She made
the House ring with her lamentations, while her Mistress, almost
suffocated with grief, could only mark her distress by sobs and
groans. Flora's shrieks soon reached the ears of the Hostess,
whose terror and surprize were excessive on learning the cause of
this disturbance. A Physician was immediately sent for: But on
the first moment of beholding the Corse, He declared that
Elvira's recovery was beyond the power of art. He proceeded
therefore to give his assistance to Antonia, who by this time was
truly in need of it. She was conveyed to bed, while the Landlady
busied herself in giving orders for Elvira's Burial. Dame
Jacintha was a plain good kind of Woman, charitable, generous,
and devout: But her intellects were weak, and She was a
Miserable Slave to fear and superstition. She shuddered at the
idea of passing the night in the same House with a dead Body:
She was persuaded that Elvira's Ghost would appear to her, and no
less certain that such a visit would kill her with fright. From
this persuasion, She resolved to pass the night at a Neighbour's,
and insisted that the Funeral should take place the next day.
St. Clare's Cemetery being the nearest, it was determined that
Elvira should be buried there. Dame Jacintha engaged to defray
every expence attending the burial. She knew not in what
circumstances Antonia was left, but from the sparing manner in
which the Family had lived, She concluded them to be indifferent.
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