Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1853-09-10
Pe,liIenees at Various Periods.

In than quarter it has been remarked that the
fever at New Orleans equals If it does not surpas4 all for
peslences in its mortality This however i. mis-.
take notice o. some of the mos remarkable cpidem.
les will rcfgte the error.
The first pesiilcnce (which We have detailed account
Is that recorded by ThEcyddes and which visited Athens
about iUu- hundred and thirty years before the Christian
err appeers TO have been identical in kind with the
great plague OF London in 1893, the written OF
TIE one appying almost exactly the other The NOR
tity which attended il almost incred be- Il was
followed at uneven periods by other vstatons OF pest
ence, which swept oil millions OF the human race at Rome
Egypt Syria, and finally Constantnope Gibbon relates
that in the reign Of Jusnian A. D. 5s7 plague devas-
ted the empire for hfy-tso years. During portion OF
ms time, when COnsantinope visited by the empi-
demic ten thousand persons died daily Two centuries
Ater two hundred thousand persons carried off in
bi capital by AIother visitation of the plague In the
earlier Fttons many smaller cities dcpOpulted by
H. Whole districts, devoted to agriculture we're aban-
iohed The harvest being left TO wIther the ground
GiboOn computes the eiire mortality during the tytwo
year, Of plague, at one hundred millions.
During tie middle ages tEe plague swept over Europe
several times, with ightul violence. ROccaccio has left
vivid narrative Of IL appearance Florence about the
middle OF the fourteenth century. IL bore the name of
the Black DEATH" aud closely resenbed the old plague
Of Athens. Visiting England il swept of ilty thousand
inhabitants Of London alone though the British capital
haI hot al that Il ue, probably more than hundred
thousand inhabitants Fifty ysArs later the plague appeared
again IN London, when th'ty thousand per-Un persisted
OF II within a twelve months. 10 1917, epidemic call
the "SSeating Sickness, broke in Europe and ex-
tendng to England, deprived the principal towns accord
ng 10 Stove Of half Of their inhabitants In 1905 nearly
forty thousand persons died Of plague in London About
the same period, COnsantnope said have los, two
hundred thousand Of in inhabitants by the same disease
A. the age Of official states had vet arisen these mum.
bera may have been occasionally exaggerated but the
very yastness OF the esnates IL but approximation
proves the fghf rate Of mortality II TO be regretted
that We have not Of these ep.isncs
- as 70 be able 70 determine whether they identical
10 Character the best medical writer's conjecture or
really different, their uply.
We come nov To- the pe.tilence which devastated Lon
dDu ia !Ccj, and which j. commonly knONn The Great
Plague. 10 does not appear after all have be as IA
al a. many which preceded It, aud really IT, pre-
smuence % the vivid description, left Of IT, This ep-
denic appeared n September, 1864 aud after lingering
a sinter began TO rage violently early a. Nav The
summer set ia unusually hot IN the week ending l3t II
June, IL bal died u The disease the week tue NUN.
Der ross % G5, The 10 3G7; aud the next to $40
hicauay cyi"te. the pGplltlon of London this tilas
10 about nh million. by the middle Of july, however
tao hundred thousand had fed 10 the county II, es-
ieIce nov began " increase with appalling ript, ins
deaths i2T tue week ending with the 1t Of August were
4yIv, and they steadily n numbers m the hn Of SEP
teD-r. having paclei for the week ending with that
date, Gy5s The NeeE folio cling lhe0 fiii; the
week after tnat 7lJj; aud q next week 5jj. the pes
teues rapidly aD.iyi. TIE mortality iOr the ensu-
iuz i've weUka Vs. respectively, 4JZ5 1827, 2BBj l42I
luI 1854. ~ the 9th of December the weekly death.
plague bad fallen 10 20 1hi' after the aaiul
moftsy shiru had pteceisi IT, was considered uihs
e fusnv. consequently returned ~ toan, aud business
rs- guusfniy resumed.
Tie st,h'y at tue earlier epidencs 70 il thus seem fr
exceeded 'LI' ~ the fever raging New Oflells-
iLe London Itgue U 100, however 70 have been
about mYf'sL E.'matng the present population Of
Doe American city "a. $500, AID t.iug tls mortality VI
che week, ending August iGtb, which 1868 vc lind
rt OI" p,ryu I.i OIt OF every sixty three. lu August
1865, the pDyl4Gyr Of LONDON have seen DID not
exceed aII,uun pie deaths Jr the week ending On tie
ltb OF tH' month we're ayout f5Ju. consequently one
psr.on out Of every ssfy-sir bad doi ~ tie 5h Of
-rp'eui'f. hDuever the weekly mortality had risen 90
Gsss wiHii Ets one .tti iyr every Ofy.trec inhib
trs Before the epidemic ~ New OUrlus cen ,r a. f.,
t tHo weekly mortality uust rec T. 1867 II BE- possible
uIs may sec occur. Whom does. the Great Plague"
NAY br cDHfd red o. have BEEN fysci but not before
OH.r ,..urc. since the LONDON one, have been very
aal o. 1890 CtuUy pcf.unl pcfisHcd 40 Mir.cile' or
quito bali uir population. 10 Eyp' syria and Bublfy,
u~ nDflhy 'fDm plague bis frequently irctrd aud even
threat rigIr" f,nIon os, 10000 " her inhabitants
Ouc.tlrd Of uo.e VIM stayed 10 encounter the pc-u
hence. SOW Orleans mIit lose 27 900 ~ n tain a Ike
mortality but God f0fJI that shc should Ihiabiphja
faJ,y,
To Y.r BnUrurL niSp.-Tso charming women
we're dbcurg one day uhat IL IL which constitute beau
~ u the hand They differed w opinion much NJ in the
sspc ~ e betuuul nrInbcr whose merit they dis
cI.-rg gentleman friend presented himself and, by
c0uu.n tOuseni, the question was referred 20 him. IL
delicate matter lie thou IL 81 Paris and the three
golIcses Gltncng rom ~ he other o. the besu-
f1 white hands pfessnted ~ himwch by the way he had
tie cunning ~ hold fof sometime IN liz for purpose
~ eramination-he replied At last give Il up-the
question too hard for me but ak the poor, and they
vii tell you that the most beautiful hand 10 de world is
u's bsnd tist gives