no　account　how　far　he　succeeded；　yet　it　is　to　be　supposed　that　he　arrested　the　disease；　for　it　had　long　lost　the　property　of　the　Black　Death；　to　spread　abroad　in　the　air　the　contagious　matter　which　proceeded　from　the　lungs；　charged　with　putridity；　and　to　taint　the　atmosphere　of　whole　cities　by　the　vast　numbers　of　the　sick。　　Now　that　it　had　resumed　its　milder　form；　so　that　it　infected　only　by　contact；　it　admitted　being　confined　within　individual　dwellings；　as　easily　as　in　modern　times。
  Bernabo's　example　was　imitated；　nor　was　there　any　century　more　appropriate　for　recommending　to　governments　strong　regulations　against　the　plague　that　the　fourteenth；　for　when　it　broke　out　in　Italy；　in　the　year　1399；　and　still　demanded　new　victims；　it　was　for　the　sixteenth　time；　without　reckoning　frequent　visitations　of　measles　and　small…pox。　　In　this　same　year；　Viscount　John；　in　milder　terms　than　his　predecessor；　ordered　that　no　stranger　should　be　admitted　from　infected　places；　and　that　the　city　gates　should　be　strictly　guarded。　　Infected　houses　were　to　be　ventilated　for　at　least　eight　or　ten　days；　and　purified　from　noxious　vapours　by　fires；　and　by　fumigations　with　balsamic　and　aromatic　substances。　Straw；　rags；　and　the　like　were　to　be　burned；　and　the　bedsteads　which　had　been　used；　set　out　for　four　days　in　the　rain　or　the　sunshine；　so　that　by　means　of　the　one　or　the　other；　the　morbific　vapour　might　be　destroyed。　　No　one　was　to　venture　to　make　use　of　clothes　or　beds　out　of　infected　dwellings　unless　they　had　been　previously　washed　and　dried　either　at　the　fire　or　in　the　sun。　People　were；　likewise；　to　avoid；　as　long　as　possible；　occupying　houses　which　had　been　frequented　by　plague…patients。
  We　cannot　precisely　perceive　in　these　an　advance　towards　general　regulations；　and　perhaps　people　were　convinced　of　the　insurmountable　impediments　which　opposed　the　separation　of　open　inland　countries；　where　bodies　of　people　connected　together　could　not　be　brought；　even　by　the　most　obdurate　severity；　to　renounce　the　habit　of　profitable　intercourse。
  Doubtless　it　is　nature　which　has　done　the　most　to　banish　the　Oriental　plague　from　western　Europe；　where　the　increasing　cultivation　of　the　earth；　and　the　advancing　order　in　civilised　society；　have　prevented　it　from　remaining　domesticated；　which　it　most　probably　was　in　the　more　ancient　times。
  In　the　fifteenth　century；　during　which　it　broke　out　seventeen　times　in　different　places　in　Europe；　it　was　of　the　more　consequence　to　oppose　a　barrier　to　its　entrance　from　Asia；　Africa；　and　Greece　（which　had　become　Turkish）；　for　it　would　have　been　difficult　for　it　to　maintain　itself　indigenously　any　longer。　Among　the　southern　commercial　states；　however；　which　were　called　on　to　make　the　greatest　exertions　to　this　end；　it　was　principally　Venice；　formerly　so　severely　attacked　by　the　Black　Plague；　that　put　the　necessary　restraint　upon　perilous　profits　of　the　merchant。　Until　towards　the　end　of　the　fifteenth　century；　the　very　considerable　intercourse　with　the　East　was　free　and　unimpeded。　Ships　of　commercial　cities　had　often　brought　over　the　plague：　nay；　the　former　irruption　of　the　〃Great　Mortality〃　itself　had　been　occasioned　by　navigators。　　For；　as　in　the　latter　end　of　autumn；　1347；　four　ships　full　of　plague…patients　returned　from　the　Levant　to　Genoa；　the　disease　spread　itself　there　with　astonishing　rapidity。　　On　this　account；　in　the　following　year；　the　Genoese　forbade　the　entrance　of　suspected　ships　into　their　port。　　These　sailed　to　Pisa　and　other　cities　on　the　coast；　where　already　nature　had　made　such　mighty　preparations　for　the　reception　of　the　Black　Plague；　and　what　we　have　already　described　took　place　in　consequence。
  In　the　year　1485；　when；　among　the　cities　of　northern　Italy；　Milan　especially　felt　the　scourge　of　the　plague；　a　special　Council　of　Health；　consisting　of　three　nobles；　was　established　at　Venice；　who　probably　tried　everything　in　their　power　to　prevent　the　entrance　of　this　disease；　and　gradually　called　into　activity　all　those　regulations　which　have　served　in　later　times　as　a　pattern　for　the　other　southern　states　of　Europe。　　Their　endeavours　were；　however；　not　crowned　with　complete　success；　on　which　account　their　powers　were　increased；　in　the　year　1504；　by　granting　them　the　right　of　life　and　death　over　those　who　violated　the　regulations。　　Bills　of　health　were　probably　first　introduced　in　the　year　1527；　during　a　fatal　plague　which　visited　Italy　for　five　years　（1525…30）；　and　called　forth　redoubled　caution。
  The　first　lazarettos　were　established　upon　islands　at　some　distance　from　the　city；　seemingly　as　early　as　the　year　1485。　　Here　all　strangers　coming　from　places　where　the　existence　of　plague　was　suspected　were　detained。　　If　it　appeared　in　the　city　itself；　the　sick　were　despatched　with　their　families　to　what　was　called　the　Old　Lazaretto；　were　there　furnished　with　provisions　and　medicines；　and　when　they　were　cured；　were　detained；　together　with　all　those　who　had　had　intercourse　with　them；　still　forty　days　longer　in　the　New　Lazaretto；　situated　on　another　island。　　All　these　regulations　were　every　year　improved；　and　their　needful　rigour　was　increased；　so　that　from　the　year　1585　onwards；　no　appeal　was　allowed　from　the　sentence　of　the　Council　of　Health；　and　the　other　commercial　nations　gradually　came　to　the　support　of　the　Venetians；　by　adopting　corresponding　regulations。　　Bills　of　health；　however；　were　not　general　until　the　year　1665。
  The　appointment　of　a　forty　days'　detention；　whence　quarantines　derive　their　name；　was　not　dictated　by　caprice；　but　probably　had　a　medical　origin；　which　is　derivable　in　part　from　the　doctrine　of　critical　days；　for　the　fortieth　day；　according　to　the　most　ancient　notions；　has　been　always　regarded　as　the　last　of　ardent　diseases；　and　the　limit　of　separation　between　these　and　those　which　are　chronic。　　It　was　the　custom　to　subject　lying…in　women　for　forty　days　to　a　more　exact　superintendence。　　There　was　a　good　deal　also　said　in　medical　works　of　forty…day　epochs　in　the　formation　of　the　foetus；　not　to　mention　that　the　alchemists　expected　more　durable　revolutions　in　forty　days；　which　period　they　called　the　philosophical　month。
  This　period　being　generally　held　to　prevail　in　natural　processes；　it　appeared　reasonable　to　assume；　and　legally　to　establish　it；　as　that　required　for　the　development　of　latent　principles　of　contagion；　since　public　regulations　cannot　dispense　with　decisions　of　this　kind；　even　though　they　should　not　be　wholly　justified　by　the　nature　of　the　case。　　Great　stress　has　likewise　been　laid　on　theological　and　legal　grounds；　which　were　certainly　of　greater　weight　in　the　fifteenth　century　than　in　the　modern　times。
  On　this　matter；　however；　we　cannot　decide；　since　our　only　object　here　is　to　point　out　the　origin　of　a　political　means　of　protection　against　a　disease　which　has　been　the　greatest　impediment　to　civilisation　within　the　memory　of　man；　a　means　that；　like　Jenner's　vaccine；　after　the　small…pox　had　ravaged　Europe　for　twelve　hundred　years；　has　diminished　the　check　which　mortality　puts　on　the　progress　of　civilisation；　and　thus　given　to　the　life　and　manners　of　the　nations　of　this　part　of　the　world　a　new　direction；　the　result　of　which　we　cannot　foretell。
  THE　DANCING　MANIA
  CHAPTER　ITHE　DANCING　MANIA　IN　GERMANY　AND　THE　NETHERLANDS
  SECT。　1ST。　JOHN'S　DANCE
  The　effects　of　the　Black　Death　had　not　yet　subsided；　and　the　graves　of　millions　of　its　victims　were　scarcely　closed；　when　a　strange　delusion　arose　in　Germany；　which　took　possession　of　the　minds　of　men；　and；　in　spite　of　the　divinity　of　our　nature；　hurried　away　body　and　soul　into　the　magic　circle　of　hellish　superstition。　It　was　a　convulsion　which　in　the　most　extraordinary　manner　infuriated　the　human　frame；　and　excited　the　astonishment　of　contemporaries　for　more　than　two　centuries；　since　which　time　it　has　never　reappeared。　　It　was　called　the　dance　of　St。　John　or　of　St。　Vitus；　on　account　of　the　Bacchantic　leaps　by　which　it　was　characterised；　and　which　gave　to　those　affected；　whilst　performing　their　wild　dance；　and　screaming　and　foaming　with　fury；　all　the　appearance　of　persons　possessed。　　It　did　not　remain　confined　to　particular　localities；　but　was　propagated　by　the　sight　of　the　sufferers；　like　a　demoniacal　epidemic；　over　the　whole　of　Germany　and　the　neighbouring　countries　to　the　north…west；　which　were　already　prepared　for　its　reception　by　the　prevailing　opinions　of　the　time。
  So　early　as　the　year　1374；　assemblages　of　men　and　women　were　seen　at　Aix…la…Chapelle；　who　had　come　out　of　Germany；　and　who；　united　by　one　common　delusion；　exhibited　to　the　public　both　in　the　streets　and　in　the　churches　the　following　strange　spectacle。　　They　formed　circles　hand　in　hand；　and　appearing　to　have　lost　all　control　over　their　senses；　continued　dancing；　regardless　of　the　bystanders；　for　hours　together；　in　wild　delirium；　until　at　length　they　fell　to　the　ground　in　a　state　of　exhaustion。　　They　then　complained　of　extreme　oppression；　and　groaned　as　if　in　the　agonies　of　death；　until　they　were　swathed　in　cloths　bound　tightly　round　their　waists；　upon　which　they　again　recovered；　and　remained　free　from　complaint　until　the　next　attack。　　This　practice　of　swathing　was　resorted　to　on　account　of　the　tympany　which　followed　these　spasmodic　ravings；　but　the