Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-29
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COMETS AND PEsTIbENCE.
The medal concentrating the great |
plague of London. which was associat-
cd with the appearance of comet, pic
lures the fiery visitor as scattering pes
thence with it's tail. According to this
instructive medal, the pestilence was
sown broadcast in the form Of su.all
notebooks. Defoe describes the comet
as seen by him for several months be-
fore the plague, and remarks: ''the old
women, and the hypochondriachal of
the other sex, whom could almost call
old women too, said, especially after
wards, that it passed directly over the
city, and so near the houses as toimport
something peculiar to the city alone.
The impression has been very general
for several centuries that our atmos-
phere may be poisoned by the gaseous
and mineral matters in comets and me-
teors. In his Life of Henry the Seventh,
Bacon describes sweating sickness
that prevailed in 1885, which presents
facts of permanent interest to all who
care to understand the nature and
causes of epidemics and plaques. He
saws: about this time in autumn, to-
wards the end of September there be-
gan and reigned in the city and other
parts of the kingdom a disease.
then new, which by the accidents
and manner thereof they called
the sweating sickness The
disease had a swift course, both in the
body and in the time and period of the
lasting thereof; for they that were
taken with it, upon twenty-four hours
escaping, we're thought almost assured.
And, as to the time of the malice and
reign of the disease beforeit ceased, 1t
began about the one and twentieth of
September and cleared up before the
end of October, insomuch as it was no
hinderance to the kings coronation,
which was the last of October, nor,
which was more, to the holding of Par
| lament. which began but seven days
later. 1t was pestilent fever, but, as
| it seemeth, not seated in the veins or
humours. for that there followed no
carbuncle, no purple or livid spots, or
the like. the mass of the body being
not tainted; only a malign vaPor
flew to the heart and seized the vital
spirits, which stirred nature to try to
send it forth by an extreme sweat.
And it appeared by experience that
this disease was rather a surprise OF
nature than obstinate to remedies, If 1t
were in time looked after; for, If the
patient we're kept in an equal temper,
both for clothes, fire and drink, mod
erately warm, with temperate eordials,
whereby natures work were neither
irritated by heat nor driven back
by cold, he commonly recovered,
But infinite persons died sudden
" of it before the manner of the
cure and attendance was known
1t was conceived not TO be an epidemic
disease, but to proceed from mdlig'
nity in the constitution Of the air, gath
cred by predispositions of seasons; and
the speedy cessation declared as much
Bacon was a philosopher possessing
uncommon mental powers, and a JUS
, appreciation of the value of facts
, The sudden advent and cessation o
the above described pestilence are 1T
} most important features as throwing
light on it's cause and nature, whicl
, Bacon failed to see, because scienc
? was not then sufficiently advanced 70
, a solution of the problem.
The Constitution of the air" did no
suddenly change in a few weeks, bu
E remained the same, varying as to tenn
7 perature and humidity, and, conse
quently, in its power to support mil
!, lions of living organisms to penetrat
/ the human system, and breed malg
l nant fevers and corruption. Micro
scopic life and parasites were then IN
) known, and the tails of comets and
still mythical ''miasm" had the eredi
e of giving existence to every new plague
Chemistry and meteorology combine
: can fairly explain the facts of the cas-
I without the aid of organic life to pla
: an important part.
Autumn frosts produce no import
: ant chemical changes in gases or mir
t erals, while they kill many tende
plants, and, among others, the parl
sites which produce yellow fever. W
have had the same gases and mineral
in Nashville during the last six week
L that we had one year ago in the sam
: week; but the living and self-multiply
:, ing germs of cholera have not been /
n the city. Comets tails and miasma d
Y not explain the phenomena of pest
| II a,