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greater part of them having a red cross, of a foot long, in the middle of the door; over which was written : << Lord have mercy upon us!» signifying that it had been visited by the examiners, and declared to be infected. To every such door, a large outside padlock was affixed, to prevent the escape of the diseased wretches within, as well as all access to them from without; a watchman being appointed to keep guard at the door, and minister to the wants of the sufferers. Even the animal creation seemed to have partaken of the general doom; not a dog or a cat was to be seen; they had all been destroyed by order of the magistrates, for fear of their conveying the infection.

In his ignorance of the city, Jocelyn experienced considerable difficulty in finding the street he required. Several, to whom he had applied, had taken no other notice of his inquiry, than to quicken their pace, with a look of dismay; smelling at the same time to their preventives with an additional eagerness. At length he saw two persons approaching, holding red rods in their hands, whose more respectable appearance promised a more courteous attention to his request: but he was doomed to be again disappointed.-« See you not the red wand?» said one of them, in answer to his inquiry; «and know you not that we are a surgeon and an examiner? Are you weary of life, that you incur the risk of contagion, by stopping us on the highway? Pass on! pass on.» In this perplexity, since he could gain no information from the people in the streets, he looked about for some of the few houses that still remained open, intending to enter one of them and ask

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his way. Of these he had but little choice. They were mostly quack-doctors' shops, plastered over with notices. of << Infallible Preventives against Plague; » «The only true Plague-water;» «The Incomparable Drink;"> The Royal Antidote," and similar flourishes: or shabby abodes, with the sign of Merlin, Mother Shipton, or Friar Bacon's Brazen Head; and inscriptions beneath: «Here lives afortune-teller;» «Here lives an astrologer;"> «Here you may have your nativity calculated.>>

While Jocelyn was gazing at a cognizance of the latter description, a cadaverous-looking fellow, in a velvet jacket, a band, and a black cloak, came to the door, and invited him to walk in; offering to tell him, for a shilling, whether he was to die or not of the plague.

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« If I may judge from your own appearance, my good friend," said Jocelyn, « you can hardly answer favourably for yourself. Here is your shilling, but I want no higher specimen of your skill than that you will tell me the way to Aldersgate Street.» This information was correctly furnished, and he left the egregious wizard wondering more at the avarice which could lead him to expose his life for a shilling, than at the delusion of the diseased wretches, who caught at straws as they were sinking into the grave, and could not, perhaps, better expend that trifling sum than in the purchase of a few hours' hope. Following the directions he had received, he turned out of Cheapside, which he had scarcely quitted, when he encountered

'It was observed that the greater number of these astrologers and quack conjurers perished, as was indeed to be expected, from their more frequent intercourse with the infected.

an apparently delirious creature, naked from the waist upwards, walking with a swift pace, his eyes fixed, a countenance full of horror, and repeatedly exclaiming in a voice of agony: «O the great and dreadful God!» From the information of a watchman, who proved more communicative than the rest of his brethren, Jocelyn learned that this poor wretch continued this dismal cry night and day, and that he was never seen to stop, or rest, or take any sustenance. Oppressed in spirits, and not insensible to the risk he was running by thus walking in the midst of the pestilence, he at length saw with satisfaction the name of Aldersgate Street written upon the corner of a house; but his feelings were doomed to a severer shock in this quarter than any he had hitherto experienced. While he was yet gazing upon the house, the casement was suddenly opened by a female of elegant appearance, who uttered three frightful screeches, and then cried: «Oh! death! death! death!" in a tone that thrilled every drop of blood in his veins: after which, she struck her hands distractedly together, and reeled backwards into the room! Her shrieks echoed hollowly through the wide street, in which there was not at that moment a soul moving except Jocelyn. No other casement was opened-no notice was taken of her appalling shrieks: people were too much accustomed to such sounds of agony, to pay them more than a momentary attention.

Aghast and horror-stricken he passed on, in vain looking for some one who might inform him which was Alderman Staunton's house, until a watchman, returning to a door which he had momentarily quitted, point

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ed to a large mansion on the opposite side of the way; adding that the inquirer must be a stranger indeed in that part of London, not to know where Master Staunton lived. After having knocked twice at the door of the house indicated, a servant appeared at the balcony over the entrance, and informed him, in answer to his inquiries, that the alderman, after having supplied himself with provisions, had locked up the doors several weeks ago, since which he held communication with no one, and suffered neither ingress nor egress. This precaution, as Jocelyn subsequently found, had been practised by several other families, and in most cases proved effectual. He desired that his name might be conveyed to the alderman; but being assured it would be utterly unavailing in inducing him to grant him an interview, he inquired which was the nearest place where he could find a lodging, at least for a night or two. << There is the Moses and Aaron public-house, at the corner of Jewin Street,» replied the man, «< and there is a lodginghouse only two doors off; but whether they will take you in at present I cannot say.”

To the latter our hero betook himself in preference; and, ringing at the bell, was answered by a woman from the window, who asked him what he wanted. He answered that he had just arrived from abroad, in total ignorance of the contagion; and, being disappointed of a residence in the house of his friend, Alderman Staunton, was in want of a lodging. «Have you a pass from Sir John Lawrence, the lord mayor, or a certificate of health?» inquired the woman. «I have nothing," he replied, « but a receipt for my luggage

and effects, which were only landed this morning at Stepney, as you may see by the date of the paper :»> and he held it up in confirmation of his statement. «Your ruddy face is the best certificate of health,” said the woman; «and I were base and ungrateful indeed, to shut my door against any friend of the worthy alder. man, to whose bounty I am indebted even for the house in which I live. Come in." The door was presently opened; and, as he entered, the woman ejaculated, «May God spare this house, and all that are in it!" to which Jocelyn replied, «Amen!» and with this solemn welcome he was ushered into the parlour.

At that period of general mortality and depopulation, persons were not easily found to perform the menial offices of life, and even where they could be had, many preferred executing the most servile duties themselves, to the risk consequent upon the employment of a stranger. Participating in this feeling, Jocelyn set off the next morning for Stepney, in order to make arrangements for getting his effects conveyed to his present lodgings, as he intended to quit London, without delay, as soon as he could learn tidings of Tracy, or ascertain where the court were fixed. The court had, in the first instance, removed to Hampton, for the purpose of avoiding the infection; but deeming its vicinity to the metropolis objectionable, they had subsequently withdrawn to Salisbury; and it was now rumoured that they were about to fly from that city, and establish themselves at Oxford. At Brambletye he was loth to present himelf, until he could

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