The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1865] From: Mr Stephen Cleasby / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Mr Smith (of Barnard Castle) (Patient) / 6 June 1780 / (Incoming)
Letter from Stephen Cleasby concerning the case of Mr Smith who has been confined by a severe pain down one side which has retarded the improvement of a paralytic complaint for which Cullen had previously prescribed taking mustard seed.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 4 images for this document.
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[Page 2]
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Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 1865 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/944 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 6 June 1780 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Authorial original |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Letter from Stephen Cleasby concerning the case of Mr Smith who has been confined by a severe pain down one side which has retarded the improvement of a paralytic complaint for which Cullen had previously prescribed taking mustard seed. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | Yes |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:951] |
Case of Mr Smith, a surgeon at Barnard Castle, who has symptoms of palsy and dies of what might be kidney failure. |
9 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:516] | Author | Mr Stephen Cleasby |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:880] | Patient | Mr Smith (of Barnard Castle) |
| [PERS ID:516] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Mr Stephen Cleasby |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Barnard Castle | North-East | England | Europe | certain | |
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place of Handstamp | Barnard Castle | North-East | England | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
I am under a Necessity of again troubling you
relative to Mr. Smith, for whom I wrote to you about five
months ago. His Complaint was a Hemiplegia for
which you directed him to take Mustard Seed, & favored
us with other Hints, which we have carefully pursued.
We had your Concurrence in Regard to frequent small
Bleeding, he being of a plethoric Habit, had been
much accustomed thereto, the Blood having been
always sizy, often afflicted with Rheumatic Disorders
& inflamatory Fever. We have bled to ten times
in this Space of Time without any appearance of
Debility from it. The Paralytic Complaint has
been rather abating than otherwise, but Mr. Smith
has been now confined to his Room a Month, by
slight Fevers, which make an Attack, & abate for a
few Days or a Week, & in the intermediate Time an
excruciating Rheumatic Pain which flies from the
Hip down to the Foot of the sound Side, so as to
deprive him totally of Rest, without the Assistance of
Opiates & they have now less Effect from their frequent
Use, & we have not dared to advance to a larger
Dose than twenty five drops of Thebaic Tincture lest we shou'd
[Page 2]
retard the Progress of curing the original Disease:
For about a Week Mr. Smith had a Swelling, Inflamation
& Pain of the lame Ankle, which very much resembled
the Gout. When this abated the rheumatic Complaint
seized the sound Side as above related. Blisters have
been applied to different Parts as they were affected -
they were temporary Relief, but so short as hardly
to compensate for the Pain & Trouble. James's Powder
in small Doses, has often been taken & mostly some
Antimonial with the Opiate or Vinum Antimonii or Tartar emetic
We hope you will put us into a Plan of proceeding
to conquer this painful Disease, which prevents
his having the Benefit of the Season, which is now
growing favorable, & I believe were this done Mr. Smith
wou'd recover apace; for before he was afflicted in
this Way, he cou'd get about & visit his Friends
with Satisfaction. Being confined makes him weak
but the original Disease is not the least worse
but the contrary. He had declined taking the
Mustard before he was confined, as it lodged in the
Passages/ notwithstanding the Use of Laxatives of
Aloes & Soap/ & concreted into hard Lumps
which were obliged to be extracted, were difficult
to break & found to be nothing but the Seed &
[Page 3]
Mucus of the Intestines.
Mr. Smith has continued the Drain in the Paralytic
Side, has had one above the Knee & we have now
placed one above the Knee of the Rheumatic Side,
which has begun to discharge -- the others h[ave]
discharged very plentifully. We hope to h[ave]
the Pleasure of hearing from you soon, w{illeg}
will give us great Satisfaction. I a[m]
Mr. Smith presents his most respectful Compliments &
hopes to have the Pleasure of seeing you at
Edinburgh sometime this Summer.
[Page 4]
Doctor William Cullen
Edinburgh
Mr. Smith
Barnard Castle -
June 1780 &c.
V. XI. p. 27. -
Diplomatic Text
I am under a Necessity of again troubling you
relative to Mr. Smith, for whom I wrote to you about five
months ago. His Complaint was a Hemiplegia for
which you directed him to take Mustard Seed, & favored
us with other Hints, which we have carefully pursued.
We had your Concurrence in Regard to frequent small
Bleeding, he being of a plethoric Habit, had been
much accustomed thereto, the Blood having been
always sizy, often afflicted with Rheumatic Disorders
& inflamatory Fever. We have bled to ten times
in this Space of Time without any appearance of
Debility from it. The Paralytic Complaint has
been rather abating than otherwise, but Mr. Smith
has been now confined to his Room a Month, by
slight Fevers, which make an Attack, & abate for a
few Days or a Week, & in the intermediate Time an
excruciating Rheumatic Pain which flies from the
Hip down to the Foot of the sound Side, so as to
deprive him totally of Rest, without the Assistance of
Opiates & they have now less Effect from their frequent
Use, & we have not dared to advance to a larger
Dose than gtt. xxv Tinct:thebaic lest we shou'd
[Page 2]
retard the Progress of curing the original Disease:
For about a Week Mr. Smith had a Swelling, Inflamation
& Pain of the lame Ankle, which very much resembled
the Gout. When this abated the rheumatic Complaint
seized the sound Side as above related. Blisters have
been applied to different Parts as they were affected -
they were temporary Relief, but so short as hardly
to compensate for the Pain & Trouble. James's Powder
in small Doses, has often been taken & mostly some
Antimonial with the Opiate or Vin: Antim: vel Tart: emet:
We hope you will put us into a Plan of proceeding
to conquer this painful Disease, which prevents
his having the Benefit of the Season, which is now
growing favorable, & I believe were this done Mr. Smith
wou'd recover apace; for before he was afflicted in
this Way, he cou'd get about & visit his Friends
with Satisfaction. Being confined makes him weak
but the original Disease is not the least worse
but the contrary. He had declined taking the
Mustard before he was confined, as it lodged in the
Passages/ notwithstanding the Use of Laxatives of
Aloes & Soap/ & concreted into hard Lumps
which were obliged to be extracted, were difficult
to break & found to be nothing but the Seed &
[Page 3]
Mucus of the Intestines.
Mr. Smith has continued the Drain in the Paralytic
Side, has had one above the Knee & we have now
placed one above the Knee of the Rheumatic Side,
which has begun to discharge -- the others h[ave]
discharged very plentifully. We hope to h[ave]
the Pleasure of hearing from you soon, w{illeg}
will give us great Satisfaction. I a[m]
Mr. Smith presents his most respectful Compts. &
hopes to have the Pleasure of seeing you at
Edinburgh sometime this Summer.
[Page 4]
Doctor William Cullen
Edinburgh
Mr. Smith
Barnard Castle -
June 1780 &c.
V. XI. p. 27. -
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