h she chearfully
agreed to. I accordingly sent her a pint mixture, made as under, of
the fresh leaves of the Digitalis. Three drams infused in one pint of
boiling water, when cold strained off, without pressing the leaves,
and two ounces of the strong juniper water added to it: of this
mixture she was ordered four table spoonfuls every third hour, till it
either made her sick, purged her, or had a sensible effect on the
kidneys. This mixture was sent on the seventeenth, and she began
taking it at noon on the eighteenth. At one o'clock the following
morning I was called up, and informed she was dying. I immediately
attended her, and was agreeably surprised to find their fright arose
from her having fainted, in consequence of the sudden loss of twelve
quarts of water she had made in about two hours. I immediately applied
a roller round her belly, and, as soon as they could be made, 2
others, which were carried from the toes quite up the thighs. The
relief afforded by these was immediate; but the medicine now began to
affect her stomach so much, that she kept nothing on it many minutes
together. I ordered her to drink freely of beef tea, which she did,
but kept it on her stomach but a very short time. A neutral draught in
a state of effervescence was taken to no good purpose: She therefore
continued the beef tea, and took no other medicine for five days,
when her sickness went off: her cough abated, but the pain in her side
still continuing, I applied a blister which had the desired effect:
her urine after the first day flowed naturally. Her cure was
compleated by the gum pills with steel and the bitter infusion. It
must be observed she never had any collection of water afterwards.

It affords me great pleasure to inform you that she is now living, and
has since had four children; all of whom, I think I may justly say,
are indebted to the Digitalis for their existence.

There appears in this case a striking proof of the utility of emetics
in some kinds of consumptions, as it appears to me the dropsy was
brought on by the cough, &c. and I believe these were cured by the
continual vomitings, occasioned by the medicine.

CASE II.

Mr. H----, a publican, aged about 48 years, sent for me in _March_,
1778. He complained of a cough, shortness of breathing, which
prevented him from laying down in bed; his belly, thighs and legs very
much distended with water; the quantity of urine made at a ti