Retrofped of Dometic Literature.—Medicine, Surgery, Se. 
fpafmodic affetions of the voluntary muf- 
cles, reftleffners, and delirium, and have 
uniformly terminated fatally ; cpium, 
bark, camphor, wine, ether, and mufk, 
proving wholly ulelefs, if not injurious. 
In the eighth chapter, Dr. Currie has 
given the particulars of a cafe of this de- 
{cription, in which the cold affufion did 
not correfpond with his former experience. 
The patient felt the cold very acutely, but 
was not relieved ; his pulfe did not dimi- 
nith in frequency ; his heat (which was 
r07°, the bulb of the thermometer being 
placed under the tongue) fubfided very 
little, and that for a few minutes only ; 
neither diaphorefis nor fleep followed.— 
Reafoning upon this cafe, Dr. Currie had 
prohibited affufions, even though the heat 
fhouid indicate its ufe, if this fenfibility 
of the furface to impreflions of cold were 
prefent. 
A cafe, however, extremely refembling 
that mentioned by Dr. Currie, in his 
eighth chapter, occurred in the year 1802 
to Mr. Dalrymple, of Norwich. The 
ufual remedies had been employed, and 
the patient grew obvioufly and rapidly 
worfe. As two inftances of fever had be- 
fore come under Mr. Dairymple’s care, 
and terminated fatally, in- which the con- 
comitant fymptoms were nearly fimilar to 
thofe in the prefent inftance, he determined 
to try the affufion of cold water, notwith- 
fianding the difcouragement which Dr. 
* Currie’s cale, related in the eighth chap- 
ter, prefented. ‘* I confidered the ufe of 
it (lays Mr. Dalrymple) in the light of a 
mere experiment, rendered juftifable by 
the probable failure of all other remedies, 
and by the fafety with which I knew from 
experience it might be made. ‘The refult 
was eminently fuccefsful, and Mr. Dal- 
rymple fent the particulars of this cafe, 
amply and very ciearly detailed, to Dr. 
Currie, who has inferted it 1n his work, 
and exprefled a hope that future experi- 
ence may eflablifh the fafety of ufing the 
cold affufions in fimilar fituations ; and 
that one of the refiritions which he had 
been induced to lay down, may be modi 
fied cr entirely removed. The eftablifh- 
ment of Mr. Dalrymple’s practice would 
make it unneceflary to attend to the fenia- 
tions of the patient, and the rules for 
ufing the affulion would be rendered more 
fimple and precife. We cannot detail 
this cafe ; but as Dr. Currie confiders it 
as a very important one, it may be well to 
notice fome few of its particulars. James 
Meney (aged fixteen) was feized on the 
gift of January, 1802, with a very violent 
and leng continued fhivering-fit, which 
oSt 
was quickly fucceeded by a greatly in~ 
creafed flate of histemperature. The or- 
dinary fymptoms and appearances of ty- 
phus followed, except that the heat of the 
patient, until the 6th of February, had 
been uniformly moderate and natural.— 
The tendernefs cf his furface, however, 
had become fo great, that, when the hand 
was pafled under the bed-clothes in order 
to afcertain the ftate of his pulfe, he 
{creamed diimally from a dread of the pain 
he expeéled to fuffer from the touch. On. 
the morning of the 6th, the thermometer, 
applied to the axilla, rofeto 104° ; the 
patient’s hearing had become {o exceed- 
ingly acute, that he was incommoded by 
noifes which were fcarcely perceived by 
others : his fight was alfo greatly quick- 
ened. ‘* He was fretful and retractory, 
talked fometimes calmly, at other times 
very wildly, was extremely reftlefs in his 
bed, anfwered fometimes . prematurely; 
conflantly with eagernefs, to fuch quef- 
tions concerning him as were afked ‘of the 
nurfe.”” 
Mr. Dalrymple gave him cold acida-. 
lous drinks, which he eagerly called for 
and lergely drank ; he ordered his body 
to be frequently fponged with a mixture 
of cold vinegar and water; but the pa- 
tient difliked this procefs, and conftantly 
oppofed it; for although ke was much 
difirefled by a fenfe of burning heat, he 
was fo appiehenfive of the effets of a 
cold air upon his fkin, that he was conti- 
nually colleGling the bed-clothes together 
and wrapping them clofe around him.— 
“ At eight o’cicck of the fame evening I 
repeated my vifit to him (‘ays Mr. Dal- 
rymple), and entering his room, I found 
him ficting up in his bed, talking and finge 
ing loudly and delirioufly ; he an{wered” 
rationally, however, to fome queftions 
that were put to him, complained heavily 
of his head, and of the aétion of the 
lighted candle upon his eyes ; his pulle 
was 120; his heat increafed to 108°; -his, ' 
fkin felt parched and dry, and the crufton 
his tongne was of a dark brown, hue.”— 
Under thefe circumftances Mr. Dalrymple 
determined to try the cold affufion, a re- 
medy which he. had been hitherto deter 
red from employing, from the moderate 
fate of his patient’s animal heats A 
pail-fuil of cold water was haftily poured. 
over hisnaked body. ‘* The thock (fays 
Mr. Dalrymp!e) was unexpected and: fe- 
vere : he ftaited from his feat as the wa- 
ter was falling upon him, and end:aveur- 
ed to make his efcape ; tut being re- 
ftrained, he wrurg his hards ard wept 
bitterly, and earneitly intreated he migne 
be 
