroom, and, having sung them all to sleep, was sitting in the windowthinking her own thoughts. 

She knew what was coming when she saw Reuben's face, and bracedherself to meet it. Reuben was very quiet and self-restrained--soself-restrained that she thought she read in his manner anindication that her suspicion was correct, and that it was pityrather than love which prompted his proposal of marriage. 

As a matter of fact Reuben was more in love with Gertrude now thanhe had ever been in his life before; but he had come to look uponher as a being so far above him in every respect that he sometimesmarvelled at himself for ever hoping to win her. The fact that herfather was just now a ruined man seemed to him as nothing. At atime like this the presence or absence of this world's goodsappeared absolutely trivial. Reuben believed that the MasterBuilder would retrieve his fortune in better times withoutdifficulty, and regarded this temporary reverse as absolutelyinsignificant. Therefore he had no clue to Gertrude's motive in herrejection of him, and accepted it almost in silence, feeling thatit was what he always ought to have looked for, and marvelling athis temerity in seeking the hand of one who was to him more angelthan woman. 

He said very little; he took it very quietly. It seemed to him asthough all the life went out of him, and as though hope died withinhim for ever. But he scarcely showed any outward emotion as he roseand said farewell; and little did he guess how, when he had gone, Gertrude flung herself on the floor in a passion of tears andsobbed till the fountain of her weeping was exhausted. 

"I was right! I was right! It was not love; it was only pity! Butah, how terrible it is to put aside all the happiness of one'slife! Oh I wonder if I have done wrong! I wonder if I could betterhave borne it if I had humbled myself to take what he had to offer, without thinking of anything but myself!"

Would he come again? Would he try to see her any more? Would thisbe the end of everything between them? Gertrude asked herself thesequestions a thousand times a day; but a week flew by and he had notcome. She had not seen a sign of him, nor had any word concerninghim reached her from without. There was nothing very unusual in this, certainly; and yet as day after day passed by without bringing him, the girl felt her heart sinking within her, and would have givenworlds for the chance of reconsidering her well-considered judgment. 

How the days went by she scarcely knew, but the next event in herdream-like life was the sudden bursting into the room of Dorcas, her face flushed, and her eyelids swollen and red with weeping. 

Dorcas was a member of Lady Scrope's household, but paid visitsfrom time to time to the other house. Also, as Lady Scrope's housewas not shut up, she could go thence to pay a visit home at anytime, and she had just come from one such visit now. 

Gertrude sprang up at sight of her, asking anxiously:

"Dorcas! Dorcas! what is wrong?"

"Reuben!" cried Dorcas, with a great catch in her breath, and thenshe fell sobbing again as though her heart would break. 

Gertrude stood like one turned to stone, her face growing as whiteas her kerchief. 

"What of Reuben?" she asked, in a voice that she hardly knew forher own. "He is not--dead?"

"Pray Heaven he be not, " cried Dorcas through her sobs; and then, with a great effort controlling herself, she told her brief tale. 

"I went home at noon today and found them all in sore trouble. Reuben has not been seen or heard of for three days. Mother saysshe had a fear for several days before that that something wasamiss; he looked so wan, and ate so little, and seemed like one outof whom all heart is gone. He would go forth daily to his work, buthe came home harassed and tired, and on the last morning shethought him sick; but he said he was well, and promised to comehome early. Then she let him go, and no one has seen him since. 

"Oh, what can have befallen him? There seems but one thing tobelieve. They say the sickness is worse now than ever it was. People drop down dead in street and market, and soon there will benone left to bury them. That must have been Reuben's fate. He hasdropped down with the infection upon him, and if he be not lying insome pest house--which they say it is death now to enter--he mustbe lying in one of those awful graves. 

"O Reuben! Reuben! we shall never see you again!"

CHAPTER XII. EXCITING DISCOVERIES. 

Joseph and Benjamin found themselves exceedingly happy andexceedingly well occupied in their aunt's pleasant cottage. Theyrose every morning with the lark, and spent an hour in settingeverything to rights in the house, and sweeping out every room withscrupulous care, as their mother had taught them to do at home, believing that perfect cleanliness was one of the greatestsafeguards against infection. Hot and close though the weatherremained, the air out in these open country places seemed deliciousto the boys, and the freedom to run out every moment into the openfields was in itself a privilege which could only be appreciated bythose who had been long confined within walls. 

Sometimes they were alone in the house with their aunt. Sometimesthe cottage harboured guests of various degrees--travellers fleeingfrom the doomed city in terror of the fearful mortality there, orpoor unfortunates turned away from their own abodes because theywere suspected of having been in contact with the sick, and wererefused admittance again. Servant maids were often put in thismelancholy plight. They would be sent upon errands by theiremployers to the bake house or some other place; and perhaps erethey were admitted again they would be closely questioned as towhat they had seen or heard. Sometimes having terrible and dolefultales to tell of having seen persons fall down in the agonies ofdeath almost at their feet, terror would seize hold upon theinmates of the house, who would refuse to open the door to one whomight by this time be herself infected. And when this was the case, the forlorn creature was forced to wander away, and generally triedto find her way out of the city and into the country beyond. Manysuch unlucky wights, having no passes, were turned back by theguardians of the road; but some succeeded in evading these men, orelse in persuading them, and many such unfortunates had found restand help and shelter beneath Mary Harmer's charitable roof. 

September was now come, but as yet there was no abatement of thepestilence raging in the city. Indeed the accounts coming in of thevirulence of the plague seemed worse than ever. Ten thousand deathswere returned in the weekly bill for the first week alone, andthose who knew the state of the city were of opinion that not morethan two-thirds of the deaths were ever really reported to theauthorities. Hitherto the carts had never gone about save by night, and for all that was rumoured by those who loved to make the worstof so terrible a calamity, it was seldom that a corpse lay about inthe streets for above a short while, just until notice of itspresence there was given to the authorities. 

But now it seemed as though nothing could cope with the fearfulincrease of the mortality. The carts were forced to work by day aswell as by night; and so virulent was now the pestilence that thebearers and buriers who had hitherto escaped, or had recovered ofthe malady and thought themselves safe, died in great numbers. Sothat there were tales of carts overthrown in the streets by reasonof the drivers of them falling dead upon their load, or ofdriverless horses going of their own accord to the pits with theirload. 

These terrible tales were reported to Mary Harmer and her nephewsby the fugitives who sought refuge with her at this time. And verythankful did the lads feel to be free of the city and its terrors, albeit they never forgot to offer up earnest prayer for theirfather and mother and all their dear ones who were dwelling in themidst of so much peril. There was no hope of hearing news of them, save by hazard, whilst things were like this; but they trusted thatthe precautions taken, and hitherto successfully, would avert thepestilence from their dwelling, and for the rest the boys were toowell employed to have time for brooding. 

When their daily work at home was done, there were always errandsof mercy to be performed to neighbours who had had sickness athome, or to the persons encamped in the fields, who were verythankful of any little presents of vegetables or eggs or othernecessaries; whilst others of larger means were glad to buy fromthose who came to sell, and gave good money for the accommodation. 

Mary Harmer had a large and productive garden and a large stock ofpoultry, so that she was able both to sell and to give largely; andthe boys thought that working in the garden and looking after thefowls was the best sort of fun possible. They were exceedinglyuseful to her, and she kept them out of danger without fretting orcurbing their eager spirit of usefulness. Of course, no person inthose days could act with unselfish charity and not adventuresomething; but she took all reasonable precautions, and, like herbrother, trusted the rest to Providence. And she believed that theboys were safer with her, even though not so closely restrained, than they would have been had they remained in the infected city, where the people now seemed to be dying like stricken sheep. 

But the spirit of curiosity and love of adventure were not deadwithin the hearts of the boys; and although for some weeks theywere fully contented in performing the duties set them by theiraunt, there were moments when a strong curiosity would come overthem for some greater sensation, and this it was which led them toan act of disobedience destined to be fraught with importantconsequences, as will soon be seen. 

Mary Harmer's house was empty again, and she had promised to sit upfor a night with a sick woman who lived some two miles off, and whohad entreated her to come and see her. This was no case of plague, but fear of the infection had become so strong by this time thatthe sick were often rather harshly treated, and sometimes almostentirely neglected, by those about them. Mary Harmer had heard thatthis poor creature had been left alone by her son's wife, who hadtaken away her children and refused to go near her. Mary knew thather presence there for a while, and her assurances as to the natureof the malady, would be most likely to bring the woman to reason, so she decided to go and remain for one whole night, and she lefther own cottage in the charge of the boys, bidding them take careof everything, and expect her back again on the followingafternoon. 

They were quite happy all that evening, seeing to the poultry, andrunning races with Fido in the leafy lane. They liked theimportance of the charge of the house, although they missed thegentle presence of their aunt. They shut up the house at dark, andprepared their simple supper, and whilst they were eating it, Benjamin said:

"What shall we do tomorrow when we have finished our work?"

"I know what I should like to do, " said Joseph promptly. 

"What, brother?" asked Benjamin eagerly. 

"Marry, what I want to do is to go and see that farm house hard byClerkenwell which they have turned into a pest house, and wherethey say they have dozens of plague-stricken people brought indaily. I have never seen a pest house. I would fain know what itlooks like. And we might get more news there of the truth of thosethings that they say about the plague in the city. Ben, what sayestthou?"

Ben's eyes were round with wonder and excitement. The boys had allthe careless daring and eager curiosity which belong to boy nature. They were by this time so much habituated to living underconditions of risk and a certain amount of peril, that a littlemore or a little less did not now seem greatly to matter. 

"Would our good aunt approve?" asked the younger boy. 

"I trow not, " answered Joseph frankly; "women are always timid, andshe would say, perchance, that unless duty called us it werefoolish to adventure ourselves into danger. But I would fain seethis place, Ben, boy. If in time to come we live to be men, andfolks ask us of these days of peril and sickness, I should like tohave seen all that may be seen of these great things. Our fatherwent many times to the pest houses within the city and came away noworse. Why should thou or I suffer? We have our vinegar bottles andour decoctions, and methinks we know enough now not to run needlessrisks. "

Benjamin was almost as eager and curious as his brother. The spiritof adventure soon gets into the hearts of boys and runs riot there. Before they went to bed they had fully decided to make theexcursion; and they rose earlier next morning so as to get alltheir work done while it was yet scarce light, so that they mightstart for their destination before the heat of the day came on. 

It was pleasant walking through the dewy fields, and hard indeedwas it to imagine that death and misery lurked anywhere in theneighbourhood of what was so smiling and gay. The boys knew whatpaths to take, nor was the distance very great. Benjamin on hisformer visit to his aunt had spent a day with the good people atthis very farm house. Now, alas, all had been swept away, and theplace had been taken possession of for the time being by theauthorities, to be used as a supplementary pest house, where thehomeless sick could be temporarily housed. Generally it was but fora few hours or a couple of days that such shelter was needed. Thegreat common grave, barely a quarter of a mile away, received dayby day the great majority of the unfortunate ones who were broughtin. 

In all London proper there were only two pest houses used at thistime, one on some fields beyond Old Street, and the other inWestminster; but as the virulence of the distemper increased, andthe suburbs became so terribly infected, and such numbers ofpersons fleeing this way and that would fall stricken by thewayside, it became necessary to find places of some sort where theycould be received, and the authorities began to take possession ofempty houses--generally farmsteads standing in a convenient butisolated position--and to use them for this melancholy purpose. Itcould not be expected that even the most charitable would receiveplague-stricken wayfarers into their own families, nor would such athing be right. Yet they could not remain by the wayside to die andinfect the air. So they were removed by the bearers appointed tothat gruesome work to these smaller pest houses, and only too oftenfrom thence to the pit in the course of a few hours. 

"How pretty it all looks!" said Benjamin, as they approached theplace. "See, Joseph, those are the great elm trees where the rooksbuild, and which I used to climb. When they cut the hay, I cameoften and rolled about in it and played with the boys from thefarm. To think that they should all be dead and gone! Alack! whatstrange times these be! It seems sometimes as though it were all adream!"

"I would it were!" said Joseph, sobered by the thought of theirnear approach to the habitation of death. "Ben, wouldst thou ratherturn back and see no more? We have at least seen the outside of apest house. Shall that suffice us?"

"Nay, if we have come so far, let us go further, " answeredBenjamin. "We have seen naught but the tiled roof and the greengarden. Come this way. There is a little gate by which we may gainentrance to a side door. Perchance they will turn us back if weseek to enter at the front. "

The farm house looked peaceful enough nestling beneath itssheltering row of tall elms, in the midst of its wild garden, now amass of autumnal bloom. But as they neared the house the boys hearddismal sounds issuing thence--the groans of sufferers beneath thehands of the physicians, who were often driven to use what seemedcruel measures to cause the tumours to break--the only chance ofrecovery for the patient--the shriek of some maddened or deliriouspatient, or the unintelligible murmur and babble from a multitudeof sick. Moreover, they inhaled the pungent fumes of the burningdrugs and vinegar which alone made it possible to breathe theatmosphere tainted by so much pestilential sickness. The boys heldtheir own bottles of vinegar to their noses as they stole towardsthe house, feeling a mingling of strong repulsion and strongcuriosity as they approached the dismal stronghold of disease. 

Although men were in these days becoming almost reckless, and thosewho actually nursed and tended the sick were naturally lesscautious and less particular than others, yet it is probable thatthe daring boys might have been turned back had they approached thehouse by the ordinary entrance, for they certainly could notprofess to have business there. As it was, however, thanks toBenjamin's knowledge of the place, not a creature observed theirquiet approach through the orchard and along a tangled garden path. This path brought them to a door, which stood wide open in thissultry weather, in order to let a free current of air pass throughthe house, and they inhaled more strongly still the aromaticperfumes, which were not yet strong enough entirely to overcomethat other noisome odour which was one of the most fatal means ofspreading infection from plague-stricken patients. 

"We can get into the great kitchen by this door, " whisperedBenjamin. "I trow they will use it for the sick; it is the biggestroom in all the house. Yonder is the door. Shall I open it?"

Joseph gave a sign of assent, but bid his brother not speakneedlessly, and keep his handkerchief to his mouth and nose. Theyhad both steeped their handkerchiefs in vinegar, and could inhalenothing save that pungent scent. 

Burning with curiosity, yet half afraid of their own temerity, theboys stole through a half-open door into a great room lined withbeds. The sound of moans, groans, shrieks, and prayers drowned allthe noise their own entry might have made, and they stood in theshadow looking round them, quite unnoticed in the general confusionof that busy home of death. 

There were perhaps a score or more of sufferers in the great room, and two nurses moving about amongst them, quickly and in none tootender a fashion. A doctor was also there with a young man, hisassistant; and at some bedsides he paused, whilst at others he gavea shake of the head, and went by without a word. Indeed it seemedto the boys as though almost a quarter of the patients were deadmen, they lay so still and rigid, and the purple patches upon thewhite skin stood out with such terrible distinctness. 

A man suddenly put in his head from the open door at the other endand asked of anybody who could answer him:

"Room for any more here?"

And the doctor's assistant, looking round, replied:

"Room for four, if you will send and have these taken away. "

Almost immediately there came in two men, who bore away fourcorpses from the place, and in five minutes more the beds were fullagain, and the nurses were calculating how soon it would bepossible to receive more, some now here being obviously in a dyingstate. The bearers reported that the outer barn was full as well asall the house; but those without invariably died, whilst a portionof those brought in recovered. 

Joseph and Benjamin had seen enough for their own curiosity. It wasa more terrible sight than they had anticipated, and they felt agreat longing to get out of this stricken den into the purer airwithout. Joseph had laid a hand on his brother's arm to draw himaway, when he was alarmed by seeing his brother's eyes fixed uponthe far corner of the room with such an extraordinary expression ofamaze and horror, that for a moment he feared he must have beensuddenly stricken by the plague and was going off into the awfuldelirium he had heard described. 

A poignant fear and remorse seized him, lest he had been the meansof bringing his brother into this peril and having caused hisattack, if indeed it were one, and he pulled him harder by the armto get him away. But with a strange choked cry Benjamin broke fromhim, and running across the room he flung himself upon his knees bythe side of a bed, crying in a lamentable voice:

"Reuben--Reuben--Reuben!"

It was Joseph's turn now to gaze in horror and dismay. Could thatbe Reuben--that cadaverous, death-like creature, with the lividlook of a plague patient, lying like one in a trance which can onlyend in the awakening of death? Was Benjamin dreaming? or was itreally their brother? But how could he by any possibility be here, so far away from home, so utterly beyond the limits of his owndistrict?

The doctor had approached Benjamin and had pulled him back from thebedside quickly, though not unkindly. 

"What are you doing here, child?" he said. "Have we not enough uponour hands without having sound persons mad enough to seek to add tothe numbers of the sick? Is he a relation of yours?

"Well, well, well, he will be looked after here better than you cando it. Your brother? Well, he has been four days here, and is oneof those I have hope for. The tumours have discharged. He issuffering now from weakness and fever; but he might get well, especially if we could move him out of this pestilential air. Gohome, children, and tell your friends that if they have a place totake him to he will not infect them now, and will have a betterchance. But you must not linger here. It may be death to you;though it is true enough that many come seeking their friends whogo away and take no hurt. No one can say who is safe and who isnot. But get you gone, get you gone. Your brother shall be welllooked to, I say. We have none so many who recover that we canafford to let those slip back for whom there is a chance!"

He had pushed the boys by this time into the garden, and wasspeaking to them there. He was a kind man, if blunt, and habit hadnot bred indifference in him to the sufferings of those about him. He told the boys that one of the strangest features about theplague patients was the rapid recovery they often made when oncethe poison was discharged by the breaking of the swellings, and therapidity with which the infection ceased when these broken tumourshad healed. Reuben's case had seemed desperate enough when he wasbrought in, but now he was in a fair way of recovery. If he couldbe taken to better air, he would probably be a sound man quickly. Even as he was, he might well recover. 

The boys looked at each other and said with one voice that theythought they knew of a house where he would be received, and gotleave to remove him in a cart at any time. The doctor then hurriedback to his work, whilst the brothers looked each other in theface, and Benjamin said gravely:

"Methinks it must have been put into our hearts to go. Aunt Marywill forgive the temerity when she hears of the specialProvidence. "

Their aunt was at no great distance off, as Benjamin knew. Insteadof going home, they found their way to a brook. Pulling off theirclothes, they proceeded to drag them over the sweet-scented meadowgrass. Then they plunged into the brook, and enjoyed a delightfulpaddle and bath in the clear cool water. After rolling themselvesin the hot grass, and having a fine romp there with Fido, theydonned their garments, and felt indeed as though they had got ridof all germs of infection and disease. 

After this they made their way towards the cottage where their aunthad been staying, and met her just sallying forth to return home. 

Without any hesitation or delay Joseph told the tale of theirhardihood and disobedience, and the strange discovery to which ithad led them; and although their aunt trembled and looked pale withterror at the thought of how they had exposed themselves, she didnot stop to chide them, but was full of anxiety for the immediaterelease of Reuben from his pestilential prison, and eager to havehim to nurse in her own house, if she could do this without risk tothe younger boys. 

They were to the full as eager as she, and promised in everythingto obey her--even to the sleeping and living in an outhouse for afew days, if only she would save Reuben from that horrible pesthouse. None knew better than Mary Harmer, who was a notable nurseherself, how much might now depend upon pure air, nourishing food, and quiet; and how could her nephew receive much individual carewhen cooped up amongst scores, if not hundreds, of desperate cases?

Mary was so much beloved by all around, that she quickly found afarmer willing to lend a cart even for the purpose of removing asick person from the pest house, if he bore the honoured name ofHarmer. She would not permit any person to accompany the cart, butdrove it herself, and sent the boys home to prepare the airiestchamber and make all such preparations as they could think ofbeforehand; and to remove their own bedding into the outhouse, tillshe was assured that they were in no peril from the presence oftheir brother indoors. 

Eagerly the boys worked at these tasks, and everything was inbeautiful order when the cart drove up. One of the attendants fromthe pest house had come with it, and he carried Reuben up to thebed made ready for him, and drove the cart away, promising todisinfect it thoroughly, and return it to the owner ere nightfall. 

It was little the eager boys saw of their aunt that day. She wasengrossed by Reuben the whole time. She said he was terribly weak, and that he had not yet got back the use of his faculties. He layin a sort of trance or stupor, and did not know where he was orwhat was happening. It came from weakness, and would pass away ashe got back his strength. The doctor had assured her that theplague symptoms had spent themselves, and that he was free from thecontagion. 

The boys slept in the shed that night tranquilly enough, and in themorning their aunt came to them with a grave and sorrowful face. 

"Is he worse?" asked Benjamin starting up. 

"Not worse, I hope, yet not better. He has some trouble on hismind, and I fear that if we cannot ease him of that he will die, "and her tears ran over, for Reuben was dear to her as a nephew, andshe knew what store her brother set by his eldest son. 

"Trouble! what trouble? Are any dead at home?" cried the boysanxiously. "Can he speak? has he talked to you? Tell us all!"

"He has not talked with his senses awake, but he has spoken wordswhich have told me much. Death is not the trouble. He has not saidone word to make me fear that our loved ones have been taken. Thetrouble is his own. It is a trouble of the heart. It concerns onewhose name is Gertrude. Is not that the name of Master Mason'sdaughter?"

"Why, yes, to be sure. She has joined with the rest--with Janet andRebecca--to care for the orphan children whom none know what to dowith, there are such numbers of them. Reuben always thought a greatdeal of Mistress Gertrude--and she of him. What of that?"

"Does she think much of him?" asked Mary eagerly. "I feared she hadflouted his love!"

"Nay, she worships the ground he treads on!" cried Joseph, who hada very sharp pair of eyes of his own, and a great liking forsweet-spoken Gertrude himself. "It was madam, her mother, whoflouted Reuben. Gertrude is of different stuff. Why, whenever shewas with us she would get me in a corner and talk of nothing buthim. I thought they would but wait for the plague to be overpast towed each other!"

Mary stood with her hands locked together, thinking deeply. 

"Joseph, " she said, "if it were a matter of saving Reuben's life, think you that Mistress Gertrude would come hither to my house andhelp me to nurse him back to health?"

Joseph's eyes flashed with eager excitement. 

"I am certain sure she would!" he answered. 

"Ah, but how to let her know!" cried Mary, pressing her handstogether in perplexity. "Alas for days like these! How shall anyone get a letter safely delivered to her in time? It may be that ifwe tarry the fever will have swept him off. It is fever of the mindrather than the body, and it is hard to minister to the minddiseased, without the one healing medicine. "

"Hold! I have a plan, " cried Joseph, whose wits were sharpened bythe pressing nature of the business in hand; "listen, and I willexpound it. Tomorrow morning I will sally forth with a barrow ladenwith eggs, vegetables, and fruit; and I will enter the city as oneof the country folks for the market, with whom none interfere atthe barriers. I will e'en sell my goods to whoever will buy them, and at the bottom of the barrow thou shalt put one of thy cottongowns and market aprons, Aunt Mary. Then will I go to MistressGertrude and tell her all. I shall learn of the welfare of those athome, and will come back with her at my side. The watch will buttake her for a market woman, and we shall both pass unchecked andunhindered. By noon tomorrow Gertrude shall be here!

"Nay, hinder me not, good aunt. We must all adventure ourselvessomewhat in this dire distress and peril. Sure, if Providence keptme safe in yon pest house yesterday, I need not fear to return tothe city upon an errand of mercy such as may save my brother'slife!"

CHAPTER XIII. HAPPY MEETINGS. 

"Reuben found! Reuben alive! O Joseph, Joseph, Joseph!" and Dorcasburst into tears of joy and relief, and sobbed aloud upon herbrother's neck. 

Joseph had brought his news straight to Dorcas, knowing that she atleast would be certainly found within Lady Scrope's house. He wassecretly afraid to go home first, lest the fatal red cross upon thedoor should tell its tale of woe, or lest the whole house itselfshould be shut up and desolate, like the majority of the houses hehad passed in the forlorn city that morning. He felt, however, analmost superstitious confidence that Lady Scrope's house would defythe infection. He was decidedly of the opinion that thatredoubtable dame was a witch, and that she had charms which keptthe plague at bay. He therefore first sought out the sister withwhom he felt certain he could obtain speech; and she had drawn himinto a little parlour hard by the street door, in greatastonishment at seeing him there, and fearful at first (as folkshad grown to be of late) that he was the bearer of evil tidings. 

The joy and relief were therefore so great that she could notrestrain her tears, and between laughing, crying, and repeating inastonished snatches the words of explanation which fell fromJoseph's lips, she made such an unwonted commotion in theordinarily silent house, that soon the tap of a stick could havebeen heard by ears less preoccupied coming down the stairs andalong the passage, and the door was pushed open to admit the littleupright figure of the mistress of the house. 

"Hoity toity! art thou bereft of thy senses, child? What infortune's name means all this?

"Boy, who art thou? and what dost thou here? A brother, forsooth!Come with some news, perchance? Well, well, well; how goes it inthe city? Are any left alive? They say at the rate we are goingnow, it will take but a month more to destroy the city even asSodom was destroyed!"

"O madam, " cried Dorcas dashing away her tears, and turning aneager face towards the witch-like old woman, who in her silk gown, hooped and looped up, her fine lace cap and mittens, and her ebonystick with its ivory head, looked the impersonation of a fairygodmother, "this is my brother Joseph, and he comes with welcometidings. My brother Reuben is not dead, albeit he has in truth beensmitten by the plague. Joseph found him yesterday in the pest housejust beyond Clerkenwell; and he is in a fair way to recover, if hismind can but be set at rest. 

"Oh what news this will be for our parents!--for the girls!--forGertrude! Oh how we have mourned and wept together; and now weshall rejoice with full hearts!"

"Has Mistress Gertrude mourned for him too?" asked Joseph eagerly. "Marry that is good hearing, for I have wondered all this whilewhether I should obtain the grace from her for which I have come. "

"And what is that, young man?" asked Lady Scrope, tapping her caneupon the ground as much as to say that in her own house she was notgoing to take a secondary place, and that conversation was to beaddressed to her. Joseph turned to her at once and answered:

"Verily, good madam, my aunt has sent me hither to fetch MistressGertrude forthwith to his side. She says that he calls ceaselesslyupon her, and that unless he can see her beside him he may yet dieof the disappointment and trouble, albeit the plague is stayed inhis case, and it is but the fever of weakness that is upon him. Shethinks it will not hurt her to come, if so be that it is as wehope, and that she has in her heart for him the same love as he hasfor her. "

"Oh, she has! she has!" cried Dorcas, fired with suddenillumination of mind about many things that perplexed her before. "Her heart is just breaking for him!

"Prithee, good madam, let me go and call her. They say that she isof little use in the house now, being weak and weeping, and too sadat heart to work as heretofore. They can well spare her on such anerrand, and methinks it will save her life as well as his. Let mebut go and tell her the news. "

"Go, child, go. Lovers be the biggest fools in all this world offools! And if the women be the bigger fools, 'tis but because theywere meant to be fitting companions for the men!

"Go to, child!--bring her here, and let us see what she says tothis mad errand of this mad boy. 

"And you, young sir, whilst your sister is gone, tell me all yousaw and heard in the pest house! Marry, I like your spirit in goingthither! It is the one place I long to see myself; only I am tooold to go gadding hither and thither after fine sights!"

Joseph was quite willing to indulge the old lady's morbid curiosityas to the sights he had seen yesterday and today, as he hadjourneyed back into the city in the guise of a market lad. Thethings were terrible enough to satisfy even Lady Scrope, who seemedto rejoice in an uncanny fashion over the awful devastation goingon all round. 

"I'm not a saint myself, " she said with unwonted gravity, "and Inever set up for one, but many has been the time when I have warnedthose about me that God would not stand aside for ever looking onat these abominations. The means were ready to His hand, and He hastaken them and used them as a scourge. And He will scourge thiswicked city yet again, if men will not amend their evil practices. "

Next minute Gertrude and Dorcas came running in together, andGertrude almost flung herself into Joseph's arms in her eagergratitude to him for his news, and her desire to hear everything hecould tell her. 

Such a clamour of voices then arose as fairly drowned any remarkthat Lady Scrope tried from time to time to throw in. Her old facetook a suddenly softened look as she watched the little scene, andheard the words that passed amongst the young people. Presently shewent tapping away on her high-heeled shoes, and was absent for someten or fifteen minutes. When she came back she held in her hands asmall iron-bound box, which seemed to be very heavy for its size. 

"Well, " she asked in her clear, sharp tones, "and what is going tobe done next?"

"O madam, I am going to him. I can do naught else, " answeredGertrude, whose face was like an April morning, all smiles andtears blended together. "I cannot let him lie wanting me andwearying for me. "

"Humph! I thought you had shown yourself a girl of spirit, and hadsent him about his business when he came a-wooing, eh?"

"O madam, I did so. I thought that duty bid me; but I have repentedso bitterly since! They say that 'twas since then he fell into themelancholy which was like to make him fall ill of the distemper. Oh, if he were to die, I should feel his blood on my head. I shouldnever hold it up again. I cannot let anything keep me from him now. I must go to him in my poverty and tell him all. He must be thejudge!"

Lady Scrope uttered a little snort, although her face bore nounkindly look. 

"Child, child, thou art a veritable woman! I had thought betterthings of thee, but thou art just like the rest. Thou wilt gladlylie down in the dust, so as the one man shall trample upon thee, whilst thou dost adore him the more for it. Go to! go to! Maids andlovers be all alike. Fools every one of them! But for all that Ilike thee. I have an old woman's fancy for thee. And since in thesedays none may reckon on seeing the face of a departing friendagain, I give now into thine hands the wedding gift I have had inmine eyes for thee. 

"Nay, thank me not; and open it not save at the bedside of thybetrothed husband--if thou art fool enough to betroth thyself toone who as like as not will die of the plague before the week isout. 

"And now off with you both. If you tarry too long, the watch willnot believe you to be honest market folks, and will hinder yourflight. Good luck go with you; and when ye be come to the cityagain--if ever that day arrive--come hither and tell me all thetale of your folly and love. Although a wise woman myself, I have awondrous love of hearing tales of how other folks make havoc oftheir lives by their folly. "

Gertrude took the box, which amazed her by its weight, andsuggested ideas of value quite out of keeping with what she had anyreason to expect from one so little known to her as Lady Scrope. She thanked the donor with shy gratitude, and pressed the witheredhand to her fresh young lips. Lady Scrope, a little moved despiteher cynical fashion of talking, gave her several affectionatekisses; and then the other girls came in to see the last of theircompanion, and to charge her with many messages of love for Reuben. 

Joseph during this interval darted round to his father's house, toexchange a kiss with his mother and tell her the good news. It wasindeed a happy day for the parents to hear that the son whom theyhad given up for lost was living, and likely, under Gertrude'scare, to do well. They had not dared to murmur or repine. It seemedto them little short of a miracle that death had spared to them alltheir children through this fearful season. When they believed onehad at last been taken, they had learned the strength and courageto say, "God's will be done. " Yet it was happiness inexpressible toknow that he was not only living, but in the safe retreat of MaryHarmer's cottage, and under her tender and skilful care. 

So used were they now to the thought of those they loved caring forthe sick, that they had almost ceased to fear contagion soencountered. It appeared equally busy amongst those who fled fromit. They did not even chide Joseph for the reckless curiosity whichhad led the boys to adventure themselves without cause in thefashion that had led to such notable results. 

When Joseph returned to Lady Scrope's, it was to find Gertrudearrayed in the clothes provided for her, and looking, save for herdainty prettiness, quite like a country girl come in withmarketable wares. Such things of her own as she needed for hersojourn, together with Lady Scrope's precious box, were put intothe barrow beneath the empty basket and sacks. Then with manyaffectionate farewells the pair started forth, and talking eagerlyall the while, took their way through the solitary grass-grownstreets, away through Cripplegate, and out towards the pleasanterregions beyond the walls. 

Joseph sought to engross his companion in talk, so that she mightnot see or heed too much the dismal aspect of all around them. Hehimself had seen a considerable difference in the city between thetime he and Benjamin had left it and today. In places it almostseemed as though no living soul now remained; and he observed thatfoot passengers in the streets went about more recklessly thanbefore, with a set and desperate expression of countenance, asthough they had made up their minds to the worst, and cared littlewhether their fate overtook them today or a week hence. 

Gertrude's thoughts, however, were so much with Reuben, that sheheeded but little of what she saw around her. She spoke of himincessantly, and begged again and again to hear the story of how hehad been found. Her cheek flushed a delicate rose tint each timeshe heard how he had called for her ceaselessly in his delirium. That showed her, if nothing else could convince her of it, how trueand disinterested his love was; that it was for herself he hadalways wooed her, and not for any hope of the fortune she had atone time looked to receive from her father as her marriage dowry. 

When they had passed the last of the houses, and stood in the sunnymeadows, with the blue sky above them and the songs of birds intheir ears, Gertrude heaved a great sigh of relief, and her eyesfilled with tears. 

"O beautiful trees and fields!" she cried; "it seems as thoughnothing of danger and death could overshadow the dwellers in suchfair places. "

"So Benjamin and I thought, " said Joseph gravely; "but, alas, theplague has been busy here, too. See, there is a cluster of housesdown there, and but three of them are now inhabited. The pestilencecame and smote right and left, and in some houses not one was leftalive. Still death seems not so terrible here amid these smilingfields as it does when men are pent together in streets and lanes. And the dead at first could be buried in their own gardens by theirfriends, if they could not take them to the churchyards, which soonrefused to receive them. Many were thus saved from the horror ofthe plague pit, which they so greatly dreaded. But I know notwhether it is a wise kindness so to bury them; for there werehamlets, I am told, where the plague raged fearfully, and where theliving could scarce bury the dead. "

Gertrude sighed; death and trouble did indeed seem everywhere. Buteven her sorrow for others could not mar her happiness in theprospect of seeing Reuben once again; and as they neared the place, and Joseph pointed out the twisted chimneys and thatched roofpeeping through the sheltering trees and shrubs, the girl could notrestrain her eager footsteps, and flew on in advance of hercompanion, who was retarded by his barrow. 

The next minute she was eagerly kissing Benjamin (who, togetherwith Fido, had run out at the sound of her footsteps), and sheddingtears of joy at the news that Reuben was no worse, that there werenow no symptoms of the plague about him, but that he was perilouslyweak, and needed above all things that his mind should be set atrest. 

At the sound of voices Mary Harmer came softly downstairs from thesick man's side, and divining in a moment who the stranger was, took her into a warm, motherly embrace, and thanked her again andagain for coming so promptly. 

"Nay, it is I must thank thee for letting me come, " answeredGertrude between smiles and tears. "And now, may I not go to him? Iwould not lose a moment. I am hungry for the sight of his livingface. Prithee, let me go!"

"So thou shalt, my child, in all good speed; but just at thismoment he sleeps, and thou must refresh thyself after thy long, hotwalk, that thou mayest be better able to tend him. I will not keepthee from him, be sure, when the time comes that thou mayest go tohim. "

Joseph at that moment came up with the barrow, and Gertrude foundthat it was pleasant and refreshing to let Mary Harmer bathe herface and hands and array her in her own garments. And then she satdown to a pleasant meal of fresh country provisions, which tastedso different from anything she had eaten these many long weeks. 

The boys, who as a precautionary measure were keeping away from thehouse itself until it should be quite certain that their brotherwas free from infection, took their meal on the grass plot outside, and enjoyed it mightily. 

The whole scene was so different from anything upon whichGertrude's eyes had rested for long, that tears would rise unbiddenin them, though they were tears of happiness and gratitude. The dogFido took to her at once, and showed her many intelligentattentions, and was so useful altogether in fetching and carryingthat his cleverness and docility were a constant source ofamusement and wonder to all, and gave endless delight to the boys, who spent all their spare time in training him. 

Then just when the afternoon shadows were beginning to lengthen, and the light to grow golden with the mellow September glow, Gertrude was softly summoned to the pleasant upper chamber, whichsmelt sweetly of lavender, rose leaves, and wild thyme, wherebeside the open casement lay Reuben, in a snow-white bed, his facesadly wasted and white, and his eyes closed as if in the lassitudeof utter weakness. 

Mary gave Gertrude a smile, and motioned her to go up to him, whichshe did very softly and with a beating heart. He did not appear tonote her footfall; but when she stood beside him, and gently spokehis name, his eyes flashed open in a moment, and fixed themselvesupon her face, their expression growing each moment more clear andcomprehending. 

"Gertrude!" he breathed in a voice whose weakness told a tale ofits own, and he moved his hand as though he would fain ascertain bythe sense of touch whether or not this was a dream. 

She saw the movement, and took his hand between her own, kneelingdown beside the bed and covering it with kisses and tears. 

That seemed to tell him all, without the medium of words. He askedno question, he only lay gazing at her with a deep contentment inhis eyes. He probably knew not either where he was, or how any ofthese strange things came to pass. She was with him; she was hisvery own. Of that there could be no manner of doubt. And that beingso, what did anything else matter? He lay gazing at her perfectlycontented, till he fell asleep holding her hand in his. 

That was the beginning of a steady if rather a slow recovery. Itwas only natural indeed that Reuben should be long in regainingstrength. He had been through months of fatigue and arduous wearingtoil, and the marvel was that when the distemper attacked him inhis weakness and depression he had strength enough to throw it off. As Mary Harmer said, it seemed sometimes as though those who wentfearlessly amongst the plague stricken became gradually inoculatedwith the poison, and were thus able to rid themselves of it when itdid attack them. Reuben at least had soon thrown off his attack, and the state of weakness into which he had fallen was less theresult of the plague than of his long and arduous labours before. 

How he ever came to be in the pest house of Clerkenwell he nevercould altogether explain. He remembered that business had calledhim out in a northwesterly direction; and he had a dim recollectionof feeling a sick longing for a sight of the country once more, andof bending his steps further than he need, whilst he fancied he hadentertained some notion of paying a visit to his aunt, and makingsure that his brothers had safely reached her abode. That wasprobably the reason why he had come so far away from home. He hadbeen feeling miserably restless and wretched ever since Gertrudehad refused him, and upon that day he had an overpowering sense ofillness and weariness upon him, too. But he did not rememberfeeling any alarm, or any premonition of coming sickness. He hadgrown so used to escaping when others were stricken down all round, that the sense of uncertainty which haunted all men at thecommencement of the outbreak had almost left him now. It could onlybe supposed that the fever of the pestilence had come upon him, andthat he had dropped by the wayside, as so many did, and had beencarried into the farm house by some compassionate person, or by oneof the bearers whose duty it was to keep the highways clear of suchobjects of public peril. But he knew nothing of his own condition, and had had no real gleam of consciousness, until he opened hiseyes in his aunt's house to find Gertrude bending over him. 

There was no shadow between them now. Gertrude's surrender was ascomplete as Lady Scrope had foreseen. She used now to laugh withReuben over the sayings of that redoubtable old dame, and wonderwhat she would think of them could she see them now. The box shehad entrusted to Gertrude had been given into Mary Harmer's carefor the present, till Reuben should be strong enough to enjoy theexcitement of opening it. But upon the first day that saw him downin the little parlour, lying upon the couch that had been madeready to receive him, Joseph eagerly clamoured to have the boxbrought down and opened; and his wish being seconded by all, MaryHarmer quickly produced it, and it was set upon a little table atthe side of the couch. 

"Have you the key?" asked Reuben of Gertrude, and she produced itfrom her neck, round which it had been hanging all this while by asilken cord. 

"It felt almost like a love token, " she said with a little blush, "for she told me I was not to open it save at the side of mybetrothed husband!"

Now, amid breathless silence, she fitted the key into the lock andraised the lid. That disclosed a layer of soft packing, which, whenremoved, left the contents exposed to view. 

"Oh!" cried Joseph and Benjamin in tones of such wonder that Fidomust needs rear himself upon his hind legs to get a peep, too; buthe was soon satisfied, for he saw nothing very interesting in theyellow contents of the wooden box, which neither smelt nice norwere good for food. But the lovers looked across at each other inspeechless amazement. 

For the box was filled to the brim with neatly piled heaps ofgolden guineas--the first guineas ever struck in this country; socalled from the fact that they were made of Guinea gold broughtfrom Africa by one of the trading companies, and first coined inthe year 1662. And a quick calculation, based upon the counting ofone of these upright heaps, showed that the box contained fivehundred of these golden coins, which as yet were only just cominginto general circulation. 

"Oh, " cried Gertrude in amaze, "what can she have done it for? Andthey call Lady Scrope a miser!"

"Misers often have strange fancies; and Lady Scrope has always beenone of the strangest and most unaccountable of her sex, " saidReuben. "I cannot explain it one whit. It is of a piece with muchof her inscrutable life. All we can do is to give her our gratitudefor her munificence. She has neither kith nor kin to wrong by herstrange liberality to thee, sweet Gertrude; nor can I marvel thatshe should have come to love thee so well. Sweet heart, this moneywill purchase the house upon the bridge which thy father tells ushe is forced to sell. I had thought that I would buy it of him forour future home. But thou hast the first claim. At least, now theplace is safe. What is mine is thine, and what is thine is mine, and we will together make the purchase, and give him a home with usbeneath the old roof. 

"Will that make you happy, dear heart? Methinks it will please LadyScrope that her golden hoard should help in such an act of filiallove!"

And Gertrude could only weep tears of pure happiness on her lover'sshoulder, and marvel how it was that such untold joy had come toher in the midst of the very shadow of death. 

CHAPTER XIV. BRIGHTER DAYS. 

"The plague is abating! the plague is abating! The bills were lowerby two thousand last week! They say the city is like to go mad withjoy. I would fain go and see what is happening there. Prithee, goodaunt, let me e'en do so much. I shall take no hurt. Methinks, having escaped all peril heretofore, I may be accounted safe now. "

This was Joseph's eager petition as he rushed homewards after astroll in the direction of the town one evening early in October. There had been rumours of an improvement in the health of the cityfor perhaps ten days now, notwithstanding the fearful mortalityduring the greater part of September. Therefore were the weeklybills most eagerly looked for, and when it was ascertained that themortality had diminished by two thousand (when, from the number ofsick, it might well have risen by that same amount), it did indeedseem as though the worst were over; and great was the joy whichJoseph's news brought to those within the walls of that cottagehome. 

Yet Mary Harmer was wise and cautious in the answer she gave to theeager boy. 

"Wait yet one week longer, Joseph; for we may not presume uponGod's goodness and mercy, and adventure ourselves without causeinto danger. The city has been fearfully ravaged of late. The veryair seems to have been poisoned and tainted, and there are streetsand lanes which, they say, it is even now death to enter. Thereforewait yet another week, and then we will consider what is safe to bedone. Right glad should I be for news of your father and mother;but we have been patient this long while, and we will be patientstill. "

"Our good aunt is wise, " said Reuben, who looked wonderfully betterfor his stay in fresh country air, albeit still rather gaunt andpale. "It is like that this good news itself may lead men to besomewhat reckless in their joy and confidence. We will not movetill we have another report. Perchance our father may be able tolet us know ere long of his welfare and that of the rest at home. "

All through the week that followed encouraging and cheering reportsof the abatement of the plague were heard by those living on theoutskirts of the stricken city; and when the next week's billshowed a further enormous decrease in the death rate, Mary Harmerpermitted Joseph to pay a visit home, his return being eagerlywaited for in the cottage. He came just as the early twilight wasdrawing in, and his face was bright and joyous. 

"It is like another city, " he cried. "I had not thought there couldbe so many left as I saw in the streets today. And they went aboutshaking each other by the hand, and smiling, and even laughingaloud in their joy. And if they saw a shut-up house, and nonelooking forth from the windows, some one would stand and shoutaloud till those within looked out, and then he would tell them thegood news that the plague was abating; and at that sound many poorcreatures would fall a-weeping, and praise the Lord that He hadleft even a remnant. "

"Poor creatures!" said Mary Harmer with commiseration; "it has beena dismal year for thousands upon thousands!"

"Ay, verily. I cannot think that London will ever be full again, "said the boy. "There be whole streets with scarce an inhabitantleft, and we know that multitudes of those who fled died of thepestilence on the road and in other places. But today there was nomemory for the misery of the past, only joy that the scourge wasabating. It is not that many do not still fall ill of thedistemper, but that they recover now, where once they would havedied. And whereas three weeks back they died in a day or two days, now even if so be as they do die, it takes the poison eight or tendays to kill them. The physicians say that that is because themalignity of the distemper is abating, wherefore men scarce fear itnow, and come freely abroad, not in despair, as they did when itwas so virulent a scourge, but because they fear it so much lessthan before. "

"And our parents and those at home?" asked Reuben eagerly. 

"All well, though something weary and worn; but it is wondrous howthey have borne up all through. Father says that he will comehither to see us all the first moment he can. His duties are liketo have a speedy end; and he is longing for a sight of Reuben'sface, and of something better than closed houses and the wan facesof the sick or the mourners. "

"Poor brother James!" said Mary softly; "I would that he and hiswould leave the city behind for a while, and remain under my roofto recover their strength and health. It must have been a sorelytrying time. Think you that they could leave the house together?For we would make shift to receive them all, an they could come. "

This was a most delightful idea to all the party. The hospitablecottage had plenty of rooms, although many of these were but atticsbeneath the thatched roof, none too light or commodious. In summerthey might have been too warm and stuffy to be agreeable sleepingplaces, but in the cooler autumn they would be good enough forhardy young folks brought up simply and plainly. 

Joseph and Benjamin at once dashed all over the place, making plansfor the housing of the whole party. It would be the finest end to amelancholy period, being all together here in this homelike place. 

Everything was duly arranged in the hopes of winning the father'sconsent to the scheme. Mary Harmer hunted up stores of bedding andlinen, the latter of her own weaving, and every day they waitedimpatiently for the appearing of James Harmer, who, however, wasunaccountably long in making his appearance. 

He came at last, but it was with a sorrowful face and a bowed lookwhich told at once a story of trouble, and made the whole partystand silent, after the first eager chorus of welcome, certain thathe was the bearer of bad news. 

"My poor boy Dan!" he said in a choked voice, and sat himselfheavily down upon the chair beside the hearth. 

"Dan!" cried Reuben, and the word was echoed by all the brothers intones of varying surprise and dismay. "You do not mean that he isdead!"

"Taken to the plague pit a week ago. Just when all the world isrejoicing in the thought that the distemper is abating. Dr. Hookerspoke truly when he said that the confidence of the people was liketo be a greater peril than the disease itself. For those who aresick now come openly abroad into the streets, no longer afraid forthemselves or others, and thus it has come about that no man knowswhether he is safe, and my poor boy has been taken. "

Sad indeed were the faces of all, and the two little boys weredissolved in tears, as their father told how poor Dan had fallensick, and had succumbed on the fourth day to the poison. 

"Dr. Hooker said that he was worn out with his unceasing labours, else he would not have died, " said the sorrowful father. "He hadtreated many worse cases even when things were worse, and broughtthem round. But Dan was worn out with all he had been doing for thepast months. He fell an easy prey; and he did not suffer much, thank God. He lay mostly in a torpor, much as Reuben did, as Ihear, but slowly sank away. His poor mother! She had begun to thinkthat she was to have all her children about her yet. But in truthwe must not repine, having so many left to us, when they say thereis scarce a family in all the town that has not lost its two, three, or four at best!"

It almost seemed a more sorrowful thing to lose Dan just whenthings were beginning to look brighter, than it would have donewhen the distemper was at its height. But as the good man said, gratitude for so many spared ought to outweigh any repining forthose taken. After the first tears were shed, he gently checked inthose about him the inclination to mourn, saying that God knewbest, and had dealt very lovingly and bountifully with them; andthat they must trust His goodness and mercy all through, andbelieve that He had judged mercifully and tenderly in taking theirbrother from them. 

The sight of Reuben alive and well did much to assuage the father'sgrief; for there had been a time when he had not thought to lookupon the face of his firstborn in this life. He was also greatlypleased to learn that he had another daughter in the person ofgentle Gertrude, and he gladly undertook the negotiation of thepurchase of his neighbour's house, so that he should not know whothe purchaser was until the right moment came. 

Mary Harmer's proposal to take in the whole family for a spell offresh air and rest was gratefully accepted by the tired father. 

"I trow it would be the greatest boon for all of us, and may likelysave us from some peril, " he said, "for, as I say, men seem to begone mad with joy that the malignity of the plague is so greatlyabating, and that the houses are no longer closed. For my own part, I would they were closed yet a little longer; but the impatience ofthe people would not now permit it, and they having shownthemselves in the main docile and obedient these many months, mustbe considered now that the worst of the peril is past. When theplague was at its worst last month, there was of necessity somerelaxation of stringent measures, because there were times whenneither watchmen nor nurses could be found, and common humanityforbade us to close houses when the inhabitants could not gettendance in the prescribed way. Moreover, a sort of desperation wasbred in men's minds, and the fear was the less because that everyman thought his own turn would assuredly come ere long. So thatwhen of a sudden the bills began to decrease, it seemedunreasonable to be more strict than we had been just before. Moreover, it was found harder to restrain the people in their joythan in their sorrow; and so we must hope for the best, and trustthat the lessened malignity of the disease will keep down themortality. For that there will continue to be many sick for weeksto come we cannot doubt. As for myself, knowing and fearing all Ido, nothing would more please and comfort me than to bring my wifeand girls hither to this safe spot. I had not dared to think youcould take such a party, Mary; but since you have already madeprovision for us, why, the sooner we all get forth from the city, the better will it please me. "

Great was the joy in the cottage occasioned by this answer. Sorrowfor the loss of poor Dan was almost forgotten in joyfulpreparation. Dan had not been much at home for many years, onlycoming and going as his ship chanced to put into port in the riveror not. Therefore his loss was not felt as that of Reuben wouldhave been. It seemed a sad and grievous thing, after having escapedso many perils, to come to his death at last; but so many familieshad suffered such infinitely greater loss, that repining andmourning seemed almost wrong. And the thought of seeing all thehome faces once more was altogether too delightful to admit of muchadmixture of grief. 

"I wonder if Dorcas will come, " said Gertrude, as they hung aboutthe door awaiting the arrival which was expected every minute. 

Three days had now passed since James Harmer's first visit, and hewas to bring his wife and daughters in the afternoon, and stay thenight himself, returning on the morrow to transact some necessarybusiness, but spending much of his time with his family in thispleasant spot. 

Gertrude had offered to leave, if there were not room for her; butin truth she scarce knew where to go, since of her father she hadheard very little of late, and knew not how long his house would behis own. 

No one, however, would hear of such a thing as that she shouldleave them. She was already like a sister to the boys, and had inold days been as one to the girls. Moreover, as Mary Harmersometimes said, why should not she and Reuben be quietly marriedout here before they returned to the city, and then they could goback to their own house when all the negotiations had beencompleted and her father's mind relieved of its load of care?

"Why should Dorcas not come?" asked Mary quickly. "My brother spokeof bringing all. "

"I was wondering if Lady Scrope would be willing to spare her, " wasthe reply. "She is fond of Dorcas in her way, and is used to her. She might not be willing she should go, and she is very determinedwhen her mind is made up. "

"Yet I think she has a kind heart in spite of all her odd ways, "said Mary Harmer; "I scarce think she would keep the girl piningthere alone. But we shall see. My wonder would rather be if Janetand Rebecca could get free from the other house where the childrenare kept. "

"Father said that that house was to be emptied soon. The Lord Mayoris making many wise regulations for the support of those leftdestitute by the plague. Large sums of money kept flowing in allthe while the scourge lasted. The king sent large contributions, and other wealthy men followed his example. There be many widowsleft alone and desolate, and these are to have a sum of money andcertain orphan children to care for. All that will be settledspeedily; for who knows when my Lady Scrope's house may not bewanted by the tenant who ran away in such hot haste months ago? Itwill need purifying, too, and directions will shortly be issued, Itake it, for the right purification of infected houses. 

"My sisters will soon get their burdens off their hands. It is timethey had a change; they were looking worn and tired even before Ileft the city. "

"They are coming! they are coming! They are just here!" shoutedJoseph and Benjamin in one breath, coming rushing down from avantage post up to which they had climbed in one of the great elmtrees. "They must all be there--every one of them! It is like acaravan along the road; but I know it is they, for we saw fatherleading a horse, and mother was riding it--with such a lot of bagsand bundles!"

The next minute the caravan hove in sight through the windings ofthe lane, and three minutes later there was such a confusion ofwelcomes going on that nothing intelligible could be said on eitherside; nor was it until the whole party was assembled round thetable in Mary Harmer's pleasant kitchen, ready to do justice to thegood cheer provided, that any kind of conversation could beattempted. 

The sisters felt like prisoners released. They laughed and cried asthey danced about the garden in the twilight, stooping down to laytheir faces against the cool, wet grass, and drinking in thescented air as though it were something to be tasted by palate andtongue. 

"It is so beautiful! it is so wonderful!" they kept exclaiming oneto the other, and the quaint, rambling cottage, with its barefloor, and simple, homely comforts, seemed every whit as charming. 

Dorcas was there, as well as Janet and Rebecca; and the threesisters, together with Gertrude, were to share a pair of atticswith a door of communication between them. 

They were delighted with everything. They kept laughing and kissingeach other for sheer joy of heart; and although a sigh, and amurmur of "Poor Dan! if only he could be here!" would break atintervals from one or another, yet in the intense joy of thismeeting, and in the sense of escape from the city in which they hadbeen so long imprisoned, all but thankfulness and delight mustneeds be forgotten, and it was a ring of wonderfully happy facesthat shone on Mary Harmer at the supper board that night. 

"This is indeed a kindly welcome, sister, " said Rachel, as she satat her husband's right hand, looking round upon the dear faces shehad scarce dared hope to see thus reunited for so many weary weeks;"I could have desired nothing better for all of us. Thou canstscarcely know how it does feel to be free once more, to be able togo where one will, without vinegar cloths to one's face, and tofeel that the air is a thing to breathe with healing and delight, instead of to be feared lest there be death in its kiss! Ah me! Ithink God does not let us know how terrible a thing is till Hischastening hand is removed. We go on from day to day, and He givesus strength for each day as it comes; but had we known at thebeginning what lay before us, methinks our souls would have wellnigh fainted within us. And yet here we are--all but one--safe andsound at the other side!"

"I truly never thought to see such fearful sights, and to comethrough such a terrible time of trial, " said Dinah very gravely. She was one of the party included in Mary Harmer's hospitableinvitation, and looked indeed more in need of the rest and changethan any of the others. Her brother had had some ado to get her toquit her duties as nurse to the sick even yet, but it was notdifficult now to get tendance for them, and she felt so greatly theneed of rest that she had been persuaded at last. 

"Many and many are the times when I have been left the only livingbeing in a house--once, so far as I could tell, the only livingthing in a whole street! None may know, save those who have beenthrough it, the awful loneliness of being so shut in, with nothingnear but dead bodies. And yet the Lord has brought me through, andonly one of our number has been taken. "

The mother's eyes filled with tears, but her heart was too thankfulfor those spared her to let her grief be loud. One after anotherthose round the table spoke of the things they had seen and heard;but presently the talk drifted to brighter themes. Gertrude askedeagerly of her father, and where he was and what he was doing; andMary Harmer asked if he would not come and join them, if her housecould be made to hold another inmate. 

"He is well in health, but looks aged and harassed, " was the answerof the father. "He has had sad losses. Half-finished houses havebeen thrown back on his hands through the death of those who hadcommenced them; he has been robbed of his stores of costlymerchandise; and poor Frederick's debts have mounted up to a greatsum. Now that people are flocking back into the city, and businessis reviving once more, he will have to meet his creditors, and canonly do this by the sale of his house. I saw him yesterday, andtold him I had heard of a purchaser already; whereat he was rightglad, fearing that he might be long in selling, since men mightfear to come back to the city, and whilst there were so manyhundreds of houses left empty. If he can once get rid of his loadof debt, he can strive to begin business again in a modest way. But, to be sure, it will be long before any houses will need to bebuilt; the puzzle will be how to fill those that are left empty. Ifear me he will find things hard for a while. But if he has a homewith you, my children, and if we all give what help we can, I doubtnot that little by little he may recover a part of what he haslost. He will be wise not to try so many different callings. If hehad not had so many ventures afloat in these troubled times, hewould not now have lost his all. "

"That was poor mother's wish, " said Gertrude softly; "she wanted tobe rich quickly for Frederick's sake. I used to hear father tellher that the risk was too great; but she did not seem able tounderstand aright. I do not think it was father's own wish. "

"That is what I always said, " answered James Harmer heartily; "andI trow things will be greatly better now, if once trade makes astart again. As for us, we have lost a summer's trade, but, beyondthat, all has been well with us. We have had the fewer outgoings, and so soon as the gentry and the Court come back again we shall beas busy as ever. The plague has done us little harm, for we had nogreat ventures afloat to miscarry, and had money laid by againstany time of necessity. "

That evening, before the party retired to rest, the father gatheredhis children and all the household about him, and offered a ferventthanksgiving for their preservation during this time of peril. After that they all separated to their own rooms, and the girls satlong together ere they sought their couches, talking, as girls willtalk, of all that had happened to them, and of the coming marriageof Gertrude and their brother, over which they heartily rejoiced. 

"I must e'en let Lady Scrope know when it is to be, " said Dorcas, "if I can make shift to do so. I trow she would like to be there. She has taken a wondrous liking to thee, Gertrude, and she says shehas a fine opinion of Reuben, too. I know not quite what she hasheard of him, but so it is. "

"I was fearful lest she should not be willing to spare thee, Dorcas, " said Gertrude with a caress, "but here thou art with therest. "

"Yes, she was wondrous good to us, " said Janet eagerly, "else Iscarce know how we could have come, for there were six childrenleft in the house, and no homes yet found for them to go to. Theywere the sickly ones whom we feared to part with, and father saidthey would strive to get places for them in the country. When weheard what our kind aunt wished, we saw not how we could leave thelittle ones; but Lady Scrope, she up and chid us well for silly, puling fools, who thought the world could not wag without our help. And then she sent out and got two nice, comfortable, honest widowwomen to live in the house with the children. And one of them had aneat-fingered daughter, who had been in good service till theplague sent her family into the country and she was packed offhome. Her she took for her maid, and sent Dorcas off with us. Sure, never was a sharper tongue and a kinder heart in one body together!I had never thought to like Lady Scrope one-tenth part as well as Ido. "

Those were happy days that followed. It was pure delight to thesisters to wander about the green fields and lanes, watching theplay of light and shadow there, hearing the songs of the birds, andseeing the gorgeous pageantry of autumn clothing the trees with allmanner of wondrous tints and hues. Reuben knew the neighbourhood bythat time, and was their companion in their rambles; and happy werethe hours thus spent, only less happy than the meetings round theglowing hearth or hospitable table later on, when the news of theday would be told and retold. 

James Harmer went frequently into the city to see after certainthings, and to ascertain that his own and his neighbour's houseswere safe. What he saw and heard there day by day made himincreasingly glad that big family had found so safe a retreat; forthere was still some considerable peril to the dwellers in thecity, owing, more than anything, to the utter carelessness of thepeople now that the immediate scare was removed. 

The same men who had shrunk away from all contact with even soundpersons six weeks ago, would now actually visit and hold conversewith those who had the disease upon them. Persons afflicted withtumours that were still active and therefore infectious would walkopenly about the streets, none seeming to object to their presenceeven in crowded thoroughfares. It seemed as though joy at theabatement of the pestilence had wrought a sort of madness in thebrains and hearts of the people. So long as the death ratedecreased, and the cases were no longer so fatal in character, there seemed no way of making the citizens observe properprecautions, and, as many averred, the malady increased and spread, although not in nearly so fatal a form, as it never need have donebut for the recklessness of the multitudes. 

One very sorrowful case was brought home to the Harmers, because ithappened to some worthy neighbours of their own who had livedopposite to them for many a year. 

When first the alarm was given that the plague had entered withinthe city walls, this man had hastily decided to quit London withhis wife and family and seek an asylum in the country, and hadearnestly urged the Harmers to do the same. For many months nothinghad been heard of them; but with the first abatement of the maladythe father had appeared, and had asked advice from Harmer as to howsoon he might bring home his family, who were all sound and well. His friend advised him to wait another month at least; but helaughed such counsel to scorn, and just before the Harmersthemselves started for Islington, their friends had settledthemselves in their old house opposite. 

Ten days later Harmer heard with great dismay that three of thechildren had taken the plague and had died. By the end of the weekthere was not one of the family alive save the unhappy man himself, and he went about like one distraught, so that his reason or hislife seemed like to pay the forfeit. 

It was no wonder, in the hearing of such stories as these--of whichthere were many--that Mary Harmer rejoiced to have her brother'shousehold safely housed and out of danger, and that she earnestlybegged them to remain with her at least until the merryChristmastide should be overpast. 

CHAPTER XV. A CHRISTMAS WEDDING. 

"I never thought to see daughter of mine wedded from the house of aneighbour, " said the Master Builder (whose title yet clung to him, albeit there was something of mockery in the sound), heaving a sighas he looked into the happy face of his child. "But a homeless manmust needs do the best he can; and our good friends have won theright to play the part of kinsfolk towards us both. "

"Indeed--indeed they have, dear father, " answered Gertrude; "thoucanst not think how happy I have been here in this sweet cottage, nor what a home it has been to us all these weeks. I shall bealmost loth to leave it on the morrow--at least I should be, wereit not for the great happiness coming into my life. But the home towhich Reuben will take me must be even dearer than this. And thouwilt come with us, sweet father, and make us happy by thypresence!"

"Ay, child, if thou wilt have the homeless old man who has managedhis affairs so ill as to have to start life afresh when he shouldbe thinking of resigning his work into other hands, and passing hisold age in peace and--"

But Gertrude stopped him with a kiss. 

"Thou art not old, father; and I trow before thou art, a peacefuland prosperous old age will be in store for thee. Whilst Reuben andI live, nothing shall lack to thee that filial love can bestow. Odearest father! methinks there are bright and happy days before usyet. "

"I trust so--I trust so, my child, for thee especially. For thoudost deserve them. Thou hast been a good daughter, and wilt make agood wife. "

"My heart misgives me sometimes that I was not always so tender adaughter to poor mother as I fain would have been. May God pardonme in whatever way I may have erred!"

"The error was more hers than thine, " answered the father with asigh; "and mine too, inasmuch as I checked her not early, as Iperchance might have done. She would have wed thee with some needyand perhaps evil-living gallant, who would have taken thee for thyfortune. Thou hast done far better to choose such an honest, godlyyouth as Reuben. He will make thee an excellent husband. "

"Ah, will he not!" said Gertrude, her face alight with tender love. "Poor mother did not understand what she was doing in striving tobanish him from the house. But methinks, in the land of spirits allthese things are seen aright; and that if it is permitted to thedead to know aught of what passes in the land they have leftbehind, she will be rejoicing with us today. "

"Heaven send it may be so! My poor wife, " and the father heaved agreat sigh of mixed feelings, "it is well she has not lived to seethis end to her schemings to be rich. At least she is spared theknowledge of her husband's ruin. "

"Nay, call it not that, dear father. Master Harmer says that thingsare beginning to look up again after the terrible visitation, andsurely your affairs will look up likewise. "

"In a measure, yes, " he answered. "I have at least sold the oldhouse for a better sum than I expected; and the purchaser hasbought all the rich furniture, save such things as I would not sellfor the sake of your poor mother. These I shall move shortly toyour home, my child. My good friend says that it is hard by hishouse, so the journey will not be a difficult one. "

"No, father, " answered Gertrude, with glowing cheeks. "And who hasbought the old Bridge house?"

"Nay, I have not even had the heart to ask. My good friend hascarried out the business for me from first to last. He has been thetruest friend man ever had. I have had naught to do but to sign thepapers and receive the purchase money. No doubt the pang of seeingothers living there will pass in time, but just now I care not evento think of it. "

Gertrude's face was still glowing a rosy red, but she turned theconversation at once. 

"And thou art getting together a little business again, father, onthe Southwark side of the river?"

"Yes; that again is by the advice of our good neighbour. He showedme that I could no longer afford the large buildings in the Chepe. He heard of these small premises going a-begging for a purchaser, all connected with them having perished in the plague. The smallsum left to me of the purchase money of the house, after my debtswere paid, sufficed to buy them; and now I have two steady workmenin my employ, instead of the scores I once had. But God be thanked, we have never been idle all these weeks. And it may be thatby-and-by, as confidence returns, I may get something of a businesstogether again. "

"Thou hast been purifying and disinfecting houses, they say, forthe wealthy ones of the city?"

"Ay; that was our good friend's thought. The Lord Mayor andauthorities issued general directions for this work; and Harmersuggested to me that I should print handbills offering to undertakethe purging of any house entrusted to me for a fixed fee. This Idid, and have had my hands full ever since. All the fine folks arecrowding back now that the cold weather has come, but no one caresto venture within his house till it has been purified by theburning of aromatic drugs and spices. The rich care not what theyspend, so that they are sure they are free from danger. As for thepoor, they do but burn tar or pitch or sulphur; and methinks thesedo just as well, save that the odour which hangs about is not sograteful to the senses. Yes, it was a happy thought of good JamesHarmer, and has put money in my pocket enough to enable me toundertake small building matters without borrowing. But I trow itwill be long ere any building is wanted in and about the city. There are too many empty houses left there for that. "

"Shall I see a wondrous change there when I go back, father?"

"A change, but a wondrous small one compared to what one wouldsuppose, " answered the father. "All men are amazed to see howquickly the streets have filled, and how little of change there isto note in the outward aspect of things. I had thought that halfthe houses would be left empty; but I think there be not more thanone-eighth without inhabitants, and these are filling up apace. Tobe sure, in the once crowded lanes and alleys there are far fewerpeople than before; but it is wonderful to see how small the changeis; and life goes on just as of old. It is as if the calamity wasalready half forgot!"

"Nay but, father, I trust it is not forgotten, and that men'sconsciences are stirred, and that they have taken to heart thewarning of God's just anger. "

The Master Builder slightly shook his head. 

"I fear not, child, I fear not. I hear the same oaths andblasphemies, the same ribald jests and ungodly talk, as of old. They say the Court, which has lately returned to Whitehall, is asgay and wanton as ever. In face of the terror of death, men didresolve to amend their ways; but I fear me, that terror being past, they do but make a mock of it, and return, like the sow inScripture, to their wallowing in the mire. "

Gertrude looked gravely sorrowful for a moment; but, on the eve ofher wedding day, she could not be sorrowful long. She and herfather were enjoying a talk together before she sought her couch. He had been unable to come earlier to see her, business mattershaving detained him in town. For the past two months he had been atwork with his task of purifying and setting in order the houses ofthe better-class people, for their return thither after the plague;and though he had sent many affectionate messages to his daughter, this was the first time for several weeks that they had met. Itcould not but rankle in the father's heart that, for the timebeing, he had no home to offer to his child. He had been stayingwith his good friend James Harmer all this while, who had left hiswife and family at Islington to regain their full health andstrength, while he spent his time between the Bridge house and thecottage. His business required his presence at home during a partof the week, since his shopmen and apprentices had alreadyreturned; but he would not permit his family to do so just yet, deeming it better for them to remain with his sister, and to enjoywith her a period of rest and refreshment which could never betheirs in the busy life of home. 

A happy Christmas had thus been spent; and now it was the eve ofGertrude's wedding day, which was the one following Christmas Day. The Master Builder had spent the festival with his friends, and onthe morrow would accompany his daughter and her husband to theirhome in the city, the Harmer family returning to their house at thesame time, and bringing Mary with them on a visit after all herhospitality to them. 

By nine o'clock the next morning, the quiet little wedding partywas approaching the church, when to their surprise they beheld afine coach, drawn by four horses, drawing up at the gate of thechurchyard; and before Dorcas had more than time to exclaim, "Why, it is my Lady Scrope herself!" they saw that diminutive butremarkable old dame alighting from it, and walking nimbly up thepath towards the porch. 

"I never dreamed she would really come, albeit I did let her knowthe day according to promise--or rather to her command, " said herhandmaiden, hurrying after her as if by instinct. The little figurein its sables and strangely-fashioned velvet bonnet turned at thesound of the quick footfall; and there stood the old lady scanningthe whole party with her bead-like eyes, and giving little nods tothis one and the other in response to their respectful reverences. 

"A pretty pair! a pretty pair!" was her comment upon the bridalcouple, who walked together, and who certainly looked very handsomeand happy. Reuben had regained strength and colour, though his facewas thinner and finer in outline than it had been before hisillness; and Gertrude had always been something of a beauty, andhad greatly improved in looks during these weeks of happiness. 

"Well, well, well! I am always sorry for folks who are tyingburdens round their own necks; but some can do it with a bettergrace than others. 

"Now, child, " and she turned to Gertrude, and rapped her cane uponthe ground, "don't make a fool of yourself or your husband! Don'tbegin by thinking him the best man in the world; else he may turnout all too soon to be the worst. Don't let him trample upon you. Hold your own with him. 

"Pooh! I might as well spare my words. Poor fools, they are allalike at starting. They only learn to sing to another tune whenexperience has taken them in hand for a while. Well, well, well!'tis a pretty sight after all. I'll say no more. Give me your arm, good Master Harmer, and let me have a good view of the tying ofthis knot, so that there shall be no slipping out of it later. "

James Harmer, with a bow which he made as courtly as he knew how, offered his arm to the curious, little, old lady; and strange itwas to see her small, richly-clad, upright figure amongst thesimple group before the altar that day. Many there were whowondered what had brought her, and amongst the party themselvesnone could answer the question. It appeared to be one of thosefreaks for which, in old days, Lady Scrope had made herself famousthroughout London, and the habit of which had not been overcome, although the opportunities were growing smaller with advancingyears. 

She insisted on accompanying the party back to Mary Harmer'scottage. A simple collation was awaiting them before they travelledback to the city. Lady Scrope looked with the greatest interest andcuriosity at the cottage; received the inquiring advances of Fidovery graciously; made the boys tell her all the history of hisattaching himself to them; and finally made herself the mostentertaining and agreeable guest at the board, although thesharpness of her speech and the acid favour of some of her remarksbred a little uneasiness in some of her auditors. 

Nevertheless the time passed pleasantly enough; and when the handsof the clock pointed to the hour of eleven, the lady rose to herfeet and remarked incisively:

"My coach will be here immediately, if the varlets play me notfalse. The bride, bridegroom, and the bride's father shall drivewith me. I mean to see the maiden's house before I return to mineown. "

A glowing colour was in Gertrude's face. Now she began to have aclearer idea why Lady Scrope was there. Reuben had been to heronce, and had asked her approval of their plan to expend the bulkof the dowry she had, with such eccentric and unaccountablegenerosity, bestowed upon the bride, upon the purchase of the housewhich had been for many generations in the family of her father, and which she loved well from old associations. 

Reuben was going to set up in business for himself now. He had longbeen contemplating this step, since his father's trade wasincreasing steadily. They would now be partners, Reuben taking onebranch of the industry, and leaving his father the other. With thechanges in fashions, changes in the manufacture of Court luxuriesbecame necessary. Reuben would advance with the times, his fatherwould remain where he was before. It was a plan which had beencarefully considered by both father and son for long, and wouldhave been earlier carried out had it not been for the disastrousstoppage of all trade during the visitation of the plague. 

Now, however, London seemed as gay as ever. Orders were pouring in. It was wonderful how little the gaps in the ranks seemed to beheeded. It was scarcely, even amongst the upper classes, thatpersons troubled to wear the deep mourning for departed friendswhich, under ordinary circumstances, they would have done. Thegreat wish of all appeared to be to forget the awful visitation asfast as possible, and to drown the memory of it in feasting andrevelry. And this spirit, however little to the liking of a godlyman like James Harmer, was nevertheless good for his trade. 

Lady Scrope being in the secret of the surprise in store for theMaster Builder, was anxious to amuse herself by being witness tohis enlightenment; and it certainly seemed as though she had fullright thus to amuse herself, if it were her desire. Reuben had somesavings of his own; but the purchase of the house, had it been madeby him alone, would have seriously crippled his ability to carryout his further plans of business. Thus it was really Lady Scrope'sgolden guineas which had paved the way for the young people, and noone could grudge her the enjoyment of seeing them arrive at theirnew home. 

The Master Builder had had some dealings of late with her ladyship;for on hearing what he was employed to do for so many of her friends, she summoned him to fumigate both of her houses when she had got ridof all her temporary inmates; and she followed him about, watchingwhat he did, and amusing herself with making him relate all thegossip he had picked up relative to her acquaintances into whosehouses he had been admitted: how many amongst them had had theplague, how many had died, and all the other details that herinsatiable curiosity could glean from him. 

And now the bridal couple, together with the bride's father, werebeing driven in state through the widest thoroughfares of the cityin the hired chariot of Lady Scrope, she chatting all the while, and pointing out this thing and that as they went, openly lamentingthat so little remained to remind them of the plague, andprophesying that London had not done with calamity yet. 

Gertrude was amazed at the small change in the familiar streets asthey neared their home. True, she saw more strange faces than shehad been wont to do, and read new names and new signs upon thegaily-painted boards hanging over the shop doors. Again and againshe missed from some accustomed doorway the familiar face of theformer owner, and saw that a stranger had taken the old business. But then, again, others were there in their old places; friendlyfaces beamed upon her as she looked out of the window. It was knownupon the bridge itself that she was to come back today; and thoughthe appearance of this fine coach caused a little thrill ofsurprise, there was a fine buzz of welcome as Reuben put out hishead and stopped the postillion at the familiar door; for so manyfears had been entertained of Reuben's death, that there were thosewho could not believe they should see him again in the flesh untilhe stood before them. 

"What means all this? Why stop ye here?" asked the Master Builder, with a little agitation in his voice. "You have a home of your own, you told me, Reuben, to which to take your wife. Why stop you atyour father's house? Let the postillion drive to your own abode. "

"This is our own abode, dear father, " said Gertrude softly, alighting from the coach and taking him by the hand to lead him in. 

Her other hand was held by her husband; and Lady Scrope wasforgotten for the moment by all, as the three passed the familiarthreshold amid a chorus of good wishes from friends and neighbours, to which Reuben responded by a variety of signs, Gertrude being toomuch moved to notice them. 

"Dear father, " she said, as they stood within the lower room, whichwas being now fitted as of old for a shop, "forgive us if we havekept our happy secret till now. We wanted to have the home readyere we brought you to it. This is our home. A wonderful thingbefell me. A dowry was bestowed upon me by a generous patroness, from whom I looked not to receive a penny; that dowry bought thehouse. Reuben's business will give us an ample livelihood. Thouwilt remain always with us in the dear old house which thou hastloved. Oh how happy we shall be--how wondrously happy!

"Father dear, it was Lady Scrope who gave me the wonderful giftthat has brought us all this. We must try to thank her ere we thinkof ourselves more. "

So speaking Gertrude turned, with her eyes full of happy tears, towards Lady Scrope, who stood only a few paces off watchingeverything with her accustomed intense scrutiny, and held out bothher hands in a sweet and simple gesture expressive of so muchfeeling that the old dame felt an unwonted mist rising in her eyes. 

"Tut, tut, tut, child! I want no thanks. What good did the gold dome, thinkest thou, shut away in yonder box? What think you I hadpreserved it there for? Marry that I might fling it away at dice orcards with those who came to visit me? It was my pleasure money, asI chose to call it. And then came the plague and smote hip andthigh amongst those who called me friend. And what good did thegold do me or any person else? If it pleases me to throw it away ona pair of fools, whose business is that but mine?

"There, there, there, that will do, all of you good people. I wantto see the house. I want none of your fool's talk. Going to keep ashop here?--sensible man. I'll come and buy all my finery when youstart business, and sit and gossip at the counter the while. Somind you have plenty of fine folks to gossip with me. If I wereyoung again, I vow I'd keep a shop myself. "

And she made Reuben show samples of his goods, which were piled upin readiness, albeit he was not quite ready to open shop; and veryexcellent of their kind they were, as Lady Scrope was not slow toremark. 

"I'll send the whole city to you. I'll make you the fashion yet. IfI were a younger woman, and had my own old train of gallants afterme, I'd have made your fortune for you before the year was out. ButI'll do something yet, you shall see. And mind that you never beginto lend money, young man, to any needy young fool who may ask it ofyou. Those greedy court gallants would eat up all the gold of theIndies, and be no whit the richer for it. No money lending, youngman, for in that way lies ruin, as too many have found. "

The Master Builder winced like one touched in a tender part, whilstReuben answered boldly:

"I have no such intentions. I hate usury, nor care I to earn moneyfor others to filch from me. I get my wealth by honest trade; andif any man comes to me for aid, all the help I can give him is toput him in the way of doing the like. "

Lady Scrope nodded her head and laughed her shrill witch-likelaugh. 

"He! he! he! Offer honest work to a needy gallant! May I be thereto hear when thou dost. Work, forsooth!--a turn at the galleyswould do most of them a power of good. Well, well, well, young man, thou speakest sound sense. Thou shouldst prosper in thy business. 

"Now, girl, show me the rest of the house, for I must needs begetting home ere long. I shall weary my old bones with all thisgadding to and fro. "

Gertrude was willing enough to obey. The house was hardly changedfrom the time she had left it, save that all which was faded andworn had been replaced and furbished anew, and the whole place madesweet and wholesome, and as clean and bright as hands could makeit. Gertrude would have preferred a plainer and simpler abode, morelike that of her neighbours; but she had not had the heart to undoall her mother's dainty handiwork, and Reuben had thought nothingtoo good for his bride. 

Lady Scrope gibed and jeered a little, but not unkindly. She knewall the family history by this time, and how that Gertrude was notresponsible for the luxuries with which her life would besurrounded. 

"Go to, child, go to; I am no judge over thee. What matters it afew years earlier or later? It began in Shakespeare's time, as youmay read if you will, and it grows worse every generation. Soon theshopmen and traders will be the fine gentlemen of the land, and wemay hope for the pickings and leavings of their tables. What doesit matter to me? I shall not be troubled by it. And if I be nottroubled thereby, what matter if all the world goes mad?

"Now fare you well, young folks; and thou, good Master Builder, thank Heaven for a good and dutiful daughter, for they grow not onevery hedge in these graceless days. 

"See me to my coach, young man, if thou canst leave devouring thywife with thine eyes for so much as a minute. 

"Poor fools! poor fools! both of you. 

"Give me a kiss, maiden--nay, mistress I must call thee now. Be agood child, and be not too meek. Remember the fate of the haplessGriselda. "

Nodding her head and shaking her finger, Lady Scrope vanished downthe stairs upon Reuben's arm; and Gertrude, moved beyond her powersof self restraint by all she had gone through, flung herself intoher father's arms, and the two mingled together their tears ofthankfulness and joy. 

CHAPTER XVI. A FLAMING CITY. 

Many happy months passed away, and the great city began to forgetthe terrible calamity through which it had passed. There was alittle fear at first when the summer set in exceptionally hot anddry--very much as it had done the preceding year; but the plagueseemed to have wreaked its full vengeance upon the inhabitants, andthere was no fresh outbreak, although isolated cases were reported, as was usual, from time to time, and sometimes a slight passingscare would upset the minds of men in a certain locality, to beshortly laid at rest when no further ill followed. 

The two houses on the bridge, standing sociably side by side, werepleasant and flourishing places of business. Benjamin was nowapprenticed to his brother Reuben, his old master the carpenterhaving fallen a victim to the plague. Dorcas remained with LadyScrope, who was now reckoned as a kind friend and patroness to theHarmers, father and son. Rebecca fulfilled her old functions of theuseful daughter at home, though it was thought she would not longremain there, as she was being openly courted by a young mercer inSouthwark, who had bought a business left without head through theravages of the plague, and was rapidly working it up to somethingconsiderable and successful. 

The Master Builder, too, was getting on, although still doing avery small trade compared to what he had done before. Many of hispatrons were dead, others had been scared away altogether fromLondon for the present, and with so many vacant houses to fillnobody cared to think of building. Still he found employment of akind, and was never idle, although things were very different fromwhat they had been, and he thought rather of paying his way in aquiet fashion than of building up a great fortune. He lived in theold house with his daughter and son-in-law, and was happier than inthe old days, when his wife had always been trying to make him apethe ways of the gentry, and his son had been wearying his life outwith ceaseless importunities for money, which would only be wastedin drunkenness and rioting. 

Now the days passed happily and peacefully. Gertrude was a lovingwife and a loving daughter. Her father's comfort and welfare werestudied equally with that of her husband. She did her utmost not topermit him ever to feel lonely or neglected, and she considered hisneeds as his own fine-lady wife had never thought of doing. 

He had also his friends next door to visit, where he was alwayswelcome. There was now another door of communication opened betweenthe two houses, and almost every evening the Master Builder woulddrop in for an hour to smoke a pipe with his friend and exchangethe news of the day, leaving the young married couple tothemselves, for a happy interchange of affection and confidences. 

The Harmer household remained unchanged, save for the death of Danand the marriage of Reuben; but the sailor had been so little athome, that there was no great blank left by his absence, and Reubenwas too close at hand to be greatly missed. Janet had not returnedto service. Her mother had been rather horrified at the manner inwhich the poor girl had been treated by her mistress when theplague had appeared in the house. She did not care to send her backto Lady Howe, and Janet had become so accomplished a nurse, andtook such interest in the life, that she begged to be allowed tofollow the calling of her aunt Dinah, and to spend her time amongstthe sick, wherever she might be needed. So both she and Dinah Morselived at the house on the bridge, but went about amongst the sickin the neighbourhood, generally directed by Dr. Hooker, butsometimes called specially to urgent cases by neighbours orfriends. Sometimes they returned home at night to sleep, sometimesthey remained for several days or weeks at a time with theirpatients, according to their degree and the urgency of the case. Janet found herself very well content in her new life, and hermother liked it for her, since it brought her so much more to herhome. 

It began to be noted that when Dinah Morse was at the house on theoccasions of the visits of the Master Builder, he addressed a greatpart of his conversation to her, seemed never to weary hearing hertalk, and would sit looking reflectively at her when other peoplewere doing the talking. He had never forgotten how she had come tothem in their hour of dire need, when poor Frederick had sickenedof the fell disease which so soon carried him off. He alwaysdeclared that her tenderness to his wife and daughter at that timehad been beyond all price, and it seemed as though his sense ofobligation and gratitude did not lessen with time. 

Sometimes James Harmer would say smilingly to his wife:

"Methinks our good neighbour hath a great fancy for Dinah. I alwaysdo say that such a woman as she ought to be the wife of some goodhonest man. They might do worse, both of them, than think ofmarriage. What think you of Dinah? Tends her fancy that way atall?"

And at that question Rachel would shake her head wisely andrespond:

"Dinah is not one to wear her heart upon her sleeve! A woman hidesher secret in her heart till the right time comes for giving ananswer. But we shall see! we shall see!"

In this manner the spring and summer passed happily and quicklyaway. 

August had come and gone, and now the first days of September hadarrived. The heat still continued very great, and a parching eastwind had been blowing for many weeks, which had dried up thewoodwork of the houses till it was like tinder. Sometimes theMaster Builder, coming home from his work of repairing or alteringsome house either great or small, would say:

"I would we could get rain. This long drought is something serious. I never knew the houses so dry and parched as they are now. If afire were to break out, it would be no small matter to extinguishit. The water supply is very low, and the whole city is liketinder. "

It was Saturday night. The sun had gone down like a great ball offire, and Gertrude had observed to her husband how it had dyed theriver a peculiarly blood-red hue. One of those wandering fortunetellers, who had paraded the city so often during the early days ofthe plague (till the poor wretches were themselves carried off ingreat numbers by it), had passed down the street once or twiceduring the day, and had been always chanting a rude song like adirge, in which many woes were said to be hanging over London town. 

These prognostications had been frequent since the appearance inthe sky of another comet, which had been seen on all clear nightsof late. It had considerably alarmed the citizens, who rememberedthe comet of the previous year, and the terrible visitation whichhad followed. This one was not very like the former; it was farmore bright, and burning, and red, and its motion appeared morerapid in the sky. The soothsayers and astrologers, of which therewere still plenty left, all averred that it bespoke some freshcalamity hanging over the city, and for a while there wasconsiderable alarm in many minds, and some families actually leftLondon, fearful that the plague would again break out there; but bythis time the panic had well nigh died down. The comet ceased to beseen in the sky, and even the mournful words of the fortune tellersdid not attract the notice they had done at first. The summer waswaning, and no sickness had appeared; and of any other kind ofcalamity the people did not appear to dream. 

The Master Builder had gone in as usual to the next house to have atalk with his neighbour. But tonight he looked in vain for Dinah. 

"She and Janet have both been summoned to a fine lady who is sickin a grand house nigh to St. Paul's. Dr. Hooker fetched themthither this morning. They will be well paid for their work, hesays. The lady has sickened of a fever, and some of her householdtook fright lest it should be the plague, albeit the symptoms arequite different. So he must needs take both Dinah and Janet withhim, that she might be rightly served and tended. Tomorrow Josephshall go and ask news of her, and get speech with Janet if he can, and learn how it fares with her. I confess I am glad, when she goesto fine houses, that Dinah should be there also. Janet is a prettycreature, and those young gallants think of nothing but to amusethemselves by turning girls' heads, be they ever so humble. 

"Ah me! ah me! there is a vast deal of wickedness in the world! Icannot wonder that men foretell some fresh calamity upon this city. I am sure some of the things we hear and see--well, well, well, wemust not judge others. It is enough that judgment and vengeance arethe Lord's. "

Rachel stopped short because she saw the look of pain which alwayscame into the Master Builder's face when he thought of hisprofligate young son, cut off in the prime of his youthful manhood, and that without any assurance on the part of those about him thathe had repented of the error of his ways. The carelessness andwickedness of the young men of the city were always a sore subject, and he still winced when the pranks of the Scourers were commentedupon by his neighbours. 

"It is my Lady Desborough who has fallen ill, " concluded Rachel, anxious to turn the subject. "Methinks you had some dealings withher lord not such very long time since. The name fell familiarlyupon my ears. "

"Yes, truly, I did much to garnish their house, and I built out aprivate parlour for my lady, all of looking glass and gilding. Notlong since I purified the house for them with the costliest ofspices. Lord Desborough thinks all the world of his beauteous lady. They are devoted to each other, which is a goodly thing to see inthese days. He will be greatly alarmed if she be seriouslyindisposed. He is a right worthy gentleman; and with thy permissionI will accompany Joseph to St. Paul's tomorrow and learn the latesttidings of her. "

"With all my heart, " answered the mother; and soon after that theMaster Builder took his departure, and both houses settled to restfor the night. 

It might have been two or three o'clock in the morning, none couldsay exactly how time went on that memorable day, when the MasterBuilder was awakened by sounds in the adjoining chamber, whereReuben and his wife slept; and before he was fully awake, he heardGertrude's voice at his door crying out:

"O father, father! there is such a dreadful fire! Reuben is goingout to see where it is. Methinks it must be very nigh at hand. Prithee go with him, and see that he comes to no hurt!"

The Master Builder was awake in an instant, and although it was anhour at which the room should be dark, he found it quitesufficiently light to dress without trouble, owing to the red glareof fire somewhere in the neighbourhood. 

"Pray Heaven it be not very near us!" was the cry of his heart ashe hurried into his clothes, remembering his own auguries of ashort time back respecting the spread of fire, if once it got ahold upon a street or building. 

He was dressed in a moment, and had joined Reuben as the latter wasfeeling his way to the fastenings of the door. Two of the shopmen, who slept below, were already aroused and wishful to join them; andas they emerged into the street, which was quite light with thepalpitating glow of fire, the door of the Harmers' house opened toadmit the exit of the master of the house and his son Joseph. 

"Thou hast seen it also! I fear me it is very nigh at hand. I had agood look from my topmost window, and methought it must surely bein Long Lane or in Pudding Lane; certainly it is in one of thenarrow thoroughfares turning off northward from Thames Street. Itmust have been burning for some while. It seems to have taken firmhold. Belike the poor creatures there are all too terrified to doaught to check the spread of the flames. We must see what can bedone. It will not do to let the flames get a hold. This strong drywind will spread them west and north with terrible speed, ifsomething be not done to check them!"

James Harmer spoke with the air of a man who is used to offices ofauthority. He had exercised one so long during the crisis of theplague, that the habit of thinking for his fellow citizens stillclung to him. It appeared to him to be his bounden duty to do whathe could to save life and property; and all the time he spoke hewas hastening along the bridge in the direction of the smoke cloudsand flames. 

The Master Builder hurried along at his side, and before they hadreached the end of the bridge there were quite a dozen of thehouseholders or their servants joining the procession to the sceneof the conflagration. Until they reached the corner of ThamesStreet they saw nothing beyond the red column of flame and theshowers of sparks mingling with clouds of smoke; but when once theyreached the corner, a terrible sight was revealed to them, for thewhole block of buildings between Pudding Lane and New Fish Streetwas a mass of flames, and the fire seemed to be like a livingthing, driven onwards before some mighty compelling power. 

"God preserve us all! it will be upon us in an hour if nothing bedone to check it, " cried Harmer in sudden dismay. 

"What is being done? What are the people doing?" cried a score ofvoices. 

But what indeed could the terrified people do, wakened out of theirsleep in the dead of night to find their houses burning about theirears? They were running helter skelter this way and that, notknowing which way to turn, like so many frightened sheep. Not thatthey thought as yet that this fire was going to be so verydifferent from other bad fires which some of them had seen; fortheir wooden and plaster houses burned down too readily at alltimes, and were built up easily enough afterwards. A little fartheroff the people were trying to get their goods out of the houses, that they might not lose all if the fire came their way. But thoseactually burned out seemed to do nothing but stand helplessly bylooking on; and perhaps it was only the Master Builder himself whoat this moment realized that there was a very serious perilthreatening the whole quarter of the city where the fire had brokenout, and had already taken such hold. 

The wind being slightly north as well as east in its direction, itseemed reasonable to hope that the conflagration would not crossThames Street in a southerly direction, in which case the bridgewould be safe; and, indeed, as New Fish Street was a fairly widethoroughfare, it was rather confidently hoped that this might provea check to the fire. The Master Builder ran up the street cryingout to the terrified inhabitants to get all the water they couldand fling it upon the roofs and walls of their dwellings, to striveto keep the flames at bay; but there was scarcely one to listen ortry to obey. The people were all hurrying out of their houses, bringing their families and their goods and chattels with them. Thestreet was so blocked by hand carts and jostling crowds, that itwas hopeless to attempt any plan of organization here. 

Then all too soon a cry went up that the fire had leaped the streetand had ignited a house on the west side. A groan and a scream ofterror went up as it was seen that this was all too true, andalready great waves of flame seemed to be rushing onwards as ifdriven from the mouth of some vast blasting furnace; and the MasterBuilder returned to his friends with a very grave face. 

"Heaven send the whole city be not destroyed!" he exclaimed; "neverhave I seen fire like unto this fire!

"Reuben, lad, make thy way with all speed to the Lord Mayor, andtell him of the peril in which we stand. He is the man to findmeans to check this fearful conflagration. Would to Heaven it weregood Sir John Lawrence who were Mayor, as he was in the days of theplague! He was a man of spirit, and courage, and resource. But Imuch fear me that poor Bludworth has little of any of thesequalities. Nevertheless go to him, Reuben. Tell him what thou hastseen, and tell him that if he wishes not to see London burned abouthis ears it behoves him to do something!"

Reuben dashed off along Thames Street westward to do his errand, and then the Master Builder turned gravely to his friend and said:

"Harmer, I like not the aspect of things. I fear me that even weare likely to stand in dire peril ere long. Yet we shall have timeto take steps for our salvation, seeing the wind is our friend sofar, though Heaven alone knows when that may change, and drive theflames straight down upon us. Yet, methinks, we shall have time forwhat must be done. Wilt thou work hand in hand with me for thesalvation of our goods and houses, even though it may mean presentloss?"

"I will do whatever is right and prudent, " answered Harmer, hurrying hack towards the bridge with his friend and with those whohad followed them, and in a short while they were surrounded by anumber of frightened neighbours, all asking what awful thing washappening, and what could be done to save themselves. 

The Master Builder was naturally the man looked to, and he gaveanswer quietly and firmly. If the fire once leaped Thames Street, and attacked the south side, nothing short of a miracle could savethe bridge houses, unless some drastic step were taken; and theonly method which he could devise in the emergency, was that someof the houses at the northern end should be demolished by means ofgunpowder, and the ruins soaked in water, so that the passage ofthe flames might be stayed there. 

But at this suggestion the faces of those who lived in these samehouses grew long and grave, as indeed the speaker had anticipated. The owners were not prepared for so great a sacrifice. They arguedthat with the wind where it was, the fire might in all probabilitynot extend southward at all, in which case their loss would heuseless. They talked and argued the matter out for about twentyanxious minutes, and in fine flatly refused to have their housestouched, preferring to take their chance of escaping the fire tothis wholesale demolition. 

This was no more than the Master Builder had foreseen, and withoutattempting further argument he turned to his neighbour and said:

"Then it must be your workshops and storerooms that must go. Youcan better spare them than the house itself; and on the oppositeside there is the empty house where poor David Norris lived anddied. There is none living there now to hinder us. We must take thelaw into our own hands and make the gap there. If the fire comesnot this way, I will bear the blame with the Mayor, if we be calledto account; but methinks a little promptitude now may save half thebridge, and perchance all the southern part of London likewise!"

"Do as you will, good friend, your knowledge is greater than mine, "answered James Harmer with cheerful alacrity; "Heaven forbid that Ishould value my goods beyond the life and property and salvation ofthe many in this time of threatened peril. "

"We shall save the goods first. It is only the sheds and workshopsthat must go, " answered the Master Builder cheerily, and forthwithhe and his men, who had come hurrying up, together with all the menand boys in the double Harmer household, commenced carrying withinshop and houses all the valuables stored in the smaller buildingshard by. It was a work quickly accomplished, and whilst it wasbeing carried out, the Master Builder himself was carefully makingpreparations for the demolition of the empty house opposite, whichindeed was already in some danger of falling into decay, and wasempty and desolate. 

It had been the abode of the unfortunate man who brought his familyback too soon to the city, and lost them all of the plague within ashort time. He himself had lingered on for some months, and hadthen died of a broken heart. But nobody had cared to live in thehouse since. It was averred that it was haunted by the restlessspirit of the poor man, and strange noises were said to issue fromit at night. Others declared that the ghost of the wife was seenflitting past the windows, and that she always carried a sickmoaning child in her arms. So ill a name had the house got byreason of these many stories that none would take it, and there wastherefore none to interfere when, with a loud report and showers ofdust and sparks, the whole place and the workshop at the side wereblown up at the command of the Master Builder, and reduced to apile of ruins. 

In spite of all the excitement and fear caused by the spreadingfire, the neighbours looked upon the Master Builder as anenthusiast and a madman, and upon James Harmer as a poor dupe, toallow such destruction of property. No sooner were both sets ofbuildings destroyed than men were set to work with buckets andchains to drench the dusty heaps of the ruins with water, nor wouldthe Master Builder permit the workers to slacken their effortsuntil the whole mass of demolished ruin was reduced to thecondition of a soppy pulp. 

By this time the day had broken; but the sun was partially obscuredby the thick pall of smoke which hung in the air, whilst theceaseless roar of the flames was becoming terrible in its monotony. Backwards and forwards ran excited men and boys, always bringingfresh reports as to the alarming spread of the fire. Even upon thebridge the heat could plainly be felt. The workers who were calledwithin doors to be refreshed by food and drink were almost tooanxious to eat. Never had such a fire been seen before. 

Whilst the Master Builder and his friend were snatching a hastymeal, Reuben came hurrying back with a smoke-blackened face. He tooshowed signs of grave anxiety. 

"Well, lad, hast thou seen the Lord Mayor?" was the eager question. 

"Ay, verily, I have seen him, " answered Reuben, with a bent brow, and a look of severity on his young face, "but I might as well havespoken to Fido there for all the good I did. "

"Why, how so?" asked his father quickly and sternly; "is the manlost to all sense of his duties? Where was he? what said he? Comesit thee down, lad, and eat thy fill, and tell us all the tale. "

Reuben was hungry enough, and his wife hung over him supplying hisneeds; but he was thinking more of the perils of his fellowcitizens, and of the supine conduct of the Mayor, than of anythingelse. 

"I found the worshipful fellow in bed, " he answered. "Othermessengers had arrived with the news, but his servant had notventured to disturb him. I, however, would not be denied. I went upto him in his bed chamber, and I told him what I had seen, andwarned him that there was need for prompt action. But he onlyanswered with an oath and a ribald jest, which I will not repeat inthe hearing of my wife or mother; and he would have turned again tohis slumbers, had I not well nigh forced him to get up, and had notsome of the aldermen arrived at that minute to speak of the matter, and inquire into its magnitude. They be all of them disposed to saythat it will burn itself out fast enough like other fires; but Itrow some amongst them are aroused to a fear that it may spread farin this dry wind, and with the houses so parched and cracked withheat. Then I came away, having done mine errand, and went back tothe fire. It had spread all too fast even in that short time, andthe worst thing is that no means seem to be taken to stop it. Thepeople run about like those distraught, crying that a secondjudgment has come, that it is God's doing, and that man cannotfight against it. They are all seeking to convey away their goodsto some safe place; but the fire travels quicker than they, andthey are forced to leave their chattels and flee for their lives. Itrow such a sight has never been seen before. "

"It must be like the burning of Rome in the days of the wickedemperor Nero, " said Gertrude in a low, awed voice. "Pray Heaventhey extinguish the flames soon! It would be fearful indeed werethey to last till nightfall. "

At this moment Rachel Harmer came hurrying into the room with apale scared face. 

"The child Dorcas!" she cried. "Why have we not thought of her? Isshe safe? Where has the fire reached to? God forgive me! I mustsurely be off my head! Husband, go for the child; she must bescared to death, even if naught worse has befallen her!"

"I had not forgot the maid, " answered the father; "but it is wellshe should be looked to now. The fire has not crossed ThamesStreet. Lady Scrope's house is safe yet a while; but unless thingsquickly improve, both she and the child should come hither. 

"Make ready the best guest chamber in thy house, Gertrude, and thyhusband and I will go and bring her hither. 

"Come, lad, as thy mother saith, the child may be scared at theheat and the flames. And my lady has many valuables to be rescued, too. It would be shame that they should perish in the flames ifthese leap the street. We will take the boat and moor it at ColdHarbour, and slip up by the side street out of the way of the smokeand the heat. We can thus bring her and her goods with most safetyhere. Marry that is well bethought! We will lose not an hour. Onecannot tell at what moment the fire may change its direction. "

Reuben rose at once, and accompanied by two of the steadiest of theshopmen, they prepared to carry out their plan of seeking to rescueLady Scrope and her valuables. 

CHAPTER XVII. SCENES OF TERROR. 

"Father! sweet father! thank Heaven thou art come! Methought weshould be burned alive in this terrible house. Methought perchanceall of you had been burned. O father! tell me, what is befalling?It is like the last judgment, when all the world shall be consumedwith fervent heat!"

Dorcas, with a white face and panting breath, stood clinging to herfather's arm, as though she would never let it go. He soothed hertenderly, striving to pacify her terrors, but it was plain that shehad been through some hours of terrible fear. 

"My little bird, didst thou think we should leave thee to perishhere?" asked the father, half playfully, half reproachfully; "andif so affrighted, why didst thou not fly home to thy nest? That, atleast, would have been easy. "

"Ah, but I could not leave my lady when all besides had fled--eventhe two old creatures who were never afraid of remaining when thedistemper was raging all around. She stands at the window watchingthe flames devouring all else opposite, and it is hot enough therewell nigh to singe the hair on her head; but she laughs andchuckles the while, and says the most horrible things. I cannotbear to go anigh her; and yet I cannot leave her alone. 

"O father, father! come and get her away. She seems like one madewithout the power of fear. The more that others are affrighted, themore she seems to rejoice!"

Dorcas and her father and brother were in the narrow entry uponwhich the back door of the house opened. This alley led right downto the river, where the boat was moored under the charge of the twoshopmen. It would be easy to carry down any valuables and load itup, and then transport the intrepid old woman, when she had lookedher fill, and when she saw her own safety threatened. 

For it began to be evident that the flames would quickly overleapthe gap presented by Thames Street. They were gathering sofearfully in power that great flakes of fire detached themselvesfrom the burning buildings and leaped upon other places to rightand left, as though endowed with the power of volition. 

The fire was even spreading eastward in spite of the strong eastwind--not, of course, with anything like the rapidity with which itmade its way westward, but in a fashion which plainly showed howfirm a hold it had upon the doomed houses. 

There was no time to lose if Lady Scrope and her valuables were tobe saved. The house seemed full of smoke as they entered it; andDorcas led them up the stairs into the parlour, at the window ofwhich her mistress was standing, leaning upon her stick, anduttering a succession of short, sharp exclamations, intermingledwith the cackling laugh of old age. 

"Ha! that is a good one! Some roof fell in then! See the sparksrushing up like waters from a fountain! I would not have missedthat! Pity it is daylight; 'twould have been twice as fine atnight! Good! good! good! yes run, my man, run, or the flames willcatch you. Ha! they gave him a lick, and he has dropped his bundleand fled for his very life. Ha! ha! ha! it is as good as the bestplay I ever saw in my life! Here comes another. Oh, he has so ladenhimself that he can scarcely run. There! he is down; he strugglesto rise, but his pack holds him to the ground. O my good fool! youwill find that your goods cost you dear today. You should have readyour Bible to better purpose. Ah! there is some good-natured foolhelping him up and along. It is more than he deserves. I shouldhave liked to see what he did when the next wave of fire ran up thestreet. 

"Dorcas, child, where art thou? Thou art losing the finest sight ofthy life! If thou hast courage to stay with me, why hast thou notcourage to enjoy such a sight as thou wilt not see twice in alifetime?"

"Madam! madam!" cried the girl running forward, "here are my fatherand brother, come to help to save your goods and escape by theback. They have brought the boat to Cold Harbour, where it ismoored; and, if it please you, they will conduct you to it, andcome back and fetch such goods as you would most wish saved. "

But the old woman did not even turn her head. She was eagerlyscanning the street without, along which sheets of flame seemed tobe driven. 

"Great powers, what a noise! Methinks some church tower hascollapsed. St. Lawrence, Poultney, belike. St. Mary's, Bush Lane, will be the next. Would I were there to see. I will to the roof ofthe house to obtain a better view. Zounds, but this is worth ahundred plagues! I had never thought to live to see London burnedabout my ears. What a noise the fire makes! It is like the rushingof a mighty flood. Oh, a flood of fire is a fine thing!"

The weird old woman looked like a spirit of the devouring element, as she stood at her window talking aloud in her strange excitementand enjoyment of the awful destruction about her. The heat withinthe room was becoming intolerable, yet she did not appear to feelit. The house being well built, with thick walls and well-fittingwindows, resisted the entrance of the great volumes of smoke thatroiled along laden with sparks and burning fragments of wood; butthese fiery heralds were becoming so menacing and continuous, thatthe Harmers saw plainly how little time was to be lost if theywould save either the old woman or her valuables. 

"Madam, " said James Harmer approaching, and forcing his presenceupon the notice of the mistress of the house, "there is little timeto lose if you would save yourself or your goods. We have come togive such assistance as lies in our power. Will you give me yourauthority to bear away hence all such things as may be most readilytransported and are of most value? When we have saved these, belikeyou will have looked your fill on the fire. And, at least, you cansee it as well from any other place in the neighbourhood withoutthis risk. May we commence our task of rescue?"

"Oh yes, my good fellow, take what you will. Dorcas will show youwhat is of greatest value. Lade yourselves with spoil, and makeyourselves rich for life. I drove forth the hired varlets who wouldfain have robbed me ere they left; but take what you will, and myblessing with it. Your daughter deserves a dowry at my hands. Takeall you can lay hands upon; I shall want it no more. Ha! I must tothe roof! I must to the roof! Why, if it only lasts till nightfall, what a sight it will be! Right glad am I that I have lived to seethis day. "

Without particularly heeding the words of the strange old woman, father and son, directed by Dorcas, set about rapidly to collectand transport to the boat the large quantities of silver plate andother valuables which, during her long life, Lady Scrope hadcollected about her. The rich furniture had, perforce, to be leftbehind, save a small piece here and there of exceptional value; butthere were jewels, and golden trinkets, and strangely-carvedivories set with gems, and all manner of costly trophies from thedistant lands whither vessels now went and returned laden with allmanner of wonders. The Harmers were amazed at the vast amount oftreasure hoarded up in that small house, and wondered that LadyScrope had not many times had her life attempted by the servants, who must have known something of the contents of cabinet and chest. 

But her reputation as a witch had been a great safeguard, and herown intrepid spirit had done even more to hold robbers at bay. Allwho knew her were fully aware that she was quite capable ofshooting down any person found in the act of robbing her, and thatshe always kept loaded pistols in her room in readiness. There wasa story whispered about, of her having locked up in one of herrooms a servant whom she had caught pilfering, and it was said thatshe had starved him to death amid the plunder he had gathered, andhad afterwards had his body flung without burial into the river. Whether there was more than rumour in such a gruesome tale nonecould now say, but it had long become an acknowledged axiom thatLady Scrope's goods had better be let alone. 

Twice had the boat been laden and returned, for all concernedworked with a will, and now all had been removed from the housewhich it was possible to take on such short notice and in such afashion. The fire was surging furiously across the road, and inmore than one place it had leaped the street, and the other side, the south side, was now burning as fiercely as the northern. Dorcashad been dispatched to call down Lady Scrope, for her fatherreckoned that in ten minutes more the house would be actuallyengulfed in the oncoming mass of flames. And now the girl hurriedup to them, her face blanched with terror. 

"She will not come, father; she will not come. She laughs to scornall that I say. She stands upon the parapet of the roof, tossingher arms, and crying aloud as she sees building after buildingcatch fire, and the great billows of flame rolling along. Oh, it isterrible to see and to hear her! Methinks she has gone distraught. Prithee, go fetch her down by force, dear father, for I trow thatnaught else will suffice. "

Father and son looked at each other in consternation. They had notseriously contemplated the possibility of finding the old womanobstinate to the last. But yet, now that Dorcas spoke, it seemed tothem quite in keeping with what they had heard of her, that sheshould decline to leave even in the face of dire peril. 

"Run to the boat, child!" cried the father. "Let us know that thouart safe on board, and leave thy mistress to us. If she come notpeaceably, we must needs carry her down. 

"Come, Reuben, we must not tarry within these walls more than fiveminutes longer. The fire is approaching on all sides. I fear me, both the Allhallowes will be victims next. "

Springing up the staircase, now thick with smoke, father and sonemerged at last upon a little leaden platform, and saw at a shortdistance from them the old woman whom they sought, tossing her armswildly up and down, and bursting into awful laughter when anythingmore terrible than usual made itself apparent. 

They could not get quite up to her without actually crawling alongan unguarded ridge of masonry, as she must have done to attain herpresent position; but they approached as near as was possible, andcalled to her urgently:

"Madam, we have saved your goods as far as it was possible; now wecome to save you. Lose not a moment in escaping from the house. Ina few more minutes escape will be impossible. "

She turned and faced them then, dropping her mocking and excitedmanner, and speaking quite calmly and quietly. 

"Good fellow, who told you that I should leave my house? I have nointention whatever of doing any such thing. What should I do in astrange place with strange surroundings? Here I have lived, andhere I will die. You are an honest man, and you have an honestwench for your daughter. Keep all you have saved, and give her amarriage portion when she is fool enough to marry. As for me, Ishall want it no more. "

"But, madam, it is idle speaking thus!" cried Reuben, with theimpetuosity of youth. "You must leave your house on the instant--"

"So they told me in the time of the plague, " returned Lady Scrope, with a little, disdainful smile; "but I told them I should neverdie in my bed. "

"Madam, we cannot leave you here to perish in the flames, " criedthe youth, with some heat and excitement of manner. "I would thatyou would come quietly with us, but if not I must needs--" and herehe began to suit the action to the words, and to make as though hewould creep along the ledge and gain the old woman's vantageground, as, indeed, was his intention. 

But he had hardly commenced this perilous transit before he felthimself pulled back by his father, who said, in a strange, muffledvoice:

"It is useless, Reuben; we can do nothing. We must leave her to herfate. Either she is truly a witch, as men say, or else her brain isturned by the fearsome sight. "

And Reuben, following his father's glance, saw that the redoubtableLady Scrope had drawn forth a pistol from pocket or girdle, and waspointing it full at him, with a light in her eyes which plainlybetokened her intention of using it if he dared to thwart herbeyond a certain point. 

When she saw the action of James Harmer, she smiled a sardonicsmile. 

"Farewell, gentlemen, " she said, with a wave of her hand. "I thankyou for your good offices, and for your kindly thought for me. Butno man has ever yet moved me from my purpose, and no man has laidhands on me against my will--nor ever shall. Go! farewell! Saveyourselves, and take my blessing and good wishes with you; but Imove not an inch from where I stand. I defy the fire, as I defiedthe plague!"

It was useless to remain. Words were thrown away, and to attemptforce would but bring certain death upon whoever attempted it. Thefire was already almost upon them. Father and son, after onedespairing look at each other, darted down the stairs again, andhad but just time to make their escape ere a great wave of flamecame rolling along overhead, and the house itself was wrapped inthe fiery mantle. 

Dorcas, waiting with the men in the boat, devoured them with hereyes as they appeared, and uttered a little cry of horror andamazement when she saw them appear, choked and blackened, butalone. 

"She would not come! she would not come! Oh, I feared it from thefirst; but it seemed so impossible! Oh, how could she stay therealone in that sea of fire! O my mistress! my mistress! my poormistress! She was always kind to me. "

Neither father nor brother spoke as they got into the boat andpushed off into the glowing river. It was terrible to think of thatintrepid old woman facing her self-chosen and fiery doom alone upthere upon the roof of that blazing house. 

"She must have been mad!" sobbed Dorcas; and her father answeredwith grave solemnity:

"Methinks that self-will, never checked, never guided, breeds inthe mind a sort of madness. Let us not judge her. God is the Judge. By this time, methinks, she will have passed from time toeternity. "

Dorcas shuddered and hid her face. She could not grasp the thoughtthat her redoubtable mistress was no more; but the weird sight ofthe fire, as seen from the river, drew her thoughts even from thecontemplation of the tragedy just enacted. The great pall of smokeseemed extending to a fearful distance, and the girl turned with asudden terror to her father. 

"Father, will our house be burned?"

"I trust not, my child, I trust not. It is of great moment that thebridge should be saved, not for its own sake only, but to keep theflames from spreading southward, as they might if they crossed thatfrail passage. We have done what we could; and we cannot besurrounded as are other houses. The fire can advance but by oneroad upon us. I trust the action we have taken will suffice to saveus and others. I would fain be at home to see how matters are goingthere. I fear me that the pillar of fire over yonder is the blazingtower of St. Magnus. If so, the fire is fearfully near the head ofthe bridge. God help the poor families who would not consent to thedemolition of their houses for the common weal! I fear me now theyare in danger of losing both houses and goods!"

It was even so, as the Harmers found on reaching their own abode, which they did by putting across the river to the Southwark side, to avoid the peril from the burning fragments which were flying allabout the north bank of the river. 

The flames, having once leaped Thames Street, were devouring thehouses on the southern side of the street with an astonishingrapidity; and the river was crowded with wherries, to which theaffrighted people brought such goods as they could hastily layhands upon in the terror and confusion. St. Magnus was now burningfuriously, and great flakes of fire were falling pitilessly uponthe houses at the northern end of the bridge. Even as the Harmerscame hurrying up, a shout of fear told them that one of these hadignited, and the next minute there was no mistaking it. The houseson both sides of the northern end of the bridge were in flames; andthe people who had somehow trusted that the bridge would, onaccount of its more isolated position, escape, were rushingterrified out of their doors, or were flinging their goods out ofthe windows with a recklessness that caused many of them to bebroken to fragments as they reached the ground, whilst others wereseized and carried off by the thieves and vagabonds who cameswarming out of the dens of the low-lying parts of the city, eagerto turn the public calamity into an occasion of private gain, andlost no opportunity of appropriating in the general confusionanything upon which they could lay their hands. 

"Pray Heaven the means we have taken may be blessed to the city!"cried James Harmer, as he hurried along. 

He found his men hard at work pumping water and drenching the ruinswith it; for, as they said, the great heat dried up the moisturewith inconceivable rapidity, and if once these ruins fired, nothingshort of a miracle could save the remainder of the houses. Otherstout fellows were upon the roofs with their buckets, emptying themas fast as they were filled upon the roofs and walls, so that whenburning fragments and showers of sparks or even a leaping billow offlame smote upon them, it hissed like a live thing repulsed, anddied away in smoke and blackness. 

It was the same when the flames reached the gap which had been madein the buildings by the Master Builder. The angry fire leapt againand again upon the drenched ruins, but each time fell back hissingand throwing off clouds of steam. 

For above two long hours that seemed like days the hand-to-handfight continued, resolute and determined men casting waterceaselessly upon the ruins and the roofs and walls of the adjoininghouses, the fire on the other side of the gap blazing furiously, and seeking to overstep it whenever a puff of wind gave it theright impetus. Had the wind shifted a point to the south, possiblynothing could have saved the bridge; but the general direction wasnortheast, and it was only an occasional eddy that brought a rushof flames to the southward. But there was great peril from theintense heat generated by the huge body of burning buildings closeat hand, and from the flying splinters and clouds of sparks. 

Fearlessly and courageously as the workers toiled on, there weremoments when their hearts almost failed them, when it seemed asthough nothing could stop the oncoming tyrant, which appeared morelike a living monster than a mere inanimate agency. But as thedaylight waned, it began to be evident that victory would be withthe devoted workers. Although the ever-increasing light in the skytold them that in other directions the fire was spreading withtireless fury, in the neighbourhood of the bridge and the placeswhere it had broken out it had almost wreaked its fury. 

It had burned houses, and shops, and churches to the very ground. The lambent flames still played about the heaps of burning ruins, but the fury of the conflagration had abated through lack ofmaterial upon which to feed itself. Victory remained finally withthose who had worked so well to keep the foe in check, and keep insafety the southern portion of the city. The Master Builder'sscheme had been attended with marked success. The demolishedbuildings had arrested the progress of the flames, although notwithout severe labour on the part of those concerned. 

When the Harmer family met together to eat and drink after thetoils of the day, so wearied out that even the knowledge that theterrible fire was still devouring all before it in other quarterscould not keep them from their beds that night, the master of thehouse said to his friend the Master Builder:

"Truly, if other means fail, we had better set about blowing upwhole streets of houses in the path of the flames. We will to theLord Mayor at daybreak, and tell him how the bridge has been saved. The people may lament at the destruction of their houses, but surethat is better than that all the city should be ravaged by fire!"

Busy indeed were the women of both those abodes upon that memorablenight. From basement to attic their houses were crowded withneighbours who had been burned out, and who must either pass thenight in the open air or else seek shelter from friends morefortunate than themselves. 

The men, for the most part, were abroad in the streets, drawnthither by the excitement of the great fire, and by the hope ofhelping to save other persons and goods. But the women and childrencrowded together in helpless dismay, watching from the windows theincreasing glow in the sky as the sun sank and night came on, andmingling tears of terror for others with their own lamentationsover the loss of houses and goods. 

Good Rachel Harmer and her daughters and daughter-in-law movedamongst the poor creatures like ministering angels. The childrenwere fed and put to bed by twos and threes together. The motherswere bidden to table in relays, and everything was done to cheerand sustain them. Good James Harmer thought not of his own goodswhen his neighbours were in dire need, and neither he nor his songrudged the hospitality which was willingly accorded to all whoasked it, even though the houses would not stretch themselves outfor the accommodation of more than a certain number. 

But as in times of trouble men draw very near together, so themisfortune of the citizens of London opened the hearts of theirneighbours of Southwark and the surrounding villages, whothemselves were now safe and in no danger from the great fire. Hospitable countrymen came with wagons and took away homelesscreatures with their few poor goods, to be entertained for a whileby their own wives and daughters. Others who had to encamp in theopen fields were supplied with food by the surrounding inhabitants;and although there were much sorrow of heart and distress, thekindness shown to the burned out families did much to assuage theirwoes. 

James Harmer, who had done much to see to the safe housing ofmultitudes of women and children, came home at last, and gatheringhis household about him, gave thanks for their timely preservationin another great peril; and then he dismissed them to their beds, bidding them sleep, for that none knew what the morrow might bringforth. And they went to such couches as they could find forthemselves, ready to do his behest; and though London was inflames, and the house almost as light as day, there were few thatdid not sleep soundly on the night which followed that strangeeventful Sunday. 

CHAPTER XVIII. WHAT BEFELL DINAH. 

Dinah Morse and her niece Janet were faring sumptuously in LordDesborough's house, hard by St. Paul's Churchyard. His young wifelay sick of a grievous fever, and he was well nigh distracted bythe fear of losing her. 

Nothing was too good for her, or for the gentle-faced, soft-voicednurses who had come to tend her in her hour of need. The best ofeverything was at their disposal; and it was no great source ofregret to them that several of the hired servants had fled beforetheir arrival, a whisper having gone through the house that herladyship had taken the plague. 

Dinah and Janet had seen too much of the plague to be deceived by afew trifling similarities in some of the symptoms. They were ableto assure the distracted husband that it was not the dreadeddistemper, and then they settled to the task of nursing like thosehabituated to it; and so different were they in their ways from thewomen he had seen before in the office of sick nurse, many of whomwere creatures of no good reputation, and of evil habits and life, that his mind was almost relieved of its fears and anxiety, and hebegan to entertain joyful hopes of the recovery of his spouse. 

Upon the Sunday morning which had passed so strangely andeventfully for those in the east of the city, there was nothing todisturb the tranquillity of patient or of nurses. It had been a hotnight, and Janet, when she relieved Dinah towards morning, said shehad seen a red light in the sky towards the east, and feared therehad been a bad fire. But neither of them thought much of this; andwhen the bell of St. Paul's rang for morning service, Dinah badeJanet put on her hood and go, for Lady Desborough was sleepingquietly, and would only need quiet watching for the next few hours. 

When Janet entered the great building she was aware that a certainexcitement and commotion seemed to prevail in some of the groupsgathered together in Paul's Walk, as the long nave of the oldbuilding was called. Paul's Walk was a place of no very goodrepute, and any modest girl was wont to hurry through it with herhood drawn and her eyes bent upon the ground. Disgraceful as suchdesecration must be accounted, there can be no doubt that Paul'swalk was a regular lounge for the dissipated and licentious younggallants of the day, a place where barter and traffic wereshamelessly carried on, and where all sorts of evil practicesprevailed. 

The sacredness of a building solemnly consecrated to God by theirpious forefathers seemed to mean nothing to the reckless roisterersof that shameless age. The Puritans during the late civil war hadset the example of desecrating churches, by using them as stablesand hospitals, and for other secular purposes. It was a naturaloutcome of such practices that the succeeding generation should goa step further and do infinitely worse. If God-fearing men did notscruple to desecrate consecrated churches, was it likely that theirgodless successors would have greater misgivings?

Janet therefore hurried along without seeking to know what men weretalking of, and during the time that the service went on she almostforgot the impression she had taken in on her first entrance. 

As she came out she joined the old door porter of Lord Desborough'shouse, and was glad to walk with him through the crowded nave andinto the bright, sunny air without. 

Although the sun was shining, she was aware of a certain murkinessin the air, but did not specially heed it until some loudly-spokenwords fell upon her ears. 

"But forty hours, and this whole city shall be consumed by fire!"shouted a strange-looking man, who, in very scanty attire, wasstationed upon the top of the steps, and was declaiming andgesticulating as he addressed a rather frightened-looking crowdbeneath him. "Within forty hours there shall not be left standingone stone upon another in all this mighty edifice. The hand of theLord is stretched forth against this evil city, and judgment shallbegin at His sanctuary. Beware, and bewail, and repent in dust andashes, for the Lord will do a thing this day which will cause theears of every one who hears it to tingle. He is coming! He iscoming! He is coming in clouds and majesty in a flaming fire, evenas He appeared on the mount of Sinai! Be ready to meet Him. Hecomes to smite and not to spare! His chariots of fire are over usalready. They travel apace upon the wings of the wind. I see them!I hear them! They come! they come! they come!"

The fanatic waved his hands in the air with frantic gestures, andpointed eastward. Certainly there did appear to be a strangemurkiness and haze in the air; and was there not a smell as ofburning? or was it but the idea suggested by the man's words? Janettrembled as she slipped her arm within that of the old porter. 

"What does he mean?" she asked nervously. "The people seem veryattentive to hear. They look affrighted, and some of them seem totremble. What does it all mean?"

"I scarce know myself. I heard men speak of a terrible fire rightaway in the east that has been burning many hours now. But surethey cannot fear that it will come nigh to St. Paul's. That weremadness indeed! Why, each dry summer, as it comes, brings us plentyof bad fires. The fellow is but one of those mad fools who love toscare honest folks out of their senses. Heed him not, mistress. Belike he knows no more than thou and I. It is his trade to set mentrembling. Let us go home; there is no danger for us. "

Rather consoled by these words, and certainly without any realapprehensions for their personal safety, Janet returned to thehouse, where she and Dinah passed a quiet day. Neither of them wentout again; and though they spoke sometimes of the fire, andwondered if it had been extinguished, they did not suffer any realanxiety of mind. 

"I trust it went not nigh to our homes, " said Janet once or twice. "I would that one of the boys might come and give us news of them. But if folks are in trouble over yonder, father is certain to havehis hands full. He will never stand by idle whilst other folks aresuffering danger and loss. "

"He is a good man, " answered Dinah, and with her these words stoodfor much. 

Towards nightfall Lord Desborough came in with rather an anxiouslook upon his face. His eyes first sought the face of his wife; butseeing her lie in the tranquil sleep which was her best medicine, he was satisfied of her well being, and without putting his usualstring of questions he began abruptly to ask of Dinah:

"Have you heard news of this terrible fire?"

Both nurses looked earnestly at him. 

"Is it not yet extinguished, my lord?"

"Extinguished? no, nor likely to be, if all we hear be true. I havenot seen it with mine own eyes. I was at Whitehall all the day, andheard no more than that some houses and churches in the east hadbeen burned. But they say now that the flames are spreading thisway with all the violence of a tempest at sea, and those who havebeen to see say that it is like a great sea of fire, rushing overeverything so that nothing can hinder it. The Lord Mayor and hisaldermen have been down since the morning, striving to do what theycan; but, so far as report says, the flames are yet unchecked. Itseems impossible that they should ever reach even to us here; but Iam somewhat full of fear. What would befall my poor young wife ifthe fire were to threaten this house?"

Dinah looked grave and anxious. Lady Desborough's condition wascritical, and she could only be moved at considerable risk. But itseemed impossible that the fire could travel all this distance. Only the troubled look on the husband's face would have convincedher that such a thing could be contemplated for a moment even bythe faintest-hearted. 

"You would not have us move her now, ere the danger approaches?"asked the husband anxiously. 

"No, my lord. To move her tonight would be, I think, certaindeath, " answered Dinah gravely. "She has but passed the crisis of avery serious fever, and is weak as a newborn babe. We will striveall we can to get up her strength, that she may be able for whatmay come. But I trust and hope the fire will be extinguished longere it reaches us. Oh, surely never was there fire that burned fordays and destroyed whole streets and parishes!"

"And oh, my lord, can you tell us if the bridge is safe?" askedJanet clasping her hands together in an agony of uncertainty andfear. "Have you heard news of the bridge? Oh, say it is not burned!They all talk of the east, but what does that mean? Who can tell meif my father's house has escaped?"

Lord Desborough was a very kindly man, and the distress of the girltouched him. 

"I will go forth and ask news of all who have been thither to see, "he answered. "Many have gone both by land and water to see thegreat sight. I would go likewise, save that I fear to leave mywife. But, at least, I will seek all the news I can get, and comeagain to you. "

The master of the house went forth, and the two anxious watchers, after a long look at their patient to satisfy themselves that shewas sleeping peacefully, and not likely to wake suddenly, creptsilently into an adjoining room, where a large window lookingeastward enabled them to see in the sky that strange and terribleglow, which was so bright and fierce as darkness fell that theywere appalled in beholding it spreading and brightening in the sky. 

"Good lack, what a terrible fire it must be!" cried Janet, wringingher hands together. "O good aunt, what can resist the oncoming furyof such a fearful conflagration? Would that I knew my father'shouse was safe. But, at least, those within must have had warning, and they could with ease escape by water if even the streets werein flames. Alack, this poor city! It does indeed seem as though thevials of God's wrath were being poured out upon it! Will His handbe stayed till all is destroyed? Surely the hearts of men must turnback to Him in these days of dire calamity!"

Dinah gravely shook her head, her face lighted up by theever-increasing light in the eastern sky, which grew brighter andbrighter with the gathering shades of night. 

"Methought in those terrible days of the plague that surely men'shearts would, for the future, be set upon higher things, seeing howthey had learned by fearful experience that man's life is but avapour that the wind carrieth away. But as soon as the pressingperil abated, they hardened their hearts, and turned hack to theirevil ways. It may be that even this warning will be lost upon them. God alone knows how many will see His hand in this great judgment, and will turn to Him in fear if not in love!"

Before many minutes had passed affrighted servants began peepingand then crowding into the room, as though they felt more assurancein presence of Dinah's quiet steadfastness and courage. The facesof the maids were pale with apprehension. It was difficult tobelieve, in the midst of this ruddy glare which actually palpitatedas the lights and shadows danced upon the wall, that the fire wasyet as distant as was reported. All the menservants had run outinto the streets after news of the progress of the fire, and thewomen were scared by their absence. Dinah did what she could tocalm them, pointing out that since they could as yet neither hearnor feel anything of so great a fire, it must still be a great wayoff. It was hardly possible to believe that it would be permittedto sweep onwards much longer unchecked. By this time men's mindsmust be fully alive to the great peril in which all London stood, and she doubted not that some wise measures would soon be taken tostay the spread of the flames. She advised the maidens to go to bedand not think any more about it. Let them commend themselves to Godand seek to sleep. She would undertake to watch, and to rouse themup should there be any need during the night. 

Somewhat appeased and comforted by these words, the maids withdrewand sought their needed rest. But Janet and Dinah returned to thesickroom, resolved to keep vigil there, and only to sleep by turnsupon the couch, ready dressed in case of emergency. 

It was nigh upon midnight before Lord Desborough returned, and hewas so blackened and begrimed that they scarcely knew him. 

His wife was still sleeping the sleep of exhausted nature, and, after one glance at her, the young nobleman turned towards Janet, who was quivering all over in her anxiety to hear the news. 

"Well, maiden, thy father's house is safe, and half the bridge issafe; and the thanks of that are due to him and to a worthyneighbour, who by their wise exertions stayed the fire, which mightelse have spread even to the other side of the river. "

Janet and Dinah exchanged looks of unspeakable relief, and LordDesborough continued in the same cautious undertone:

"Once out of doors, the fire fever quickly got its hold on me, evenas it has gotten hold upon almost every person in the city. I hadnot meant to go far but I took a wherry, and, the tide servingwell, I was swiftly borne along towards the bridge, and from theriver I saw the raging of such a fire as, methinks, the world hasnever seen before. No words of mine can paint the awful grandeur ofthe sight I saw. It was as light as day upon the water, and therewere times when the river itself seemed ablaze. For, as the flameswrought havoc amongst the warehouses and stores along the wharfs, burning masses of oil and tar would pour out upon the bosom of thewater, blazing terribly, and the boatmen had to keep a sharp watchsometimes lest they and their craft should be engulfed in the fierystream. To the ignorant, who knew not what caused the water to wearthis aspect of burning, it appeared as though even the river hadignited. This increased their terrors tenfold, and they say thatsome poor distraught creatures actually flung themselves into thefire or the water, convinced that the end of the world had come, and careless as to whether they perished soon or late. "

"But my father--my father!" cried Janet earnestly. 

"Ah, true, thy father. I heard of him from the watermen in thewherries, who told me the tale of how he had saved the bridge bypulling down his workshops and drenching the ruins with water. Itseemeth to me that unless some prompt and resolute course of asimilar kind is taken tomorrow or tonight, infinite loss mustensue. No ordinary means can now check this great fire. But surelythe Lord Mayor and his advisers will have by now a plan on foot. Were I not so weary, and anxious about my wife, I would go forthonce more to see what was doing. But I must wait now for themorrow, and then, pray Heaven all danger may be at an end. Fearnot, good friends, if you hear terrible sounds as of an earthquakeshaking the house this night. Men say that if the city is to besaved it must be by the blowing up of whole streets of small housessomewhere in the path of the flames, so that they shall havenothing whereon to feed. Others say that nothing will stop them, and that none will be found ready to make sacrifice of theirdwellings for the public good, preferring to risk the chance of theflames reaching them. I know not the truth of all the rumoursflying about; but the thing might be, and might be wisely done. Sofear not if you should hear some sounds that will make you think ofan earthquake. And call me if aught alarms you, or if my wifeshould change either for the better or the worse. "

So saying, Lord Desborough took himself off to his well-earnedrepose; and the two nurses passed the night, sometimes waking andsometimes sleeping, but not disturbed by any strange sounds ofexplosion, and hopeful, as the night passed without special event, that the fire had been extinguished. 

But morning brought appalling accounts of its spread. Nothing hadbeen done, it seemed, to stay its course. It had reached Cheapside, and was rushing a headlong course down it, and even the Guildhall, men said, would not escape. North and west the great, rolling bodyof the flames was spreading; churches were going down before it, one after the other, as helplessly as the timber and plasterhouses, which burned like so much tinder. Hour after hour as thatday passed by fresh and terrible items of news were brought in. Would anything ever stop the oncoming sea of fire? Surely--surelysomething would be done to save St. Paul's. Surely that magnificentand time-honoured structure would not be permitted to perishwithout some attempt to save it!

Dinah went out at midday for a mouthful of air, leaving Janet incharge of the sick lady. She turned her steps towards the greatedifice towering up in all its grandeur towards the sunny sky. Itwas hard indeed to believe that it could succumb to the devouringelement, so solid and unconsumable it looked. Yet, although all menwere asserting vehemently that "Paul's could never burn, " all faceswere looking anxious, and all ears were eagerly attuned to catchany new item of news which a messenger or passerby might bring. 

The murkiness in the air, faintly discernible even yesterday, hadbecome very marked by this time. The smell of fire was in the air, although as yet the terrible roaring of the flames, of which allmen who had been near it were speaking, had not yet become audiblein the Babel of talk going on in the streets and about the greatchurch. The dean and canons were grouped about the precincts, looking anxiously into each other's faces, as though to seek toread encouragement from one another. Nothing was talked of but thefire, the incapacity shown by the civic authorities in dealing withit, and lamentations that good Sir John Lawrence, who had coped soably with the pestilence last year, should be no longer in officeat this second great crisis. 

Still it was averred on all hands that something was about to bedone; that it was too scandalous to stand by panic stricken whilstthe whole city perished. Every one seemed to have heard talkrespecting the demolition or blowing up of houses in the path ofthe flames; but none could say actually that it had been done, orwas about to be done, in any given locality. 

Burned out households were pouring continually along the chokedthoroughfares, striving to find safe places where they might bestowsuch goods as they had succeeded in saving. Charitable persons wereoccupied in housing and feeding those who had nothing of their own;whilst others, whose fears were on a larger scale, were fleeingaltogether away from the city to friends in the country beyond, desiring only to escape the coming judgment, which seemed like thatpoured out on Sodom. 

Dinah went back with a very grave face to her charge. The poor ladyhad now recovered her senses, and though as weak as a newborn babe, was able to smile from time to time upon her husband, who satbeside her holding her hand between his. He was so overjoyed atthis happy change in his wife's condition that he had no thought tospare at this moment for the peril of the city. He asked for nonews as Dinah appeared; and indeed it was very necessary that thepatient should not be in any wise alarmed or excited. 

Dinah, however, was becoming very uneasy as time went on; and shewas certain that the air grew darker than could be accounted for bythe falling dusk, and upon going to the east window as the twilightfell, she was appalled by the awful glare in the sky, and wascertain that now, indeed, she did begin to distinguish the roaringof the flames as the wind drifted them ever onwards and onwards. 

Had it not been for the exceedingly critical state in which thepatient lay, she would have suggested her removal before thingsgrew worse. As it was, it might be death to move her; and perhapsthe flames would be stayed ere they reached the noble cathedralpile. Surely every effort would be made for that end. It wasdifficult to imagine that the citizens would not combine togetherin some great and mighty effort to save their homes and theirsanctuary before it should be too late. 

"What an awful sight!" exclaimed a soft voice behind her. "Heavengrant the peril be not so nigh as it looks!"

It was Lord Desborough, who had come in and was looking withanxious eyes at the flaming sky, over which great clouds of sparksand flaming splinters could be seen drifting. It might only befancy, but the room seemed to be growing hot with the breath of thefire. The young nobleman's face was very grave and disturbed. 

"What must we do?" he asked of Dinah. "Can she be moved? Ought weto take her elsewhere?"

"I would we could, " answered Dinah, "but she is so weak that it maybe death to carry her hence, and if we spoke to her of thisterrible thing that is happening, the shock might bring back thefever, and then, indeed, all would be lost. "

The husband wrung his hands together in the utmost anxiety. Dinahstood thinking deeply. 

"My lord, " she presently said, "it may come to this, that she willhave to be moved, risk or no risk. Should we not think aboutwhither to take her if it be needful?"

"Ay, verily; but where may that be? Who can know what place issafe? And to transport her far would be certain death. She woulddie on the road thither. "

"That is very true, my lord, " answered Dinah; "but it has come intomy mind that, perchance, my sister's house could receive her--thathouse upon the bridge, which is now safe, and which can be in nodanger again, since all the city about it lies in ashes. By boat wecould transport her most gently of all; and tonight, upon therising tide, it might well be done, if the need should become morepressing. "

"A good thought! a happy thought indeed!" cried Lord Desborough. "But art thou sure that thy good kinsmen will have room withintheir walls? They may have befriended so many. "

"That is like enow, " answered Dinah; "I have thought of thatmyself. My lord, methinks it would be a good plan for you to takeboat now, at once, taking the maid Janet with you as a guide andspokeswoman. She will take you to her father's house and explainall; and then her father and brothers will come back with you, ifneed presses more sorely, and help us to transport thither the poorlady. I will sit by her the while, and by plying her with cordialsand such food as she can swallow, strive to feed her feeblestrength; and if the flames seem coming nearer and nearer, I willmake shift to dress her in such warm and easy garments as are bestsuited to the journey she may have to take. And I will trust to youto be back to save us ere the danger be over great. "

"That I will! that I will!" cried the eager husband. "The plan isan excellent one! I will lose not a moment in acting upon it. Ilike not the look of yon sky. I fear me there will be no stayingthe raging of the flames. I will lose not a minute. Bid the girl beready, and we will forth at once. We will take boat at Baynard'sCastle, and be back again ere two hours have passed!"

Janet was delighted with the plan. She was restless and nervoushere, and anxiously eager to know what had befallen her own people. She would gladly have had Dinah to go also, but saw that the sicklady could not be left, and that it would not be right to move hersave on urgent necessity; but to go and get a band of eager helpersto come to the rescue if need be satisfied her entirely, and shesaid a joyful farewell to her aunt, promising to send help rightspeedily. 

Left alone with her patient, Dinah commenced her task of feedingthe lamp of life, and seeking by every means in her power toprepare the patient for the possible transit. Once she was calledfrom the room by some commotion without, and found the frightenedservants all huddled together outside the door, uncertain whetherto fly the place altogether or to wait till some one came withdefinite news as to the magnitude of the peril. The light in thesky was terrible. The showers of sparks were falling all round thehouses and the cathedral. The roar of the approaching fire began tobe clearly distinguished above every other sound. 

Dinah, who knew that tumult and affright were the worst thingspossible for her patient, counselled the cowering maids to makegood their escape at once, since there was nothing to be done inthe house that night, and they were far too frightened to sleep. All had friends who would give them shelter. And soon the house wassilent and empty, for the men had gone off either to the fire orout of sheer fright, and Dinah was left quite alone with herpatient. 

"What is that noise I hear all the time?" asked Lady Desboroughpresently, in a feeble voice. "I feel as though there was somethingburning in the room. The air seems thick and heavy. Is it myfantasy, or do I smell burning? Where is my husband? Is theresomething the matter going on?"

"There is a bad fire not very far from here, my lady, " answeredDinah quietly. "My lord has gone to see if it be like to spread, that he may take such steps as are needful. Be not anxious; we aresafe beneath his care. He will let no hurt come nigh us before heis back to tell us what we shall do. "

A tranquil smile lighted the lady's face at these words. She was inthat state of weakness when the mind is not easily ruffled, andDinah's calm face and steady voice were very tranquillizing. 

"Ah yes, my good lord will not let hurt come nigh us. We will awaithis good pleasure. I trust no poor creatures are in peril? Therewill be many to help them I trow?"

"Yes, my lady. I have not heard of lives lost; and many say that itis good for some of the old houses to burn, that they may buildbetter ones little by little. Now take this cordial, and sleep oncemore. I will awaken you when my lord returns. "

The lady obeyed, and soon slept again, her pulse stronger andfirmer and her mind at rest. 

But Dinah was growing very uneasy. Far though she was above thestreet, she heard shouts and cries--muffled and distant truly, butvery apparent to her strained faculties--all indicative of alarmand the presence of peril. She dared not leave her post at thebedside, but the air was becoming so thick with smoke that thepatient coughed from time to time, and the nurse was not certainhow much longer it would be possible to breathe in it. She wascertain, too, that the place was becoming hot, increasingly hot, each minute. 

Oh, where was Lord Desborough? why did he not come? At last shestole from the room and into the adjoining chamber, and then indeedan awful sight met her shrinking gaze. 

A pillar of lambent flame, which seemed to her to be close at hand, was rising up in the air as though it reached the very heavens. Itswayed slowly this way and that, surrounded by clouds of crimsonsmoke and a veritable furnace of sparks. Then, as she watched withawed and fascinated gaze, it suddenly seemed to make a boundtowards the tower of St. Paul's standing up majestic and beautifulagainst the fiery sky. It fastened upon it like a living monstergreedy of prey. Tongues of flame seemed to be licking it on allsides, and a mass of fire encircled it. 

With a gasp of fear and horror Dinah turned away. 

"St. Paul's on fire!" she exclaimed beneath her breath; "God in Hismercy have pity upon us! Can any one save us now?"

CHAPTER XIX. JUST IN TIME. 

Lady Desborough sat up in bed propped up with pillows, dressed insuch flowing garments as Dinah had been able to array her in, hereyes shining in anxious expectation, her panting breath showing theoppression caused by the murkiness of the atmosphere. But in spiteof the peril of the situation, to which she had now awakened withfull comprehension; in spite of the fatigue of being partiallydressed, with a view to sudden flight; in spite of the horror ofknowing herself to be alone with Dinah in this flame-encircledhouse, her spirit rose to the occasion, triumphing over theweakness of the flesh. Dinah had feared that the knowledge of theperil would extinguish the faint flame of life; but it seemedrather to cause it to burn more strongly. The fragile creaturelooked full of courage, and the fears she experienced at thismoment were less for herself than for others. 

"My dear lord! my dear lord!" she kept repeating. "Dinah, if hewere living nothing would keep him from me. Where is he gone? Dostthou think he will return in time?"

"I think so, my dear lady, " answered Dinah in her full, quietvoice; "I pray he may come soon!"

"Yes, pray for him, pray for him!" cried the lady clasping herhands, "I have not prayed for him enough. Pray that his preciouslife may be preserved!"

Dinah clasped her hands and bent her head. Her whole facultiesseemed merged in one great stress of urgent prayer. The lady lookedat her and touched her hand gently. 

"You are a good woman, Dinah Morse. I am glad to have you with me;but if my good lord come not soon, you must save yourself and fly. I will not have you lose your life for me. You have not strength tobear me hence, and I cannot walk. You must fly and save yourself. For me, if my dear lord be dead, life has nothing for me to desireit. "

"Madam, " answered Dinah, in her calm, resolute way, "your goodlord, my master, entrusted you to my care, and that charge I cannotand will not quit whatever may betide. God is with us in the midstof the fire as truly as He was in the raging of the plague. Hebrought me safe through the one peril, and I can trust Him for thissecond one. Our lives we may not recklessly cast away, neither maywe fly from our post of duty lightly, and without due warrant. "

Lady Desborough's thin white fingers closed over Dinah's steadyhand with a grateful pressure. 

"Thou art a good woman, Dinah, " she said. "Thy presence beside megives me strength and hope. Truly I should dread to be left alone, and yet I would not have thee stay if the peril becomes great. "

"We will trust that help may reach us shortly, " answered Dinah, whorealized the magnitude of the peril far more clearly than did thesick lady, who had no idea of the awful extent of the fire. 

That it was a bad one she was well aware, and in perilous proximityto their dwelling; but Dinah had not told her, nor had she for amoment guessed, that half the city of London was already destroyed. 

"Go and look from the windows, " she said a few minutes later, whenthe two had sat in silent prayer and meditation for that briefinterval. "Go see what is happening in the street below. I marvelthat I hear so little stir of voices. But the walls are thick, andwe are high up. Go and see what is passing below, and bring me wordagain. "

Dinah was not loth to obey this behest, being terribly anxious toknow what was happening around them. Neither by word nor by signwould she add to the anxieties of Lady Desborough, knowing how muchmight depend upon her calmness if the chance of rescue offereditself; but she herself began to entertain grave fears for thesafety of this house, wedged in, as it appeared to her to be, between masses of blazing buildings. 

Running up to the top attics of the house, which commanded viewsalmost every way, the sight which greeted her eyes was indeedappalling. The whole mass of St. Paul's grand edifice was alight, and the flames were rushing up the walls like fiery serpents whilstthe dull roar of the conflagration was like the booming of thebreakers on an iron-bound coast. Grand and terrible was the sightpresented by that vast sea of flame, which extended eastward as faras the eyes could see. It was more brilliantly light now, in themiddle of the night, than in the brightest summer noontide, although the blood-red glare was terrible in its intensity, andbrought to Dinah's spirit, with a shudder of horror, a vision ofthe bottomless pit with its eternal fires. 

But without pausing to linger to watch the awful grandeur of theburning cathedral, she hastily passed from attic to attic to seehow matters were going in other quarters, and she soon discovered, to her dismay and anxiety, that the flames had crept around thelittle wedge-like block of buildings in which this mansion stood, and that they were literally ringed round by fire. By some caprice, or perhaps owing to its solidity of structure, this smallthree-cornered block, containing about three good houses, had notyet ignited; but the hungry flames were creeping on apace, and, asit seemed to Dinah, from all sides. As she took in this fact, itseemed to her that help could never reach them now, and that allthey could do was to strive to meet death with as calm and bold aspirit as they could, commending their souls to God, and trustingthat He would raise up their bodies at the last day, even thoughthey might be consumed to ashes in the midst of this burning fire. 

What was that noise? Surely a shout from below. Dinah started, andfled hastily down the staircase. In another moment she heard moreplainly. 

"Sweet heart, sweet heart, where art thou--oh where art thou?"

It was Lord Desborough's voice; she recognized it with a thrill ofgladness. But there was another voice mingling with it which shealso knew, and she heard her own name called with equal urgency. 

"Dinah! Mistress Dinah! Ah, pray God we have not come too late!Dinah, we are here to save you both! Show yourself, if you be stillthere. Pray Heaven they have not rushed forth in their fears andperished in the flames!"

In another instant Dinah had rushed to a window, which seemed to beon the same side of the house as the voices--namely, at the back;and, in the narrow court below, she saw Lord Desborough, the MasterBuilder, her brother, and Reuben, all clustered together, withladders and ropes, and all calling aloud to those within to showthemselves. 

"We are here! we are safe! but the fire is well nigh upon us, "answered Dinah, who had just been convinced by the rolling of thesmoke up the staircase that the lower part of the house was inflames. 

"Thank God! thank God! they are still there!" cried Lord Desboroughat sight of her; whilst the Master Builder, who was getting aladder into position in order to run it up to the window where shestood, spoke rapidly and commandingly:

"There is no time to lose. The house is ringed by fire. It will beall we can do to make good our escape. The front of the place is inflames already; we cannot approach that way, and the street is fullof waves of fire. Can you make shift to bring out the sick lady tothis window? or--"

Dinah vanished the moment she understood what was to be done; butquick as were her movements, Lord Desborough was in the room almostas soon as she was. He must have darted up the ladder almost ere itwas in position, and the next moment he had his wife in his arms, straining her passionately to his breast, as she cried in joyfulaccents:

"O my love, my dear, dear love! methought thou hadst perished inyon fearful fire!"

"It is more fearful than thou dost know, sweet heart, but withHeaven's help we will bear thee safe through it. Shut thine eyes, dear heart, and trust to me. We have won our way thus far in theteeth of many a peril. Pray Heaven we make good our escape in likefashion. We have taken every measure of precaution. "

In her great delight at having her husband back safe and sound, andin her state of exceeding weakness, Lady Desborough understoodlittle of the terrible nature of what was happening. She felt herhusband's arms round her; she knew he had come to save her fromdanger; and her trust was so perfect and implicit that it left noroom in her heart for anxious fears. She closed her eyes like atired child, and laid her head upon his shoulder. 

He was a strong man, and she had wasted in the fever to a mereshadow, and was always small and slight. He carried her as easilyas though she had been an infant; and making straight for the openwindow, he climbed out upon the ladder and went slowly and steadilydown it, whilst those below held it for him. 

Dinah watched the descent with eager eyes, unheeding all else. Shenever thought to look behind her. She had no idea that a mass offlames had suddenly come rushing up the stairway behind her. Shewas conscious of an overpowering heat and a rush of blinding smokethat caused her to stagger back gasping for breath; but it was onlyas she actually felt the hot breath of the flames upon her cheek, and saw that the whole house had suddenly become involved in theuniversal destruction, that she knew what had befallen her, andthat death was striving hard to clutch her and make her its prey. 

With a short, sharp cry, she staggered towards the open window, butthe heat and the smoke made her dizzy. She fell against the frame, and uttered a faint cry for help; and then it seemed to her thatthe body of flame behind leaped upon her like a live thing. She wasconscious for a moment of making a fierce and desperate struggle, and then she knew no more, for black darkness swallowed her up, andher last moment of consciousness was spent in a prayer that theLord would be with her in death and receive her spirit into Hishands. 

When next Dinah opened her eyes it was to find a cool wind blowingon her face, and to feel an unwonted motion of the bed (as shesupposed it for a moment) on which she was lying. Everything wasbright as day about her, but everything seemed to be dyed the hueof blood. The next moment sense and memory returned. She realizedthat she was lying in the bottom of a boat, which men were rowingwith steady strokes. She saw Lord Desborough sitting in the stern, only a few feet away, still clasping his wife in his arms. She knewthat her head was lying in somebody's lap, and the next moment sheheard a familiar voice saying:

"Ah! she is better now. She has opened her eyes!"

"Rachel!" exclaimed Dinah sitting suddenly up, in spite of asensation of giddiness which made everything swim before her eyesfor a few moments; and Rachel Harmer looked down into her face andsmiled. 

"Dear Dinah, thank Heaven thou art safe! I hear that thou wert infearful peril in this burning city; but our good neighbour broughtthee forth from the blazing house just as the boards on which thouwert standing gave way beneath thy feet. Oh, how thankful must webe that our home and our dear ones have all been preserved to us, when half the city is lying in ruins!"

Dinah raised herself up still more at these words, and turned hereyes in the direction of the raging flames on the north side of theriver; and only then was she able to realize something of theterrible magnitude of that great conflagration. 

The boat was hugging the Southwark shore, for indeed it was scarcesafe to approach the other, save from motives of dire necessity, and so thickly did sparks and fragments of blazing matter fallhissing into the river for quite half its width, that boats werechary of adventuring themselves much beyond the Southwark bank, save those conveying persons or goods from some of the many wharfs;and these made straight across with their cargoes as soon as theycould quit the shore. 

"It is terrible! terrible!" gasped Dinah. "It is like the mouth ofa volcano! And to think that but a short hour since I was in themidst of it. O sister, tell me how thou comest to be here. Tell mehow I was snatched from the flames, for, verily, I thought I wastheir prey. "

Rachel put a trembling arm about her sister's shoulders as she madereply. 

"Truly there were those standing by who thought the same. But forthe brave expedition of our neighbour there, methinks thou wouldsthave perished; but let me tell the tale from the beginning. 

"It was some time after dark--I scarce know how the hours have spedthrough these two strange nights and days, when the day seemsalmost dimmer than the night. But suddenly there was Janet withus--Janet and my Lord Desborough, come with news that the fire hadthreatened even St. Paul's, and that he desired help to save hissick wife and thee, Dinah, ere the flames should have reached hisabode. Janet told us much of the poor lady's state, and we made allfitting preparation to receive her. But none were at home save theboys, and they had to go forth and find their father and brother, to return with Lord Desborough to help him in his work of rescue. He would fain have got others and not have tarried so long. But allmen seem distraught by fear, and would not listen to his promisesof reward, nor face the perils either of the journey by water or ofan approach to the flaming city. "

"Indeed it hath a fearful aspect!" said Dinah thoughtfully, as sheturned her eyes upon the blazing mass that had been teeming withlife but a few short hours ago. "Hast heard, sister, whether manypoor creatures have perished in the flames? Oh, my heart has beensad for them, thinking of all the homeless and all the dead!"

"They say that wondrous few have fallen victims to the fire, " saidRachel, "and those that have perished are, for the most part, poor, distraught creatures, whom terror caused to fling away their lives, or like my Lady Scrope, who would not leave her home and preferredto perish with it. It is sad enough to think of the thousands whohave lost home and goods in the fire. But had it come before theplague had ravaged the city so fearfully, it must have been tenfoldworse. Methinks if the lanes and courts of the city had beencrowded as they were then, the loss of life must needs have beenfar greater. "

"But to proceed with thy tale, " said Dinah after a pause. "How wasit that thou didst adventure thyself with the rescuing party in theboat?"

"Methought that, as there were helpless women to be saved, a womanmight find work to do suited more to her than to the men folks. Moreover, I may not deny that I felt a great and mighty desire tosee this wonderful fire more nigh. Custom has used us to so muchsince it commenced that the terror of it has somewhat faded. Theywere saying that St. Paul's was blazing or like to blaze. I desiredto see that awful sight; and see it I did right well, as we pushedthe boat into mid-water after landing Lord Desborough and hisassistants at Baynard's Castle. They were some half hour gone, andwe sat and watched the fire, in some fear truly for them, for theflames seemed devouring everything, but with confidence that theywould act with all prudence, and in the full belief that the firehad not yet attacked my lord's house. "

"Ah, but it had!" said Dinah with a little shiver. "I would nothave believed that flames could sweep on at such a fearful pace. One minute we seemed safe, the next it was seething round us!"

"That is what they all say of this fire. It travels with such anawful rapidity, and will suddenly pounce like a live thing uponsome building hitherto unharmed, and in an incredibly short timewill have licked it up, if one may so speak, leaving nothing but amass of smouldering ashes behind. "

"I know how it leaps, " spoke Dinah, with a little shiver. "I cannotthink even now how I came to be saved. "

"It was our good neighbour, the Master Builder, who saved thee atrisk of his life, " answered Rachel with a little sob in her voice. "It was a terrible thing to see, Reuben tells me. He and his fatherwere holding the ladder, and Lord Desborough was bringing down hiswife, when all in a moment the house seemed engulfed in one ofthose great flame waves of which all men are speaking, and they sawyou totter and fall, as if it had engulfed thee in its deadlyembrace. Lord Desborough was not yet down the ladder, and knewnothing of thy peril, being engrossed in tender care for his wife. Nobody could pass him, nor would the ladder bear a greater weight;but the next moment they saw that our good neighbour had somehowgot another ladder against the wall and was rushing up it at a pacethat seemed impossible. Reuben ran to steady this ladder, for itwas like to fall with the quaking and shaking. And then, justbefore they heard the fall of the burning floors, he saw the MasterBuilder coming down bearing his burden safely; and once having bothof you safe, there was not a moment to lose in making for the boat. Already the alley was full of blinding flame and choking smoke, andit was all the men could do to carry the pair of you safe toBaynard's Castle, where we took you all on board, but only twominutes before the fire began to blaze there also. See, by lookingback thou canst see how fiercely it is burning!

"God alone knows how and where it will be stayed. They say it isspreading northward as furiously as it flies westward. If the citywalls stay not its course, all London will surely perish. "

Dinah was silent a while, looking seriously before her. Then shelifted her face nearer to her sister's and said:

"Prithee, tell me, has our good friend and neighbour suffered hurtin thus adventuring his life for me?"

"He has not spoken of it, if so be that he has, " was the answer;"but the haste and peril and confusion were too great for manywords. We shall soon be at home now, and all who need it willreceive tendance. I fear me, dear sister, that thou canst notaltogether have escaped the cruel embrace of the fire. Thy garmentswere singed and charred: but this cloak covers thee well andprotects thee from the night air. "

Dinah moved herself, and felt no hurt. She looked anxiously towardsLord Desborough, as though to ask how it went with his lady. Fortunately the night was warm and calm, save for the light breezethat was enough to fan the fierce flames onward and onward. By daythe wind blew hard from the east; but it dropped at night, and thiswas no small boon to the many homeless creatures who had no roofsto shelter their heads. 

Once landed at the Southwark wharf, the party was soon within thesheltering doors of the twin houses. Gertrude came forth to meetthem, anxious solicitude written on every line of her face. 

The first care was for the poor lady, for whom they had made readya pleasant and airy room. She was carried thither, and Dinahfollowed to see what was her condition; and although she wasexceedingly weak, she was not unconscious, and so long as she hadher husband beside her holding her hand, she seemed to care nothingfor the strangeness of her surroundings, or for the perils throughwhich she had passed. 

"Verily, I think she will live, " said Dinah, when Janet had fed herwith some of the strong broth which had been made in readiness. "She looks not greatly worse than when she started up in bed in herown house with the consciousness that there was fire near. I hadnot thought so tender a frame could go through so much of peril andhardship; but methinks her lord's return was the charm that workedso marvellously for her; for, truly, she had begun to fear himdead. "

Satisfied as to her patient, Dinah allowed herself to be taken careof by Gertrude, who insisted on removing her burned garments, andassuring herself that no other hurt had been done. It was wonderfulwhat an escape Dinah's had been, for there was scarcely any mark offire upon her, only a little redness here and there, but nothingapproaching to a severe burn. She declared that she could not go tobed in the midst of so much excitement; and after telling Gertrudeof the wonderful nature of her own escape, she added, with aslightly heightened colour:

"I would fain assure myself of the welfare of thy brave father, forit may be that he may have sustained some hurt; and if that be so, we must minister to his needs right speedily. Much depends in burnsupon the promptness with which they are dressed. "

Gertrude's filial anxiety was at once aroused, as well as her warmadmiration for her father's courage and devotion. Together theysought him out and found him in one of the lower rooms, a plate offood before him, which, however, he had hardly touched. 

The moment he saw his daughter, who entered a little in advance, herose hastily and exclaimed:

"Tell me how she does. Has she received any hurt?"

"Lady Desborough?" asked Gertrude; "they all say she--"

"Nay, nay, child, not Lady Desborough! What is Lady Desborough tome? I mean Dinah, that noble, devoted woman, who would not leaveher mistress even in the face of deadly peril. Tell me of her! Tellme--"

And here the Master Builder came to a dead stop, and paused for amoment in bashful shamefacedness most unwonted with him, for therewas Dinah entering behind his daughter, and surely she must haveheard every word. 

"Dinah is not hurt, father, " said Gertrude, covering the awkwardpause with ready tact; "her escape has been truly wonderful. Shewishes to know whether you also have escaped; for she tells me thatyou must have faced a sea of flame in order to get to her. "

"Your arm is hurt--is burned!" said Dinah coming forward quickly, her eye detecting that much in a moment. "Gertrude, bring me theoil and the linen. I will bind it up before I do aught else. Whenthe air is kept away the smart is wonderfully allayed. "

The burn was rather a severe one, but the Master Builder seemed tofeel no pain under the dexterous manipulation of Dinah's gentle, capable hands. When he would have thanked her she gave him a quicklook, and made a low-toned answer. 

"Nay, nay, I can hear no thanks from thee. Do I not owe thee mylife? But for thee I should not be here now. It is I who must thankthee--only I have no words in which to do it. "

"Then let us do without words between us for the future, Dinah, "said the Master Builder, possessing himself of one of her hands, which was not withdrawn. "If thou hadst perished in the fire, lifehad had nothing left for me. Does not that show that we belong toeach other? I have not much to give, but all I have is thine; and Ithink thou mightest go the world over and not find a more lovingheart!"

CHAPTER XX. THE FLAMES STAYED. 

"Something must be done! The whole city must not perish! It is ashame that so much destruction has already taken place. What arethe city magnates about that they stand idle, wringing their hands, whilst all London burns about their ears?"

Young Lord Desborough was the speaker. He had risen in someexcitement from the table where he had been seated at breakfast, for James Harmer had just come in with the news that the fire wasstill burning with the same fierceness as of old; that it hadspread beyond the city walls, Ludgate and Newgate having both beenreduced to a heap of smoking ruins; that it was spreading northwardand westward as fiercely as ever; whilst even in an easterlydirection it was creeping slowly and insidiously along, so that menbegan to whisper that the Tower itself would eventually fall aprey. 

"Nay, now, but that must not, that shall not be!" cried LordDesborough in great excitement. "Shame enough for London that St. Paul's is gone! Are we to lose every ancient building of historicfame? What would his Majesty say were that to perish also? Zounds!methinks my Lord Mayor must surely be sleeping. In good King Henrythe Eighth's reign his head would have been struck off ere now. 

"Thou hast seen him, thou sayest, good Master Harmer. What does hepurpose to do? Surely he cannot desire all the city to perish. Yet, methinks, that will be what will happen, if indeed it be notalready accomplished. "

"He is like one distraught, " answered Harmer. "I went to himyesterday, and I have been again at break of day this morn. I havetold him how we saved the bridge, and have begged powers of him toeffect great breaches at various points to stay the ravages of theflames; but he will do naught but say he must consider, he mustconsider. "

"And whilst he considers, London burns to ashes!" cried the youngnobleman in impetuous scorn. "A plague upon his consideration andhis reflections! We want a man who can act in times like these. Beshrew me if I go not to his Majesty myself and tell him the wholetruth. Methinks if he but knew the dire need for bold measures, London might even now be saved--so much of it as yet remains. Ifthe Lord Mayor is worse than a child at such a crisis, let us tohis Majesty and see what he will say!"

"A good thought, in truth, " answered Harmer thoughtfully. "Butsurely his Majesty knows?"

"Ay, after a fashion doubtless; but it takes some little time torouse the lion spirit in him. He is wont to laugh and jest somewhattoo much, and dally with news, whilst he throws the dice with hiscourtiers, or passes a compliment to some fair lady. He takes lifesomewhat too lightly does my lord the King, until he be thoroughlyroused. But the blood of kings runs in his veins; and let him butbe awakened to the need for action, then he can act as a sovereign, indeed. "

"Then, good my lord, in the name of all those poor townsfolk whosehouses are standing yet, let the King be roused to a full sense ofthe dire peril!" cried Harmer, in almost passionate tones; "for ifsome one come not to their help, I trow there will not be a housewithin or without the city that will not be reduced to ashes eretwo more days have passed. "

"It is terrible to think of, " said the Master Builder, who wastaking his meal with the young lord, by his special desire, bothhaving slept late into the morning after the exertions of theprevious night. "If you, my lord, can get speech of the King, andshow him the things you have seen and suffered, methinks that thatshould be enough to rouse him. And doubtless you could get speechof his Majesty without trouble, whereas a humble citizen might suefor hours in vain. "

"Yes, I trow that I could obtain an audience without much ado, "answered Lord Desborough, though he gave rather a doubtful glanceat his soiled and fire-blackened garments, which were all he had inthe world since the burning of his house. "But I would have you gowith me also, good Masters Harmer and Mason; for it was your promptmethods that saved the bridge, and perchance all Southwark too. Iwould have you with me to add your testimony to mine. 

"Master Harmer, your name was spoken often in the time of theraging of the plague, as that of a brave and loyal citizen. It islikely his Majesty may bear it still in mind, and it will giveweight to any testimony you have to offer. "

Harmer and the Master Builder exchanged glances. They had notthought to appear before royalty, but they were willing to doanything that might be for the good of the town; and whilst the onehurried away to procure a wherry to take them as near as might beto Whitehall, the other supplied, from the stores in the shop, anew court suit to young Lord Desborough befitting his rank andstation. 

Lady Desborough was going on better than any had dared to hope. Herhusband stole in to look at her before his departure, and wasrewarded by a sweet and tranquil smile. He stole towards thebedside and kissed her, telling her he was going to see the King;and she, knowing that his duties called him often to Court, askedno question, and seemed to remember nothing of the fire, but onlybade him return anon to her when he could. 

Reuben was going also in the boat, and some of the men as rowers. Gertrude had donned her best cloak and holiday gown, and askedwistfully of her husband:

"Prithee take me also; I will not be in your way. But I would fainsee something of this great sight of which all men talk, and theysay it may best be seen from the river. "

"Come then, sweet heart, so as thou dost not ask to run intoperil, " said Reuben; and by noon the party were well on their way, their progress being somewhat slow, as the tide was running out, and there was a considerable press of craft on the river, which wasthe only safe roadway now from one part of the burned city to theother. 

As boats passed each other, items of news were exchanged betweenthe occupants, and every tale added some detail of horror to thelast. Bridewell was in flames now, and many said Newgate also. Someaverred that the prisoners had been left locked up in their cellsto perish miserably, others that they had all been released, andthat London would be swarming with felons and criminals, who wouldlead the van in the many acts of plunder which were already beingperpetrated. What might be the truth of all these rumours nonecould say; but one thing could at least be gathered, which was thatthe fire was still raging unchecked, and that nothing had as yetbeen done to stay its progress. 

When the boat had reached its destination, Lord Desboroughcourteously invited Gertrude and her husband to accompany thedeputation. They had not anticipated any such thing; but curiosityovercame every other feeling, and before another half hour hadpassed they found themselves absolutely within the precincts ofWhitehall, passing along corridors where fine-feathered gallantsand royal lackeys and pages walked hither and thither, and wheretheir appearance excited some mirthful curiosity, although nobodyspoke openly to them. 

Lord Desborough was challenged on all hands, but gave only briefreplies. He would tell no word of his mission; and presently he ledhis companions into a small anteroom, which was quite empty, andcharged the servant, who had accompanied them thus far, not topermit any one to enter so long as they were there. Then he hurriedaway to seek audience of the King, but promised to join hiscompanions again in as brief a time as possible. 

"Belike it will be long enough ere we see him again, " said Harmer, who almost regretted having come when there might be work to doelsewhere. "The ear of royalty is often besieged in vain, or atleast it is a case of hours before an audience can be obtained. Yonpleasure-loving monarch will care but little if all London burn, soas he has his ladies and his courtiers about him to make merry byday and by night!"

By which sentiment it may be gathered that a good deal of thePuritan sternness of character and distrust of royalty lingered inthe mind of James Harmer, although in this case he was not destinedto be a true prophet. 

Half an hour may have passed, certainly not more, before a sound ofapproaching voices from the inner room, to which this one was butthe antechamber, announced the approach of some persons. Thelisteners within thought they distinguished the tones of LordDesborough's voice; nor were they mistaken, for next moment, whenthe doors were flung wide open, and the party instinctively rose totheir feet, it was to see the young noble approaching in earnesttalk with a very dark, sallow man in an immense black periwig, whomin a moment they knew to be the King himself. He was followed by astill darker man, less richly dressed than himself, but still veryfine and gay, who was so like the King as to be recognizedinstantly for the Duke of York. 

The little group made deep obeisance as the royal party cameforward, and received in return a carelessly gracious nod from theKing, who flung himself into a seat, and looked at Lord Desborough. 

"His Majesty would know from you, good Masters Harmer and Mason, what you have seen with your own eyes of this fire, and inparticular how the flames were stayed upon the bridge by yourefforts. He has heard so many contradictory stories from those whoare less well informed, that he will have the tale from first tolast by worthy citizens who are to be trusted to speak truth. "

There was no mistaking the ring of truth in the narratives whichwere told by the Master Builder and his neighbour. 

The King listened almost in silence, but when he did ask a questionit was shrewd and pertinent in its import. The dark face waslacking neither in force nor in power; and if the eyes of royaltydid, from time to time, stray towards the fair face of Gertrude, who followed her father's tale with breathless interest, his talkwas all of the means which must forthwith be taken for the arrestof the fire, and from the sparkle in his eyes it was plain that hewas aroused at last to some purpose. 

"Good citizens, " he said at length, "since our worthy Mayor hasproved himself a fool and a poltroon, I must needs use such toolsas I have under my hand. 

"Bring me pen and paper, knave!" he cried to a servant who was inattendance; and when the man returned, the King hastily scrawled afew lines upon the paper, and gave it into the hands of thecitizens. 

"My good fellows, " he said, in his easy and familiar way, "takethere your authority under my hand, and go and save the Tower. TheTower must not and shall not perish. Pull down, blow up, sacrificeas you will, but save you the Tower. As for me, I will forthinstantly and see what may be done in this quarter. The peopleshall not say that their King cared no whit whilst the whole citywas burned to ashes. Would I had known more before, but eachmessenger brought news that something was about to be done. 

"About to be done, forsooth! that is ever the way. Zounds! I wouldlike to pitch yon cowardly Mayor and his whole corporation into theheart of the flames! And if something be not done to save whatremains of the city, I will make good my word!"

Then, with a complete change of manner, he rose and came forward tothe corner where Gertrude stood shrinking and quivering, halffrightened by this strange man, yet impressed by some indescribablykingly quality in him that fascinated her imagination in spite ofall she had heard of him. 

"Fair mistress, " he said gallantly, "hast thou nothing to ask?These good citizens have all had their word to say. Am I not tohear the music of thy voice also?"

Gertrude, startled and abashed, dropped her eyes, and knew not whatto say; but something in the King's glance compelled an answer ofsome kind, and a sudden inspiration flashed upon her. 

"Sire, " she said, in a sweet tremulous voice, her colour coming andgoing in her cheek in a most becoming fashion, "may I ask a boon ofyour gracious Majesty?"

"A hundred if thou wilt, fair mistress; there is nothing so sweetto me as obeying the behests of beauty. "

She shrank a little from his glance, and her grasp tightened uponher husband's arm; but she took courage, and went on bravely:

"I have but one boon to crave, gracious Sire. For myself I have allthat heart of woman could crave; but there is still one smalltrouble in my life. My dear father, who stands before you now, waswell-nigh ruined a year ago in that fearful visitation of theplague. By trade he is a builder, and right well does he know hisbusiness. After this terrible fire there must needs be muchbuilding to do ere the city can be dwelt in. May it please yourgracious Majesty to grant to him a portion of the work, that he mayretrieve his lost fortune, and regain the place which he once heldamongst his fellow citizens!"

"It shall be done, mistress, it shall be done!" answered the King, with a smile at the girl and a friendly look towards the MasterBuilder. "Marry, it is a good thought too; for we shall want honestand skilful men to rebuild us our city. 

"Thy prayer is heard and granted, fair lady. I will not forget thypetition. I will see to it myself. Farewell, sweet heart! thinkalways kindly of your King, " and he saluted her upon the cheek, after the fashion of the day. 

Then turning briskly to the men he said, in a very different tone, "Now to our respective tasks, good sirs. We have our work cut outbefore us this day. Let it not be our fault if, ere the night fallupon us, the spreading flames, which are devastating this city, arestopped, and further destruction arrested. "

With a friendly nod, and with a smile to Gertrude, the King went assuddenly as he came. Lord Desborough lingered only a few moments tosay, in hurried tones:

"Thank Heaven his Majesty is roused at last! Now, indeed, somethingwill be accomplished. I must remain with him. I shall have my work, doubtless, somewhere, as you have yours in the east. Fare you well. We shall meet again at nightfall; and pray Heaven the fire may bythat time be stayed in its ravages!"

Need it be told here how that fire was stayed? how the King and theDuke, his brother, rode in person at the head of a gallant band ofmen-at-arms and soldiers, and directed those measures--long urgedupon the Mayor, but never efficiently carried out--of blowing upand pulling down large blocks of houses in the path of the flames, so that their ravages were stayed? It was the King himself whosaved Temple Bar and a part of Fleet Street, the fire being checkedclose to St. Dunstan's in the west. Lord Desborough superintendedlike operations at Pye corner, hard by Smithfield; whilst the goodcitizens, Harmer and Mason, took boat to the Tower as fast aspossible, and with the assistance of the governor, and by themandate of the King, checked the slowly advancing flames just asthey had reached the very walls of the fortress itself. 

The great and terrible fire was stayed ere nightfall. True, theflames smouldered and even raged in the burning area for anotherday and night, but the spread of them was checked. The citizens, recovering from their apathetic despair, and encouraged by theexample of their King, no longer stood trembling by, but joinedtogether to imitate his actions and sacrifice a little property tosave much. 

"Thank God, thank God, the peril is at an end! The very flames haveglutted themselves, and are sinking down into the smouldering heapsof the ruins they have wrought!" said Reuben, coming back on theThursday evening from an expedition of inquiry and discovery. "Terrible indeed is the sight, but the worst is now known. Fourhundred streets, ninety churches--if what I heard be true--andthirteen thousand houses--fifteen wards destroyed, and eight morehalf burned! Was ever such a fire known before? Yet can we say, Heaven be praised that it has spread no further. Verily, it seemedonce as though nothing would escape!"

Gertrude, too, was full of excitement. 

"Father has had a summons from the Lord Mayor. He was urgently sentfor soon after thou hadst gone. O Reuben, dost think the King hasremembered my words to him? dost think he has put in a plea for myfather when the city is rebuilt?"

"It is like enough, " answered Reuben; "they say his Majesty doesnot forget when his word is plighted. He will be a rich man if hebe employed by the corporation. And how goes the sick lady?"

"So well that my lord has taken her away by boat to a villa hard byLambeth, where she will be quieter and more at rest than she couldbe here. Janet and Dorcas have gone with her as her maids, her ownservants having fled hither and thither. She would fain have hadDinah, too, but Dinah was not willing. "

Husband and wife smiled a little at each other, and then Reubensaid:

"Thou, wilt have a stepmother soon, little wife. How wilt thou likethat?"

"Well enow, so it be Dinah, " answered Gertrude, smiling; "but thereis the father coming in. Prithee, let me run to him and hear hisnews!"

Others had seen the approach of the familiar figure, and there wasquite a little group around the door of the two houses to ask newsof the Master Builder as he approached. His face wore a beaminglook, and in reply to the many questions showered upon him heanswered gaily:

"In truth, good friends, if the plague ruined me, it seems asthough the fire was to set me up again. Here is my Lord Mayor, prompted thereto by his gracious Majesty the King, giving into myhands the task of seeing to the rebuilding of Bridge Ward, Within, Billingsgate Ward, Dowgate Ward, and Candlewick Ward. Four wards tobuild! why, my fortune is made!"

He gave one quick look at Dinah, and then took her hand in his, alllooking smilingly on the while. 

"Thou didst not repulse me when I was but a poor and broken man, "he said; "but, please Heaven, before many months have passed overmy head it will be no mockery to speak of me as Master Builder onceagain!"