FEVERS. 



the gentian alone has fallen short of that ; but joined with galls 

 or tormentil, in equal parts, and given in sufficient quantity, it 

 has not failed in any intermittents of this country in which I 

 have tried it. M. M. 



CCXXXIII. Our second general indication for conducting 

 the paroxysms of intermittent fevers, so as to obtain a final so- 

 lution of the disease, may be answered, 



1. By exhibiting emetics during the tune of the cold stage, 

 or at the beginning of the hot. 



2. By opiates given during the time of the hot stage. 



" We have, for these hundred years past or thereby, been in 

 the humour of blaming the age before us, the age of Alexiphar- 

 mics, when the stimulant and heating medicines were employed, 

 and their principal stimulus was opium. Now, I cannot believe 

 that the practitioners in these days were quite so blind as to go 

 on in this practice, if they had found it universally hurtful ; and 

 I must conclude, that in many cases, they found it safe and ef- 

 fectual ; so that there are more cases where opium may be em- 

 ployed than might at first sight be supposed, but I cannot 

 go back to proper enough facts, so must take them as they are 

 given us in later times. A very remarkable one to our present 

 purpose is what we find in Dr. Lind's Appendix to. his work on 

 the Diseases of Europeans in Warm Climates. From frequent 

 experience he has found that opium may be employed in the 

 hot fit of intermittents, that it brings on more equally the sweats 

 that are to give the solution, and gives a more complete apy- 

 rexia than is to be obtained by any other means, and he seems to 

 recommend it as in general an useful practice. However, I 

 must say, that in this, and in some other instances, I am sus- 

 picious that he may be a little prejudiced in favour of his reme- 

 dies, and especially of those he seems to have discovered. He 

 hardly admits of limits to this, though he allows it is not uni- 

 versal ; he says it succeeds in every case where delirium, to a 

 considerable degree, is not present. You may understand him 

 that he means to say, that delirium which depends upon an in- 

 creased impetus ; and then to be sure we must admit his excep- 

 tion, and I apprehend his doubts are just, that such a delirium 

 has been dangerously increased by the use of opium. 



" I would willingly mark the limitations of the free use of 

 opium, but I can observe that it is especially in intermittents 



