New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-07-16

hills. They were 20 strong that, as is said BY
Pny, though they were washed out by imPet1on.
torrents, they remained uniniured for h1ndreds o.
years. This mode Of cleanins the hSe OF
which does not exist ia our day. These sewers
were commenced by the Grst Tarqnin and dnlshed
nv Tarouin the proud about the year go from the
building Of the city. Now all the plaques OF wnch
we have any account yisitad the city after this
time, the first occurring about so years after their
completion. ,
Its evident that wherever pestilence prevailed
to any serious extent among the sncients vast
crowding not only OF people but OF cattle also Ia
varisbly existed. This was acknowledged from
the earliest days 10 be the condition OF cites az that
period and TO an extent OF which we at the present
time can form no conception. The walls were very
high and completely surrounded the CITY ~nlch
was ibtersected by narrow crooked passages cor
responding 70 our streets and thus the transit Of a
was prevented. The houses also were very sna'l,
and their small windows scarcely allowed OF aHy
ventilation. In a state Of war; these cities wei
mostly used as places Of refuge and were u ssiu
time. ALWAYS GIed with people and their cattle
from the surrounding country. IL canno" .u nso
fore be matter OF surprise ina "nen u.i.Lad
brok @ out among them, countless nunoeis P0
both Of men and beasts. ,..;., or 6lth
That there mus. have been accunu'asIoH - If
is very evident for this Is natura ooI. mt one
excessive crowds. This, however 70 =. gu ao,.sof
srnono o,ber csuses of disease the GRO @ueu -
ANIMALS and the emanations rom theIr 'I'iu5 81
beine the source of the generatloh az Roma
5i.ssses Successful efforts were mau9 :. oon,
no', the ART and filth Of the city oy Tue con'
" 81 s9bterranesn works OF unusual ma5nl-
- "a thew were considered OF 80 mucn iun
Iuo.' 90 M have goddess appointed to PRESIDE
Yer them They were OF such sze' ana eHVenoe1
az for under the city, that the city l'sen was ssu
% 10 he sustaiDed between heaven ana ehrtn'
yVbile they were repeatedly washed out oy toF'
yents" of water, as Pliny says. Ordinary collec-
tons Of the filth OF cities could not therefore have
been the chief cause of the spread OF pestuehual
diseases in Rome, for we have seen that the worst
plaques occurred after the construction OF tnese
subteraneous passages or sewers.
Neither could it have been from the decomposi-
ton of dead bodies from interments wshn the Gi'y
walls that cities were so horribly depoPuated Wheh
the plsgue visited them; for interments IN cues
nre comparatively of modern origin. lhey n.u
their beginning in the suPersttloos VeneraIon 'ot
sacred places "There was dead man c9'Tts@
Oia" ia an incident mentioned IN the ne" lesla-
ment. which sho VS. the practise with respect 70
bnrials eighteen hundred years ago. Internen's
outside nj the walls of the city were made by the
heather as well as by the Jews, tor they never ou
ried their dead beneath the floors oil their temples
The burial of the dead was scarcely ever ao" yea
in cities. and the Greek and Latin terms Tor bury
ing the dead signify carrying out" This practce
continued until the time Of Constantine, VINO was
buried within the porch of the Church which he
himself founded. However serious may De tue e.
fects of the effuvia from dead organic matters u
would appear that they cannot be included among
the causes OF the devastation OF pestlentla' ais
eases in ancient times, before the year 1877, when
Constantine died. 49,,
The next period in our glance at the condition
which existed during the prevalence OF severe cpl
denies in cities, will be that known as the middle
ages This embraces that part OF history IN "n;n
the feudal system was established aud developed
taking its rise about the period Of the destruction
Of the Roman Empire.
The feudal system had for its elements the same
principles that led to the peculiar formation OF
cities in earlier times. The powerful barohs were
possessors OF large landed estates, ana commanoeo
the services of vast number OF sdherents Insy
despised all others who were not OF the military
caste and a system Of petty war and robbery was
constantly carried on by them. Cdltlvators oil the
soil artisans and others, were compelled tJr nu
tual protection to unite Ia bodies and form cities
These were uniformly built with reference 70 Sc
curity from the tyrants oil the land, With strong
high walls impenetrable TO the rude military art OIL
the time and thus became the very centers OF pes
thence and death Some of the towns IN Mexico
have even at this time an arrangement borrowed
from the old fashioned towns OF feodal tlme III hu,
rope Loop holed houses, with small WINDOWS hnl
the whole surrounded with wallis WI en the
/ Americans held possession OF Vera Cruz, ON tue
| appesrance of the yellow fever, portions OF the
walls were removed to allow OF tue tree passage
of the air through the city, as one OF the cnlei
measures necessary to dilute the poison "a tue at
mOsphere' .r..
We are now prepared to find epidemcs equally
as maisna and fatal during the ieud Al perioi as
! IT,, y.era in the ages preceding; and even more
| so inasmuch as the habltatlOns oil men "ou'i %
slower in their alterations than the INSTITUTIONS
connected with the Civil Government
/ The diseases of this period have the advantage
of being more accurately designated than tnose
that prevailed before it accordingly we hln 'naI
the Black death" "Sweatlos lever ue
of the CUTS, etc mentloaed as tue "lseas0S "
prevailed as epidemcs
The black death, like all the other diseases pro
duced its greatest havoc wherever eXc5ss i've g
crowds existed. Hecker says that at Caro- lo'OoO
TO - 900 died daily in the year ls4s IN 'fedce
persisted 10000; in Venice 100000; Mafselie'
i6OOO; Paris $4,000; Avignon 6OOOo London
100000, and much the same propprtion 10 III 'n7
cries of Europe Lubbock, at that time the yea
ice Of the North, which could Ipnger contain me
u,,J,1es that flock cd to it, thr0" IN int) Sucn
condemnation on the cru ptons OF the plague tna'
the citizens de stroyed themselves as IN frenzy
DR. Hecker a'so remarks that we 90 not Ss'ue'
much from mere numbers without al ln'iua'e
knowledge of the state OF society, ana that tne
dwellings of the multitude suffered most "nse
the palaces of princes, by which Is meant the
roomy abodes OF the upper ciasSes VI VIC 'i'u''
generally escaped.
The different plaques that existed at this period
however originally generated spent their iorcs
wherever the masses OF people were Satnereo
which the mode of building and furnishing houses
tended greatly to assist; the houses being la gene
raj matched and the floors covered with straw o.
PUSHES. Sir William Petty remarked that IL
plague happened in London every twenty years, o.
theTeabouts and do commonly kill one'ttth OF the
inhabitants
COuMEplIAI AMI W0NEV WAT1ERS