l693-] ILLNESS OF BOYER. 115 



ev'ry Minute. We carry 'd him to his Cabbin with much 

 adoe, and being of a very Vigorous Complexion, 'twas three 

 or four days before he would confine himself to his Bed, but 

 at last he yielded. His Head swelPd, and so many Impos- 

 thumes appear'd in it, that we cou'd scarce open all to let out 

 the Corruption. We were at first sorry that our Eogue of a 

 Captain had left us no Ungents or Drugs, as I have said before.^ 

 However we consider'd none of us understood very well 

 how to Administer them, if we had had them ; and indeed, 

 that take it all together what we call Physick or Pharmacy 

 is commonly nothing but a Cheat more Pernicious than 

 Useful to Mankind ; so we did not trouble our selves much 

 for the want of it till now. We had a Consultation, whether 

 the Patient ought not to be Blooded.^ Some cry'd he wou'd 

 die in the Operation, if he lost one drop of Blood only, 

 others cry'd out louder, then he wou'd give up the Ghost in 

 three Minutes, if he was not Blooded ; and we were all so 

 warm in the Vindication of our several Opinions, that who- 

 ever had seen us, wou'd have taken us for true Physicians.^ 

 Nevertheless we did not come to Blows, and there being four 

 out of seven Voices for Bleeding, 'twas not necessary that 

 we should stay for any other way of deciding the Question, 

 tho' the Sacred ^Tinisters of JEsculapius, have recourse some- 

 times to others in such Cases." The Boldest of the four 

 Phlebotomists'^ sharpen'd as well as he cou'd the point of his 

 Pen-knife, and made Incisions in several parts of the poor 

 dying Man's Arm, but 'twas all to no Purpose ; the Fever 



1 Vide ante, p. 55. 



2 " To Mood;' i.e., to kt blond, a term formerly used in surgery, was 

 superseded by hleed. See a few Hues below, in the text. 



3 Evidently, says M. Muller, an allusion to tbe famous scene from 

 L' Amour Medecin, of Moliere. 



* In orig. : " ce qui est I'unique moyeu de decision quaud il y a 

 contrariete d'opinion entre les sacrez Ministrcs d'Esculape." 



<■> Phlebotomists, lit. vein cutters, from fAe'il/, (p\f&6s a vein, and Teuyaf, 

 to cut. 



I2 



