96 PHYSIC 



peculiar and, to him, very disagreeable odour, which 

 seemed to emanate from the bed, which he had not 

 touched, or from the gentleman himself, whom he had not 

 been near. This odour continued to "haunt him" and 

 to draw his attention to its probable source or cause, when 

 he remembered he had seen the gentleman turn in bed at 

 the time he felt it, and, in the movement, that the bed- 

 clothes were tossed about, and he became satisfied that that 

 must have originated it ; meantime, while trying to forget 

 the circumstances, he became aware of unusual feelings of 

 discomfort, and "sickened" so as to be compelled "to 

 take to his bed," learning, at the same time, that his friend 

 on whom he had called had developed a severe attack of 

 smallpox. For some time he continued "better and 

 worse," but ultimately became the subject of a dangerous 

 attack of the same disease, which also became confluent, 

 and, after running a protracted course, subsided, leaving 

 him deeply pitted, but otherwise absolutely well. 



We now enquire, whence came the infection in this 

 case ? and we are satisfied that the answer should be, " from 

 the gentleman on whom he called" ; nevertheless, it may 

 be best to advance our reasons for the belief, seeing that 

 absolute certainty in such matters is impossible. And 

 these reasons are the following : The subject of this record 

 was, at the time of infection, in the best of health, and 

 had not been, so far as he could discover, in the neighbour- 

 hood of the disease ; he had not touched the body or the 

 immediate belongings of his friend who was unwell, but 

 he had breathed a "fetid air" which emanated from him, 

 and which made in reality a deep impression on his 

 olfactory mucosa, and here is the fons et origo of his 

 attack of variola, the factors operating in some such way 

 as this the subject, from whom the infection emanated, 

 had begun to throw off a brood of variolous microbes in 

 the perspiration of his skin, which was on the eve of 

 showing their presence by unmistakable eruption, and 

 these had "taken wing," so to speak, in the vapourised 

 or insensible transpiration, and, floating in the atmosphere 

 confined under the bedclothing, waited their chances of 

 freedom, which arrived at the time and by the means 

 mentioned, when, "as luck would have it," a "new start 



