A BRIEF
JOURNAL
Of what passed in the CITY of
_MARSEILLES_,
While it was Afflicted with the
PLAGUE,
In the YEAR 1720.
Extracted from the REGISTER of the _Council-Chamber_ of the
_Town-House_, kept by Monsieur PICHATTY DE CROISSAINTE, Counsellor
and Orator of that City, and the King's Attorney in Affairs
relating to the good Government of it.
_Translated from the ORIGINAL, Published at_ PARIS, _with the King's
Privilege_.
_LONDON_:
Printed for J. ROBERTS, near the _Oxford-Arms_ in _Warwick-Lane_.
1721.
Price, One Shilling.
[Illustration]
_ABSTRACT of the_ French _King's Privilege, for the printing and
publishing of this Journal._
_Lewis_, by the Grace of God, King of _France_ and _Navarre_. To our
beloved and faithful Counsellors holding our Court of Parliament of
_Paris_, and to all others whom it may Concern: Greeting. Our well
beloved _Nicholas Carré_ of _Paris_, having represented to us, that a
Manuscript has been put into his Hands, intitled, _A Brief Journal of
what passed in the City of_ Marseilles _while it was afflicted with
the Plague_; and most humbly besought us to grant him our Letters of
Privilege, for the sole printing and vending thereof throughout our
Dominions.----We being willing to treat the Petitioner favourably, and
to acknowledge his Zeal for the Good and Benefit of the Publick, do
by these Presents grant to him and his Assigns, the sole Liberty of
printing and publishing the said Book, for the term of six Years from
the Date hereof:--Forbidding all other Persons to print or counterfeit
the same, on the Penalty of Confiscation of such Copies, and of a
Fine of three thousand Livres, to be paid by every Offender. Done at
_Paris_, the 17th of _July_ in the sixth Year of our Reign. By the King
in Council.
CARPOT.
[Illustration]
_A_ BRIEF JOURNAL _of what passed in the City of_ MARSEILLES,
_while it was afflicted with the Plague in 1720_.
THE Coasts of the _Levant_ being always suspected of the Plague, all
Ships which come from thence for _Marseilles_ stop at the Islands of
_Chateaudif_; and the Intendants of Health regulate the Time and Manner
of their Quarantaines, and of purifying their Cargoes, by the Tenor of
their Patents (or Bills of Health), and by the State of Health of the
particular Places from whence they come.
The Beginning of _May_, 1720. we had Advice at _Marseilles_, that from
the Month of _March_ the Plague was rife in most of the Maritime Towns
or trading Ports of _Palestine_ and _Syria_.
The 25th of the said Month of _May_, the Ship commanded by Captain
_Chataud_, which came from thence, that is to say, from _Sidon_,
_Tripoli_, _Syria_, and _Cyprus_, arrives at the said Islands; but
his Patents are clean (_i.e._ his Certificates imported there was no
Contagion at those Places,) because he came away the 31st of _January_,
before the Plague was there. He declares, however, to the Intendants of
Health, that in his Voyage, or at _Leghorn_ where he touched, Six Men
of his Crew died, but he shews by the Certificate of the Physicians of
Health at _Leghorn_, that they died only of Malignant Fevers, caused by
unwholesome Provisions.
The 27th of _May_, one of his Sailors dies in his Ship.
The 28th, the Intendants cause the Corpse to be carried into the
Infirmary; _Guerard_, chief Surgeon of Health, views it; and makes
Report, that it has not any Mark of Contagion.
The 29th, the Intendants settle the purifying of the Goods of this
Cargo, to Forty Days compleat, to be reckoned from the Day the last
Bale shall be carried from it into the Infirmaries.
The last of _May_, Three other Vessels arrive at the same Islands;
_viz._ Two small Vessels of Captain _Aillaud_'s from _Sidon_, whence
they came since the Plague was there; and Captain _Fouque_'s Bark from
_Scanderoon_.
The 12th of _June_, Captain _Gabriel_'s Ship arrives there likewise
from the same Places, with a foul Patent; (_i. e._ importing, that the
Plague was there.)
The same Day the Officer, whom the Intendants had put on Board Captain
_Chataud_'s Ship to see Quarantain duly performed, dies there;
_Guerard_ chief Surgeon of Health views the Body, and makes Report that
it has not any Mark of Contagion.
The 14th of _June_, the Passengers who came in the said Ship, are
perfumed for the last Time in the Infirmaries; and are allowed to enter
the City as usual.
The 23d, being the Eve of St. _John Baptist_, the Grand Prior arrives
at _Genoa_ with the King's Gallies; the Sheriffs have the Honour to
welcome him, and I to make a Speech to him in the Name of the City.
The same Day a Cabbin-Boy of Captain _Chataud_'s Ship, a Servant
employed at the Infirmaries in purifying the Goods of that Ship, and
another who was purifying those of Captain _Gabriel_'s Ship, fall sick;
the same Surgeon makes Report that they have not any Mark of Contagion.
The 24th, another Servant employed to purify Captain _Aillaud_'s Goods,
falls sick likewise; is visited, and the same Report made.
The 24th, and 26th, all Four dye one after another; their Bodies are
viewed, and Report made that they have not any Mark of Contagion.
Notwithstanding the Reports thus made, the Intendants consult and
resolve by way of Precaution to cause all these Bodies to be buried in
Lime; to remove from the Island of _Pomegué_ the Ships of the Captains
_Chataud_, _Aillaud_, and _Gabriel_, and send them to a distant Island
called _Jarre_, there to begin again their Quarantain; and to inclose
the Yard where their Goods are purifying in the Infirmaries, without
suffering the Servants employed to air them, to come out.
The 28th of _June_, another Vessel, being Captain _Gueymart_'s Bark,
from _Sidon_, arrives at the foresaid Islands with a foul Patent.
The 1st of _July_, the Intendants pass a Resolution, to cause all the
Vessels which were come with foul Patents, to Anchor at a good Distance
off the Island of _Pomegué_.
The 7th of _July_, two more Servants shut up to purify in the
Infirmaries the Goods brought by Captain _Chataud_, fall sick; the
Surgeon finds Tumours in their Groyns, and says in his Report that he
does not believe however it is the Plague: He pays for his Incredulity,
perhaps for not right understanding the Distemper, by dying himself
soon after, with part of his Family.
The 8th, another Servant falls sick; the Surgeon finds a Swelling in
the upper Part of the Thigh, and then declares he takes it to be a Mark
of Contagion, and desires a Consultation.
Immediately the Intendants call three other Master Surgeons to visit
the said Servants; their Report is, that they have all certainly the
Plague.
The 9th those Patients dye, they are buried in Lime, and all their
Apparel is burnt.
The Intendants resolve to cause all the Goods of Captain _Chataud_'s
Cargoe, to be taken out of the Infirmaries, and sent to be purified on
the Island of _Jarre_; and they repair to the Town-House to acquaint
the Sheriffs with what has passed.
The Matter appearing to be of Consequence, they write about it to the
Council of Marine, and to the Marshal Duke _de Villars_, Governor of
_Provence_; and M. _Estelle_, one of the chief Sheriffs, with two
Intendants of Health, are deputed to go to _Aix_ to give an Account of
it to M. _Lebret_, first President of the Parliament and Intendant of
Justice and of Commerce.
The same Day, M. _Peissonel_, and his Son, Physicians, come to the
Town-House, to give Notice to the Sheriffs, that having been called
to a House in the Square of _Linche_, to visit a young Man named
_Eissalene_, he appeared to them to have the Plague.
That Instant, Guards are sent to the Door of that House, to hinder any
one from coming out of it.
The 10th of _July_ that Patient dies, and his Sister falls sick; the
Guard is doubled; and it being judged proper to carry both off; to do
it the more quietly, and without alarming the People, it is delayed
till Night; when at Eleven a Clock M. _Moustier_, another of the chief
Sheriffs, repairs thither without Noise, sends for Servants from the
Infirmaries, encourages them to go up into the House, and they having
brought down the Dead and the Sick, he orders them to carry them
in Litters without the Town to the Infirmaries, causes all Persons
belonging to the House to be conducted thither likewise, accompanies
them himself with Guards, that none might come near them, and then
returns to see the Door of the House closed up with Mortar.
The 11th Notice is given, that one _Boyal_ is fallen sick in the same
Quarter of the Town, Physicians and Surgeons are sent to visit him;
they declare he has the Plague, his House is instantly secured by
Guards, and when Night is come M. _Moustier_ goes thither, sends for
the Buriers of the Dead from the Infirmaries, and finding the Patient
was newly dead, causes them to take the Corpse, accompanies it, sees it
interred in Lime, and then returns to remove all the Persons of that
House to the Infirmaries, and the Door to be closed up.
The 12th all this is told to the Grand Prior, who still remains at
_Marseilles_; the first President is writ to; the Intendants of Health
are assembled, to cause all the Vessels come from the _Levant_, with
foul Patents, to go back to the Island of _Jarre_, and all their
Goods that remain in the Infirmaries to be removed thither likewise:
M. _Audimar_, one of the Sheriffs, presided in their Assembly, to
influence them to pass this Resolution.
This, and the following Day, the Sheriffs make very strict Enquiry in
the Town, to discover all Persons who had Communication with those Dead
or Sick of the Plague; the most suspected are sent to the Infirmaries,
and the others confined to their Houses.
The 14th, they write an Account of what has passed to the Council of
Marine; they resolve not to give any more Patents (or Certificates of
Health) to any Vessel, till they can be sure the Distemper is over.
The 15th, left from this Refusal to give Certificates of Health,
it should be believed in foreign Countries that the plague is in
_Marseilles_; and lest this should entirely interrupt all Commerce,
they write to the Officers Conservators of Health at all the Ports of
_Europe_, the real Fact; that is to say, That there are several Persons
ill of the Contagion in the Infirmaries, but that it has not made any
Progress in the City.
The 21st of _July_, nothing of the Plague having since been discovered
in the Town, they write it with Joy to the Council of Marine, and
continue to provide whatever is necessary in the Infirmaries for the
Subsistance of suspected Persons whom they have sent thither, and of
those whom they have confined to their Houses.
Already the Publick, recovered from their Fright, begin to explode as
useless the Trouble the Sheriffs had given themselves, and all the
Precautions they had taken; 'tis pretended, the Two Persons who died
in the Square of _Linche_, were carried off by quite another Distemper
than the Plague: The Physicians and Surgeons are upbraided with having
by their Error allarmed the whole Town. Abundance of People are
observed to assume the Character of a dauntless Freedom of Mind, who
are soon after seen more struck with Terror than any others, and to fly
with more Disorder and Precipitation; their boasted Firmness quickly
forsakes them. The Truth is, the Plague is to be feared and shunned.
The 26th of _July_, Notice is given to the Sheriffs, that in the
Street of _Lescalle_, a Part of the old Town inhabited only by poor
People, Fifteen Persons are suddenly fallen sick: They dispatch thither
Physicians and Surgeons; they examine into the Distemper, and make
Report; some, that 'tis a Malignant Fever; others, a contagious or
pestilential Fever, occasioned by bad Food, which Want had long forced
those poor Creatures to live upon: Not one of them says positively it
is the Plague. A Man must indeed have been very well assured of it,
to say it; the Publick had already shewed a Disposition to resent any
false Alarm.
The Sheriffs do not rest wholly satisfied with this Report, but resolve
to proceed in the same Way of Precaution, as if those Sick were
actually touched with the Plague; to send them all without Noise to
the Infirmaries; and for the present to confine them in their Houses.
The 27th, Eight of those Sick dye; the Sheriffs themselves go to their
Houses to cause them to be searched; Buboes are found on Two of them:
The Physicians and Surgeons still hold the same Language, and impute
the Cause of the Distemper to unwholsome Food. Notwithstanding which,
as soon as Night comes, M. _Moustier_ repairs to the Place, sends
for Servants from the Infirmaries, makes them willingly or by Force,
take up the Bodies, with all due Precautions; they are carried to the
Infirmaries, where they are buried with Lime; and all the rest of the
Night he causes the remaining Sick, and all those of their Houses, to
be removed to the Infirmaries.
The 28th, very early in the Morning, Search is made every where for
those who had Communication with them, in order to confine them: Other
Persons in the same Street fall sick, and some of those who first
sicken'd dye. At Midnight M. _Estelle_ (who was come back from _Aix_)
repairs thither; causes the Buriers of the Dead at the Infirmaries to
attend; makes them carry off the dead Bodies, and bury them in Lime;
and then till Day-break sees all the Sick conducted to the Infirmaries.
The People who love to deceive themselves, and will have it absolutely
not to be the Plague, urge a Hundred false Reasons on that Side. Would
the Plague, say they, attack none but such poor People? Would it
operate so slowly?
Let them have but a few Days Patience, and they will see all attacked
without Distinction, with the swiftest Rage, and the most dreadful
Havock, that ever was heard of.
Some obstinately contend that the Distemper proceeded wholly from
Worms: But while they pretend to argue so confidently, trembling with
Fear in their Hearts, they make up their Pack to be the readier to fly:
What all others are doing, I leave to be imagined; every one has taken
the Fright, and is ready to run out of the Town, to seek Refuge any
where.
In the mean while, the Distemper continuing in the Street of
_Lescalle_, the 29th of _July_, and 10 Days after successively, the
Sheriffs are obliged to give Nightly the same Attendance, and in the
Daytime to make continual Search after all those who had Communication
with the Sick or Dead: People fall sick in several other Parts of the
Town; they are confined in Places by themselves by Guards; some of them
Dye, and every Night M. _Estelle_ and _Moustier_, go by Turns to see
them carried off, to remove the rest to the Infirmaries, and to fasten
up or perfume Houses; Labours as dangerous as toilsome, especially
when after having sat up and staid all Night in the Street, they find
themselves obliged to apply all the Day after to a thousand other
Things no less troublesome.
M. _Audimar_ and _Dieudé_, the other Sheriffs, are fatigued on their
part with continual Care and Pains, arising from the Increase of
necessary Business in a Town, where the common Course of Occurrences
takes up all the Time the Civil Magistrate can bestow. M. _Dieudé_,
however, goes two Nights together, to accompany the Officers at
removing the Dead and the Sick.
The Marquis _de Pilles_, the Governor, is perpetually co-operating with
them all; he is every Day, from Morning till Night, at the Town-House,
applying himself indefatigably to all that his Zeal and Prudence
suggest to him; and to all that the maintaining of good Order requires
on such an Occasion.
The whole Sum in _Specie_ at this time in the City-Treasury, is but
1100 Livres; and 'tis manifest, that if the City come to be thoroughly
infected, all must perish for Want of Money: This obliges the Sheriffs
to write to the First President, to press him earnestly to be pleased
to procure Money for them.
Bread-Corn being scarce, is immediately run up to an exorbitant
Price; to prevent therefore its being hoarded up to make it dearer,
an Ordinance is issued at my Instance, to forbid the hoarding it, on
severe Penalties. Two other Ordinances are published at the same time,
forbidding all Persons to have and keep in the Town, any thing that
might contribute to the spreading of the Contagion.
The 30th of _July_, a general View and Inventory is taken of all the
Provisions in the City; and the Sheriffs finding hardly any Bread-Corn,
Meat, or Wood, and little Money in the Treasury to buy Stores with;
all things excessively dear; Disorder increasing; the Populace as poor
as frighten'd; all the Persons of Condition and the Rich already fled:
They write to M. _le Pelletier des Forts_, and representing to him the
deplorable Condition of _Marseilles_, beseech him to intercede with his
Royal Highness to grant them some Supplies.
The 31st of _July_, another Ordinance is issued at my Instance, to
oblige all strange Beggars to depart the City this Day; and those
settled in the Town, to retire into the Hospital _de la Charité_, on
the Penalty of being whipped.
But this Ordinance is not put in Execution, because we learn the same
Day, that the Chamber of _Vacations_ of the Parliament of _Aix_, on the
Rumour that the Plague is in _Marseilles_, has publish'd an _Arrêt_,
forbidding the _Marseillians_ to stir out of the Bounds of their own
Territory; the Inhabitants of all the Towns and Places of _Provence_ to
communicate with them, or to harbour them; and all Muleteers, Carriers,
and all others, to go to _Marseilles_, for what Cause, or under what
Pretext soever, on Pain of Death.
In this Condition, how could 2 or 3000 Beggars, that were then in the
City, be turned out of it? Not being able to pass beyond the Limits of
the Territory, they would be constrained to stay there, and to ravage
it for Subsistance.
The 1_st_ of _August_, M. _Sicard_, Father and Son, Physicians, come
to the Town-House, to tell the Sheriffs, that it is not to be doubted
the Distemper in the City is really the Plague, but that they make sure
Account they shall put an end to it, if they will do what they shall
prescribe; which is to buy up a great Quantity of Wood, Brushes and
Faggots; to lay them in Piles, at small Distances, along the Walls of
the Town, and in all publick Walks, open Places, Squares, and Markets;
to oblige every private Person to lay a Heap of them before his House,
in all the Streets in general; and to set them all on fire at the same
time, in the Beginning of the Night; which will most certainly put an
End to the Plague.
Every body being willing to make this Experiment; and all the other
Physicians, who are called daily to the Town-House to give an Account
of the Progress of the Distemper, not disapproving it; the Sheriffs
forthwith cause all the Wood, Faggots, and Brushes that can be found,
to be bought up; and M. _Audimar_ and _Dieudé_ go with the utmost
Ardour to see them placed along the Walls, and in the publick Walks and
Places.
The 2d of _August_ they publish an Ordinance, commanding all the
Inhabitants to make each a Bonfire before his House, and to light it
at 9 a-Clock at Night, the Moment those along the Walls and in the
publick Places shall be lighted. This is executed: It is a magnificent
Sight, to behold a Circuit of Walls, of so large, so vast Extent, all
illuminated; and if this should cure the City, it would certainly be
cured in a most joyful and agreeable manner.
The Magistrates, who to satisfy the Publick, and to avoid all Reproach,
make such Experiments, cannot however sleep upon the Success promised
from them; Prudence requires they should pursue proper Measures, and
not be with-held by vain Hopes: They write to the First President, and
desire him, since the Roads are barricaded against them, to be pleased
to dispatch for them a Courier to the Court, to represent their Misery,
and the Inconveniences they have ground to fear, as being without a
Penny of Money, while they are in Dread of wanting every thing, and of
having the Calamity of Famine superadded to that of the Plague.
They write to the Council of _Marine_ likewise, acquainting them what
Number of Sick they actually have, and how many Dead they have carried
to, and buried at the Infirmaries.
The same Day, in the Assembly held daily at the Town-House with the
municipal Officers, and such of the chief Citizens as have not yet
fled, M. _de Pilles_ presiding, it was resolved:
1. That whereas the Number of the Sick increases more and more,
especially in the Street of _Lescalle_, a _Corps de Garde_ shall be
posted at every Avenue of that street, to hinder any one's going
into, or coming out of it; and that Commissaries of Victualling
shall be appointed to go and distribute Provisions to the Families
inhabiting that Street.
2. That all the Captains of the City shall each raise a Company of
50 Men of the Militia, to be paid by the City: And that however,
the Five Brigades called the Brigades _du Privilege du Vin_, with
their Officers, shall serve every where as a Guard to the Sheriffs
in their Marches in the Night, to see the Dead and Sick carry'd off
to the Infirmaries.
3. That the Physicians and Surgeons already employ'd, may be
induced to serve with the greater Diligence, and not to demand any
fee of the Sick, they shall have Salaries from the City, and be
allowed _Sarrots_ of oiled Cloth, and Chairs, for their more easy
Conveyance every where.
4. That seeing the City has no Money, and that it must
indispensibly be had, Advertisements shall be publickly affixed,
for taking Loans of Money at 5 _per Cent._ to try to get some by
that means: And that the Treasurer not being able to come to reside
at the Town-House, M. _Bouys_, First Clerk of the Records, shall be
Cashier there.
The 3d of _August_, the Marquess _de Pilles_, and the Sheriffs, being
reassembled with the same Citizens, appoint 150 Commissaries in the 5
Parishes of the City, to look each in the Quarter assigned him to the
Wants of the Poor; to distribute to them Bread, and other Subsistance,
at the Charge of the City; and to do whatever else they shall be
directed for the publick Good and Welfare.
In that Part of the Town called the _Rive Neuve_, which lies beyond the
Port, and extends from the Abbey of St. _Victor_ to the Arsenal, the
Chevalier _Rose_ is appointed Captain and Commissary General.
And in the Territory, (_i.e._ the Country belonging to _Marseilles_)
which is like a vast City, there being above Ten thousand Houses,
called _Bastides_, in the 44 Quarters and dependent Parishes, of which
it is composed, besides several pretty large Villages; one Captain and
some Commissaries are appointed for each, to take the like Care.
The same Day, for preventing Communication among Children, who, as it
is said, are most susceptible of the Plague, the College and all the
Publick Schools are shut up.
As for the Fires advised by the Two _Sicards_, they are forborn: Notice
is given, that those Two Physicians have deserted the City; besides,
there is no Wood, Faggots, or Brushes, to be had; but a Quantity of
Brimstone is bought up, and distributed among the Poor, in all Quarters
of the Town, and the Insides of all the Houses are order'd to be
perfumed.
In the Evening, the Marquis _de Pilles_ and the Sheriffs, being still
assembled in the Town-House, Notice is given them, that four or
five Hundred of the Populace are got together in the Quarter called
_l'Aggrandissement_, and are very disorderly, crying out they will have
Bread; the Bakers of that Quarter, by reason of the Scarcity of Corn,
not having made the usual Quantity, so that many Persons could not be
served: The Marquess _de Pilles_ and M. _Moustier_ hasten thither,
followed by some Guards; their Presence puts a Stop to the Tumult, and
they entirely appease the People, by causing some Bread to be given
them.
The 4th, the Officers of the Garison of Fort _St. John_ come to the
Town-House, acquaint the Sheriffs that they are in want of Bread-Corn,
and desire a Supply from them; declaring, that otherwise they cannot
answer that the Troops of their Garison will not come into the City,
and take Corn by Force. The Sheriffs reply, that they would willingly
furnish them if they had Stores sufficient; but the Want themselves
are in, is so great, that they cannot do it; and if Violence should be
offered to the Inhabitants, they would appear at their Head to defend
them.
The same Day it being taken into Consideration, that the Arrêt issued
by the Chamber of Vacations, having interdicted all Communication
between the Inhabitants of the Province, and those of _Marseilles_; if
Things should remain at this Pass, and no Body should bring in Corn,
and other Provisions, we should soon be reduced to the Extremity of
Famine, the Sheriffs resolve to have Recourse to the First President.
Accordingly they send to intreat him to establish, as had been done
formerly, Markets, and Barriers for Conference, at certain proper
Places, whither Strangers, without being exposed to any Risque, might
bring us Provisions: At the same time they write to the Procurators
of the Country of _Provence_, to be pleas'd to concur therein. It is
impossible, certainly, to exert more Compassion to the Miseries of an
afflicted City, than they did; and particularly the Consuls of the
several Towns: _Marseilles_ will never forget the Services done her in
this Calamity, nor the Kindness, Zeal and Readiness with which they
were done.
The same Day, the Sheriffs considering the Disorders which often happen
in a Time of Contagion, the Necessity of using speedy Means to suppress
them, and of making Examples of Malefactors and Rebels; and that as
often as this City has been visited with the Plague, as in 1580, 1630,
1649, and 1650, our Kings have constantly granted to their Predecessors
in the Magistracy, by Letters Patents, the Power of judging all Crimes
finally, and without Appeal; they write again to the First President,
desiring him to procure for them from his Majesty the like Letters
Patents.
The 5th, they repeat their Instances to him, to get them supplied
with Corn: They write likewise to the same purpose, to the Consuls
of _Toulon_, and to those of all the Maritime Towns of the Coasts of
_Languedoc_ and _Provence_; proposing to go to receive the Corn at
any Place distant from the Town which they shall chuse to land it at;
and they desire those of the Town of _Martignes_ to send Vessels to
_Arles_, to fetch Corn from thence.
The 6th, an Ordinance is publish'd at my Instance, forbidding all
Persons to remove from one House to another the Moveables and Apparel
of the Sick or Dead, or to touch them, or make any use of them, on Pain
of Death. Another Ordinance fixes the Rates of Victuals and necessary
Commodities, to restrain the excessive Price to which, because of the
Scarcity, those who would make Advantage of the Publick Misery, would
raise them.
The 7th, the Chamber of Vacations having permitted the Procurators
of the Country to come to a Conference with the Sheriffs, at a Place
on the Road to _Aix_, call'd _Notre-Dame_, two Leagues distant from
_Marseilles_; the Marquess _de Vauvenargues_, first Procurator of
the Country, comes thither, accompanied by several Gentlemen, and
the principal Officers of the Province, attended by the Marshal de
_Villars_'s Guards, and by a Brigade of Archers of the _Marshalsea_.
A Town afflicted with, or suspected of the Plague, out of which even
almost all the Inhabitants are ready to run, cannot make a Figure,
conformable to such Honour. M. _Estelle_, one of the chief Sheriffs,
goes to the Place, without Retinue, without Attendants, and without
any Guard, accompanied only by M. _Capus_, Keeper of the Records of
the City, who, by his Ability, Probity, and Application, is become the
Pilot, as it were, of this whole Community.
At this Conference, where the Precaution is used to speak to each other
at a great Distance, an Agreement is made, importing, that at that
Place a Market shall be establish'd, where a double Barrier shall be
fixed; and that another Market shall be settled at the Sheep-Inn, on
the Road to _Aubagne_, which is likewise two Leagues from _Marseilles_;
another for Vessels bringing Provisions by Sea, at a Creek called
_Lestaque_, in the Gulph of the Islands of _Marseilles_; and that at
all these Markets and Barriers, the Guards shall be placed by the
Procurators of the Country, and paid by the Sheriffs of _Marseilles_.
The 8th, this Agreement is confirm'd by an Arret of the Chamber of
Vacations: In Consequence of which, the Sheriffs write to all the
Consuls of the Towns and Places of _Provence_, pressing them to send,
with all Expedition, Corn, and other Provisions, Wood and Coal, to
these Markets and Barriers, where all shall be transacted without
Communication.
They apply themselves the same Day to the drawing up of general
Instructions, in which they specify all the Duties the Commissaries
whom they have already appointed, are to perform, for relieving the
Poor, and taking Care of the Sick.
In the mean time, it being evident that M. _Estelle_ and _Moustier_,
who hitherto have sat up by Turns every Night, to see the Dead, Sick,
and Suspected, carried to the Infirmaries, and Houses fasten'd up or
perfumed, cannot possibly undergo such Fatigues much longer; especially
the Distemper beginning to break out in divers Quarters of the Town,
far distant from each other; altho' M. _Audimar_ and _Dieudé_ offer'd
to relieve them; The Marquis _de Pilles_ judging it necessary they
should manage their Health and Life, it was resolved in the Assembly,
1. That Carts shall be used to carry off the Dead; that all the
sturdiest Beggars who can be found, shall be seized, and made
Buriers of the Dead; that Four Lieutenants of Health shall direct
them, and M. _Bonnet_, Lieutenant to the Governor, shall command
them.
2. Men shall forthwith be set to work, to dig large and deep Pits
without the Walls of the Town, in which the Dead shall be buried
with Lime.
3. A Pest-House or Hospital shall be immediately establish'd: The
Hospital _de la Charité_ is first thought of; but the Difficulty
of removing out of it, and lodging elsewhere, above 800 of both
Sexes who are in it, renders it necessary to resolve upon that _des
Convalescens_, which is near the Walls of the Town, on the side of
the Gate of St. _Bernard du Bois_.
The 9th of _August_, it is observ'd, that some Physicians, and almost
all the Master-Surgeons, are fled. An Ordinance is issued at my
Instance, to oblige them to return; on the Penalty to the former, of
being expell'd for ever from the College of their Faculty; and to
the latter, of being expell'd the Company of Surgeons, and of being
proceeded against extraordinarily.
Another Ordinance is publish'd at my Instance, forbidding Butchers,
when they flea and cut up Beef or Mutton at the Slaughter-House, to
blow it up with their Mouth, by which the Plague might be communicated
to the Meat; but to make use of Bellows, on Pain of Death.
Another, forbidding Bakers to convert into Biscuit, the Meal the City
gives them to make Bread of for the Poor; or to make any White Bread,
in order to prevent their bolting the Meal designed for the Poor's
Bread.
And another, forbidding all Persons to divert the publick Waters for
overflowing their Grounds; that the Conduits may not become dry, but
that Water may run the more plentifully through all the Streets of the
City to carry off the Filth.
This Day and the following, it is found not a little difficult, to get
all that had been resolved upon the Day before put in Execution: Carts,
Horses, Harness are wanted; they must be had from the Country, and no
Person will furnish them to serve to carry infected Bodies. Men are
wanted to harness the Horses, to put them to the Carts, and to drive
them; and every one abhors lending a Hand to so dangerous a Service.
Buriers of the Dead are wanted to take them out of the Houses; and
tho' excessive Pay be offered, the poorest of the Populace dread such
hazardous Work, and make all possible Efforts to shun it. Peasants are
wanted to open the Pits, and none will come to dig, such Affright and
Horror has seiz'd them: The Sheriffs are oblig'd to exert themselves to
the utmost, to get some by Management, and others by Force and Rigor.
To put into Order as speedily as is requisite, a Pest-House, and to
furnish it with all Necessaries, which are almost numberless, is a Task
no less perplexed with Difficulties. The Hospital _des Convalescens_,
which was resolved to be made use of, is found to be too little; it is
necessary to enlarge it, by joining to it a Building called the _Fas_,
which stands very near it; a thousand Things are to be done, and yet
none could easily be made to stir about them: M. _Moustier_ is obliged
to repair thither, and to abide upon the Spot; and by keeping Hands at
Work Night and Day, he makes such Expedition, that in 48 Hours he gets
it put in Order, all Necessaries sorted and laid ready, and the whole
made fit to receive the Sick.
A very great Difficulty still remains, which is to find Stewards,
Overseers, Cooks, and other lower Officers, and especially so great a
Number of Servants as are requisite to tend the Sick: Advertisements
are affixed throughout the City, to invite those sordid Creatures
whom Avarice draws into Dangers, or those of better Minds, whom
superabundant Charity disposes to devote themselves for the Publick;
and by seeking such out, by encouraging, giving, and promising,
they are procured: Apothecaries and Surgeons are engaged; and two
Physicians, Strangers, named _Gayon_, come in voluntarily, and offer
their Service, and to be shut up in the Hospital: Unhappily, Death puts
an End too soon to their Charity and Zeal.
Three Pits of Sixty Foot long, as many broad, and Twenty four deep, are
begun at once without the Walls, between the Gate of _Aix_ and that of
_Joliette_: To compel the Peasants to work at them, M. _Moustier_ is
obliged to keep with them daily, exposed to the Heat of the Sun.
The Chevalier _Rose_, appointed Captain and Commissary-General at the
_Rive Neuve_, beyond the Port, does the same: He puts into proper Order
another vast Hospital, under the Sheds of a Rope-yard; causes large
and deep Pits to be dug near the Abbey of St. _Victor_; gets together
Carts, Buriers of the Dead, and all Persons needful to look to the
Living, the Dying, and the Dead; and what is no less remarkable than
his Activity, his Courage, and his Zeal for his unfortunate Country,
he furnishes out of his own Purse the great Expences necessary for
maintaining that Hospital, and the many Hands he employs, without
troubling himself when and how he shall be reimbursed.
No sooner are these Pest-Houses in any Readiness to receive the Sick,
but in less than Two Days they are quite filled; but are not long so by
those who are carried thither: The Distemper is so violent, that those
who are brought in at Night are carried out next Day to the Pits; and
so the Dead make Room every Day successively for the Sick.
The 12th of _August_, M. _de Chicoyneau_ and _Verny_, the chief
Physicians of _Montpellier_, arrive at the Barrier of _Notre-Dame_,
to come and examine, by Order of his Royal Highness, the true Nature
of the Distemper that afflicts this City: Lodgings are made ready for
them, and a Coach is sent to bring them hither from the Barrier.
The 13th, the Marquess _de Pilles_, and the Sheriffs invite them to
the Town-House, whither they had summoned all the Physicians and
Master-Surgeons of the City; after they had conferred a long Time
upon the Symptoms of the Distemper, they agree among themselves, to
go together the following Days, to visit as well the sick in the
Hospitals, as those in the several Quarters of the Town, and to make
such Experiments as they should judge proper.
Hitherto the Distemper has not exerted all its Rage; it kills indeed
those it seizes, hardly one escaping; and whatever House it enters, it
carries off the whole Family; but as yet, it has fallen only on the
poorer Sort of People, which keeps many Persons in a false Notion, that
it is not really the Plague, but proceeds from bad Diet and Want of
other Necessaries: those who use the Sea, and have frequently seen the
Plague in the _Levant_, think they observe some Difference: In short,
Abundance of People still remain in doubt, and expecting with the
utmost Impatience the Decision of the Physicians of _Montpellier_, to
determine them whether to stay or fly.
The 14th, the Sheriffs write to the Council of Marine, most humbly to
thank his Royal Highness for his Care and Goodness, in sending to them
these Physicians.
The 15th they write to the Marshal _de Villars_, to acquaint him with
the Condition of the City, and the extreme Want it is in, having near
a hundred thousand Souls in it, without Bread and without Money: they
write likewise to M. _de Bernage_, Intendant in _Languedoc_, and to
the Marquess _de Caylus_ the commanding Officer in _Provence_, then at
_Montpellier_, to desire them to procure them Bread-Corn, to preserve
them from Famine, which they had no less Reason to fear than the
Plague. The Marquess _de Caylus_ has the Goodness to engage his own
Credit for procuring them a good Quantity.
The 16th being the Festival of St. _Roch_, which has at all Times
been solemnized at _Marseilles_, for imploring Deliverance from the
Plague, the Marquess _de Pilles_, and the Sheriffs, for preventing
Communication, would have the Procession usually made every Year, in
which the Bust and Relicks of that Saint are carried, be now forborn;
but they are obliged to yield to the Outcries of the People, who become
almost raving in Matters of Devotion, when they are under so terrible
a Scourge as the Plague, whose dire Effects they already feel; they
even judge it convenient to assist at the Procession themselves, with
all their Halbardiers and Guards, to hinder its being followed by a
Crowd, and to prevent all Disorder.
The 17th the Physicians of _Montpellier_ come to the Town-House, to
acquaint the Sheriffs with what they have discover'd of the Nature of
the Distemper, and in plain Words declare it to be certainly the Plague.
But considering how many People have already left the City, and that
the Terror and Affright in it have put all into Confusion, they think
fit, lest they should increase it, to dissemble; and that, for quieting
Peoples Minds, a publick Notification should be affixed; importing,
that they find the Distemper to be only a contagious Fever, occasion'd
by unwholsome Diet, and that it will soon cease by the Supplies which
are preparing to be sent in from all Parts, and which will produce
Plenty of all Things.
This Notification is forthwith affixed, but without any Effect: The
Mortality which for some Days past has extremely increas'd, the
Malignity and Violence with which it begins to rage in all Parts
without Distinction, and the Suddenness with which it is observ'd to
communicate it self imperceptibly, has already convinced the most
obstinate, and those who were most disposed to deceive themselves, that
it is really the Plague; and without waiting to hear or reason any
longer, every one runs away so precipitately, that all the Gates of the
Town are hardly sufficient to let out the Crowds.
Were those only the useless Mouths, nothing could be more convenient
and beneficial; but the most necessary Persons, and even those whose
Functions oblige them most indispensably to tarry, are the forwardest
to desert; almost all the Intendants of Health, those of the Office of
Plenty, the Councellors of the Town, the Commissaries _de Police_, the
chief Director of the Hospitals and other Houses of publick Charity;
the very Commissaries, who but a few Days ago, were established in the
Parishes and Quarters to take care of relieving the Poor; the Tradesmen
of all Professions, and those who are the most necessary in Life, the
Bakers, the Sellers of Provisions and common Necessaries; even those
whose Duty it is to watch others, and hinder them from leaving the
Town; that is to say, the Captains and Officers of the _Militia_, do
all desert, abandon, and fly from the City: In short, the Marquis
_de Pilles_, and the Sheriffs are left by themselves, with the Care
upon them of an infinite Number of poor People, ready to attempt any
Thing in the Extremity to which they are reduced by Want, and by the
Calamities which are multiplied by the Contagion.
The Town has now an Aspect that moves Compassion; an Air of Desolation
appears throughout; all the Shops are every where shut up; the greatest
Part of the Houses, Churches and Convents, all the publick Markets and
Places of Resort are deserted; and no Person is to be found in the
Streets, but poor groaning Wretches; the Port is empty, the Gallies
have withdrawn from the Keys, and are enclosed within a Stockade on the
Side of the Arsenal, where the Bridges are drawn up, and high Barriers
erected, and all the Merchant-Ships and Vessels have left the Wharfs,
and gone out to Anchor at a Distance.
This proud _Marseilles_, but a few Days before so flourishing; this
Source of Plenty, and (if I may use the Expression) of Felicity; is
become the true Image of _Jerusalem_ in its Desolation: Happy still if
it could stop here; and if the Hand which has begun to chastise her,
did not within less than Two Weeks, render her the most dreadful Scene
of human Misery, that ever Destruction formed in any City of the World.
The 18th, a Crowd of People from the Quarter of St. _John_ come before
the Gates of the Town-House, crying out that they will have Wine; and
that there is no body left in the Town who will sell any. The Guards
make ready to drive them away, M. _Estelle_ repairs thither, and soon
after M. _Moustier_; they pacify them, promise to let them have what
they desire; and accordingly an Ordinance is immediately published,
commanding all those who have Wine by them, to expose it to Sale all
that Day, otherwise their Cellars to be broke open, and the Wine sold
by the Guards, who shall go the Rounds through all the Quarters.
At this Time the Contagion has spread into all Parts of the Town,
notwithstanding all the Care and Pains taken to hinder Communication,
and begins to make a general Ravage: It is necessary for carrying off
the Dead, to employ in the Streets a greater Number of Carts, and
especially to increase the Number of Buriers of the Dead.
But this is utterly impossible, almost all of that Sort of People of
the Town that could be sacrificed in so dangerous a Work are consumed;
they do not live in it above Two Days; they catch the Plague the first
Corpse they touch, whatever Precaution is used; they are furnished with
Hooks fastened to the End of long Staves; but the coming any thing near
the Bodies infects them: They are paid no less than Fifteen Livres a
Day; but as alluring a Bait as that is to beggarly Wretches, they will
not touch it, in the Sight of certain and inevitable Death; they must
be hunted for, and dragged to the Work by downright Force: Now whether
they are able to keep themselves hid, or whether they are all dead,
there are no longer any to be found; in the mean while, the dead Bodies
remain in the Houses, and at the Gates of the Hospitals, cast in Heaps
one upon another, there being no Means to remove them and bury them in
the Pits.
In this Extremity the Sheriffs have recourse to the Officers commanding
the Gallies, most earnestly beseeching them to let them have some of
their Slaves to serve for Buriers of the Dead, offering them Security
for supplying their Room at the Cost of the City, or to make the
Loss good to his Majesty. They condescend, considering the absolute
Necessity, to give them Twenty Six of their Invalids, to whom they
promise Liberty to excite them to the Work.
It cannot be denied that the City was in some Measure saved by the
Help of these Slaves, and of those afterwards granted, but it must be
allowed too, that to Sheriffs who are oppress'd with the Weight of
Business, and deserted by all Persons on whom they could repose any
Part of their Care, such Buriers of the Dead are very burdensome.
They are destitute of all Necessaries; they must be provided with
Shooes when there are neither Shooes nor a Shooemaker left in the City:
They must have Lodgings and Victuals, and no body will harbour, or come
near, or have any Communication with Gally-Slaves, Buriers of infected
Bodies: A watchful Eye must be kept over them Night and Day; they rob
all Houses from whence they fetch the dead Bodies; and not knowing
how to harness the Horses, or drive the Carts, they often overturn
them, breaking the Carts or the Harness, which cannot be mended, not
only because there is neither Wheelwright nor Collarmaker left, but
because no body will touch Things infected; so that the Sheriffs must
be continually begging or borrowing of Carts from the Country, where
every Body contrives to hide them; and must often be at a Stand in a
Work requiring the most Haste of all others, which those Slaves affect
to perform so slowly and lazily, that it is very provoking.
In what City of the World was it ever seen, that the Consuls were
harrassed with so many Cares, and reduced to the Necessity of going
through all the dismal and dangerous Offices, to which the Sheriffs
of _Marseilles_ are forced to sacrifice themselves? Seeing that very
quickly, to oblige those Slaves to make more Dispatch, and carry off
putrified Bodies which they cannot endure to touch, nor even so much
as to approach, without being excited and urged on, the Sheriffs are
forced to put themselves at their Head, and go the foremost where the
Infection rages most, to make them carry them off: M. _Moustier_ for
near Two Months together was forced to rise constantly at Day-break,
to see them put the Horses to the Carts, and prevent their breaking
them; to follow them to the Pits, lest they should leave the Bodies on
the Sides of the Pits without burying them; and at Night to see the
Horses unharnessed; put into the Stables, and the Harness hung where
they may be found next Morning, and thereby prevent the Inconveniences
which might interrupt the Continuance of a Work, the Delay of which
is dangerous. Even the _Roman_ Consuls, so full of the Love of their
Country, did certainly never carry their Zeal to so high a Pitch.
The 19th, Persons are chosen in all the Parishes to make Broth for the
sick Poor, and to distribute it among them; and a particular Hospital
is established, which the most moving Accidents such a Calamity can
produce, render absolutely necessary.
Many Women who suckled Children, dye of the Contagion; and the Infants
are found crying in their Cradles, when the Bodies of the Mothers
or Nurses are taken away; no Body will receive these Children, much
less suckle, or feed them: There is no Pity stirring in the Time of
a Plague, the Fear of catching the Contagion stifles all Sentiments
of Charity, and even those of Humanity: To save as many as possible
of these little Innocents, and of so many other unhappy Children of
tender Age, whom the Pestilence has made Orphans, the Sheriffs take the
Hospital of St. _James_ of _Galicia_, and the Convent of the Fathers
of _Loretto_, which were become empty by the Death or Flight of all
those Monks; and there Care is taken to feed them, with Spoon-Meat,
or by holding them to Goats to suck. The Number of them is so great,
that tho' 30 or 40 die in a Day, there are always 12 or 1300, by the
Addition of those who are brought in successively every Day.
The 20th, Part of the Slaves, which had been received into the Town but
Two Days before, are struck with the Plague, and disabled from Working;
more are asked of the Officers of the Gallies, who grant Thirty Three.
This Day all the Millers and Bakers ceasing to work, because almost
all their Servants have left them and fled, an Ordinance is issued at
my Instance, requiring the Deserters to return, and to forbid those
who remain to leave their Masters, on Pain of Death. Not one Mason
is left in the Town, and divers Works are wanting to be done in the
Church-Yards, and the Hospitals. A like Ordinance is published, to
compel them to return; and another forbidding the carrying out of the
Town, Meal or Brown Bread, designed for subsisting the Poor, on the
Penalty of a Fine and Confiscation.