From this time to the month of July, 1832, it pleased God, in mercy, to spare us. The pestilence, however, was raging far and near. The dark and threatening cloud still lowered around. But months passed on; until, at last, it approached with awful warning. Then “fearfulness and trembling came upon us.” And “in the time of trouble we called upon the Lord.” Then were acknowledged “the neglect of God’s ordinances, the misuse of his bounties, and the offences which had been multiplied in the land.”
As, long before this, temporal precautions had been resorted to, with the hope that, under the blessing of God, they might be instrumental towards the averting of the impending danger; so, trembling penitents also sought, in humble prayer, the only effectual remedy to assist in setting their spiritual house in order,—the merciful aid of a pardoning God, through the merits and intercession of a crucified Saviour. Humbled to the dust, under a sense of sin and unworthiness, which now appeared in fearful reality, they pleaded for mercy before the Throne of Grace, comforted by the promise of their Heavenly Advocate, “Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” They fled in earnest to the “Rock of Ages,” for shelter from the storm. Having been thus prepared for the approaching trial, when it did fall on them, they experienced a merciful answer to their cry for help, and were supported in their last hour; for the nearer death approached, it was, in numerous instances, met with resignation, tranquillity, and peace.
When we ponder these things, and reflect upon the uncertainty of life, whether exhibited in the ordinary or the extraordinary course of nature, we cannot but feel how important it is to cherish within us a spirit of watchfulness and prayer. This, by the blessing of God, and the merits of the Saviour, will disarm death of its sting, and dispel, or at least mitigate, the fears which assail us in the time of danger. Amidst the varying scenes of life, this frame of mind carries a blessing with it; and, when we are about to quit them, it will bring us peace at the last.
“Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”
“Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching.”
God grant that the recollection of the fearful events which the following plain narrative recalls, may revive, and render permanent, not the terrors of the mere outward circumstances, but the pious vows and resolutions which accompanied them.
It may be necessary here to remark, in reference to the prominent allusion, in the following pages, to the writer himself, that in the details of a Diary it could not be avoided. A panic had spread in the neighbourhood, from a conviction that the disease was not only epidemic, but contagious. The consequence was, that all intercourse between the inhabitants of other villages with Underwood, was either prohibited, or avoided as much as possible. As one proof of this, a servant in another part of the parish, who went to Underwood to see a relation, at a house where there was no sickness, was immediately discharged.
Thus the difficulty of obtaining assistance, and of providing nurses, was lamentably increased. The sick and dying, who had no one to help them, sought their minister, as their only earthly friend: and in the closing scenes of their existence, they called aloud for his presence. Such an appeal, both to the common feelings of humanity, as well as to one of the highest obligations of a Christian minister, could not be otherwise than irresistible. There is nothing remarkable, therefore, in the circumstance of a clergyman, residing close to the village afflicted with such an awful visitation, having endeavoured to render all the assistance in his power, independently of attending to the important duties of his sacred office. Who, among the clergy, would not have done the same, in a similar case of emergency? Many names are on record, of those who exerted all their energies, in a manner far more valuable and important.
When we recollect the scenes at Bilston, Sedgly, Plymouth, and other populous districts, where the epidemic spread among thousands, it is evident that the labour and exertion of those whose duty called upon them to attend the sick, must have been past description. Few, under such circumstances, had an opportunity of remaining any great length of time to watch the progress of particular cases, or of taking minutes of them. But where the disease was confined within narrower limits, and not more than two or three hundred had been affected by it, the difficulty of taking notes became proportionably less. This has probably been done in many instances, which, at present, have not been made known. But it has been strongly urged that the publication of them might be highly useful; as an opportunity would be thus afforded for those who are the most competent for the undertaking, to compare the details of variation of character, which this extraordinary disease may have exhibited under different circumstances; and by these means to arrive at some additional conclusions as to how far it has resisted or yielded to the application of particular modes of treatment.
The Christian Observer (No. 381, Sept. 1833, page 511) expresses this opinion in the following words:—