The Burning City  
EXT Day, the Holiday of Life was over, its Duties re-commenced. Master Blower had an Accumulation of Business to attend to, and I had Plenty to do about the House. Before the End of the Week, I was immersed in Cares that were Pleasures to me, inasmuch as they lightened his own. But I could not resist paying a Visit to the Bridge, and spending an Hour in the dear old House, and another, afterwards, with Violet. She and Mark came to sup with us. I found they were not going to marry till six Months were 281out, which was full quick, after all; but I was thankful they would wait so long. A Change seemed coming over Mark; he was steady, composed, attentive to Business, and far pleasanter, whether lively or sad, than in his earlier Days. As to Violet, she was infinitely softened, and the old Spirit of Coquetry seemed quite to have burned out. We did not see them often, but Master Blower always received them kindly, and they seemed to consider it a Privilege as well as a Pleasure to come to us.
Thus, the Winter wore on: the Plague was stayed; and though it was common to meet in the Streets Men in their Nightcaps, limping, or with their Throats bound up, no one thought of getting out of their Way, for the Infection had spent itself. And Persons that were Strangers to each other might be heard exchanging 282Congratulations on the improved State of Things, now that Houses and Shops were re-opening, the Weeds beginning to disappear from the Thoroughfares, and Men no longer walked along the Middle of the Streets, but on the Foot-pavements.
My dear Husband endeavoured to impress the Hearts and Minds of his People, in Season and out of Season, with a Sense of the Mercy that had preserved them; but, I am sorry to say, with very little permanent Effect. True it is, at first the Ground was broken up, and the Clods were soft, and the good Seed that was cast in seemed likely to fructify; but alas, the hot Sun of worldly Temptation soon hardened the Ground and burnt the Seed up, and People that had almost miraculously escaped the general Judgment, seemed little better than they 283were before. This depressed my dear Husband very much; but, instead of relaxing his Efforts, he only redoubled them; and he said I strengthened his Hands.
There was also a great deal of Distress, owing to the general Stagnation of Trade, and the vast Numbers of People thrown out of Employ. So that, though we did all we could, it was heart-rending to witness the Misery in some of the lower Districts of our Parish. We pinched ourselves to help them, voluntarily giving up such and such Things at our Table; and this with such Cheerfulness that I really believe our Self-privations gave us more actual Enjoyment than if we had ate the Fat and drank the Sweet to our Hearts’ Desire. And once or twice it remarkably happened that when we had a little exceeded 284in this Way, and had supplied thereby the needs of a more than ordinary Number, a great Hamper would arrive from Mistress Blower, full of Game, Poultry, Eggs, Butter, Brawn, Hams, Tongues, and Everything that was good. Often we talked over that sweet Place the Hampers came from; and it seemed to me that my Husband more and more inclined towards the Country; especially as his Throat had never quite recovered the Effects of the Plague, and he found he could not make himself heard throughout the remoter Parts of his large Church without Difficulty. Quite at the End of the Summer, the old Incumbent of Bucklands Parsonage died; and as the living was in the Squire’s Gift, and he had some Notion his Brother would like it, he wrote to offer it to him. My Husband asked my Mind about it; I 285said I should like it of all Things, if he could be content with so small and quiet a Field of Action. He said, yes, the Time had been when it had been otherwise with him—the harder the Work the greater the Pleasure, especially as carrying some Sense of Glory in the Victory over it; but it was not so with him now: he could be content with trying to do good on a small Scale; especially as he had not been quite so successful on the larger Field of Action as he had hoped and expected.
“Could I preach like Apollos,” continued he, “to what Good, to the Half of my Congregation, who cannot catch one Word in ten? So that, in Fact, I preach to a small Congregation already. And I’ve no Mind to receive the Pay without doing the Work. There’s no Fear, Cherry, of my not making myself 286audible in Bucklands Church!—Besides, do you know I fancy I have a little domestic Mission there. My dear, good Brother, who has dozed under Doctor Bray for so many Years, has languished under a spiritual Dearth. He is now getting in Years, and I think I may do Something for him—you know he told you he thought my Sermons were the real Thing.”
“He said,” replied I, “that you not only hit the right Nail on the Head, but hammered it well in.”
After some further Talk, which only went to prove how completely we were of a Mind on the Matter, the Letters were written and sent—to accept the one Living and resign the other. That was on the Second of September. The same Night, broke out that dreadful Fire, which lasted three Days and three 287Nights, and destroyed fifteen of the twenty-six City Wards, including four hundred Streets and Lanes, and thirteen thousand Houses. Oh, what a dreadful Calamity! We were in Bed, a little after Ten, when Shrieks and Cries of “Fire!” awoke us; and my dear Husband put his Head forth of the Window and asked where it was. A Man running along answered, “On or at the Foot of London Bridge!” Then our Hearts failed us for Violet and Mark, and all our old Friends; and we dressed and went forth, for I could not be stayed from accompanying Master Blower. But before we could reach the Bridge Foot, we found Access to it cut off, both by Reason of the Crowd and of the Flames: the only Comfort was, that the Fire kept off the Bridge. There was so much Tumult and Pressure that we could only keep on 288the Skirts of the Crowd, where we hung about without doing any Good for some Hours.
The next Morning, we were in Hope of hearing the Fire had been got under; instead of which, the whole Bankside was wrapped in Flames, and all the Houses from the Bridge Foot, and all Thames Street, were lying in Ashes. The People seemed all at Pause, gazing on, without stirring Hand or Foot, and those that were personal Sufferers were venting their Grief in Cries and Lamentations. But we could not find that any Life had yet been lost; and the Fire kept off the Bridge.
When I went Home at Dusk, it was to pray for the poor Sufferers, and then to muse how far the Calamity might extend. Supper was on Table, but I had no Mind to eat; which was all the 289better, as my Husband presently brought in a poor, weeping Family who had lost Everything, and had not touched a Morsel all Day. We gave them a good Meal, and Shelter for the Night. They slept, but we could not. There was no Need of Candles all that Nig............