History of a Case of Scurvy. 57 



with diarrhoea, and therefore avoided the use of fresh 

 vegetables with great care, confining herself to rice, 

 chocolate, wheat bread, and butter, with a small quan- 

 tity of fresh meat. She lived in this way several years, 

 and was free from every scorbutic appearance. But, in 

 the spring, 1801, she removed from Philadelphia, into 

 the country, and then reduced greatly the quantity of 

 her animal food, taking, about three times a week, a 

 very small portion of salt meat, or an egg, while, in other 

 respects, her diet continued as before, except that she 

 used more chocolate, substituting it for animal food at 

 dinner. Upon this aliment she lived a year, without any 

 visible bad effect from it, but a change of her com- 

 plexion, which became, gradually, ver}' sallow. During 

 this time, she was very sedentary ; went seldom into the 

 open air ; and kept her apartments very warm. 



In Februaiy, 1802, she engaged in attending a sick 

 friend, who could not bear a fire in the chimney, or a 

 window closed. She was therefore exposed, the great- 

 est part of her time, to the open air, when it was very- 

 cold and damp, her diet continuing as before. 



After eight or ten weeks had passed in this way, I 

 was requested to visit her, on account of a swelling 

 and discolouration of the lower extremities. She as.^ 

 sured me, the change of colour, or ecchymosis, was oc- 

 casioned by a fall, and described her sensations so much 

 like those of rheumatism, that, for a few days, I believed 

 her complaint to be of that nature ; but, finding that the 

 remedies for rheumatism gave no relief, I made a more 

 accurate examination of the case, and discovered that 



VOL. II. TART II. 11 



