LEPROSY. 209 



children by the doctrine of longing, said that his mother felt a 

 violent propensity for oysters, which she was unable to gratify 

 and that the black rough scurf on his hands and feet were the 

 shells of that fish. We knew his parents, neither of whom 

 were lepers : his father, in particular, lived to be far advanced 

 in years. 



In all ages, the leprosy has made dreadful havoc among 

 mankind. The Israelites seem to have been greatly afflicted 

 with it from the most remote times, as appears from the pecu- 

 liar and repeated injunctions given them in the Levitical law. * 

 Nor was the rancour of this foul disorder much abated in the 

 last period of their commonwealth, as may be seen in many 

 passages of the New Testament. 



Some centuries ago, this horrible distemper prevailed all 



over Europe ; and our forefathers were by no means exempt, 



s appears by the large provision made for objects labouring 



under this calamity. There was an hospital for female lepers 



m the diocese of Lincoln, a noble one near Durham, three in 



London and Southwark, and perhaps many more in or near 



our great towns and cities. Moreover, some crowned heads, 



other wealthy and charitable personages, bequeathed large 



legacies to such poor people as languished under this hopeless 



infirmity. 



It ^must, therefore, in these days, be, to a humane and 



thinking person, a matter of equal wonder and satisfaction, 



when he contemplates how nearly this pest is eradicated, and 



observes that a leper is now a rare sight. He will, moreover, 



icn engaged m such a train of thought, naturally inquire for 



ie reason. This happy change, perhaps, may have originated 



een continued from the much smaller quantity of salted 



meat and fish now eaten in these kingdoms from the use of 



a next the skin from the plenty of better bread and 



the profusion of fruits, roots, legumes, and greens, so 



common m every family, f Three or four centuries ago, before 



e were any enclosures, sown grasses, field turnips, or field 



carrots, or hay, all the cattle that had grown fat in summer 



and were not killed for winter use, were turned out soon after' 



chaelmas to shift as they could through the dead months ; 



* See Leviticus, chap. xiii. and xiv. 



T2 



