22,2 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1758. 



condition. She had a frequent and severe cough, with great shortness of breath 

 and a wheezing ; her lungs seemed to be quite stuffed with phlegm, of which 

 she spit a vast quantity every day, and of such an appearance, that Dr. W. was 

 apprehensive it was, in part at least truly purulent. When she sat up in a chair, 

 her pulse beat above 1 30 times in a minute. She had a considerable thirst, and 

 her tongue was of a deep red colour, with a beginning aphthous crust on some 

 parts of it. She was so weak and her pulse so feeble, that there was no place for 

 further bleeding : a blister was therefore applied to her back, Nov. 1 1th, which 

 somewhat lowered her pulse, and lessened the shortness of breathing and quan- 

 tity of phlegm in her lungs. Nov. l6th, a second blister was laid to her side, 

 which gave her still more sensible relief than the former, and reduced her pulse 

 to 1 14 strokes in a minute. November 25th, a 3d blister was applied to her 

 back ; by which her cough and wheezing were rendered considerably easier, and 

 the phlegm which she spit up, lost its purulent appearance, became thinner, 

 more frothy, and was much less in quantity. Her pulse then beat only 104 

 times in a minute. After this her cough and spitting increasing again, she had 

 on the 20th of Dec. a 4th blister applied to her back, which, like the former, 

 did her great service. Her stomach being extremely delicate, he scarcely ordered 

 any medicines for her all this time, except a cordial julep, with spin volat. oleos. 

 tinct. of rhubarb as a laxative, and a julep of aqu. rosar. acet. vin alb. and syr. 

 bals. of which last she took 2 table spoonfuls 2ce or 3ce a day in 4 of a pint of 

 lintseed tea. After the 4th blister, she drank for some time a cupful of infusum 

 amarum 2ce a day, and continued to recover slowly : and though during the 

 remaining part of the winter she was as usually, a good deal troubled with a 

 cough, yet in the spring she got free from it and recovered her ordinar}' health. 



4. Christian M^evven, aged 21, had laboured under a cough, thick spitting, 

 pain of her breast, and pains in her sides affecting her breathing for about a 12 

 month : and after getting by proper remedies, in a good measure free from 

 those complaints, her cough from taking a fresh cold, increased to a greater 

 degree than ever, became hard and dry, and was attended with a constant dif- 

 ficulty of breathing, pain in her left side, and head-ach. After having been 7 

 or 8 days in this condition, she was admitted into the Royal Infirmary, January 

 gth, 1757. As her pulse was small, though very quick, viz. beating 130 in a 

 minute, he thought it unnecessary to bleed her, as from former experience he 

 did not doubt but that blistering alone would relieve her : he therefore ordered 

 a large blister to be applied to her left side, where she complained of pain, and 

 prescribed for her the following julep : 



R Aq. menth simp. sp. Mind, ana § iij. acet. scill. § i. sacch. alb. §ij. M. 

 Cap. coch. ij. ter in die. 



