580 
PLAGUE. 
femblance to warts, that they were often miftaken for 
them, not only by the vulgar, but even by the furgeons; 
and the author himfelf was fometimes obliged to have 
recourfe to the needle for diftinguilhing them. A quick 
fenfibility was a good fign, and thofe which went no far¬ 
ther than the Ikin would often (lough off; whereas, when 
they went deeper, they were deemed dangerous, efpecially 
when the part loft its feeling, and threatened fphacela- 
fion.” (Hodges, p. 133,) The fame excellent author 
defcribes another peftilential eruption, popularly called 
hiains, and were a fort of blebs, or bulla, containing ichor 
orferum. Thefe, he fays, were “vefications of fizefrotn 
a pea to a nutmeg, encompafled with a variegated circle, 
generally reddifh. They arofe with exquifite and (hooting 
pain, and contained an ichor of a yellowifti or draw 
colour, which was fo acrid or cauftic, that it foon corroded 
t he velicle, and burft out, of a colour yellowifti, livid, or 
black. Thefe puftules broke out in many parts of the 
body, their ftation and number being uncertain ; fome¬ 
times few, fometimes many : in one cafe, the whole body 
was covered all over with them.” (Hodges, p. no.) In 
the di regions publilhed by the College of Phyficians for the 
Jearchers, they are ordered to examine “ whether there be 
any blains which may rife in any part of the body in form 
of a blifter, much bigger than the (mail pox, of a ftraw- 
colour or livid-colour, which latter is the worfer; either 
of them hath a reddifh circuit, fomething fwollen, round 
about it ; which circuit remains after the blifter is broken, 
encompafling the fore.” See Certain neceflary Direftions, 
by the King’s fpecial Command, Lond. 1665. 
This plague afflifted all claffes, ages, and either fex; 
but it was of courfe more prevalent in the dirtied: and 
worft-ventilated ftreets, whence it got the name of pour's 
plague , the fuperior cleanlinefs and comforts of the rich 
affording them fome degree of immunity from its attacks, 
It is a remarkable faft, that, though during the year 
1665, the plague was mod violent, yet this difeafe was 
never entirely out of London, except for three years, 
from the year 1603 till 1670. In many of thefe interme¬ 
diate years, the mortality was very confiderable : in 1604, 
it amounted to goo perfons ; in 1605, to 400; in 1606, 
to 2000, and as many in the two following years; and up 
to 1640 and 1648, the yearly average exceeded 1000. 
Laftly, during the feafons of the great attack, 68,000 are 
computed to have periflied, of which number 46,000 were 
carried off in the months of Auguft and September, but 
the numbers diminiftied to 1000 during December. 
The treatment of this plague was chiefly conducted 
(when treatment was at all applied) on the principle fo 
common at that time, of expelling from the body the 
morbid poifon, the caufe of the difeafe; fo that it was 
confidered neceflary, above all things, to aflift nature in 
expelling that poifon from the body, and this principally 
by fwcating, which Morton called the king’s highway. In 
“ Certain Rules, Directions, or Advertilements, for this 
Time of Peftilential Contagion, firft publilhed for the 
Behoofe of the City of London, in the Vifitation of 
3603,” and republifiied upon the recurrence of the plague 
in 1625, copious J'weatings were directed to be excited by 
ltrong fudorifics, with warm beds and bed-clothes, “ fo 
foon as any of them (the poorer fort of people) apprehend 
tbemfelves to be taken with the plague,” and thefe were 
to be repeated every eight hours; and they were to 
“ continue this courfe for four or five days ;” and, while 
they were fweating, it was ordered that they were not 
to be (uffered “ to reft or fieep.” The fame modes of 
treatment were adopted in the “Advice fet downe by the 
College of Phyficians, by his Majefties fpeciall Com¬ 
mand,” which was printed in 1630. Not only ltrong 
fudorifics were enjoined, but it was directed “that there 
be good fires kept in and about the vifited houfes, and 
their neighbours,” and “ to make fires rather in pannes, 
to remove about the chambers, than in chimneys; the 
better to correft the ayre of the houfes.” In 1665, the 
College of Phyficians were required by government to 
infpeft the rules of former times, and make fuch altera¬ 
tions as they deemed proper; and among the directions 
which they then publilhed, after mentioning bleeding, 
purging, and vomiting, they fay “ thefe three great reme¬ 
dies rarely have place in the plague, but are generally 
dangerous, and molt of all purging by any ftrong medi¬ 
cines,” but exprefs an opinion, that “ the poifon is bell 
expelled by fweating, provoked by polfet-ale and London 
treacle” mixed ; and order the patient to “ be put to bed 
to fweat, well covered in a blanket, without his Ihirt, for 
twenty-four hours, every fifth hour renewing his cordial, 
but in half the quantity, between-whiles refrefliing him 
with polfet-drink, oatmeal-caudle, or thin broths, made 
jelly-wine, or hartlhorn-jelly;” and, if neceflary, warm 
bricks, wetted with vinegar, and wrapped in flannel, 
were to be put to his feet; and care was to be taken, that 
he “ lleep not till the fweat be over.” Blifters were at 
the fame time applied “ behind the ears, about the wrifts, 
near the arm-pits, on the infides of the thighs, and near 
the groin, to draw forth the venom." The buboes were to 
be “ always drawn forth, and ripened, and broke with all 
fpeed.” 
Such was the univerfal pradice employed in the plagues 
of the feventeenth century; and it is enough to have 
Hated it to prove that mifchievous rather than beneficial 
confequences rnuft have been produced by it. 
In 1720, the city of Marfeilles was vifited with thisde- 
ftruftive difeafe, brought in a (hip from the Levant; and 
in feven months, during which time it continued, it car¬ 
ried off not lefs than 60,000 people. This defolation is 
not yet obliterated from the minds of the inhabitants; 
and has been pathetically defcribed by Mad. de Genlis. 
Indeed the ravages of this difeafe have been dreadful 
wherever it has made its appearance. On the firft arrival 
of the Europeans at the illand of Gran Canaria, it con¬ 
tained 14,000 fighting men, foon after which, tw'o thirds 
of the whole inhabitants fell a facrifice to the plague, 
which had probably been introduced by their new vifitors. 
The deftruftion it has made in Turkey in Europe, and 
particularly in Conftantinople, mull be known to every 
reader; and its fatal effefts have been particularly 
heightened there by that firm belief which prevails 
among the people of predeftination. They therefore 
take no precaution to guard themfelves againft it. The 
wifer profeffors of this religion, however, at prefent aft 
otherwife; for we find a receipt recommended by Sidy 
Mohammed Zerroke, one of the molt celebrated Mara¬ 
bouts, prefaced with thefe remarkable words: “ The lives 
of us all are in the hands of God, when it is we muft die. 
However, it hath pleafed him to fave many perfons from 
the plague, by taking every morning, while the infeftion 
rages, one pill or two of the following compofition ; viz. 
of myrrh two parts, faff’ron one part, of aloes two parts, 
of fyrup of myrtle berries q. f.” But this remedy is con¬ 
fined to the more enlightened; for the bigotry of the 
lower fort is fo extreme as to make them defpife all pre¬ 
cautions which people of other nations ufe. The plague 
is generally brought into European Turkey from Egypt; 
where it is very' frequent, efpecially at Grand Cairo. To 
give even a lift of all the plagues which have defolated 
many flourilhing countries, would extend this article 
beyond all bounds; and minutely defcribe them all, 
would be impoflible. For the plague at Smyrna, we 
refer to Chandler’s Travels as above. Refpefting that 
which raged.in Syria in 1760, we refer to the Abbe Ma- 
riti’s Travels through Cyprus, Syria, and Paleftine, vol. i. 
This plague was one of the moft malignant and fatal 
that Syria ever experienced; for it fcarcely made its ap¬ 
pearance in any part of the body when it carried off the 
patient. 
It is pretty generally agreed, that there are no caufes 
in this country which can give rife to the plague; an 
opinion llrcngly borne out by the fafts, that it has always 
been 
