Solomon Eagle,
who was present during these proceedings; "one that shall search every
nook within it--shall embrace all those columns, and pierce every crack
and crevice in those sculptured ornaments; and then, and not till then,
will it be thoroughly cleansed."

During all this time the grocer had not opened his dwelling. The wisdom
of this plan was now made fully apparent. The plague was declining fast,
and not an inmate of his house had been attacked by it. Soon after the
melancholy occurrence, he had been informed by Doctor Hodges of Amabel's
death; but the humane physician concealed from him the painful
circumstances under which it occurred. It required all Mr. Bloundel's
fortitude to support him under the shock of this intelligence, and he
did not communicate the afflicting tidings to his wife until he had
prepared her for their reception. But she bore them better than he had
anticipated; and though she mourned her daughter deeply and truly, she
appeared completely resigned to the loss. Sorrow pervaded the whole
household for some weeks; and the grocer, who never relaxed his system,
shrouded his sufferings under the appearance of additional austerity of
manner. It would have been a great consolation to him to see Leonard
Holt; but the apprentice had disappeared; and even Doctor Hodges could
give no account of him.

One night, in the middle of November, Mr. Bloundel signified to his wife
his intention of going forth, early on the following morning, to satisfy
himself that the plague was really abating. Accordingly, after he had
finished his devotions, and broken his fast, he put his design into
execution. His first act, after locking the door behind him, which he
did as a measure of precaution, was to fall on his knees and offer up
prayers to Heaven for his signal preservation. He then arose, and,
stepping into the middle of the street, gazed at the habitation which
had formed his prison and refuge for nearly six months. There it was,
with its shutters closed and barred--a secure asylum, with all alive
within it, while every other dwelling in the street was desolate.

The grocer's sensations were novel and extraordinary. His first impulse
was to enjoy his newly-recovered freedom, and to put himself into active
motion. But he checked the feeling as sinful, and proceeded along the
street at a slow pace. He did not meet a single person, until he reached
Cheapside, where he found matters completely changed. Several