Letter from Dr. Thornton on the Cow -Pox. 47 



daughter to the duchess of Bolton, who is sister to the earl 

 of Lonsdale, had her last child inoculated with the cow- 

 pock, although lord Barnard and four other children of the 

 earl of Darlington had had a mild disease from the small- 

 pox inoculation. Colonel Lowther, memher for the countv 

 of \Vestmoreland, who was with his lordship, had a chil^ 

 of his inoculated with the same, although he had seven 

 before inoculated with the small-pox ; and colonel Sat- 

 terthwaite, member for Cockermouth, a borough of his 

 lordship's, being at Lowther, having lately lost a grand- 

 child by small-pox inoculation, was rejoiced to embrace this 

 opportunity, and had vaccine matter "from me sent to his 

 i-on-in-law. Dr. Head. Captain Preston, of Warcop, 

 coming to Lowther, followed the example, mentioninc- 

 " that the reason why he had not had his child before ino- 

 culated with the smail-pox, was the fear of brinoino- this 

 disease into his village." And such indeed v/as the general 

 conviction of the country-people of the efficacy of tlie cow- 

 pock, (namely, its power of rendering the constitution un- 

 susceptible of the small-pox, and that it was a disease in- 

 tiuitely milder than the small-pox, never killing, not infec- 

 tious, and giving little or no trouble,) that the \\ hole coun- 

 try around Lowther came to solicit a participation of the 

 benefits resulting from the cow-pock ; and on several davs I 

 was engaged in inoculating often to the amount of a hundred 

 and ten* persons, — Mr. Storey, of Penrith, his lordship's 

 apothecary, kindly assisting me in this work of hunuinitv. 



It was a most charming sight to behold the finest pea- 

 santry in the world assembled at Lowther for the purpose of 

 having themselves, or of giving thecow-pock to their chil- 

 dren, to secure them ever after from the horrid ravages of 

 the small-pox ; and such was the courage displavedf that 

 out of one hundred and ten persons mentioned above 

 as inoculated in one morning, I do not recollect seeing 

 more than one frightened at the sight of the lancet, nor 

 were the fears of this child communiX-atcd to the rest. So 



• The number of inoculated persons on one morning oa/v was one 

 hundred and ten, from six weeks old to forty-two yc:irs of age; and whca 

 tlic question was nkscd, whether they would htvs come in such numbers 

 to have the small-pox? there were very few who did net declare, that 

 they di.ii'K'jd the small-pox, each assigning different reasons; but the 

 principjl objection was, " they had known such and J.uch die from the 

 iHocuUttcd small-pox," and " that thry could not spare tbr time to atieii.i 

 upon a sick family ;" and several smil'infily said, •' they could not aJJ^jui 

 to pu\ for it ; nor did a jingle individual express the smallest distruii of 

 the virtue of the cow-pock, but all received the inoculation Iwth f/j.v; - 

 fullj and ibunkfulty I 



thronord 



