Consolation; they find by a Letter which the Consuls of _Avignon_
are so kind to write to them, that the common Father of the Faithful
_Roman_ Catholicks, moved at hearing of the Calamities of a City, which
was the first of all _Gaul_ that received the Catholick Faith, by St.
_Lazarus_ its first Bishop; which in all Times has preserved it in its
Purity, no Heresy having ever been able to get footing in it; and which
has always had a singular Attachment, with a profound and inviolable
Respect, for the Holy See; has not thought it enough to order publick
Prayers in all the Churches of _Rome_, and Processions, at which his
Holiness assists on Foot, to beseech the Sovereign Father of Mercies
to appease his Wrath against _Marseilles_, and cast away the dreadful
Scourge which lays it desolate; but being desirous to succour so many
miserable Poor as are in it, and supply them with Bread in their Need,
has caused to be bought up in the District of _Ancona_ two thousand
Measures (called _Roubies_) of Bread-Corn, which will be forthwith
brought hither by Vessels that are to take it in at _Civita-Vecchia_,
to be distributed to the Poor in such Proportions as the Bishop shall
allot.
The 10th, the Canons of the Collegiate Church of St. _Martin_, having
Benefices with Cure of Souls, persisting to absent themselves from
their Duty, notwithstanding the several Admonitions signified to them,
the Bishop pronounces Sentence, and, conformably to the Petition of
the Sheriffs of the 4th of _September_ last, declares their Benefices
vacant, and that they shall be filled with others duly qualified; and
he nominates to them accordingly.
The 11th, there are in the Hospitals several Patients who have the
Happiness to recover of the Plague: A Place is necessary for these to
be removed to, where they may stay forty Days after their Buboes and
Sores are entirely cured and healed up; it is resolv'd to make use of
the grand Infirmaries for this Purpose; they must be made ready, and
provided with all Things necessary: M. _de Langeron_ goes thither, with
M. _Estelle_, and Orders are given for doing it out of hand.
The 12th, more Troops arrive for the Service of the City; _viz._ Three
Companies of the Regiment of _Brie_, which M. _de Langeron_ causes to
encamp at the _Chartreuse_, with the three others already there.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th, while the Infirmaries are getting ready for
those who are recover'd from the Plague, he sends Orders into the
Territory, to compel those Intendants of Health, who have absented
themselves, and several other Municipal Officers, whose Service is
absolutely requisite in the City, to return.
The 16th, he posts a _Corps de Garde_ of thirty Soldiers by the
Town-House, to guard the Sheriffs, and execute Orders.
The 17th, it is resolved to send into the Infirmaries, not only those
who have recovered in the several Hospitals, but likewise all those
who wander about the City with their Buboes broke and running, and
communicate the Contagion generally to those who, not knowing their
Condition, have the Misfortune to touch or approach them.
The 18th, the Difficulties which obstruct the putting the Infirmaries
intirely into Order; or closing up the Sides of the Market-House, which
are open; Timber, Boards, and Sail-Cloth being not to be had; make it
necessary to seek some other Place, which is already in proper Order;
such appears to be the College of the Fathers _de l'Oratoire_, the
Halls of which are capable of harbouring a great Number of Persons; and
Lodgings for the Officers, Surgeons, and Servants, are ready in the
rest of the House, which is quite empty by the Flight of those Priests.
The 16th, the Grand Claustral Prior (_i. e._ he that resides, and
keeps the Monks to their Duty) of the Abbey of St. _Victor_, and two
Monks deputed from that Chapter, come to the Town-House to justify
themselves upon their Refusal to carry in Procession the Shrines and
Reliques of their Church, to the Square of the _Loge_. The Continuance
of the Contagion, notwithstanding all the Efforts hitherto made to
stop it, leaving no Hope, but in the Mercy of the Almighty through the
Intercession of the Saints, the Sheriffs resolved to desire the Bishop
to cause all the Shrines of Saints, and all the Reliques of the Church
of _Major_ to be brought forth, and to accompany them to the Square
of the _Loge_, where they design'd to erect a great Altar, on which
to place them in open View, and likewise to desire the Monks of the
Abbey of St. _Victor_, to bring out at the same Time all the Shrines
and Reliques of their Church, and to accompany them to the same Place,
where being all ranged together on the same Altar, the Bishop was to
celebrate Mass, and all the Prayers prescribed against the Plague were
to be said. The Bishop instantly agreed to it, with all the Joy and
Satisfaction which the Piety that animates him could raise: M. _de
Langeron_ had given the most proper Orders, for preventing any Crowd,
or even any Communication, at this Holy Procession; nothing remained,
but to dispose the Monks of the Abbey of St. _Victor_ to perform their
Part: M. _Estelle_ went, and moved it to them; they consent, but on
Conditions utterly impracticable: They demand, either that two Altars
should be erected, or that the Bishop should not celebrate Mass, lest
their Privileges should receive some Diminution by it. And their Grand
Prior Claustral, with two Monks of the Abbey, come to Day to the
Town-house, to have it understood that their Reasons were solid, and
not Pretexts.
The 20th, no Bell having been rung in the Town since the Contagion,
not even that which warns the Soldiers and Townsmen to retire to their
Houses and Quarters at Night, M. _de Langeron_ orders it to be rung as
formerly.
The 21st, he orders the Officers of the City to go the Rounds
punctually in all the Quarters, with the Number of Soldiers appointed
by him.
The 22d and 23d, the Prisons being filled with Malefactors, and the
Effects of a vast Number of Houses being exposed to Robbery, by the
Death of all the Persons who inhabited them; he sends Orders into the
Territory, to oblige the Commissaries _de Police_ to return, to bring
to Tryal those Malefactors, and to secure those Effects for the lawful
Claimants.
The 24th M. _de Langeron_, the Marquess _de Pilles_ and the Sheriffs,
publish an Ordinance at my Instance, commanding all those who have
taken into their Possession the Keys of Houses, or the Effects of
Persons deceased, or who have had them put into their Hands in Trust,
of what Nature soever they are, to appear within twenty four Hours at
the Town-House, and make Declaration thereof before the Commissaries
_de Police_, that the same may be properly secured.
The 25th another Ordinance is issued for the Publick Safety and Health,
importing, that for preventing Robberies in the Night, and the Increase
of the Contagion by removing from one Place to another infected
Apparel, those who after ringing the warning Bell at Night shall be
taken robbing Houses, or removing Apparel, or Houshold Goods, shall be
punish'd with Death; and that those who shall have forbidden Arms found
upon them, shall be condemned to the Gallies.
The 26th, tho' the Plague seems to have decreased, want of Provisions
increases; the Distemper having got into the neighbouring Places,
and even into the Capital of the Province, hardly any Corn or other
Necessaries are brought any longer to the Markets at the Barriers; even
all the Barriers are chang'd and remov'd so far off, that they are out
of reach, and _Marseilles_ is in the greatest Extremities that it ever
felt. M. _de Langeron_ and the Sheriffs see the Necessity there is,
for avoiding a speedy Famine, to send Vessels to divers Parts to fetch
Bread-Corn, and other Provisions; but having neither Money nor Means to
procure any, they are obliged to send Dispatches to Court for Supplies.
The 27th the Hospitals of the _Mall_, of _La Charité_, and of the _Rive
Neuve_, being by the Decrease of the Distemper more than sufficient to
hold all the Sick; and that _des Convalescens_ being become altogether
superfluous, it is resolv'd to make Use of it for those who have
recovered, and not of the College _de l'Oratoire_, as was design'd.
The 28th and 29th are spent in putting it in Order and Furnishing it
with new Beds, after all the Sick who were in it had been remov'd to
the Hospital at the _Mall_.
The 30th the great Number of Surgeons, as well Masters as others, who
are come from all Parts, allur'd by the Advertisements of the 30th
of _September_, that had been sent out to be publickly affix'd every
where, which promised great Rewards to those that would come and serve;
makes it necessary to publish contrary Advertisements, signifying, that
the Distemper having happily decreased very much, there is no further
Occasion for them.
The 31th, to get together, in Order to confine and put under
Quarantain, those who have recovered from the Plague, who with their
Buboes broke and running wander about the Streets and infect all whom
they approach, the Chevalier _de Soissans_ finds out a very easy
Expedient; they are all necessitous People who beg about, and do not
fail to go wherever Alms are distributed daily to all Comers; he orders
Soldiers to hide themselves near the House whither the Bishop has
retir'd; in less than half an Hour above five hundred of these Beggars
flock thither, whom the Soldiers surround and carry to the Hospital
_des Convalescens_, where the Surgeons search them, and detain all who
ought to be kept there.
The First of _November_, being the Feast of all Saints, the Bishop
comes out of his Palace in Procession, accompany'd by the Canons of the
Church _des Acoulles_, by those whom he has newly nominated Canons of
the Church of St. _Martin_, and by the Parson and Priests of the Parish
of St. _Ferriol_; and chusing to appear like the Scape Goat, loaded
with the Sins of all the People, and like a Victim destin'd to expiate
them, he walks with a Halter about his Neck, the Cross in his Arms,
and bare-Foot; thus he proceeds by the Ring towards the Gate of _Aix_,
where he celebrates Mass publickly, at an Altar which he had caused to
be erected; and after a pathetick Exhortation to the People to move
them to Repentance, for appeasing the Wrath of God, and obtaining
Deliverance from the raging Pestilence; he pronounces a solemn
Consecration of the City to the sacred Heart of Jesus, in Honour of
which he had instituted a Festival to be kept yearly by a Mandate which
he caus'd to be read: The Tears which are seen running down his Cheeks
during this devout Ceremony, join'd to his very moving Expressions,
excite Compunction in the most obdurate Hearts, and every one pierc'd
with unfeigned Sorrow cries to the Lord for Mercy: St. _Charles_ did
the like formerly at _Milan_ on the same Festival of all Saints, when
that City was under the Calamity of the Plague; and nothing is wanting
to this Imitator of the Zeal, Piety, Charity, and all the Virtues of
so great a Saint, but the _Roman_ Purple which he deserves, and which
a whole People on whom he heaps spiritual and temporal Blessings, wish
him from the bottom of their Hearts.
From the second to the fifth, M. _de Langeron_ with the Sheriffs divide
all the Quarters of the Town into new Districts, and appoint at every
District, containing a certain number of Houses, a Commissary to see to
the Execution of the several Orders issued, and to prevent whatever may
contribute to the Continuance of the Plague, or to its Return.
The 5th, for restraining the excessive Price of all Provisions,
which is raised every Day by those who take Advantage of the general
Scarcity, they hold in the Town-house an Assembly of Merchants and
Tradesmen to settle a general Rate; they continue drawing it up
the next Day, and the 8th they publish an Ordinance forbidding all
Shopkeepers, Retailers, and Regraters, to sell at a higher Price than
what is specified in that general Rate, on the Penalty of the Pillory,
of Refunding the Money taken, and Confiscation of the Goods sold.
From the 6th to the 13th M. _de Langeron_ sends out Orders on all Sides
for regulating and relieving all the Quarters of the Territory, where
the Plague continues to rage; and the 14th he publishes an Ordinance
with the Marquess _de Pilles_ and the Sheriffs, which prescribes such
exact and judicious Precautions to be observ'd at the Gates, that
the indispensible Commerce between the City and the Territory is
maintain'd, and yet the Distemper which is there cannot any way be
brought into the City, to make that which still continues here rage the
more.
The 15th, the Bakers having almost spent all the Fuel for their Ovens,
so that they must leave off Baking, Vessels are sent towards _Toulon_
to fetch Wood.
The 16th the Bishop takes a holy Resolution to exorcise the Plague,
which he has the Grief to see continue: In order to this, having called
together the Remains of his Clergy in the Church _des Acoulles_, he
begins by causing all the Prayers to be read which his Holiness had
sent to him, and which are daily repeated in all the Churches of
_Rome_, to incline the Almighty to deliver _Marseilles_ from this
Scourge; and after a very eloquent and very moving Exhortation, he
carries up the Holy Sacrament to the Leads over the Roof of the Church,
from whence all the City and its Territory lye open to the View, gives
his Benediction, and performs the Exorcism against the Plague, with all
the Prayers and Ceremonies which the Church has prescribed.
The 17th, M. _de Langeron_ receives an Answer from Court, to the
Dispatches he had sent thither: M. _le Blanc_, and M. _le Pelletier
des Forts_ write to him, that his Royal Highness being extremely
concerned at the Calamity of _Marseilles_, had given Orders to the
_India_ Company to remit hither twenty five thousand Pieces of Eight,
and one thousand nine hundred Marks of Silver, with which he is pleased
to assist this City, till he can provide for its further Relief: The
Marquess _de la Vrilliere_ writes the same thing to the Sheriffs,
and that his Royal Highness will do all that lies in his Power to
succour them: That August Prince has had all possible Regard for
this unfortunate City; from the Time he knew of its Distress, he has
not neglected sending Orders every where, for supplying it with all
necessary Help, as well to cure the Distemper, as to provide against
Scarcity and Want: All his Ministers have seconded his Intentions with
so much Earnestness and Application, that they seem to have had no
other Business upon their Hands, than to hasten its Supplies, and to
render them effectual. What Gratitude for this will not Subjects so
obedient and so faithful ever cherish in their Hearts? This Gratitude
for their Preservation, joined to the Ardour and Zeal which have always
distinguished them in the Submission and Obedience due to his Majesty;
will inflame them with a Desire to sacrifice their Lives and Fortunes,
for the Honour and Glory of his Service.
Never was there greater Scarcity, nor ever was such Scarcity so
plentifully supplied; so that having been continually just falling
into Want, or in fear of wanting every thing, by the Interdiction of
Communication and Commerce, we have hardly ever wanted any thing, by
Means of the continual Succours which came in successively from all
Parts, by the Orders of his Royal Highness, and the particular Care of
M. _le Pelletier des Forts_, and M. _le Blanc_, to cause them to be
executed: Corn and other Provisions, and especially large Cattle, and
Sheep, have been brought in such Quantity and Numbers, notwithstanding
all Difficulties, that for a long time we have had a kind of Plenty of
them; from the Mint at _Aix_, the first President has remitted very
considerable Sums of Money, he has procured all Necessaries to be
sent in from divers Parts; he has caused almost whole Forests to be
cut down, that we might not want Wood for firing; and not contenting
himself with procuring Credit for us to a great Sum, he has had the
Goodness to find Means to discharge a considerable Part of that Debt;
from _Languedoc_ the Intendant, M. _de Bernage_, has taken infinite
Pains to get sent hither all the Succours that fertile Province could
furnish.
Several eminent Citizens have contributed very largely; M. _Constans_
and _Remusat_, have by their Credit and Money procured twenty thousand
Measures (called _Charges_) of Bread-Corn; M. _Martins_, _Grimaud_,
and _Beoland_, have voluntarily taken inconceivable Pains so keep the
Shambles supplied, and with very great Success; several others have
contributed Money for buying up Corn in the _Levant_; even some of the
Magistrates of the Soveraign Courts of the Province, as soon as the
Plague had broke out, moved by their Generosity of Heart, and Grandeur
of Soul, offered and even sent in all the Corn that was reaped on their
own Lands; such are M. _de Lubieres_ and _de Ricardi_, Counsellors
of the Parliament, and M. _de Rauville_ President of the Court of
Accompts, Aids and Finances: We could not perish with so great and
various Supplies; but _Marseilles_ and its Territory are an Abyss; it
cannot otherwise be filled, than by that prodigious Abundance, which
Liberty, and the Concourse of the Commerce of Nations, bring into it.
The 18th M. _Taxil_, Agent of the _India_ Company at _Marseilles_,
remits to the Sheriffs one thousand six hundred Marks of _Bullion_,
and twenty thousand and forty nine Marks in Pieces of Eight, which
they cause to be conveyed to the Mint at _Montpellier_, there to be
converted into new Specie.
The 19th the Distemper which had extremely decreased, having
increased again a little, and there being Ground to believe that the
Communication in some Churches which were opened, had occasioned it,
the Bishop is desired to be pleased to order them to be shut up again.
The 20th, 21st, and 22d Vessels are fitted out to fetch Corn from the
_Levant_, that we might not be wholly in want of it this Winter, and
after the Plague and Scarcity fall into Famine.
The 23d Advice comes that one of the Vessels in which his Holiness's
Ministers had caused to be laden at _Civita-Vecchia_, the Bread-Corn
designed for the Poor of _Marseilles_, is unhappily wrecked on the
Island of _Porcherolles_, and that of one thousand Measures it carried,
not three hundred could be saved.
The 24th and 25th, the Contagion still continuing in the Territory,
and the Persons who live there, or have retired thither, especially
those who are struck with it, or suspect they are, using all manner
of Artifice to steal into the City, where the Distemper has almost
intirely ceased, M. _de Langeron_ establishes such proper and exact
Precautions, that no Endeavours of that kind can succeed.
The 26th he publishes an Ordinance, to serve for Rules at the Gates,
prescribing the several Certificates which must be brought to obtain
Permission to enter, and describing the Condition of Health and other
Circumstances a Person must be in to be qualified for a Certificate
from the Parish-Priests, Captains, and Commissaries.
The 27th he sends this Ordinance to be published in the Territory,
and with it a circular Letter to all the Parish-Priests, Captains and
Commissaries of the Quarters, for their more ample Instruction.
The 28th two other Vessels laden with the rest of the Bread-Corn
given by his Holiness, arrive at _Toulon_: The Bishop comes to the
Town-house, to concert with M. _de Langeron_ and the Sheriffs, the
Means of getting it brought to this City, whither those Vessels will
not come because of the Contagion.
The 29th, the Difficulty made by the Masters of Vessels of _Languedoc_,
to come laden with Provisions to the Port of _Frioul_ in the Island
of _Roteneau_, one of the Isles of _Marseilles_, whither the Barrier
is removed from _Lestaque_, because after they have unladen at that
Island, no Ballast is to be had there, without which they cannot sail
empty, and return to their own Ports; this Difficulty, I say, obliges
M. _de Langeron_ and the Sheriffs to send for the Regulators of the
Fishermen to the Town-house, and order them to see that no Boat goes
out to fish, till it has first carried a lading of Ballast to that Isle
of _Roteneau_.
The 30th the Chevalier _Rose_ undertakes for the Execution of this
Order; and he succeeds so well in it, that all the Ballast necessary
for all the Vessels which may come to that Island, is presently carried
thither.
The First of _December_ the Hospital of the _Rive-Neuve_, governed and
directed by the Chevalier _Rose_, being become useless, the few Sick
remaining in it are removed to that of _la Charité_, and the other is
entirely shut up: M. _Boyer de Paradis_, one of the Physicians who came
from _Paris_ by Order of his Royal Highness, served in it with all the
Ardour and Zeal, that the Love of his native Country could inspire.
From the second to the fifth, Assemblies are held, to settle all
the Dispositions and all the Measures necessary for purifying and
dis-infecting all the Houses of the City in which the Contagion has
been: A tedious Work, which to be very minutely performed, must be as
laborious as it is nice and important.
The 6th, the grand Infirmaries having been for some time purified, M.
_Michel_, a Physician of the Faculty of _Marseilles_, who had been shut
up in them from the beginning of the Contagion, comes out with the
Surgeons he had with him; he served with a Zeal, Firmness, and Success,
which make him admired by all.
The 7th, the Intendants of Health assemble at the Town-house, in the
Presence of M. _de Langeron_ and the Sheriffs, to deliberate about
purifying all the Vessels that are in the Port, who had taken in their
Cargoes before the Plague broke out; these Intendants (those of them
who had absented being come back long since) do their Duty so well,
that tho' they are obliged to serve only by Turns, they generally all
act together, hardly any one excusing himself.
The Directors of the Hospital-general of _la Charité_ and those of
the _Hôtel Dieu_, acquit themselves also of their Duty with the same
Ardour: The latter even took upon them the Direction of this Hospital
when it was turned into a Pest-House, tho' the coming near such a
Place gives Disgust and makes one tremble: The Zeal among them was so
extraordinary, that at the beginning of the Contagion, when every Body
was running away, M. _Bruno Grainier_ was seen to quit his own House,
and take up his Lodgings in the _Hôtel Dieu_, there to devote himself
intirely to the Service of the Poor, and endeavour to prevent the
Plague's getting into it; accordingly it never could get in, before it
had overthrown this pious _Argus_, and deprived of Life this Example of
the most fervent and active Charity.
Almost all the Municipal Officers, and other Principal Citizens have
been come back also some time; most of the Shops of Tradesmen and
Artificers are opened; the People, who in their Fright had lost all
Hope of Health, and all Measure of Prudence, are brought to themselves,
and put into Heart again by the Presence and good Orders of M. _de
Langeron_; and every one is at present assisting each other by mutual
Offices, and by an exact and admirable Administration of Government;
which cutting off all destructive Communication, allows only what
is salutary. As this is but a brief Journal, drawn up in haste in
some Moments stolen from Business, the Publick may expect an ample
Supplement to it, which shall take in several Things here omitted, and
the Services worthy of Notice and Acknowledgment, which several Persons
have rendred to the City, as well within it, as Abroad; and the Wonders
performed by the Surgeons, whom the Court was pleased to send, and
others, shall not be forgotten.
The 8th, the Danger of Communication hindring still the Opening of the
Churches, the Bishop orders Altars to be set up in the Streets, and
Mass to be said at them in Publick.
This Day M. _de Langeron_, the Marquess _de Pilles_, and the Sheriffs,
publish an Ordinance, directing the Commissaries of the Quarters
and Parishes, all they are to do generally, as well for hindring
whatever might contribute to the keeping of the Contagion in the Town,
or increasing it by introducing the Distemper from Abroad, as for
concurring to the great Work still remaining, of disinfecting all the
Houses.
The 9th, upon Notice that several Taverns, Victualing-Houses,
Coffee-Houses, and other like Houses of Publick Resort are opened,
where People meeting in Crowds, a mortal Communication is to be feared;
an Ordinance is published, at my Instance, for their being all shut up
again, on the Penalty of Imprisonment, and of a Fine of thirty Livres.