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There were still many who were not persuaded that it was the

plague, because if it were, every one infected would die of it;

whereas a few recovered. To dissipate every doubt, the Tribunal

of Health made use of an expedient conformable to the necessity

of the occasion; they made an address to the eyes, such as the

spirit of the times suggested. On one of the days of the feast of

Pentecost, the inhabitants of the city were accustomed to go to

the burying ground of San Gregorio, beyond the eastern gate, in

order to pray for the dead in the last plague. Turning the season

of devotion into one of amusement, every one was attired in his

best; on that day a whole family, among others, had died of the

plague.