[ 57 ] 
looked upon as a new diftemper by thofe, who did 
not attend to it fooner ; and the havock they had ufu- 
ally made, being rendered more remarkable by the 
quality of thofe, who were the unhappy victims, 
gave us the reputation throughout Europe of having 
the plague. 
Thefe reafons redoubled the diligence of the gen- 
tlemen of the faculty. Our phyficians met toge- 
ther, at their college, feveral times, to communicate 
their obfervations upon thefe difeafes. I think they 
may be divided into three degrees. 
The patients of the firft degree felt, at the begin- 
ning, a laffitude, and pain in the joints, attended 
with fome fevers, the fits whereof went off by fvveats. 
They perfectly refembled thofe malignant, wander- 
ing, gouty rheumatifms of 1744.. But thefe fymp- 
toms were of no long duration j they left the patients 
long intervals, in which they were able to rife 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 difeafe of the fecond degree had, befides the 
foregoing fymptoms, a continual fever, with exacer- 
bations, and a pain in the head, that increafed as » 
the fever increafed. 
That of the third degree began with the fymptoms 
of the firft, for four, five, and fometimes eight 
days : after which it pafled to thofe of the fecond, 
and was befides accompanied, in the exacerbations, 
with a cough, fore throat, naufeas, a dry, black, 
and foul tongue j a delirium, or a tendency thereto, 
in the height of the fits, followed by fweats j a re- 
markable flupidity in the remiffions ; in fome a 
V0L.49. J fmall 
4 
