. Janet had had a slight attack of
illness, but there were no absolute symptoms of the distemper with
it. Her father was of opinion that it might possibly be a very mild
form of the disease, but the doctor called in thought not, and so
their house escaped being shut up, and after a prudent interval
Janet came down and took her place in the family as before. Mother
and daughters worked together for the relief of the sick poor,
making and sending out innumerable dainties in the way of broth,
possets, and light puddings, which were gratefully received by poor
folks in shut-up houses, who, although fed and cared for at the
public expense when not able to provide for themselves, were
grateful indeed for these small boons, and felt themselves not
quite so forlorn and wretched when receiving tokens of goodwill
from even an unknown source.

The harmony, tranquillity, and goodwill that reigned in this
household, even in the midst of so much that was terrible, was a
great contrast to the anguish, terror, and ceaseless recriminations
which made the Masons' abode a veritable purgatory for its luckless
inhabitants. As the news of the spreading contagion reached her, so
did Madam's terror and horror increase. As her husband had said
long since, she sat in rooms with closed windows and drawn
curtains, burned fires large enough to roast an ox, and half
poisoned herself with the drugs she daily swallowed, and which she
would have forced upon her whole household had they not rebelled
against being thus sickened. As a natural consequence of her folly
and ungovernable fears, Madam was never well, and was for ever
discovering some new symptom which threw her into an ecstasy of
terror. She would wake in the night screaming out in uncontrollable
fear that she had gotten the plague--that she felt a burning tumour
here or there upon her person--that she was sinking away into a
deadly swoon, or that something fatal was befalling her. By day she
would fall into like passions of fear, call out to her daughter to
send for every physician whose name she had heard, and upbraid and
revile her in the most unmeasured terms if the poor girl ventured
to hint that the doctors were beginning to be tired of coming to
listen to what always proved imaginary terrors.

The only times when husband or daughter enjoyed any peace was when
Frederick chose to make his appearance at home. On these occasions
his mother would summon him to her presence, although in mo