difeafe was owing to imported contagion; because we are affured, that this form of the fickness was not peculiar to our island, but that it made great deftruction with the fame fymptoms in Germany, and other countries *.

I call this distemper a plague with leffened force : because though its carrying off thousands for want of right management was a proof of its malignity, which indeed in one respect exceeded that of the common plague itfelf, (for few, who were deftroyed with it, furvived the feizure above one natural day), yet its going off fafely with profuse fweats in twenty-four hours, when due care was taken to promote that evacuation, fhewed it to be what a learned and wife hiftorian calls it, rather a furprise to nature, than obftinate to remedies; who affigns this reafon for expreffing himfelf thus, that if the patient was kept warm with temperate cordials, he commonly recovered t. And, what I think yet more remarkable, fweating, which was the natural crifis of this diftemper, has been found by great phyficians the beft remedy against the common plague by which means, when timely ufed, that distemper may fometimes be carried off without any external tumours. Nay befides, a judicious obferver informs us, that in many of his patients, when he had broken the violence of the diftemper by fuch an artificial sweat, a natural sweat not excited by medicines would break forth exceedingly refreshing .

And I cannot but take notice, as a confirmation of what I have been advancing, that we had here the fame kind of fever in the year 1713, about the

Thuani hiftor. lib. v. + Lord Verulam's hiftory of Henry VII. Vid. Sydenham de pefte, ann. 1665.

month

month of September, which was called the Dunkirk fever, as being brought by our foldiers from that place. This probably had its original from the plague, which a few years before broke out at Dantzic, and continued fome time among the cities of the north. With us this fever began only with a pain in the head, and went off in large fweats ufually after a day's confinement: but at Dunkirk it was attended with the additional fymptoms of vomiting, diarrhoea,

&c.

:

To return from this digreffion: From all that has been faid, it appears, I think, very plainly, that the plague is a real poifon, which being bred in the fouthern parts of the world, is carried by commerce into other countries, particularly into Turky, where it maintains itself by a kind of circulation from perfons to goods which is chiefly owing to the negligence of the people there, who are ftupidly careless in this affair. That when the conftitution of the air happens to favour infection, it rages there with great violence that at that time more especially diseased perfons give it to one another, and from them contagious matter is lodged in goods of a loofe and foft texture, which being packed up and carried into other countries, let out, when opened, the imprisoned feeds of contagion, and produce the disease whenever the air is difpofed to give them force; otherwise they may be diffipated without any confiderable ill effects. And lastly, that the air does not ufually diffufe and fpread thefe to any great distance, if intercourfe and commerce with the place infected be ftrictly prevented.

VOL. II.

. I

PART

PART II.

Of the METHODS to be taken against the

PLAGUE.

C. HA P. I.

Of preventing infection from other countries.

A is not

Sit is a fatisfaction to know, that the plague a native of our country, fo this is likewife an encouragement to the utmoft diligence in finding out means to keep ourselves clear from it.

This caution confifts of two parts: The preventing its being brought into our ifland; and, if such a calamity fhould happen, the putting a stop to its fpreading among us.

1

The first of these is provided for by the established method of obliging fhips that come from infected places, to perform quarantine: as to which, I think it neceffary, that the following rules be obferved.

Near to our several ports, there should be lazarettoes built in convenient places, on little islands, if it can fo be, for the reception both of men and goods, which arrive from places fufpected of infection: the keeping men in quarantine on board the ship being not fufficient; the only ufe of which is to obferve whether any die among them. For infection may be preferved fo long in cloaths, in which it is once lodged, that as much, nay more of it, if fickness continues in the ship, may be brought on fhore at the end than at the beginning of forty days: unlefs a new quarantine be begun every time any perfon dies;

which might not end but with the deftruction of the whole fhip's crew.

If there has been any contagious diftemper in the fhip; the found men fhould leave their cloaths, which fhould be funk in the fea, the men washed and shaved, and having fresh cloaths, fhould stay in the lazaretto thirty or forty days. The reafon of this is, because persons may be recovered from a disease themfelves, and yet retain matter of infection about them a confiderable time; as we frequently fee the fmallpox taken from thofe who have feveral days before paffed through the diftemper.

The fick, if there be any, fhould be kept in houfes remote from the found, and, fome time after they are well, should also be washed and fhaved, and have fresh cloaths; whatever they wore while fick being funk or buried: and then being removed to the houses of the found, fhould continue there thirty or forty days.

I am particularly careful to destroy the cloaths of the fick, because they harbour the very quinteffence of contagion. A very ingenious author *, in his admirable description of the plague at Florence in the year 1348, relates what himself faw: That two hogs finding in the streets the rags which had been thrown. out from off a poor man dead of the disease, after fnuffling upon them, and tearing them with their teeth, they fell into convulfions, and died in less than an hour. The learned Fracaftorius acquaints us, that in his time, there being a plague in Verona, no lefs than twenty-five perfons were fucceffively killed

*Boccaccio Decameron. giornat. prim.

by the infection of one fur garment *. And Foreftus gives a like inftance of feven children, who died by playing upon cloaths brought to Alckmaer in North Holland, from an infected house in Zealand. The late Mr Williams, chaplain to Sir Robert Sutton, when ambaffadour at Conftantinople, ufed to relate a story of the fame nature told him by a baffa That in an expedition this baffa made to the frontiers of Poland, one of the janifaries under his command died of the plague; whofe jacket, a very rich one, being bought by another janifary, it was no fooner put on, but he alfo was taken fick, and died and the fame misfortune befel five janifaries more, who afterwards wore it. This the baffa re

:

lated to Mr Williams, chiefly for the fake of this farther circumftance, that the incidents now mentioned prevailed upon him to order the burning of the garment: defigning by this inftance to let Mr Williams fee there were Turks who allowed themfelves in fo much freedom of thought, as not to pay that strict regard to the Mahometan doctrine of fatality, as the vulgar among them do.

If there has been no fickness in the fhip, I fee no reason why the men fhould perform quarantine. Inftead of this, they may be washed, and their cloaths aired in the lazaretto, as goods, for one week.

But the greatest danger is from fuch goods as are apt to retain infection, fuch as cotton, hemp, and flax, paper or books, filk of all forts, linen, wool, feathers, hair, and all kinds of fkins. The lazaretto for thefe fhould be at a distance from that for the

* De contagione, 1. iii. c. 7. fchel, ad obferv. 22.

† Observat. 1. vi.

men;