New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-06-22

i times 70 sc ~
Morals were deteriorated everywhere. and
the service Of God was, in great measure. laid
aside; for, IN many places, the churches we're
deserted, being bereft Of their priests The in
struction Of the people was impetled covefouz-
ness became general; and when tranquility was
restored, the great increase Of lawyers was A.
| tonishing, to whom the endless disputes rernrd-
| ing inheritance offered a rich haryess. The
want Of priests, too, throughout the cp1nt1y.
operated very detrimentally upon the people,
(the lower class being most exposed to the fava-
ges of the plague, whilst the houses Of the no.
bilty we're, in proportion, more spared, and il
was no compensation that whole bands Of igno-
rant laymen crowded into the monastic orders,
that they might participate in the respessubi,itv
OF the priesthood, and in the rich heritages
which fell to the church from all quarters. The
sittings Of parliament. Of the King Bench, and
Of most of the other COURTS were suspendef1 Al
long as the malady ragged
| Ireland was much less heavily visited than
England. The disease seems to have scarcely
reached the mountainous districts Of that king y
dom; and Scotland too would, perhaps, have re-
mained free, had not the Scots avaiiesl them
selves of the discontinue Of the English. to
make an irruption into their territory, which
! terminated in the destruction Of their afmy ~
the plague and the sword, and the extension Of
the pestiience, through those who escAped, over
| the whole country b
| 1t may not be impertinent to glance briefly a.
the moral effects Of the plague in Europe
The mental shock sustained by ali nations
during the prevalence of the Black Plague, Is
without parallel and beyond description, Tha
whole would stood gazing, as it were. mi 8 efer-
nifty, and the fearful prospect overwhelmed ali
with terror and dismay. At the first, an aWfuI
sense of contrition seized the majority; and de-
termined to repent and make restitution for past
offences, all looked toward the church. and its
shrines We're heaped up with offerings Of the
most precious nature The frirhfful devasta-
tion continuing, the mental powers became nara
| lyzed by the all absorbing terror I: Alllaw,
human and divine, was for time at an end
the priests and judges had fed and fu0rnle.
were almost subyerted. And in the end. sava
Boccacio, so completely had terror extinkuished
every kindlier feeling, that the brother forsook
his brother-the sister the sister-the wife the.
husband-and, at last, even the parent its own
| offspring, and abandoned them unyisited and
unsoothed to their fate.
whilst lamentations and woe pervaded all,
| there arose in Germany o body who took upon
themselves the repentance Of the people offer
ing prayers and supplcations for the ayertine of
the plague. They marched through the cities
IN we'll organized professions, with leaders and
singers; their heads covered as far as their.
eyes, their eyes fixed on the ground, acconpa-
MED by every token Of the deepest contrition
and mourning. They robed in sombre rar-s
ments, with red crosses on the back and cap.
and bore triple scourges, tied in three or four
knots, in which points of iron were fixed fand
with which, as penance, they fogged their
| bare skins, and were hence termed E2ngt1-
f0nS) Taners and magnificent banners of
velvet, and cloth of gold were carried before
them, and wheresoever they made their appear
| ance, they were welcomed by the ringing Of
bells, and the people hocked from al quarters
to listen to their hymns, and to witness their
penance with devotion and tears They in
| creased in numbers rapidly, and not lacking
perception of the mighty power they exercised
over the minds of the people, they organized
themselves SO systematically and swiftly, and
| enunciated principles of so startling a nature,
that nat only -eeresai States but even the
chufch itself, became in danger from this rapidly
grown M. and irresponsible power On the.
request, therefore, OF several monarchs, the
Pope interdicted their penancak-the charm wag
dissolved and they were subjected to persecu-
ton second only in its merciless pertinacity to
| that of the Jews n s1s
Many of the scenes described in the foreeonp
extract, were exhibited in this city, in the year
1867 And 1t will always be thus, when people
suffer their fears to overcome their reason
We notice that there is an inclination among
certain class of people, to get up panic in
this city this season. They predict, inasmuch
as we nave just passed through very severe;
winter, that We are to encounter a very sickIv
summer They assign no philosophical or other
cause for their prediction [NewYork paper
DOUBTFUL THEoLoGY The Cleveland Herald
tells the following: A friend, whom we shall
call Pat, :" for short,'' tells a good one upon
himself. 'sWhen but an idle bow he was
called upon one day in country school, and
the question suddenly propounded to him BY the
pedagogue-" Patrick, how many gods are
there p?
Pat was not distinguished theologian then.
and years have made him 60 no better yery fast,'
in such matters, but he promptly responded
&c three, SIR ~ y
s'Take your seata thundered the master,
:" and If, in five minutes, you don't answer cor
rectly, I'll welt you'll
The probationary period passed, and Pat, Ia
king the floor. hesitatingly stated the ns,mber
OF gods at /" fi-fye SIR" He received the prom
lsed 6 welting" and n remand to his seat for
ten minutes further consideration.
Ten minutes up, and Pat was up too, and sat.
isfied that he hadn't fixed the number suf6-
GENTLY high before, he shouted, /" there ten,
sir !" lie saw the ferule descending, and, bolt
ing out OF the door, cleared five-rail fence
and broke like quarter horse across the fields
Painting with exertion, he met lad with book
under his arm, and with the look of one who
deeried the pursuit of knowledge under diff
culties.''
'sWhere are you going (" said Pat.
''To school yonder,' was the reply
''You are, are you'" said Pat quickly I;
&c how many gods are there y
sc sTwo,' answered the boy
swell, you'd better go down MlrA! You'll
have good time with your t,co gods ? lust
left there with ten, and that want enough to
save me from the darn'dest licking - ever
heard Off
NAvAL.-The Portsmouth (va.) Transcript ~makes the
following extracts from letter to gentleman that
town, from board the United sttes steanl1n4p
susquehanna, dated
Hone KoNG, CHINA. FeI aS52
We arrived in this port the 9Th, after ~ ht
months hard work. may say ship performs v&
well and the Commodore has such confidence in her that
he goes and comes regardless of wind or tide
else, and under steam always; he strikes Es n
and goes it, We steamed from Singapore to S5SSS e
distance Of 1900 miles, against heavy head vi a
current OF fifty miles per day, in l01s days-as H.
the mail steamers here. We have been to Madeira.
de Janero Cape of Good Hope Mauritius Coma Isands
Island OF Zanzibar Ceyon, Penang in the Stra Of Ma
laeca Singapore Macao, and finally here We an lin the
most vilanous part of all creation They rob and mur
mere in an underhand manner most audacously. II
Marion and Saratoga are here with The Marian WI
leave for home on the arrival of the Plymouth IyA<
lon that land of spicy breezes the natives oekedpn
board very anxious to sell precious stones and Of
ssking precious price for them but not being able
SELL they agreed trade for old clothes. This Ar