( 140 ) 



the bladder is compofed, than if we were to drink in fufficient 

 quantity. 



Another gentleman of eminence, who was troubled with the 

 Gravel, and had often been at my houfe, came to vifit me, with an 

 old phyfician of fome note, and brought with him a fmall box, 

 filled with Gravel Stones, alking me, whether I thought there was 

 any remedy which would diflblve fuch Gravel in the Kidneys ; but 

 this I pronounced was not to be found, by reafon that thefe Gravel 

 Stones do in great part conlill of fuch hard faline particles, that 

 they cannot be diflblved otherwife than by aclual fire, or very 

 llrong aqua fortis ; therefore, my opinion is, that we are only to 

 look for a remedy to prevent the further increafe or colleAion of 

 them ; and, I think, that to drink tea or coffee promifes much for 

 this purpofe, becaufe thereby much liquid palles to the Kidneys; 

 and further, that we fliould drink plentifully of beer, between dinner 

 and fupper time, and not follow the example of thofe who boafi: 

 that they drink very little in the day, and none at all at fupper. 



In order to prove the truth of this my opinion, I put one of 

 thefe Gravel Stones into a glafs, and poured on it very flrong wine 

 vinegar : this I fet by for a whole year, in which time almoll all 

 the vinegar was evaporated, and, at the end of that time, I faw 

 the Stone remain entire. I then poured more vinegar on it, and 

 fet it by another whole year, when the vinegar was almoft all again 

 evaporated ; the Stone was then ftill entire ; but, upon fqueezing 

 it a little, it broke into many pieces, fome of which were more 

 than a thoufand times linaller than fand ; and I often faw a fmall 

 piece of this Stone, no larger than a grain of fand, to confill of 

 many fmaller particles concreted together ; and the multitude of 

 minute particles of which thefe Stones are compofed appeared to me, 

 -in this inftance, much more diltindly than I had ever leen tliem, 

 or could have imagined ; and the minute parts into which the Stone 

 was broken were yet very hard. 



