The Draytons and the Davenants Author:Elizabeth Rundle Charles Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Chapter III. T length the time arrived when my dark ages of mystery and adoration were tc to close. The pestilence so constantly hovering over the wretch... more »ed wastes of devastated Germany had been brought to Netherby by a cousin of my mother's, who had come on a visit to us. He fell sick the day after his arrival, and died on the third day. That evening Tib, the dairywoman, sickened, and before the next morning, Margery, her daughter. A panic seized the household. My father accepted Lady Lucy's gen- erous offer, to take charge of Roger and me, we happening to have been from the first secluded from 11 contact with the sick. Aunt Dorothy made a Mnt remonstrance. There were, said she, contagions worse than any plague. If her brother would answer for it, to his conscience, it was well. She, at least, would wash her hands of the whole thing. But my father had no scruples. " He only hoped," he said, " that Lady Lucy might touch us with the infection of her gracious kindliness; Olive would be only with her, and as to Roger and the rest of the household, if he was ever to be a true Protestant, the time must come when he must learn, if - necessary, to protest." So much to Aunt Dorothy. To Roger himself, he said, in a low voice, as we were riding off, with his hand on the horse's mane,— " Remember, my lad, there is no true manliness without godliness." Aunt Gretel watched and waved her hand to us from the infected chamber window where she sat nursing Margery; and when I opened my bundle of clothes that evening, I found in the corner a little book containing my mother's favorite psalms copied in English for us, the 40th (Dr. Luther's own psalm), the 23d, and the 139th. Thus armed, Roger and I sallied forth into ou enchanted castle. To be disenchanted. Not to be repelle...« less