History of Animal Plagttes. loi 



sensibly perceptible, admixtures to a great extent, which, at 

 least in the lower regions, could not be decomposed, or rendered 

 ineffective by separation. Now, if we go back to the symptoms 

 of the disease, the ardent inflammation of the lungs points out 

 that the organs of respiration yielded to the attack of an atmo- 

 spheric poison — a poison which, if we admit the independent 

 origin of the Black Plague at any one place on the globe, which 

 under such extraordinary circumstances it would be difficult to 

 doubt, attacked the course of the circulation in as hostile a 

 manner as that which produced inflammation of the spleen, and i 



other animal contagions that cause swelling and inflammation of 

 the lymphatic glands. , 



Pursuino; the course of these ffrand revolutions further, we ' 



find notice of an unexampled earthquake, which, on the 25th of 

 January, 1348, shook Greece, Italy, and the neighbouring 

 countries. Naples, Rome, Pisa, Bologna, Padua, Venice, and ' 



many other cities sufllered considerably. Whole villages were ' A 



swallowed up. Castles, houses, and churches were overthrown, \ 



and hundreds of people were buried beneath their ruins. In 

 Carinthia thirty villages, together with all the churches, were 

 demolished; more than a thousand corpses were drawn out of j 



the rubbish; the city of Viilach was so completely destroyed, 

 that very few of its inhabitants were saved ; and when the earth 

 ceased to tremble, it was found that mountains had been moved 

 from their positions, and that many hamlets were left in ruins. j 



It is recorded that, during this earthquake, the wine in the casks 

 became turbid, a statement which may be considered as furnish- 

 ing a proof, that changes causing a decomposition of the atmo- 

 sphere had taken place; but if we had no other information from 

 which the excitement of conflicting powers of nature during 

 these commotions might be inferred, yet scientific observations 

 in n)odern times have shown that the relation of the atmosphere , 



to the earth is chanoed by volcanic influences. . . . Independ- 

 ently of this, however, we know that during this earthquake, the 

 duration of which is stated by sonic to have been a week, and ! 



by others a fortnight, people experienced an unusual stupor and j 



headache, and that many fainted away.' These destructive j 



' Albert Argentitiiens. Chronic, in i/rj/Zj. Scrip, rcr. Germanic. Francof. 15S5. ] 



