573 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1755. 



They perfectly resembled those malignant, wandering, gouty rheumatisms of 

 1744. But these symptoms were of no long duration; they left the patients 

 long interxals, in which they were able to rise out of bed. There was no great 

 danger attending; and all that was terrible in them was this, that they were of 

 long continuance. The disease of the 2d degree had, besides the foregoing 

 symptoms, a continual fever, with exacerbations, and a pain in the head, that 

 increased as the fever increased. That of the 3d degree began with the symptoms 

 of the first, for 4, 5, and sometimes 8 days; after which it passed to those of 

 the 2d, and was besides accompanied, in the exacerbations, with a cough, sore 

 throat, nausea, a dry, black, and foul tongue; a delirium, or a tendency to it, 

 in the height of the fits, followed by sweats ; a remarkable stupidity in the remis- 

 sions ; in some a sinall oppression of the breast, with spitting of blood ; in others 

 a swelled belly, which was slow in every evacuation, especially that of urine. 

 Afterwards there often appeared the miliary eruption; some had a small flux, and 

 blood was perceived in the stools. A great number were affected with a dejec- 

 tion of spirits, and were struck with a sort of terror, as made them tremble at 

 the sound of a common voice. 



These diseases ran through a course of 30 or 40 days, which he thinks may 

 be divided into 4 periods. The first, or first 7 days, were passed with the 

 symptoms of the first degree: the next 7 days with those of the 2d degree. In 

 the 3d period, which consisted of about the same number of days, the patient 

 laboured under all the symptoms of the complete disease. Towards the 21st the 

 miliary eruption came on, which led the patient either to death on the 25th, or 

 to recovery about the 30th or 40th day. Some patients, who were attacked with 

 more violence, ran through all the stages in 7 days, as was remarked in 1752; 

 and this short space brought some persons of the most vigorous constitutions to 

 their graves. Many of their bodies were opened, on which they made the fol- 

 lowing observations : 



In some, part of the villous coat of the stomach, and of the small guts, was 

 inflamed; and the rest of these organs were filled with an eruption of the miliary 

 crystalline kind, except that it was larger; and there was likewise an obstruction 

 in the glands of the mesentery. In others, a strong inflammation had seized 

 the whole stomach, and a small portion of the oesophagus ; but the intestines 

 were free. These were filled with wind in those subjects whose bellies had been 

 swelled. In those cases, wheie the delirium had continued long and violent, they 

 found either ulceration on the stomach, or its villous coat separated, with a great 

 inflammation, and even some gangrenous spots on the other coats of that organ. 

 Nothing extraordinary was ever found in the brain. 



The most successful method of treating these disorders, was as follows: A 



