The Sign of the Red Cross: A Tale of Old London Read online

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  THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS

  A Tale of Old London

  by

  EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN

  CHAPTER I. A WARNING WHISPER.

  "I don't believe a word of it!" cried the Master Builder, with someheat of manner. "It is just an old scare, the like of which I haveheard a hundred times ere now. Some poor wretch dies of thesweating sickness, or, at worst, of the spotted fever, and in amoment all men's mouths are full of the plague! I don't believe aword of it!"

  "Heaven send you may be right, good friend," quoth Rachel Harmer, asshe sat beside her spinning wheel, and spoke to the accompaniment ofits pleasant hum. "And yet, methinks, the vice and profligacy of thisgreat city, and the lewdness and wanton wickedness of the Court, areenough to draw down upon us the judgments of Almighty God. The sinand the shame of it must be rising up before Him day and night."

  The Master Builder moved a little uneasily in his seat. For his ownpart he thought no great harm of the roistering, gaming, andgallantries of the Court dandies. He knew that the times were verygood for him. Fine ladies were for ever sending for him to altersome house or some room. Gay young husbands, or those who thoughtof becoming husbands, were seldom content nowadays without pullingtheir house about their ears, and rebuilding it after somenew-fangled fashion copied from France. Or if the structure werelet alone, the plenishings must be totally changed; and MasterCharles Mason, albeit a builder by trade, and going generallyamongst his acquaintances and friends by the name of MasterBuilder, had of late years taken to a number of kindred avocationsin the matter of house plenishings, and so forth. This had broughthim no small profit, as well as intimate relations with many a finehousehold and with many grand folks. Money had flowed apace intohis pocket of late. His wife had begun to go about so fine that itwas well for her the old sumptuary laws had fallen into practicaldisuse. His son was an idle young dog, chiefly known to theneighbourhood as being the main leader of a notorious band ofScourers, of which more anon, and many amongst his former friendsand associates shook their heads, and declared that Charles Masonwas growing so puffed up by wealth that he would scarce vouchsafe anod to an old acquaintance in the street, unless he were smart andprosperous looking.

  The Master Builder had a house upon Old London Bridge. Once he hadcarried on his business there, but latterly he had grown too finefor that. To the disgust of his more simple-minded neighbours, hehad taken some large premises in Cheapside, where he displayed manyfine stuffs for upholstering and drapery, where the new-fashionedIndian carpets were displayed to view, and fine gilded furniturefrom France, which a little later on became the rage all throughthe country. His own house was now nothing more than a dwellingplace for himself and his family; even his apprentices and workmenwere lodged elsewhere. The neighbours, used to simpler ways, shooktheir heads, and prophesied that the end of so much pride would bedisaster and ruin. But year after year went by, and the MasterBuilder grew richer and richer, and could afford to laugh at theprognostications of those about him, of which he was very wellaware.

  He was perhaps somewhat puffed up by his success. He was certainlyproud of the position he had made. He liked to see his wife sweepalong the streets in her fine robes of Indian silk, which seemed toset a great gulf between her and her neighbours. He allowed his sonto copy the fopperies of the Court gallants, and even to pick upthe silly French phrases which made the language at Court a mongrelmixture of bad English and vile French. All these things pleasedhim well, although he himself went about clad in much the samefashion as his neighbours, save that the materials of his clothingwere finer, and his frills more white and crisp; and it was in hisfavour that his friendship with his old friend James Harmer hadnever waned, although he knew that this honest tradesman by nomeans approved his methods.

  Perhaps in his heart of hearts he preferred the comfortable livingroom of his neighbour to the grandeur insisted upon by his wife athome. At any rate, he found his way three or four evenings in theweek to Harmer's fireside, and exchanged with him the news of theday, or retailed the current gossip of the city.

  Harmer was by trade a gold and silver lace maker. He carried on hisbusiness in the roomy bridge house which he occupied, which wasmany stories high, and contained a great number of rooms. He housedin it a large family, several apprentices, two shopmen, and hiswife's sister, Dinah Morse, at such times as the latter was not outnursing the sick, which was her avocation in life.

  Mason and Harmer had been boys together, had inherited these twohouses on the bridge from their respective fathers, and had bothprospered in the world. But Harmer was only a moderately affluentman, having many sons and daughters to provide for; whereas Masonhad but one of each, and had more than one string to his bow in thematter of money getting.

  In the living room of Harmer's house were assembled that Februaryevening six persons. It was just growing dusk, but the dancingfirelight gave a pleasant illumination. Harmer and Mason wereseated on opposite sides of the hearth in straight-backed woodenarmchairs, and both were smoking. Rachel sat at her wheel, with hersister Dinah near to her; and in the background hovered twofine-looking young men, the two eldest sons of the household--Reuben,his father's right-hand man in business matters now; and Dan, whohad the air and appearance of a sailor ashore, as, indeed, was thecase with him.

  It was something which Dinah Morse had said that had evoked therather fierce disclaimer from the Master Builder, with therejoinder by Rachel as to the laxity of the times; and now it wasDinah's voice which again took up the word.

  "Whether it be God's judgment upon the city, or whether it be dueto the carelessness of man, I know not," answered Dinah quietly; "Ionly say that the Bill of Mortality just published is higher thanit has been this long while, and that two in the Parish of St.Giles have died of the plague."

  "Well, St. Giles' is far enough away from us," said the MasterBuilder. "If the Magistrates do their duty, there is no fear thatit will spread our way. There were deaths over yonder of the plaguelast November, and it seems as though they had not yet stamped outthe germs of it. But a little firmness and sense will do that. Wehave nothing to fear. So long as the cases are duly reported, weshall soon be rid of the pest."

  Dinah pressed her lips rather closely together. She had that fineresolute cast of countenance which often characterizes those whoare constantly to be found at the bedside of the sick. Her dresswas very plain, and she wore a neckerchief of soft, white Indianmuslin about her throat, instead of the starched yellow one whichwas almost universal amongst the women citizens of the day. Herhands were large and white and capable looking. Her only ornamentwas a chatelaine of many chains, to which were suspended themultifarious articles which a nurse has in constant requisition. Infigure she was tall and stately, and in the street strangers oftenpaused to give her a backward glance. She was greatly in requestamongst the sick of the better class, though she was often to befound beside the sick poor, who could give her nothing but thanksfor her skilled tendance of them.

  "Ay, truly, so long as the cases are duly reported," she repeatedslowly. "But do you think, sir, that that is ever done where meansmay be found to avoid it?"

  The Master Builder looked a little startled at the question.

  "Surely all good folks would wish to do what was right by theirneighbours. They would not harbour a case of plague, and not makeit known in the right quarter."

  "You think not, perhaps. Had you seen as much of the sick as Ihave, you would know that men so fear and dread the distemper, asthey most often call it, that they will blind their eyes to it tothe very last, and do everything in their power to make it out assomething other t
han what they fear. I have seen enough of the waysof folks with sickness to be very sure that all who have friends toprotect the fearful secret, will do so if it be possible. It iswhen a poor stranger dies of a sudden that it becomes known thatthe plague has found another victim. Why are there double thenumber of deaths in this week's bill, if more than are set down assuch be not the distemper?"

  All the faces in the room looked very grave at that, for in truthit was a most disquieting thought. The sailor came a few stepsnearer the fire, and remarked:

  "It has all come from those hounds of Dutchmen! Right glad am Ithat we are to go to war with them at last, whether the cause berighteous or not. They have gotten the plague all over their land.I saw men drop down in the streets and die of it when I was last inport there. They send it to us in their merchandise."

  "My wife will die of terror if she hears but a whisper of thedistemper being anigh us," remarked the Master Builder, with a sighand a look of uneasiness. "But men are always scaring us with talesof its coming and, after all, there is but a death here and onethere, such as any great city may look to have."

  At that moment the door was thrown open, and a pretty young damsel,wearing a crimson cloak and hood, stepped lightly in.

  "O father, mother, do but come and look!" she cried, with the airof coaxing assurance which bespoke a favoured child. "Such astrange star in the sky! Men in the streets are all looking andpointing; and some say that it is no star, but a comet, and that itpredicts some dreadful thing which is coming upon this land. Docome and look at it! There is a clear sky tonight, and one can seeit well. And I heard that it has been seen by some before this,when at night the rain clouds have been swept away by the wind. Docome to the window above the river and look! One can see it finefrom there."

  This sudden announcement, falling just upon the talk of pestilenceand peril, caused a certain flutter and sensation through the room.All the persons there rose to their feet and followed therosy-cheeked maiden out upon the staircase, and to a window fromwhich the great river could be seen flowing beneath. A largeexpanse of sky could also be commanded from here, and as the insideof the house was almost dark, it was easy to obtain an excellentview of the strange appearance which was attracting so muchattention in the streets.

  It certainly was no star that was glowing thus with a red andsullen-looking flame. Neither shape nor position in the heavensaccorded with that of any star of magnitude.

  "It was certainly," so said Reuben Harmer, who had some knowledgeof the heavenly bodies, "no star, but one of those travellingmeteors or comets which are seen from time to time, and which fromremote ages have been declared to foretell calamity to the landsover which they appear to travel."

  The Harmer family were godly people of somewhat Puritanic leaning,yet they were by no means entirely free from the superstition oftheir times, nor would Rachel have called it superstition to regardthis manifestation as a warning from God. Why should He not sendsome such messenger before He proceeded to take vengeance upon anungodly city? Was not even guilty Sodom warned of its approachingdoom?

  All faces then were grave, but that of the Master Builder wore alook of fear as well.

  "I must to my wife," he said. "If she sees this comet, she will bevastly put about. I must to her side to reassure her. Pray Heaventhat no calamity be near to us!"

  "Amen!" replied Harmer, gravely; and then the Master Builderretreated down the staircase, whilst from a room below a cheerfulvoice was heard announcing that supper was ready.

  The party therefore all moved downstairs towards the kitchen, whereall the meals were taken in company with the apprentices, shopmen,and serving wenches.

  Dorcas, the maiden who had brought news of the comet, slipped her.hand within Reuben's arm, and asked him in a whisper:

  "Thinkest thou, Reuben, that it betides evil to the city?"

  "Nay, I know not what to think," he answered. "It is a strangething, and men often say it betides ill; but I have no knowledge ofmine own. I never saw the like before."

  "They spoke of it at my Lady Scrope's today," said Dorcas. "I wasbehind her chair, with her fan and essence bottles, and the lapdogs, when in comes one and another of the old beaux who beguiletheir leisure with my lady's sharp speeches; and they spoke of thisthing, and she laughed them to scorn, and called them fools forlistening to old wives' fables. It is her way thus to revile allwho come anigh her. She said she had lived through a score of suchscares, and would snap her fingers at all the comets of the heavensat once. Sometimes it makes me tremble to hear her talk; butmethinks she loveth to raise a shudder in the hearts of those whohear her. She is a strange being. Sometimes I almost fear to go toand fro there, albeit she treats me well, and seldom speaks harshlyto me. But men say she is above a hundred years old, and she leadsso strange a life in her lonely house. Fancy being there alone of anight, with only that deaf old man and his aged wife within doors!It would scare me to death. But she will not let one other of herservants abide there with her!"

  "Ay, it is her whimsie. Women folks are given to such," answeredReuben, tolerantly. "She is a strange creature, albeit I doubt notthat men make her out stranger than she is. Well, well, the cometat least will do us no hurt of itself; and if it be God's way ofwarning us of peril to come, we need not fear it, but only setourselves to be ready for what He may send us."

  Below stairs there was a comfortable meal spread upon the table,simple and homely, but sufficient for the appetites of all. Thethree rosy-faced apprentices, of whom a son of the house made one,formed a link at table between the family and the shopmen andserving wenches. All sat down together, and Rebecca, the daughterwho lived at home, served up the hot broth and puddings. The eldestdaughter was a serving maid in the household of my Lady Howe, andwas seldom able to get home for more than a few hours occasionally,even when that fashionable dame was in London. Dorcas spent eachnight under the shelter of her father's roof, and went daily to thequaint old house close beside Allhallowes the Less, where lived theeccentric Lady Scrope, her mistress, of whom mention has been made.The youngest son was also from home, being apprenticed to acarpenter in the service of the Master Builder next door, and helived, as was usual, in the house of his employer. Thus four out ofHarmer's seven children lived always at home, and Dan the sailorwas with them whenever his ship put into the river after a voyage.

  No talk of either comet or plague was permitted at table; indeedthe meal was generally eaten in something approaching to silence.Sometimes the master of the house would address a question to oneof the family, or suppress by a glance the giggling of the lads atthe lower end of the table. Joseph's presence there ratherencouraged hilarity, for he was a merry urchin, and stood not inthe same awe of his father as did his comrades. Kindness was thelaw of the house, but it was the kindness of thorough discipline.Neither the master nor the mistress believed in the liberty thatbrings licence in its train.

  Life went very quietly, smoothly, and monotonously within the wallsof that busy house. Trade was brisk just now. The fashion latelyintroduced amongst fine ladies of having whole dresses of gold orsilver lace, brought more orders for the lace maker than he wellknew how to accomplish in the time. He and his son and hisapprentices were hard at work from morning to night; and gladenough was the master of the daily-increasing daylight, whichenabled him and those who were glad to earn larger wages to workextra hours each day.

  Being thus busy at home, he went less than was his wont abroad, andheard but little either of the sullen comet which hung night afternight in the sky, or of the whispers sometimes circulating in thecity of fresh cases of the distemper.

  These last, however, were growing fewer. The scare of a few weeksback seemed to be dying down. People said the pest had been stampedout, and the brighter, hotter weather cheered the hearts of men,albeit in case of sickness it might be their worst enemy, as someamongst them well knew.

  "I never believed a word of it!" said the wife of the MasterBuilder, as she sat in her fine drawing room and fanned herselfwith a great fan made
of peacock's feathers. She was veryhandsomely dressed, far muore like a fine Court dame than the wifeof a simple citizen. Her comnpanion was a very pretty girl of aboutnineteen, whose abundant chestnut hair was dressed after afashionable mode, although she refused to have it frizzed over herhead as her mother's was, and would have preferred to dress itquite simply. She wished she might have plain clothes suitable toher station, instead of being tricked out as though she were a finelady. But her mother ruled her with a rod of iron, and girls inthose days had not thought of rising in rebellion.

  The Master Builder's wife considered that she had gentle blood inher veins, as her grandfather had been a country squire who wasruined in the civil war, so that his family sank into poverty. Oflate she had done all in her power to get her neighbours to accordher the title of Madam Mason, which she extorted from her servants,and which was given to her pretty generally now, although as muchin mockery, it must be confessed, as in respect of her finery. Shedid not look a very happy woman, in spite of all the grandeur abouther. She had frightened away her simpler neighbours by her airs ofcondescension and by the splendour of her house, and yet she couldnot yet see any way of inducing other and finer folks to come andsee her. Sometimes her husband brought in a rich patron and hiswife to look at the fine room, and examnine the furniture in it,and these persons would generally be mighty civil to her whilstthey stayed; but then they did not come to see her, but only in theway of business. It was agreeable to be able to repeat what my lordthis or my lady that said about the cabinets and chairs; but afterall she was half afraid that her boasting deceived nobody, andGertrude would never come to her aid with any little innocent fibsabout their grand visitors.

  "I never did believe a word of it," repeated Madam, after a pause."Gertrude, why do you not answer when I speak to you? You are asdull as a Dutch doll, sitting there and saying nothing. I wouldthat Frederick were at home! He can speak when he is spoken to; butyou are like a deaf mute!"

  "I beg your pardon, ma'am. I was reading--I did not hear."

  "That is always the way--reading, reading, reading! Why, what gooddo you think reading will do you? Why don't you get your silkembroidery or practise upon the spinnet? Such advantages as youhave! And all thrown away on a girl who does not know when she iswell off. I have no manner of patience with you, Gertrude. If I hadhad such opportunities in my girlhood, I should never have been amere citizen's wife now."

  A slightly mutinous look passed across Gertrude's face. Submissivein word and manner, as was the rule of the day, she was by no meanssubmissive in mind, and had her mother's ears been sharper shemight have detected the undertone of irony in the reply shereceived.

  "I think nobody would take you for a citizen's wife, ma'am. As forme, I am not made to shine in a higher sphere than mine own. I havenot even the patience to learn the spinnet. I would sooner bebaking pies with Rebecca next door, as we used to do when we werechildren, before father grew so rich."

  Madam's face clouded ominously. She heartily wished she had neveradmitted her children to intimacy with the Harmers next door. Ithad done no harm in the case of Frederick. He was his mother's son,every inch of him, and was as ready to turn up a supercilious noseat his old comrades as ever Madam could wish.

  But Gertrude was different--she was excessively provoking at times.She did not seem able to understand that if one intended to rise inthe world, one must cut through a number of old ties, and startupon a fresh track. It was not easy in those times to rise; butstill the wealthier citizens did occasionally make a position forthemselves, and get amongst the hangers-on of the Court party,especially if they were open handed with their money.

  Madam often declared that if they only moved into another part ofthe town, everything she wanted could be attained; but on thatpoint her husband was inexorable. He loved the old bridge house.There he had been born, and there he meant to die, and he had notthe smnallest intention of removing elsewhere to please even thewife to whom he granted so many indulgences.

  "You are a fool!" cried Madam, angrily; "you say those things onlyto provoke me. I wish you had some right feeling and someconversation. You are as dull as ditch water. You care for nothing.I don't believe it would rouse you to hear that the plague was inthe next street!"

  "Well, we shall see," answered Gertrude, with a calmness that wasat least a little provoking, "for people say it is spreading veryfast, and may soon be here."

  "What!" cried Madam, in a sudden panic; "who says that? What do youmean, girl?"

  "It was Reuben who told me," answered Gertrude, with a little blushwhich she tried to conceal by turning her face towards the window.

  But her ruse was in vain. Madam's hawk eye had caught the risingcolour, and her brow contracted sharply.

  "Reuben! what Reuben? Have I not told you a hundred times that Iwould have none of that sort of talk any more? Reuben, indeed! asthough you were boy and girl together! Pray tell me this, youforward minx, does he dare to address you as Gertrude when he hasthe insolence to speak to you in the streets, where alone I presumehe can do so?"

  Gertrude's face was burning with indignation. She had to clasp herhands tightly together to restrain the hot words which rose to herlips.

  "We have been children together--and friends," she said, "theHarmers and I. How should we forget that so quickly--even thoughyou have forgotten! My father does not mind."

  Madam's face was as red as her daughter's. She was about to makesome violent retort, when the sound of a footstep on the stairschecked the words upon her lips.

  "There is Frederick!" she said.