The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-05-26
plague scene. n, uea.,an,iaopie.

Of priests and deacons, who were surprised
and perhaps little alarmed at a visit from
50 numerous a company OF gentlemen be-
longing TO the British emba, sy, we were
into large square room furnish
ed with divan under the windows and
down two sides Of The chamber. This d.
van was covered with a rough sscking oil
grey goats hair--a stuff which is said not
10 be susceptible OF the plague; and people
sitting on It, or on the bare boards. are MOI
considered 10 be 'comp-omiSed-a word oil
fearful import when that awful peslilence is
raging in this neglected city. When any
person is compromised, he is obliged to sep
arate from all society, and 10 place himself
in strict quarantine for forty days, at the
end of which period, il the fright and anxi-
ETY. have not brought on the plague, he is
received again by his Appropriateness Deal
ers in oil, aud persons who have an open
issue on their bodies, are considered secure
from the plague as far as Ihsg themselves
are concerned; but as their clothes will con-
vey the infection, they ale as dangerous as
others to their neighbors.
There was an old Armenian. who, whelh-
er he considered himself invulnerable, or
whether poverty and misfortune made him
reckless, do not know; but he set up as
plague-doctor, and visited and touched those
who were stricken with The pestilence =
Whenever he came down the street, every
one would start aside and give him three OF
four yards space at least. Sometimes he
had men who walked before him and cried
to the people to get out of the way. As
the old man moved o.. in his long. dark
| robes, shunne.d with guth horror by all, the
mind was awiully impressed 9Th the fear
lul nature Of The disease; for il the Prince
Of Darkness himself had made his appear
ance ia NE face OF day, no one could have
shown greater sisII2 e his approach than
they did when the men eIsea on that the
Armenian plague doctor was coming down
the street.
One PecuiisSi.y Of the disease is the dis
inclina lion which is aiwsys st:own by those
+; who are plague. stricken to confess that they
are so, Cd egen 10 own that they are ILL.,
They invariably eo..lssl it as long as pos
slblt; snd even when burning giIh fever
and in az sgofy of pain, they will pretend
thst they gre well, and try 70 walk about,
But TINS e'tempt at deception aSIiinqsS for
a very short period, for they soon become
either delrious or nsensble, and generally
are unssis 10 move. There IS look about
the eye and an expression Of anxiety and
horror in the face of one who bss got the
plague, which is not 10 be mistaken OF Tor
gotten by those who have once seen them
One day at Ca!ata nearly ran against 6
man who was sitting on me ground on q
hand bier, upon which some Turks were
about to carry him away; and the look OF
the unfortunate mans face haunted me foI
days. The expression CT hopeless despair
and agony was indeed but too applicable 10
his case they were going 10 carry him 10 the
plague hospital, from whence | never heard
Of any Oaa returning. l. would have been
far more mercitGi 70 Esyf shot him at once
There are many curious supe4slqons and
circumstances connected with the plague
One is, that when the destroying angel en-
tiers into house, the dogs OF the quarter
assem5ls in The night ard howl before the
door; and the Creeks frml Y believe that the
dogs can see the evil spiri o. the plague,
although il is invisible 10 human Eyes
Some people, however, are said 10 have
seen the plague, its appearance being that
Of an old woman, tall, thin, and CHASTITY.
and dressed sometimes 10 black, sometimes
in white: she stalks along tbs streets
gIides through the doors Of the hsbitstions
OF the condemned walks once round
the room Of her victim, who is from that
| moment desth sDliltsn. 1t is also asserted
that, when three smsli spois g,ake their ap-
pearance upon The knee. the patent is
doomed--he has got the plague, and his fate
is sealed. They are called the pilotli--the
pilots and harbiDgers Of death. Some, how.
ever, have recovered after these spo:s have
showr themselves.
had st this GHs lodging in house at
Pera, which ] occupied Ejlen anything
brought me to Constantinopig from Thera.
pia. On one occasion | was sitting with a
gentleman whose hiial piely did him much
honor, for he had attended his father through
the horrors Of this illness, and be had died
OF the plague in his arms. when he heard
the dogs baying in an unusual way. On
looking out Of the window there they were
all of row, seated against the opposite
wall, bowling mournfully, and looking up
at the house in the moonlight. One dog
looked very hard at me, thought; | did
not like it at all, and began to investigate
/ whether ] had not some pain or other about
me; and this comfortable feeling was not
diminished when my friends Arab servant
came into the room. and said that another
person who lodged in the house was very
unweil; it was said that he had had fall
| from Ma horse that morning. The dogs,
| though we escaped the plague ourselves,
we're right; the plague hsa got into enc Of
the houses close to US in tie same street;
but how many died Of it did not learn.
Il was about this time that two Jews
ertor.ioners. poor men, whom consequently
nobody cared sttont--were walking togeth-
err in narrow sire: at Calais, when they
both dropped down, stricken WIZ. s the
plague: there they lay upon the ground;
no one would touch them; ard, as the street
was extremely narrow, no one could pass
that way; il was in effect blocked up by
the two unhappy men. They did not die
quickly. sThs devil was sure Of them, the
chalititl. people said. so he was in no
-, Tb.,. has, Law lony fina- INA no