114 on covghs end colds. -^ug- I. 



of the apartment, to which the invalid was admitted. 

 He died in a few days, when every bit of this furni- 

 ture and bedding was burnt in the court yard of the 

 hotel. 



Before we condemn an opinion which appears to 

 us to proceed from prejud;ce and ignorance, it may 

 be worth while to examine how far there is any 

 foundation in reality for it. And this is the more 

 necefsary that^ with us, this distemper is often found 

 to baffle the ikill of our best physicians. Perhaps, 

 like the gout and rheumatism, the cause of this dis- 

 temper has hitherto eluded all our researches. 



The following hints are suggested, with much de- 

 ference and humility, for the consideration of the 

 public, by one, not a physician, nor at all versant in 

 the science of medicine. 



1st. To define 'the distemper I am treating of: 

 It begins by a slight affection of the glands of the 

 throat and nose, which in a day or two occasions a 

 coughing that increases in violence for some time ; 

 after which it either gradually abates, or ends in 

 what is called a consumption, occasioned by ulcers 

 or other tubercles in the lungs. I would observe, 



id. The futility of the causes -commonly afsigned 

 for our catching £old. Avoid wetting your feet, 

 avoid sitting in a dramght of air, and night dews, 

 avoid damp linen, are advices commonly given to 

 those in whose health we take an interest. Yet how 

 ■many catch colds which can be imputed to none of 

 these causes I and how many preserve themselves 

 perfectly free from this distemper, although daily ex- 

 posed to th.em all J 



