528 Account of theBlackPlague,from the Year 1346 to 1348. [July 1, 
an extensive range of countries, were 
both to France and Germany the fore- 
runners of much mischief on the point of 
ensuing, and the omens of that desolation 
which was soon to spread itself over their 
inhabitants. Repeated earthquakes, the 
stench of deadly vapours, preceded, and 
accerding to many writers, occasioned 
the plague; but the more common opi- 
nion is, that it was brought into Europe 
by trading vessels. This dreadful scourge 
of the human race pervaded the whole 
surface of the terrestrial globe, and de- 
prived its cities and its countries of a full 
third of their people. There was no ex- 
einption either for man or beast: the 
largest towns were converted into great 
receptacles of the-dead, the yet. warm 
corpse was often committed to the grave 
before life was entirely extinct; and, 
prompted by despair, -the eye was 
only lifted up to Heaven in the sad ex- 
pectation of beholding new presages of 
increasing misery and _ devastation. 
Throaghcut almost all Asia, the fields lay 
deserted and uncultivated, so that they 
who had escaped the pestilence, fell a 
prey to famine. The contagion was 
universal; buat confining ourselves to 
Europe, in London alone five hundred 
thousand victims were the consequence 
of its virulence; in Florence, sixty thou- 
sand; in Lubeck, ninety thousand; in 
Basel, more than sixty thousand. The 
members of the great senate, originally 
six hundred and fifty, were reduced to 
three lundred and eighty: the doge 
Andrew Dandalo, deeply grieved to be- 
hold his native country thus depopulated, 
invited, by the offer of the most enticing 
privileges, a multitude of strangers to 
replace his lost subjects. ae 
To turn the mind of the young from 
the agonizing consideration of frequent 
death, by the lively participation of 
feasts and entertainments, the magt- 
strates of Berne sent them, accompanied 
with numerous. bands of music, to the 
beautiful valley of Simmon. ‘ Come(said 
Ahey) let us not consume ovrselves in 
Yain sorrow and unavailing penitence, 
rather in festivity and mirth let us re- 
joice:to have escaped this murderous. 
distemper.” 
Boccace informs us, that the greater 
part of the cities of Italy only resounded 
with reveling and ecarousal, while the 
people.were only bent on the enjoyment 
of pleasure, and the satisfaction of their 
wanton passions: fear and terror were 
prohibited, for gaiety of manners ‘and 
disposition was esteemed the best metliod 
of averting the pressing evil, Still, excia- 
ding a few solitary exceptions, dread 
and apprehension everywhere reigned: - 
every view was fixed, limited by the 
grave; and atl conceived themselves as if 
at every moment standing before the 
awful tribunal of Gods nothing was 
heard but lamentation ; and a single tra- 
veller was held in the light of an Anti- 
christ. Every mind, impressed by. the 
general gloom of this horrid tragedy, was 
seized with religious terror; and it was 
the universal idea that such unparalleled 
destruction was paving the way to the 
final judgment: superstitious prejudices, 
which a senseless translation of the Scrip- 
tures helped to confirm. The warriors, 
only anxious for personal safety, forgot to 
defend their countries. Agriculture 
was entirely neglected ; while trembling 
Suspense at the approach of the last day 
invariably increased. On all sides the 
groans of desperation and hopeless re- 
pentance struck the ear; crowds of men 
and women were constantly seen tor- 
turing themselves with the cruel lashes 
of penitential discipline ; in short, it ap- 
peared as though the omnipotent trum. 
pet had already blown its all-awakening 
blast. But even now there existed he- 
ings whose pride this catastrophe had 
not abated, whose zeal to extend their — 
possessions in a world threatened with 
everlasting ruin, was not yet diminished ; _ 
and, not satisfied with the ravages of the 
plague, the poor Jews were persecuted 
with sanguinary rage and perseverance: 
the hostilities of nature being ascribed to 
that forlorn race, great numbers of them 
were burnt by the furious mob, through- 
out France, Italy, and Germany. Nor 
did Egypt present a less distressing as- 
pect; indeed there was no spot upon the 
globe so completely ‘wretched. The 
plague and famine kept pace with each 
other. The perturbated Egyptians fancied» 
that evil spirits had risen from the 
tombs among the ruins of their ancient 
cities, to empoison the malignant air; . 
the calls of hunger impelled them to feed 
on putrid carcases; nothing was soe 
loathsome but starvation flew to for 
succour: mothers even fed upon their 
own children. Treated like slaves by 
a foreign’ enemy, who had but lately 
occupied their country, the Egyptians 
no longer possessed any thing of value; 
everr the records of the deeds of their 
ancestors were lost. Nevestheless, it was 
in the midst of this heavy pressure of 
calamity, in the exterminating hour of 
desolation, that man augmented the 
means ef destruction by the invention 
of guns and gun-powder, ) 
To 
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