The Sign of the Red Cross: A Tale of Old London

  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 seeme
d 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 theprovinc
e 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!"