#22 @11 François Bonivard, Chronicles of Geneva, second volume
This looked dubious to me, so I DDG'd it, and it looked even more dubious, given the sites re-posting it. So, I spent some time looking for the original. Here it is:
Chronicles of Geneva
My French is very limited, but with the help of Google and DeepL I produced this:
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This year also the plague reigns in Geneva, and was not enough of that God sent to men, to punish him for their sins, but human malice also wanted to help him.
You must know that, in Geneva, there was a pestilential Hospital, to sequester the infected there in times of plague, and there was a Hospitaller who was a surgeon, a Prebster and other servants, all well paid because of the danger where they sat; and even women, who were called curesses, who truly believe, for they had good wages and stole just as valiantly: And the Hospitaller and the Prebest shared in their booty.
It happened that, by the grace of God, the plague subsided little by little, which made my gallants were not very happy, because people who make their profit from evil, do not willingly wish the good and would always have willingly maintained the evil.
It happened at this point that there was a kid in Geneva, of quite a good House, but addicted to all sorts of deceptions, who took the name of villain in praise, provided that his subtle wickedness was reputed. His name was Michel Caddo. In spite of his refinement, he fell into such poverty that he did not scrape up enough to live on, and he faked being a plague patient.
Immediately he was sent to the Lhospital, where he was treated promptly with julep wine or syrup, and seeing that this party could only last forty days, he decided to prolong it, for which reason he conspired with Lhospitalier, and they decided that all those that brought to Lhospital, instead of curing them, if they did not die quickly, they would kill them, by poison or otherwise.
After they were dead, they took the plague from the carbuncle that had been on the body and made it into powder, mixed with other drugs, from which they gave to drink to those stricken with the plague, pretending that it was a drink of healing. Not satisfied with that, after Caddo had finished his term at Lhospital, they powdered with this poison fine handkerchiefs, well worked, fine garters and the like, then they went through the town at night, dropping them hither and thither, and principally in front of the houses where there was something to bite for them, and for the curers and curesses: And not content with that rubbed the bolts of the doors.
This remained hidden for a space of time, but the Devil does not care so much to help himself to hide the sins of his minions, as to make them commit them. When Caddo had taken enough care of the night, he could not refrain from doing it during the day, except on a Lenten day, in the year 1530, he dropped a cone of his ointment in the middle of the rue de Coutance, thinking that no one noticed it, but someone saw it and carefully unfolded it, when the greatest stink in the world came out of it. A poor woman, fresh out of hospital, said: No mistake, gentlemen, this is done with the carbuncle of the plague. And each marveled and went to warn the Sindicas, who seized Caddo and interrogated him, giving him a strappado.
Immediately they sent to seize his accomplices, who were confronted and tortured. They all spoke as if through a pipe [i.e. gave the straight skinny], and didn't allow them to die, not all at once, not in a day. They were put on a cart, all around the city, tied to a column, naked to the waist: And to have the executioner, above the cart, fire blazing, where he warmed up his pincers, then when they were all feasting red, gave them, at each crossroads, a pinch, which lifted a piece of flesh from them.
Afterwards they were taken to Molard, where on a scaffold they had their heads cut off, then were quartered, and quarters with the heads were carried and tied to various places, except to the son of Lhospitalier, who because of his youth was allowed to keep his head. But he then confessed that he knew how to compose the paternal mixture well, and for this, as much for fear of the evil to come as by revenge for the past, he also lost his life.
[Estrapade: Kind of torture which consisted in being suspended, the feet and the hands tied to a cord, and suddenly precipitated a few feet from the ground, which exposed the patient to sharp pains by the weight of the body and to the danger of being crippled, if, not answering the questions of the judge, the latter prolonged or renewed the torture.]
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N.B. The commentator was very interested in this story. He points out that, at the time, there were numerous plague hospitals that were reimbursed based on the number of patients. He provides additional sources, but I ran out of steam. Those here who have French might enjoy the rest.
So the original text circulating on the net is a modernized paraphrase of the original. There are a number of errors - the chief one is mistaking the criminal Caddo to be a doctor. But, surprisingly, it's "truthy". |
