The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1879-02-08

city the fields were covered with unburied
corpses For three months from 5000 to
10000 deaths occurred daily at Constan-
tinople; whole provinces were abandoned
and cities died out, to remsin vacant for
many years. From 10000, 900 to 120,-
900, 900 Of victims are said to have per-
ished in the three continents. But though
Egypt, Syria, and Persia were scourged,
Arabia and the Caucasus escaped; and
while Northern Italy suffered severely, but
a few seaports in Albania, Morocco and
Sicily were affected Just two centuries
later Byzantium and the neighboring coasts
were sorely visited, hut the next great
general pestilence was that at the middle
Of the fourteenth century According to
the Chinese, the pestilenee broke out there
about 1888, following great earthquakes
and foods with their usual attendants,
failure Of crops and famine. Ere il reach
ed Europe this pestilence is said to have
destroyed $4,000, 900 people in China and
nearly twice as many in Eastern Asia and
Northern Africa It visited every part Of
Europe, from Spain and Italy to Scotland
and Russia. This was the terrible "Blaek
Death" Boceaccio's ''Decameron" recalls
its rayages in Florence in l34s, Half
the population of Italy are said to have
died Of it. In London there we're 200
burials daily in the Charter House yard.
The Jews were massacred by wholesale,
the popular rage turning on them as the
supposed authors Of the pestilence. No
accusation was too monstrous to be be-
lieved of them. They were charged with
poisoning the streams and wells, and many
Of them even slew themselves TO escape the
hideous tortures prepared for them. Bands
Of Flagellants and other fanatics went from
town to town, lashing and torturing them
selves to expiate the sins Of the people
and spreading the infection. The terror
stricken wealthy enriched the monasteries
with offerings Of gold, which they we're
obliged to cast over the walls and through
locked gates. People went to sea toescape
the pestilence, and ships filed with the
dead and the dying were cast upon distant
strands, there to communicate the conta-
gion. Men took refuge In forests and
caves, only TO Gnd death there awaiting
them. In the epidemic Of 13T3-5 four
million people are said to have died in the
byzantine Empire, Russia, Germany,
France, Italy aud Northern Spain, but as
the earlier scourge had spared the Moham-
medan countries, where the inhabitants
were more temperate and cleanly, SO It was
observed that this pestilence respected the
monasteries Of the Rtricter order aud spared
the frugal peasants dwelling in the open
fields Of Calabria and Sicily. In 1911
nearly quarter Of million Of people died
Of the plague at Constantinople, and in
1906 Sandman transport laden with
troops carried the disease to the fertile re.
gions Of Naples, where 10 six months AGO.,
900 Of the inhabitants we're swept away
A ship from the Levant brought the plague
10 Marseilles In 1920, whom $4,000 Of the
10000 residents persisted in five weeks
among them the heroic Bishop Belzunee
who had received at Paris this messag,
from the stricken city We are dying
come home and die with us, and payin,
courtly compliment to the grande dam
he was visiting, the brave Bishop bad
her aa repoir, and in an hour was postiul
sOuthward, day and night, to comfort hi
people and-to die 1t iS not pleasant {,
have to say that the people of Marseille
threateped q riot few weeks ago when /
was proposed to pay honor to his statue
Yet, though 40 per cent. of the population
died, in the suburb Of the Catalans, inhab
tied by abstemious Spaniards, only 200 ou
Of G,000 perished. The later plaques il
Europe and the Orient were those Of 1850
10 Syria, which was very malignant; o.
l77l-2, in Moscow; of 1873, in Persia
when $4,000 souls died at Bassora; Of
1892, in Egypt-s0O, 600 deaths; of l7a9
in the North of Africa, when 1900 per
sons are said to have perished daily il
BaTharyi Of i804-5, in the South Of Spain
and Of lsl5-l6, at Naples.
Before 1865 the plague, according to
Sydenham, visited England about once in
a generation. In 43O the living in Brit.
ain, tradition tells US, were not able to bury
the dead, and several pestllences are record.
ed previous to that OF I'LL, which exten.
ded to cattle and fowls, The plague drove
Henry IL. from Ireland In 1172, and swept
away prodigiOus number Of the starving
and shelterless Irish in 1904. London
was visited again in l34s, 1862 and 1867
the year Of the "Black Death and
Ireland was scourged in 1870 and 1883.
ln l407 London lost &c, 900 residents; 10
l466 and l47O pestilence, following a
time Of sore famine, rayaged ireland and
Dublin terribly, Next year the pest visited
Oxford, aud ia l47s destroyed more psopls
than the continual wars for the fifteen
years preceding. In l499-150O tho plague
drove Henry VII. aud his Court over to
Calais. Leaving out Of the list tho five
ePidemics off the strange and fearful asweat.
ing sickness" (Which was mortal in three
hours between 14S5 and 1861, we notice
the visit Of the plague to Limerick 10 522
and to London in ld03-4, when 30,57S
people died. aud again in 1925, when 35,-
III persons perished. With the Great
Plague Of 1664-5 most readers arc famil-
lar through the story Of De Foe, which, as
most Of doubtless also know, is not the tale
OF an eyewitness. In this visitation 8s.-
595 persons died. fires we're kept burning
day and night to purify the air, aud it was
thought that the infection was never ef.
fectually destroyed till the great fire Of
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