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for sorrow!
Idris, after the first shock, regained a portion of fortitude. She
studiously shut out all prospect of the future, and cradled her heart in
present blessings. She never for a moment lost sight of her children. But
while they in health sported about her, she could cherish contentment and
hope. A strange and wild restlessness came over me--the more intolerable,
because I was forced to conceal it. My fears for Adrian were ceaseless;
August had come; and the symptoms of plague encreased rapidly in London. It
was deserted by all who possessed the power of removing; and he, the
brother of my soul, was exposed to the perils from which all but slaves
enchained by circumstance fled. He remained to combat the fiend--his side
unguarded, his toils unshared--infection might even reach him, and he die
unattended and alone. By day and night these thoughts pursued me. I
resolved to visit London, to see him; to quiet these agonizing throes by
the sweet medicine of hope, or the opiate of despair.
It was not until I arrived at Brentford, that I perceived much change in
the face of the country. The better sort of houses were shut up; the busy
trade of the town palsied; there was an air of anxiety among the few
passengers I met, and they looked wonderingly at my carriage--the first
they had seen pass towards London, since pestilence sat on its high places,
and possessed its busy streets. I met several funerals; they were slenderly
attended by mourners, and were regarded by the spectators as omens of
direst import. Some gazed on these processions with wild eagerness--
others fled timidly--some wept aloud.
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