| 397 | 398 | 399 | 400 | 401 |
| 1 | 154 | 308 | 461 | 615 |
|
health, were then transformed to wild dreams, all her terrors were
realized, all her fears received their dread fulfilment. To this state
there was no hope, no alleviation, unless the grave should quickly receive
its destined prey, and she be permitted to die, before she experienced a
thousand living deaths in the loss of those she loved. Fearing to give me
pain, she hid as best she could the excess of her wretchedness, but meeting
thus her brother after a long absence, she could not restrain the
expression of her woe, but with all the vividness of imagination with which
misery is always replete, she poured out the emotions of her heart to her
beloved and sympathizing Adrian.
Her present visit to London tended to augment her state of inquietude, by
shewing in its utmost extent the ravages occasioned by pestilence. It
hardly preserved the appearance of an inhabited city; grass sprung up thick
in the streets; the squares were weed-grown, the houses were shut up, while
silence and loneliness characterized the busiest parts of the town. Yet in
the midst of desolation Adrian had preserved order; and each one continued
to live according to law and custom--human institutions thus surviving as
it were divine ones, and while the decree of population was abrogated,
property continued sacred. It was a melancholy reflection; and in spite of
the diminution of evil produced, it struck on the heart as a wretched
mockery. All idea of resort for pleasure, of theatres and festivals had
passed away. "Next summer," said Adrian as we parted on our return to
Windsor, "will decide the fate of the human race. I shall not pause in
my exertions until that time; but, if plague revives with the coming year,
all contest with her must cease, and our only occupation be the choice of
399
Page
Quick Jump
|