The room did not contain much furniture. When Caius sat down, and the
lady had resumed her seat, he found, as is apt to be the way in empty
rooms, that the chairs were near the wall, and that he, sitting facing
her, had left nearly the room's width between them. The sewing maidens
looked at them with large eyes, and listened to everything that was
said; and although they were silent, except for the sound of their
stitching, it was so evident that their thoughts must form a running
commentary that it gave Caius an odd feeling of acting in company with a
dramatic chorus. The lady in front of him had no such feeling; there was
nothing more evident about her than that she did not think of how she
appeared or how she was observed.
"You are very good to have come." She spoke with a slight French accent,
whether natural or acquired he could not tell. Then she left that
subject, and began at once to tell the story of the plague upon the
island--when it began, what efforts she and a few others had made to
arrest it, the carelessness and obstinacy with which the greater part of
the people had fostered it, its progress. This was the substance of what
she said; but she did not speak of the best efforts as being her own,
nor did she call the people stupid and obstinate. She only said:
"They would not have their houses properly cleaned out; they would not
wash or burn garments that were infected; they would not use
disinfectants, even when we could procure them; they will not yet.
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