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

32
HISTORICAL JOURNAL
years. From the best information received, and observations re-
cently made, it would appear that the plague is a native of Africa,
and of Asia. It is remarked by
the inhabitants, that the disease
is more prevalent at Rosetta, than in any other town or part of
Egypt. The streets of Rosetta are extremely narrow and very
dirty. The manner in which the inhabitants live croudedly toge-
ther, would appear sufficient, in a stagnant state of the atmosphere,
in most of their towns, &c. to generate pestilential or malignant
diseases. The very few comforts and conveniencies which fall to
the lot of the poorer
class of the natives in Egypt, by far the most
numerous, would lead one naturally
to expect great mortality when
the plague prevails among them. Dreadful examples are seen an-
nually to happen.
When I was at Rosetta, in February 1802, I perceived swampy,
bogp-y grounds near to the town, the ditches, and small canals
contiguous to which, and the gardens, had offensive stagnant wa-
ters within them.* At this time the plague had broken out at
Rosetta, and furnished several fatal examples to the English,
Greeks, and Arabs. The fears and apprehensions were so great
at Alexandria, respecting the communication with Rosetta, that
the Commander in Chief, Lord Cavan, obliged all vessels and per-
sons coming from the latter place, to perform quarantine previously
to their entry into Alexandria.
The disease had appeared at Alexandria before I left it in
March, and several had died in the lazaretto. This contagion was
supposed to have been imported from Rosetta. The plague is ge-
and this cir-
nerally observed to commence in commercial places ;
cumstance probably gave rise to the idea, that contagion was im-
ported in articles of merchandize, &c. from distant parts. f
* This observation, connected with the preceding one, that the plague prevails
when the Nik is low, appears to render it probable that this disease is merely a malig-
nant remittent fever. This will appear still more probable, when it is considered, that
buboes and glandular abscesses are common in Syria, in cases where the plague is not
to
supposed
be concerned.
Sir Robert Wilson appears to have formed the above opinion. See his Work. Also
see Journal of Syria i Feb. 7, 1S01.
\ Dr. Mead has thus written in his Discourse upon Pl?gue, page 263.
" From all
« that has been said it appears very plainly, that the is plague a real poison, which, be-
" 3ng bred in the southern parts of the world, is carried by commerce into other coun-
" into
tries, particularly Turkey, where it maintains itself a
by kind of circulation from
" opsins to goods', which is
chiefly owing to the negligence of the people there, who
" ari stupidly
careless in this affair: that when the constitution of the air happens to
" favour infection, it rages there with great violence: that at that time more especially
" disease! it
persons give to one another, and from them contagious matter is lodged in.
'
«
goods of r. loose ar,d soft texture, whith, being, packed up, and carried into other