CHAPTER IV.
The terms on which she had been admitted into this house included theadvance of one quarter's rent and the monthly payment of subsequentdues. The requisite sum had been with difficulty collected; the landlordhad twice called to remind her of her stipulation, and this day had beenfixed for the discharge of this debt. He had omitted, contrary to herexpectations and her wishes, to come. It was probable, however, thatthey would meet on the ensuing day. If he should fail in this respect,it appeared to be her duty to carry the money to his house, and this ithad been her resolution to perform.
Now, however, new views were suggested to her thoughts. By the paymentof this debt she would leave herself nearly destitute. The flight andterror of the citizens would deprive her of employment. Want of foodwas an immediate and inevitable evil which the payment of this sum wouldproduce. Was it just to incur this evil? To retain the means ofluxurious gratification would be wrong, but to bereave herself and herfather of bare subsistence was surely no dictate of duty.
It is true the penalty of non-payment was always in the landlord'shands. He was empowered by the law to sell their movables end expel themfrom his house. It was now no time for a penalty like this to beincurred. But from this treatment it was reasonable to hope that hislenity would save them. Was it not right to wait till the alternative ofexpulsion or payment was imposed? Meanwhile, however, she was subjectedto the torments of suspense, and to the guilt of a broken promise. Theseconsequences were to be eluded only in one way: by visiting herlandlord, and stating her true condition, it was possible that hiscompassion would remit claims which were in themselves unreasonable anduncommon. The tender of the money, accompanied by representationssufficiently earnest and pathetic, might possibly be declined.
These reflections were the next morning submitted to her father. Herdecision in this case was of less importance in his eyes than in thoseof his daughter. Should the money be retained, it was in his opinion apittance too small to afford them effectual support. Supposingprovisions to be had at any price, which was itself improbable, thatprice would be exorbitant. The general confusion would probably last formonths, and thirty dollars would be devoured in a few weeks, even in atime of safety. To give or to keep was indifferent for another reason.It was absurd for those to consult about means of subsistence for thenext month, when it was fixed that they should die to-morrow. The trueproceeding was obvious. The landlord's character was well known to himby means of the plaints and invectives of their neighbours, most of whomwere tenants of the same man. If the money were offered his avaricewould receive it, in spite of all the pleas that she should urge. If itwere detained without leave, an officer of justice would quickly bedispatched to claim it.
This statement was sufficient to take away from Constantia the hope thatshe had fostered. "What then," said she, after a pause, "is my father'sadvice? Shall I go forthwith and deliver the money?"
"No," said he, "stay till he sends for it. Have you forgotten thatMatthews resides in the very midst of this disease. There is no need tothrust yourself within in its fangs. They will reach us time enough. Itis likely his messenger will be an agent of the law. No matter. The debtwill be merely increased by a few charges. In a state like ours, themiserable remnant is not worth caring for."
This reasoning did not impart conviction to the lady. The danger flowingfrom a tainted atmosphere was not small, but to incur that danger waswiser than to exasperate their landlord, to augment the debt, and toencounter the disgrace accruing from a constable's visits. Theconversation was dropped, and presently after she set out on a visit toMatthews.
She fully estimated the importance to her happiness of the sum which shewas going to pay. The general panic had already, in some degree,produced the effect she chiefly dreaded; the failure of employment forher needle. Her father had, with his usual diligence at self-torment,supplied her with sufficient proofs of the covetous and obdurate temperof her creditor. Insupportable, however, as the evil of payment was, itwas better to incur it spontaneously, than by means of legal process.The desperateness of this proceeding, therefore, did not prevent herfrom adopting it, but it filled her heart with the bitterest sensations.Absorbed, as she passed along, by these, she was nearly insensible tothe vacancy which now prevailed in a quarter which formerly resoundedwith the din of voices and carriages.
As she approached the house to which she was going, her reluctance toproceed increased. Frequently she paused to recollect the motives thathad prescribed this task, and to reinforce her purposes. At length shearrived at the house. Now, for the first time, her attention was excitedby the silence and desolation that surrounded her. This evidence of fearand of danger struck upon her heart. All appeared to have fled from thepresence of this unseen and terrible foe. The temerity of adventuringthus into the jaws of the pest now appeared to her in glaring colours.
Appearances suggested a refection which had not previously occurred,and which tended to console her. Was it not probable that Matthews hadlikewise flown? His habits were calculated to endear to him his life: hewould scarcely be among the last to shun perils like these: The omissionof his promised visit on the preceding day might be owing to his absencefrom the city, and thus, without subjection to any painful alternative,she might be suffered to retain the money.
To give certainty to this hope, she cast her eye towards the houseopposite to which she now stood. Her heart drooped on perceiving proofsthat the dwelling was still inhabited. The door was open, and thewindows in the second and third story were raised. Near the entrance, inthe street, stood a cart. The horse attached to it, in its form andfurniture and attitude, was an emblem of torpor and decay. His gauntsides, motionless limbs, his gummy and dead eyes, and his head hangingto the ground, were in unison with the craziness of the vehicle to whichhe belonged, and the paltry and bedusted harness which covered him. Noattendant nor any human face was visible. The stillness, though at anhour customarily busy, was uninterrupted except by the sound of wheelsmoving at an almost indistinguishable distance.
She paused for a moment to contemplate this unwonted spectacle. Hertrepidations were mingled with emotions not unakin to sublimity, but theconsciousness of danger speedily prevailed, and she hastened to acquitherself of her engagement. She approached the door for this purpose, butbefore she could draw the bell, her motions were arrested by sounds fromwithin. The staircase was opposite the door. Two persons were nowdiscovered descending the stairs. They lifted between them a heavy mass,which was presently discerned to be a coffin. Shocked by this discovery,and trembling, she withdrew from the entrance.
At this moment a door on the opposite side of the street opened, and afemale came out. Constantia approached her involuntarily, and herappearance not being unattractive, ventured more by gestures than bywords, to inquire whose obsequies were thus unceremoniously conducted.The woman informed her that the dead was Matthews, who, two days beforewas walking about, indifferent to and braving danger. She cut short thenarrative which her companion seemed willing to prolong, and toembellish with all its circumstances, and hastened home with her utmostexpedition.
The mind of Constantia was a stranger to pusillanimity. Death, as thecommon lot of all, was regarded by her without perturbation. The valueof life, though no annihilated, was certainly diminished by adversity.With whatever solemnity contemplated, it excited on her own account noaversion or inquietude. For her father's sake only death was an evil tobe ardently deprecated. The nature of the prevalent disease, the limitsand modes of its influence, the risk that is incurred by approaching thesick or the dead, or by breathing the surrounding element, were subjectsforeign to her education. She judged like the mass of mankind from themost obvious appearances, and was subject like them to impulses whichdisdained the control of her reason. With all her complacency for death,and speculative resignation to the fate that governs the world, disquietand alarm pervaded her bosom on this occasion.
The deplorable state to which her father would be reduced by her deathwas seen and lamented, but he
r tremulous sensations flowed not from thissource. They were, in some sort, inexplicable and mechanical. In spiteof recollection and reflection, they bewildered and harassed her, andsubsided only of their own accord.
The death of Matthews was productive of one desirable consequence. Tillthe present tumult was passed, and his representatives had leisure toinspect his affairs, his debtors would probably remain unmolested. Helikewise, who should succeed to the inheritance, might possess verydifferent qualities, and be as much, distinguished for equity asMatthews had been for extortion. These reflections lightened herfootsteps as she hied homeward. The knowledge she had gained, she hoped,would counterpoise, in her father's apprehension, the perils whichaccompanied the acquisition of it.
She had scarcely passed her own threshold, when she was followed byWhiston. This man pursued the occupation of a cooper. He performedjourneywork in a shop, which, unfortunately for him, was situated nearthe water, and at a small distance from the scene of original infection.This day his employer had dismissed his workmen, and Whiston was atliberty to retire from the city,--a scheme which had been the theme ofdeliberation and discussion during the preceding fortnight.
Hitherto his apprehensions seemed to have molested others more thanhimself. The rumours and conjectures industriously collected during theday, were, in the the evening, copiously detailed to his neighbours, andhis own mind appeared to be disburdened of its cares in proportion as hefilled others with terror and inquietude. The predictions of physicians,the measure of precaution prescribed by the government, the progress ofthe malady, and the history of the victims who were hourly destroyed byit, were communicated with tormenting prolixity and terrifyingminuteness.
On these accounts, as well as on others, no one's visits were moreunwelcome than his. As his deportment was sober and honest, and hisintentions harmless, he was always treated by Constantia withpoliteness, though his entrance always produced a momentary depressionof her spirits. On this evening she was less fitted than ever to repelthose anxieties which his conversation was qualified to produce. Hisentrance, therefore, was observed with sincere regret.
Contrary, however, to her expectation, Whiston brought with him newmanners and a new expression of countenance. He was silent, abstracted,his eye was full of inquietude, and wandered with perpetualrestlessness. On these tokens being remarked, he expressed, in falteringaccents, his belief that he had contracted this disease, and that now itwas too late for him to leave the city.
Mr. Dudley's education was somewhat medical. He was so far interested inhis guest as to inquire into his sensations. They were such as werecommonly the prelude to fever. Mr Dudley, while he endeavoured bycheerful tones to banish his dejection, exhorted him to go home, and totake some hot and wholesome draught, in consequence of which he mightrise to-morrow with his usual health. This advice was gratefullyreceived, and Whiston put a period to his visit much sooner than wascustomary.
Mr. Dudley entertained no doubts that Whiston was seized with thereigning disease, and extinguished the faint hope which his daughter hadcherished, that their district would escape. Whiston's habituation wasnearly opposite his own; but as they made no use of their front room,they had seldom an opportunity of observing the transactions of theirneighbours. This distance and seclusion were congenial with herfeelings, and she derived pleasure from her father's confession, thatthey contributed to personal security.
Constantia was accustomed to rise with the dawn, and traverse for anhour the State-house Mall. As she took her walk the next morning, shepondered with astonishment on the present situation of the city. The airwas bright and pure, and apparently salubrious. Security and silenceseemed to hover over the scene. She was only reminded of the true stateof things by the occasional appearance of carriages loaded withhousehold utensils tending towards the country, and by the odour ofvinegar by which every passenger was accompanied. The public walk wascool and fragrant as formerly, skirted by verdure as bright, and shadedby foliage as luxuriant, but it was no longer frequented by lively stepsand cheerful countenances. Its solitude was uninterrupted by any butherself.
This day passed without furnishing any occasion to leave the house. Shewas less sedulously employed than usual, as the clothes on which she wasengaged belonged to a family who had precipitately left the city. Shehad leisure therefore to ruminate. She could not but feel some concernin the fate of Whiston. He was a young man, who subsisted on the fruitsof his labour, and divided his gains with an only sister who lived withhim, and who performed every household office.
This girl was humble and innocent, and of a temper affectionate andmild. Casual intercourse only had taken place between her andConstantia. They were too dissimilar for any pleasure to arise fromcommunication, but the latter was sufficiently disposed to extend to herharmless neighbour the sympathy and succour which she needed. Whistonhad come from a distant part of the country, and his sister was the onlyperson in the city with whom he was connected by ties of kindred. Incase of his sickness, therefore, their condition would be helpless anddeplorable.
Evening arrived, and Whiston failed to pay his customary visit. Shementioned this omission to her father, and expressed her apprehension asto the cause of it. He did not discountenance the inference which shedrew from this circumstance, and assented to the justice of the picturewhich she drew of the calamitous state to which Whiston and his sisterwould be reduced by the indisposition of either. She then ventured tosuggest the propriety of visiting the house, and of thus ascertainingthe truth.
To this proposal Mr. Dudley urged the most vehement objections. Whatpurpose could be served by entering their dwelling? What benefit wouldflow but the gratification of a dangerous curiosity? Constantia wasdisabled from furnishing pecuniary aid. She could not act the part ofphysician or nurse. Her father stood in need of a thousand personalservices, and the drudgery of cleaning and cooking already exceeded thebounds of her strength. The hazard of contracting the disease byconversing with the sick was imminent. What services was she able torender equivalent to the consequences of her own sickness and death?
These representations had temporary influence. They recalled her for amoment from her purpose, but this purpose was speedily re-embraced. Shereflected that the evil to herself, formidable as it was, was barelyproblematical. That converse with the sick would impart this disease wasby no means certain. Whiston might at least be visited. Perhaps shewould find him well. If sick, his disease might be unepidemical, orcurable by seasonable assistance. He might stand in need of a physician,and she was more able than his sister to summon this aid.
Her father listened calmly to her reasonings. After a pause he gave hisconsent. In doing this he was influenced not by the conviction that hisdaughter's safety would be exposed to no hazard, but from a belief that,though she might shun infection for the present, it would inevitablyseize her during some period of the progress of this pest.