rous plates, which do not, however, appear to have enhanced the price of the work; they are executed by foreign artists with a freedom and clearness which merit our commendations. As the contents, however, of the book are a little mifcellaneous, we shall give a fhort account of them, and enlarge on what may appear most useful and new.

Our author first goes to Marfeilles, the port where the commerce of France in the Levant is chiefly carried on the firft engraved plan of the lazaretto at this place is given by Mr. Howard. It appears, on the whole, to be well regulated, and the different arrangements to be observed with that anxious attention which the importance of the subject demands. It is, however, to be obferved, that the quarantine of the men is too strict and too long, that of the goods too fhort and too careless. If a fhip has been from a fufpected port forty-eight hours, the confinement of the men need not exceed five days, with the precaution only of bathing and putting on fresh cloaths, while their former habits perform the rest of the quarantine for them. Even in this short period we give them full time for the appearance of infection. The next lazaretto which Mr. Howard vifits, is that of Genca; another belonging to the Genoefe is alfo in the port of Spezia. At Leghorn are three lazarettos, extremely well conducted under the government of Leopold, whom Mr. Howard, in common with every traveller, calls the true father and friend of his country. At Malta this inftitution is of two kinds; at one, fhips with clean bills perform quarantine; at the other, those which have foul bills: but the government of the grand-malters does not feem to be exemplary in any of its branches: the union of religion with civil and military government do not fucceed very well in this æra, and perhaps they have been always equally unfuccefsful. The lazarettos at Zante, Corfu, and Caftel Nuovo in Dalmatia, are alfo defcribed very fhortly.

At Venice Mr. Howard determined to have the fulleft information, by performing quarantine himfelf; and he went from Smyrna to that city in a veffel which had a foul bill. This kind of Quixotifm would have only been exceeded by fuffering himself to catch the plague, in order to be a better judge of the feelings of thofe who experience that diforder. We call it Quixotifm, for we do not perceive one fingle good effect refulting from it, except that the Venetians are prejudiced against white-liming the rooms of a lazaretto. That thofe who are confined in these close and dirty rooms may be fubject to flow fevers, is afcertained from various parts of this work and many other obfervations. The particular officers

and

and their different duties are well defcribed; but these might have been easily known, and do not appear to have been derived from the forty days confinement: the expurgation of goods feem to be conducted with great care and with great judgment. From all his enquiries, Mr. Howard feems to have conftructed his rules for performing quarantine and building lazarettos, which he ftrongly recommends to the notice of government: a letter from fome very refpectable merchants and confuls at different ports of the Mediterranean is alfo introduced, in which the fame plan is fupported by much able argument. They think that the decline of the Turkey trade is owing to there being no lazarettos in England; and that if these hofpitals were conftructed, cotton may be imported from the Levant directly, without the intervention of Holland, very advantageously, fince the Turks would receive our manufactured goods in exchange; and the advantage would be greater, as from the negligent method of performing quarantine in Holland, we are always in danger of importing the plague with our cotton.

The third fection contains papers relative to the plague; and confifls of answers of feveral phyficians converfant with the fubject, to different queftions: but fuch is the glorious uncertainty of medicine, that these gentlemen are inconsistent with each other, and with themselves. With the affistance of our medical affociate, we fhall extract the fubftance of the beft founded obfervations. The plague appears to be communicated by the touch alone, not that to touch an infected perfon or object, infallibly gives the difeafe, for the contagion may be received and remain latent till it is discharged with the excrementitious fluids, or is called into action by the concurrence of fome exciting caufe: these exciting causes are conftantly of the debilitating kind. It certainly is not communicated by the air, except the perfons are very near to each other, for the contagion is not volatile unless combined with odoriferous bodies. The noxious diftance is, according to Giovanelli, within five geometrical paces, and according to another phyfician, within two ells; but this is fubject neceffarily to variation, as the wind blows to or from the infected object, or according to the degrees of infection. It is faid to prevail moft in hot feafens and in cold; but Dr. Ruffel, if we mistake not, obferves, that it often ceafes during the hottest weather; and M. Luigi fupports this opinion. On the fymptoms and the treatment we find many vague and trifling defcriptions and remarks. Nothing can be drawn from these authors which we do not find more advantageously detailed in others. Convalescents do not generally relapfe; but on this

fubject

fubject too, the doctors differ: it is better, we believe, ta trust to the former opinion, that a relapfe during the fame epidemic is uncommon, though having had the difeafe is no fecurity during a future epidemic. The plague from different places feems, by these authors' accounts, to differ at least in violence, and fomewhat perhaps in fymptoms. The proportion of deaths varies from two to five-fixths. From the mode of preservation, we cannot extract a single particular not generally known, that is to be depended on : these gentlemen say nothing of iffues, or of keeping up the fecretions undiminished.

Of the foreign prifons and hofpitals our author's account is not always advantageous. The Hotel Dieu he found clofe and offenfive; two were often in a bed, and the windows were carefully shut, while the curtains, put on in winter, were adorned with fringe, fitted to retain fmells and infection. In the galleys at Toulon, he obferves that there are about 1600 prifoners, diftinguished by the colour of their caps according to the crimes they have committed.

Thofe galleys had only one deck. Many of their win dows in the roofs were open; and b.ing fwept twice every day, they were clean and not offenfive. The flaves alfo were kept clean, and their clothing was neat, even in that galley which is appropriated to the aged and infirm. Some of them had been confined forty, fifty, and even fixty years. All have a coat, waistcoat, troufers, two fhirts, and a pair of fhoes, given them every year; and a great coat every two years. They had good brown bread, well baked, in loaves weighing a pound and three quarters. All had fome little allowance in money, and to thofe who worked, was granted an additional allowance of three fous every day for wine. In each galley there were two cantons (little rooms), one for wine for those who worked for government, the other for the fale of white bread, greens, &c.

Many worked at their own trades, as fhoe makers, basketmakers, &e. but none were allowed to keep fhops on fhore as formerly at Marieilles; nor have they the fame convenience they had then for the fale of their work. Forty were at work in La Place (the fquare) in the city, digging and removing the foil for the foundation of a houfe for the intendant. These were chained two and two, and when one wheeled the mould the other carried the chain; but in digging, fawing, and other flationary employments, both worked. Many were at work in the arfenal; and employed, fome in moving, hewing, and fawing timber; and others in the cotton and thread manufac rory. The number of thofe engaged in the last of these emp'oyments was about two hundred. They were lodged in an adjoining hall, and I obferved that when they left off, work,

they

they were fearched to prevent their fecreting any of the materials. All were loaded with chains of fome kind or other : thofe employed in the manufactory (and fome others in the arfenal) had only a ring on one leg; but this, and likewise the choice of irons, I found to be a diftinction which might be purchased. The flaves who worked out of the arfenal were loaded with heavy chains, and tew are able to efcape: if any do escape, they are punished, when retaken, in various ways. Some by a confinement under heavier irons-Some by a recommencement of the term of their confinement-Some by whipping, and fuch as had been condemned for life, by hanging.

Proteftants are not compelled to attend at mafs. The last perfon who was confined for his religion was released about eight years ago. There is but one flave here who now profes fes himself a proteftant, and his name is François Conde. He has been confined in the galleys forty-two years, for being concerned with fome boys in a quarrel with a gentleman (who loft his gold-headed cane) in a private houfe in Paris. The boys were apprehended, and this Condè though only fourteen and lame of one arm, was condemned to the years of age, galleys for life. After four or five years he procured a Bible, and learned by himself to read; and becoming, through clofe attention to the fcriptures, convinced that his religion was antichriftian, he publicly renounced it, and declared and defended his fentiments. Ever fince he has continued a steady proteftant, humble and modeft, with a character irreproachable and exemplary, respected and esteemed by his officers and fellow prifoners. I brought away with me fome musical pipes of his turning and tuning. He was in the galley appropriated to the infirm and aged; and these, befides the ufual allowance of bread, have an additional allowance from the king of nine fous (41d.) a day.'

The hofpitals of Italy are airy and convenient; thofe of Malta, like their lazarettos, dirty and ill managed. The hofpitals and prifons in Turkey are of different kinds, often well regulated; but the hofpitals of Conftantinople are dirty and neglected. In Germany our author purfued the fame object, and hofpitals and prifons were his chief inducements : indeed it has been faid that he has more than once paffed St. Peter's at Rome, without deigning to glance at its infide.

In the Great Prifon at Vienna, in December 1786, I found very few of the dungeons empty: fome had three prifoners in each dungeon; and three horrid cells I faw crowded with twelve women. All the men live in total darkness, and are not permitted to make any favings from their daily allowance (of four creutzers, about d.) for the purpofe of procuring light. They are chained to the walls of their cells, though fo strong,

and

and fo defended by double doors, as to render fuch a fecurity needlefs. No priest or clergyman had been near them for eight or nine months; and this is reckoned, even by these criminals, fo great a punishment, that they complained to me of it with tears, in the prefence of their keepers.

I recollected a dungeon in which, at my former vifit, I had feen a prifoner dying; and on mentioning this, one of the turnkeys faid, "Yes, he died about a year ago;" which another confirmed. This, however, must have been a different perfon, for eight years had clapfed fince my former vifit.

The torture-room lies nine steps deeper than the dungeons; but I will fay nothing of this room, nor of the inftruments of torture, because the emperor has fhewn his humanity and wifdom by abolishing this fhocking practice.

All the prifoners in the old prifon just mentioned, are to be foon removed into a prifon lately built by the emperor. It confifts of forty rooms, and alfo twenty dungeons at the depth of twenty-two steps below the furface of the ground, boarded with thick planks, in which are ftrong iron rings for the purpofe of chaining the prifoners. Thefe dungeons are larger, and in other refpects (though horrid enough) lefs horrid than thofe in the old prifon. They were empty, but above them were two hundred and fourteen criminals crowded into a few rooms. Their daily allowance is four creutzers. I was pleafed to find here a fet of rooms for trying the prifoners.

:

The hofpital in the fuburbs, called the General Hofpital, is very large, and contains feveral courts. Most of the wards are feventeen feet high, fixty-one feet long, and twenty-feven broad, with oppofite windows, and twenty beds in every ward, with vacancies between them three feet wide, in which tables were placed fome of the wards were much larger. They were all furnished with bafons, towels, &c. and great attention feemed to be paid to cleanliness. To each ward three nurfes are affigned, and a room of a moderate fize, with a fire-place for wafhing and other purpofes. The roof has windows in it, but unhappily they are glazed, and confequently the free escape of the foul air is prevented, and much evil must be produced.

At the back of this hofpital there are twelve neat rooms, with every thing in them proper for lying-in women—a bed— drawers with white child-bed linen-a toilet-tea things-and a bed for the nurse. These rooms are for those that pay one florin (s. 3d.) a day. There are other rooms with five or fix beds in cach, for fuch as pay half a florin a day. The former advance at entrance the pay of eight days, and the latter the pay of four days. There are rooms alfo for those that pay ten creutzers (33d nearly) a day. All in this department was clean, calm, and quiet. Women are admitted at any hour through a private door and paffage, and no queftions are afked at their coming in or going out.'

The