50 On the Salivating Effects 



The account which she gave me of her case was 

 as follows. That, two years and a half ago, she was 

 seized with the most violent pain of the breast or 

 stomach, which induced her to apply for aid to a 

 neighbouring physician, who gave her several small 

 pills (which she supposed chiefly consisted of opium), 

 with suitable directions. These soon relieved her 

 of the pain of that part ; but she was, shortly after- 

 wards, distressed with a very troublesome pain of 

 the ancles and feet, for which she refused, at this 

 time, taking any thing, fearing the medicine might 

 translate the disease to a part more dangerous, and 

 less sufferable. The pain, however, continued so 

 violent, that she was again necessitated to call for 

 assistance, when she had used a great variety of local 

 applications, such as liniments, fomentations, cata- 

 plasms, caustics, blisters, &c, by diiferent physi- 

 cians, and the common people ; but all to very little 

 purpose. The blisters, she thinks, injured her, as 

 she has used her feet very little since their applica- 

 tion. She was finally advised to have recourse to 

 laudanum to mitigate her sufferings, which she took 

 in doses proportioned to the degree of pain. Some 

 time after the use of this medicine, her feet began to 

 swell, then her ancles, legs, and thighs, and lastly 

 her abdomen. It had now been nine months since 

 she began to swell. So much for her own history. 



As before observed, I found her greatly enlarged, 

 in consequence of the effusion of water in her lower 

 extremities and abdomen, and sitting in one of those 

 old-fashioned armed-chairs, which was not large 



