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m ust quit, and the new ones m ay take possession:.
All is h u rry scurry. 0 the m iseries of a " F ly tte d a g 1”
w hich none b u t those w ho have experienced can
realize. Y et it would seem a pastim e o f the people,
for the w hole tow n ap p ears changing q u arters on
th ese days — a valid objection, one w ould suppose,
to lodging on flats.
B u t th ere is a d ay m ore rem arkable, p erhaps,
th an the "F ly tted a g .” T he fou rth F rid a y afte r E aster
is "
Store
Bededag
”
or G reat P ra y e r D ay, a day
m ore respected (though th at is not saying m uch)
than S u n d a y ; for, in addition to oth er observances,
an ex tra Service is held in all the churches. On the
E v e o f this day the C hurch-bells toll from 6 to 7
o’clock, an d the w hole tow n tu rn out to prom enade
the ram p a rts during th at hour. B ut,
mirabile dictu !
the people them selves do not know for a certainty
w h y they so strictly observe th is day.
Som e
supp ose it w as appointed as a day o f general
thank sgivin g because th a t ab o u t th is tim e one o f
th e g re a t fires, w hich have so often devastated the
city, c e a se d : O thers, because the ravages of a plague,
w ere sta y e d : w hile n o t a few a sse rt th at one of
th eir k in g s, (p erh ap s C hristian IV .), being in great
p eril d urin g a terrible s to rm , vow ed to dedicate
something
to God if he reached land again.
T he
ship w eath ered thp gale, and the M onarch returned
in safety to his faithful subjects; so the day w as