The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1831-1858, 1832-07-25
THE GREAT PLAGUE,
IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

John Wilson. But the greater plague
which overran almost the whole world, three
centuries before, is almost forgotten. A
slight sketch of its history drawn from old
chronicleIs, will shew, by comparison, what
a small matter is magnitied into pestilence
in the present day.
This dreadful pestilence, like the Chole-
"a, made its first appearance in the East.
1t arose in China, Tartary, India and Egypt.
about the year 1916. 1t was ascribed by
the contemporary writers, Mezeray and Gil
ovanni VILLAIN, to a general corruption of
the atmosphere, accompanied by the ap-
pearance of millions Of small serpents and
other venomous insects, and, in other plac-
es, quantities OF huge vermin, with numer-
GUS legs; and of a hideous aspect which fill
ed the air with pulrid exhalatiors. Some
Jealous Christian writer's of the time de-
rived its origin from the arch impstor Ma
homet for they say that, at Mecca, in
Arabia Felix, il rained snakes and blood
nom heaven for three days and nights to-
gether; that the temple of Mahomet was
beaten down by a terrible tempest and his
sepulchre torn up and broken in pieces; and
that the sulphurous vaoofs, and the stencil
OF the snakes and blood, so corrupted the
middle region of the ait, that the infectious
matter spread itself over the world in all,
directions. Making every allowance for
the ignorance and credulity of the age, it
appears evident that s0me natural cause
mad contributed to corrupt the air and load
IL with pestlierous vapols. And it is re-
markable that, before the disease appeared
in Europe, singular meteorological phenom-
ena, of singular nature, took place. Thus
it came into England in l348; and it had
rained from the Christmas till Midsummer.
almost without ceasing $50 that all the
whlle," TO use the words Of an old writer.
-" it hardly ever held up so much as for one
day and night together" Great inunda-
tons followed; and accumuations of stag
nant water, by which the whole atmosphere
was poisoned. In France, several strange
meteoric appearances are described by wri-
tiers of credit. Giovanni VILLAIN saws that
on the Goth December, 1349, in the morn
ing, after sunrise, there appeared at Avig-
non, over the pope's palace, pillar of fire,
which tarried there for the space of an
hour, producing general terror and amaze
ment.
During the same period there were many
dreadful earthquakes some of them in
places where such phenomena have since
been unheard Of At Rome, an earthquake
threw down a great number of houses,
steeples and churches. At Naples there
was an earthquake, accompanied with
tremendous hurricane, which DESTROYED
large portion of the city. On this occasion.
1t is related. that while friar was preach
inc tn n cro,ubad oonrrorat;op h. - L.;
auditory were swallowed up in an instant
all but one individual who observed the
trembling of the earth i'll time to save him
self by flight. A great multitude of the
inhabitants were buried in the ruins of
their habitations and the citizens burst
not venture in, their houses, but remained
terrified in the market places and fields, till
the earthquake (which continued by fits for
eight days) had spent its fury. In Greece,
particularly in the Morea and the island of
Cyprus, whole villages were overwhelmed.
Even in Germany, country not liable TO
this calamity, there was an earthquake
which extended over a great part of Aus
tria and Syria, and destroyed many towns
and villages in those districts: 60 And many
other provinces" says an old historian, "suf-
fered such lasting characters of the fury of
these strong cOlvulsions of nature, that,
lest the joint concurrence of so many au-
thols of those days should not obtain suffi-
Gent credit, they might be plainly read even
by late posterity." These earthquakes were
generally attended with storms of thunder
and lightning, wind and hail. In the year
l34S, according to Lampadius, it rained
blood in Germany, and meteors and other
corruscations appeared in the air. Mock
suns were seen and the heavens sometimes
seemed on fire.
In many of these accounts we may pre-
sumo that there is good deal of exagger-
alton. But the testimonies are too numer-
Gus and respectable to leave any doubt that,
before and during the pestilence, the ele-
ments were in state Of general convulsion,
which seemed unparalleled in history.
The plague extended its ravages from
India into the more western parts of Asia,
into Egypt, Abyssinia, and thence into the
northern part of Africa. 1t proceeded over
Asia Minor, Greece, and the islands in the
Archipelago, almost depopulating the re-
glons over which it stalked. 1t may lie lit
orally said to have decimated the world, even
though we were to take this term as imply
ing the destruction of nine, in place of one
out of ten. According to Mezeray and 9TH
er writer's, where it was most favorable, it
left one out of three, or one out of five but
where it rnged most violently, it scarce left
fifteenth or twentieth person alive. Some
countries, partly by the plague, and partly
by earthquakes, were left quite desolate.-
Giovanni VILLAIN says that in Il part of Me-
sopotamia, only some women survived, who
were driven by extremity and despair to
devour one another.
The plague appears to have staid five or
six months in one place, and then to have
gone in search of fresh victims. Its symp-
toms are infinitely described by many wri-
tiers, and appear to have been the same in
every country il visited. 1t generally ap-
peared in the groin, or under the arnpits,
where swellings were produced, which
broke into sores, attended with fever, spit
ting and vomiting of blood. The patient
frequently died IN half day-generally
within day or two at the most. If he sur.
vived the third day there was hope though
even then many fell into deep sleep from
which they never invoke.
Before the pestience invaded Christen.
dom, it is recorded, in II report made to the
pope at Avignon, that it swept away TWEEN.
ty-three millions eight hundred thousand
persons throughout the East in the course
of single year. While the Christians re-
NAMED untouched, their supposed immuni
ty, since their ncighbors we're suffering the
extremity of the maludy, operated as strong
ly on the minds of some Of the heather
princes, that they resolved to propitiats
Heaven by embracing Christianity
The King Of Tarsis, accompanied by ,
great multitude of princes and mobiles. actu