The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1879-02-25

with terrible violence In Athens, and
Greece's greatest statesman at that time,
Pericles was one of It's victims.
But not until the fourteenth century
did 1t become II scourge To the entire
world, travelling as 1t did then, from the
eastern boundaries of Asia through
China, India and Russia, aud furnishing
with equal severity the inhabitants of
the Pyrean peninsula and the hardened
people of Scandinavia and Ireland. And
If the westwn hemisphere had been dis
covered at That time, aud active com
munlcation and traffic with 1t had
existed, there can be no doubt that the
grim destroyer would have visited
America also. 1t is, indeed, by no means
certain but that the plague did reach
this continent, since there are legends
which speak of time of great mortali-
ty long before the advent of Europeans
1t Is estimated that no less that 81 600
900 persons fell victims to the black
death in Asia and Europe toward the
middle of the fourteenth century. OF
these 100000 are supposed to have
perished In Europe, 24,0OO,0OO In Asia
Minor, India, and the adjacent coun-
tries, and 13,000,00O in China. One
historian writes concerning the appear
ance of the plague in Europe: 'Terr-
ble omens in the heavens overwhelmed
the nations with dread. In 1887, large
comet appeared; in following years
came immense multtudes of locusts
but in 1913 the end seemed at haud.
An earthquake devastated Cyprus,
Greece, Italy and the Alpine valleys.
Mountains caved in. In the province
of Carthen, in Austria, thirty villages
aud town were utterly destroyed. The
atmosphere became thick, fetd aud con
fusing. Wine became turbid in the
barrels. Fiery meteors illuminated the
sky. A pillar of flame was seen over
the Papal palace ut Avignon. These
terrOrs were followed hy murderOus
plague. 1t originated in China, was
carried through the whole of Asia, and
in Germany received the name of
"Black Death" because it covered its
victims suddenly with black pustues,
and often killed them instantaneously.
1t spread over the whole of Europe, and
it is said that it did not rage most viru-
lently in Germany. Nevertheless A.
900 persons died in Basle, 10000 in
Strasburg aud the same number in Err
furt, aud they perished in all other
places in similar proportions. In Osna-
hruck only seven families are said to
have survived.
For twenty five years the awful cpl
demic maintained its annihilatingsway
while at the same time drouths ,famines,
floods, and earthquakes destroyed city
and country, and vast swarms of locusts
every where inflicted the direst ravages.
Meantime the whole order of nature
seemed reversed. In midwinter the
severest rains was experienced, and in
summer long continued and severe
frosts, and volcanoes that had been long
thought extinct opened their craters
anew. Some have attributed the origin
of the epidemic to the atmospheric chan
yes produced by the commissions of the
earth, combined with the decay of
organic matter-the myriads of l0eusts
and the unnumbered dead bodies of men
and animals.
Some have also attributed that fri ght-
ful epidemic to the then recorded ap-
proach of several planets to the sun.
Inasmuch as four planets enter the
perihelion in 1881, we have at least this
similarity between the present time and
that dreadful period and this circum-
stance, combined with the sudden out
break of the plague that is reported
from Europe, may give rise to the fears
that the coming planetary proximity to
the sun is perhaps to have an evil i'm
port for poor humanity.