He came hither as an enlightened observer;
and, after traversing the country, conversing with all the men in it
eminent for their talents or their office, and collecting a fund of
observations whose solidity and justice have seldom been paralleled, he
embarked, three months ago, for Europe. "Previously to his departure, he formed a tender connection with the
eldest daughter of this family. The mother and her children had recently
arrived from England. So many faultless women, both mentally and
personally considered, it was not my fortune to meet with before. This
youth well deserved to be adopted into this family. He proposed to
return with the utmost expedition to his native country, and, after the
settlement of his affairs, to hasten back to America and ratify his
contract with Fanny Walpole. "The ship in which he embarked had scarcely gone twenty leagues to sea,
before she was disabled by a storm, and obliged to return to port. He
posted to New York, to gain a passage in a packet shortly to sail. Meanwhile this malady prevailed among us. Mary Walpole pole was hindered
by her ignorance of the nature of that evil which assailed us, and the
counsel of injudicious friends, from taking the due precautions for her
safety. She hesitated to fly till flight was rendered impracticable. Her
death added to the helplessness and distraction of the family. They were
successively seized and destroyed by the same pest. "Maravegli was apprized of their danger. He allowed the packet to depart
without him, and hastened to rescue the Walpoles from the perils which
encompassed them. He arrived in this city time enough to witness the
interment of the last survivor. In the same hour he was seized himself
by this disease: the catastrophe is known to thee. "I will now leave thee to thy repose. Sleep is no less needful to myself
than to thee; for this is the second night which has passed without it." Saying this, my companion took his leave. I now enjoyed leisure to review my situation. I experienced no
inclination to sleep. I lay down for a moment, but my comfortless
sensations and restless contemplations would not permit me to rest. Before I entered this house, I was tormented with hunger; but my craving
had given place to inquietude and loathing. I paced, in thoughtful and
anxious mood, across the floor of the apartment. I mused upon the incidents related by Estwick, upon the exterminating
nature of this pestilence, and on the horrors of which it was
productive. I compared the experience of the last hours with those
pictures which my imagination had drawn in the retirements of
_Malverton_. I wondered at the contrariety that exists between the
scenes of the city and the country; and fostered, with more zeal than
ever, the resolution to avoid those seats of depravity and danger. Concerning my own destiny, however, I entertained no doubt. My new
sensations assured me that my stomach had received this corrosive
poison. Whether I should die or live was easily decided. The sickness
which assiduous attendance and powerful prescriptions might remove
would, by negligence and solitude, be rendered fatal; but from whom
could I expect medical or friendly treatment? I had indeed a roof over my head. I should not perish in the public way;
but what was my ground for hoping to continue under this roof? My
sickness being suspected, I should be dragged in a cart to the hospital;
where I should, indeed, die, but not with the consolation of loneliness
and silence. Dying groans were the only music, and livid corpses were
the only spectacle, to which I should there be introduced. Immured in these dreary meditations, the night passed away. The light
glancing through the window awakened in my bosom a gleam of
cheerfulness. Contrary to my expectations, my feelings were not more
distempered, notwithstanding my want of sleep, than on the last evening. This was a token that my state was far from being so desperate as I
suspected. It was possible, I thought, that this was the worst
indisposition to which I was liable. Meanwhile, the coming of Estwick was impatiently expected. The sun
arose, and the morning advanced, but he came not. I remembered that he
talked of having reason to repent his visit to this house. Perhaps he,
likewise, was sick, and this was the cause of his delay. This man's
kindness had even my love. If I had known the way to his dwelling, I
should have hastened thither, to inquire into his condition, and to
perform for him every office that humanity might enjoin; but he had not
afforded me any information on that head. CHAPTER XVII. It was now incumbent on me to seek the habitation of Thetford. To leave
this house accessible to every passenger appeared to be imprudent. I had
no key by which I might lock the principal door. I therefore bolted it
on the inside, and passed through a window, the shutters of which I
closed, though I could not fasten after me. This led me into a spacious
court, at the end of which was a brick wall, over which I leaped into
the street. This was the means by which I had formerly escaped from the
same precincts. The streets, as I passed, were desolate and silent. The largest
computation made the number of fugitives two-thirds of the whole people;
yet, judging by the universal desolation, it seemed as if the solitude
were nearly absolute. That so many of the houses were closed, I was
obliged to ascribe to the cessation of traffic, which made the opening
of their windows useless, and the terror of infection, which made the
inhabitants seclude themselves from the observation of each other. I proceeded to search out the house to which Estwick had directed me as
the abode of Thetford. What was my consternation when I found it to be
the same at the door of which the conversation took place of which I had
been an auditor on the last evening! I recalled the scene of which a rude sketch had been given by the
_hearse-men_. If such were the fate of the master of the family,
abounding with money and friends, what could be hoped for the moneyless
and friendless Wallace? The house appeared to be vacant and silent; but
these tokens might deceive. There was little room for hope; but
certainty was wanting, and might, perhaps, be obtained by entering the
house. In some of the upper rooms a wretched being might be immured; by
whom the information, so earnestly desired, might be imparted, and to
whom my presence might bring relief, not only from pestilence, but
famine. For a moment, I forgot my own necessitous condition, and
reflected not that abstinence had already undermined my strength. I proceeded to knock at the door. That my signal was unnoticed produced
no surprise. The door was unlocked, and I opened. At this moment my
attention was attracted by the opening of another door near me. I
looked, and perceived a man issuing forth from a house at a small
distance. It now occurred to me, that the information which I sought might
possibly be gained from one of Thetford's neighbours.