In a direct continuation of the narrative from the preceding episode, the author relates how he went home after visiting the pit at Aldgate but, being unable to sleep, ventures back out in the middle of the night to the tavern where the man grieving for his family had been taken by the buriers. There he confronts “a dreadful set of fellows” who were jeering and mocking the grieving man. When the author admonishes them for their behavior, they turn their insults on him and enlarge upon them by blaspheming God and religion and making fun of all who take comfort in it.
Well, later the plague carries this entire gang off, to the barely concealed satisfaction of the author, who spends much time in prayer satisfying himself that his horror at their behavior was not motivated by anger at their insults. Methinks he doth protest too much.
[For notes on the main themes of the novel, visit https://londonplague.com/postscript/. To see some ways in which our reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic are anticipated in the Journal, see https://londonplague.com/concordance/.]
Credits:
Podcast produced by Sam Brelsfoard.
Music from Funeral Sentences of Henry Purcell (1659-1695), performed by the Choir of Clare College at the University of Cambridge, Timothy Brown conducting. Used by permission.
Visit our website: www.londonplague.com
© 2020 Mark Cummings