capital of Norway, where the plague then broke out in its most
frightful form, with vomiting of blood; and throughout the whole
country, spared not more than a third of the inhabitants. The
sailors found no refuge in their ships; and vessels were often
seen driving about on the ocean and drifting on shore, whose crews
had perished to the last man.

In Poland the affected were attacked with spitting blood, and died
in a few days in such vast numbers, that, as it has been affirmed,
scarcely a fourth of the inhabitants were left.

Finally, in Russia the plague appeared two years later than in
Southern Europe; yet here again, with the same symptoms as
elsewhere. Russian contemporaries have recorded that it began
with rigor, heat, and darting pain in the shoulders and back; that
it was accompanied by spitting of blood, and terminated fatally in
two, or at most three days. It is not till the year 1360 that we
find buboes mentioned as occurring in the neck, in the axillae,
and in the groins, which are stated to have broken out when the
spitting of blood had continued some time. According to the
experience of Western Europe, however, it cannot be assumed that
these symptoms did not appear at an earlier period.

Thus much, from authentic sources, on the nature of the Black
Death. The descriptions which have been communicated contain,
with a few unimportant exceptions, all the symptoms of the
oriental plague which have been observed in more modern times. No
doubt can obtain on this point. The facts are placed clearly
before our eyes. We must, however, bear in mind that this violent
disease does not always appear in the same form, and that while