ON FEVER, 381 



" fever, is not infe61ious, till it has acquired 

 ." fomething from the air, which by oxygenat- 

 " ing the fecretcd matter, may probably pro- 

 *' duce a new acid." Perhaps all it acquires is, 

 emiffion for the miafmata, and liberty of a6lion, 

 lince the mod noxious vapour confined is per- 

 feftly impotent. 



In Epidemic, or Malignant Fever, the 

 pulfe is feldom or never very high, as perhaps 

 the bare impetus of the blood, in an inflam- 

 matory (late, would itfelf refill the tendency 

 to putrefa6lion, at leaft for a time. The di- 

 agnoftics are, flow or irregular pulfe, lan- 

 guor and great depreflion, with alternation 

 of heat and cold. Eyes dull and moifl:, with 

 moifl;ure and foulnefs in the mouth, faint appe- 

 tite, with feeble motion of the jaws, accompa- 

 nied with an unpleafant grating of the teeth. 

 Excrement frequently dropping in a loofe and 

 rotten ftate. Staling irregular, fometimes very 

 little and with difficulty ; at others, the urine 

 pours down fuddenly in large quantities, pale, 

 w^ithout fediment. Watchfulnefs and continual 

 flandins^. Sometimes a difchargre of a brown- 

 ifli difagreeable colour ifliies from the noftrils, 

 but in fmall quantity. I have copied thefe 

 fymptoms generally from Gibfon, but I can 

 anfwe:r for his correftnefs in almofl every parti- 

 cular, from my own repeated obfervation. 



The cure ufuallv commences with bleeding, 



but 



