420 REMARKS AND OBSERVATIONS ON 



Mr Peter Reid, an ingenious student of medicine here, 

 from the mouths of the boy's parents, who are near relations 

 of mine ; the boy is at present in the best health. 



In August 1787, Bosweli, Douglas, a boy of two years 

 of age, fell upon the corner of a chair, by which the back 

 part of his head was slightly injured. The child, however, 

 appeared to suffer no inconvenience from it the rest of that 

 day, but romped about as usual. Next day, when he was 

 raised from bed, he was observed to be affected with violent 

 sickness and retching, which his mother attributing to some 

 pudding, of which he had eaten rather heartily the preceding 

 day, gave him a vomit, which did not operate, and the sick- 

 ness continued unabated for the rest of that day. About two 

 o'clock next morning, his father going to see how he was, 

 found him, as he thought, apparently dead ; his whole body 

 was in a state of the most violent contraction, his hands 

 clenched, his head twisted to one side, and his neck rigidly 

 retracted ; his visage pale, his eyes dead and fixed, and his 

 jaws so completely locked that it was impossible to introduce 

 any thing into his mouth ; and, as his parents expressed them- 

 selves, his whole body so stronglv stiffened, that, when they 

 moved him, he appeared as if he had no joints. In this des- 

 perate condition, he continued for two or three hours, his pa- 

 rents struggling in vain to procure assistance, as it was the 

 middle of the night, when a person present, who had been 

 much benefited by Dr Wright, in different circumstances, 

 requested that his advice might be obtained. He was accord- 

 ingly sent for, and, when the Doctor arrived, the child still 

 continued in the same hopeless state. He immediately or- 

 dered a pail of cold water to be procured. The parents at 

 first opposed the use of it, thinking that it would accelerate 

 the fate of their child. They were at last persuaded to allow 

 it to be tried, by the Doctor assuring them that it was the 

 only chance the boy had for life. The Doctor then dashed 



