MY NATIVE LAND-GOOD NIGHT. "Adieu, adieu! my native shore Fades o'er the waters blue; The night-winds sigh, the breakers roar, "A few short hours, and he will rise Wild weeds are gathering on the wall; "Come hither, come hither, my little page, Why dost thou weep and wail? Or dost thou dread the billow's rage, But dash the tear-drop from thine eye; Our ship is swift and strong; Our fleetest falcon scarce can fly More merrily along." "Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high Yet marvel not, Sir Childe, that I For I have from my father gone, A mother whom I love, And have no friend save these alone, "My father blessed me fervently, "Come hither, hither, my staunch yeoman, "My spouse and boys dwell near thy hall, Along the bordering lake, And when they on their father call, “And now I'm in the world alone, But long ere I come back again He'd tear me where he stands. "With thee, my bark, I'll swiftly go, Nor care what land thou bear'st me to, Welcome, welcome, ye dark-blue waves! Welcome, ye deserts and ye caves ! My native land-good night." Lord Byron. INCIDENTS OF THE GREAT PLAGUE OF LONDON. PART I. It is true people used all possible precautions; when anyone bought a joint of meat in the market, they would not take it out of the butcher's hand, but took it off the hooks themselves. On the other hand, the butcher would not touch the money, but have it put into a pot full of vinegar, which he kept for that purpose. The buyers carried always small money to make up any trifling sums, that they might take no change. They carried bottles for scents and perfumes in their hands, and all the means that could be used were employed; but then the poor could not do even these things, and they went at all hazards. Innumerable dismal stories we heard every day on this very matter. Sometimes a man or woman dropped down in the very markets; for many people that had the plague upon them knew nothing of it till the inward gangrene had affected their vital parts, and they died in a few moments. By this means many died suddenly in the streets without any warning; H others, perhaps, had time to go to the next stall, or to any door or porch, and just sit down and die, as stated before. These objects were so frequent in the streets, that when the plague came to be very raging on one side, no person might pass through the streets without seeing several dead bodies lying here and there on the ground. On the other hand, it is observable that though at first the people would stop as they went along, and call to the neighbours to come out on such an occasion, yet afterwards no notice was taken of them; but that if at any time a person found a corpse lying, he would walk on the opposite side of the way, and not come near it; or if in a narrow lane or passage, he would go back again, and seek some other way to the place where he was going. In those cases the corpse was always left till the officers had notice to come and take it away, or till night, when the bearers attending the dead-cart would take it up and carry it away. Nor did these undaunted creatures who attended the dead-cart fail to search the pockets of the dead; and sometimes, if they were well-dressed, strip off their clothes, and carry off what they could get. In the markets, the butchers took care that if any persons died there, they had the officers always at hand to take them up upon hand-barrows, and carry them to the next churchyard. It is scarcely credible what dreadful cases happened in particular families every day. People in the rage of the distemper, or in the torment of their swellings, which was indeed intolerable, lost all control of themselves, and became raving and distracted. Oftentimes they laid violent hands upon themselves, throwing themselves out of their windows, shooting themselves, &c. Mothers murdered their own children in their lunacy; some died of mere grief, as a passion; some of mere fright and surprise, without any infection at all; others frightened into idiotcy and foolish distractions; some into despair and lunacy, others into melancholy madness. A person walking through the streets met with many dismal scenes of persons falling dead in the streets, terrible shrieks and screamings of women, who in their agonies would throw open their windows, and cry out in a terrific manner. It is impossible to describe the variety of postures in which the passions of the poor people would express themselves. Passing through a certain yard, suddenly a casement violently opened, and a woman gave three frightful screams, and then cried "O death, death, death! three times, in the most inimitable tone, which struck the bystanders with horror, and made their very blocd run chill. There was nobody to be seen in whole streets, for people had now no curiosity in any case, nor could any help one another. The pain of the swelling was in particular very violent, and to some intolerable. The physicians and surgeons may be said to have tortured many poor creatures even to death. The swellings in some grew hard, and they applied violent drawing plasters or poultices to break them; and if these did not take effect they cut and scarified them in a terrible manner. In some these swellings were made hard partly by the force of the distemper, and partly by their being too violently drawn, and were so hard that no instrument could cut them without great force being used. Some |