Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

376
HISTORICAL JOURNAL,
HISTORICAL JOURNAL OF PLAGUE.
AS
I have neither the 'intention' nor ability to enter fully into
the general history of plague, with all its varieties and par-
ticulars, 1 must refer the reader, who may wish for
information,
such general
to those authors who have professedly written upon
the subject ; and confine myself to the relation of the incidents and
facts collected in the country, with the several cases of plague
which I have seen, and also heard described. I trust and hope,
that as these remarks are noticed and detailed faithfully, and no
particular hypothesis espoused by me at the time they were written,
I shall have less apprehension of incurring the suspicion, either of
having written with a view to support a particular theory,
or of
claiming any merit from the mode of treatment suggested.
In the most violent attacks of plague the vital principle appears
to be suddenly, in a great measure, extinguished ; or otherwise so
much enfeebled, as to render the system capable of resisting the
first shock of the disease only for a very short time.
Examples of this kind occurred. Several of the sepoys of the
Indian army in Egypt, and others, appeared to sink under the
first impression of the
contagion,
their attack being sudden, instantaneous,
and violent. I was informed that several dropt down
when in the ranks, and died within a few hours afterwards.
A civil artificer died after
thirty-six hours illness.
A choarbadgi, or colonel of janissaries, died at the expiration of
two days, within our buildings
at Cairo. The death of these two
individuals was instantaneous, and without a struggle.
The plague may be defined to be a disease sui generis, which
can affect persons more than once in their lives ; and, from a vari-
ety of circumstances, is evidently contagious.
The most evident and leading symptoms which attend this dread-
ful malady, arehead-ach ; more or less fever; thirst; generally an
intense or burning internal heat about the pracordia ; nausea, and
occasional vomiting ; the vessels of the eves are turgid, accompa-
nied with diarrhoea (which is often a troublesome and dangerous
symptom); hemorrhages; delirium; petechia?, and large livid