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For Mr James Dalzell
Mr J. D. Dumfries

Your ailment is singular and seemingly very obstinate
but I shall endeavour to advise as well as I can I can not say posit¬
ively what has been the cause of your disorder but it is very
possible that the fumes of those [fluxes?] you was formerly
exposed to may have done you much harm ¹ and if so
I know nothing so promising as your strictly keeping to
a milk Diet for some length of time and this is not
improper upon any Supposition we can make with
regards to the state of your Bowels you indeed men

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tion milk as one of the things which raise your trouble
but I suspect you have never used it in the manner I am
to direct and therefore I would advise you to try it still as
as follows. You must always take the milk fresh from
the cow and must at the same time always put to it an
equal part of water gruel and sweeten the whole with
fine sugar. This mixture you are always to take instead
of plain milk and you may take along with it Bread or
any grain as rice Barley millet Sago salop or oatmeal
all of these except the bread or salop must be separately
boiled with water and when boiled put to your milk and
gruel. In this way you may continue what variety you
can but I would have you be confined to these matters alone
for some time to come avoiding all animal food and
all garden vegetables. You should never take much food
at one time but according to the old rule little and often.
You should take nothing very warm. rather everything
nearly cold your drink must be pure water or only
with a toast in it and I am perswaded that all wines
or malt liquors will do you harm. I expect that by
your countenance in this diet for some time your
ailment will greatly be releived perhaps cured

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and therefore I shall order very little medicine and
there is only two I could now propose. One is the
strengthening Tincture ordered below and of which
you may take twenty ot thirty drops in a gill of
Spring water three times a day. If the cold water
seems to hurt your bowels you may take the
cold air of it by adding a spoonfull or two of Boiling
water to the whole but you must by no means
make it very warm. The other medicine I mean
is a quieting or opiate Draught at night which
I think you cannot be without at present. I
leave Mr Young Dr Gordon or whom else you advise
with at Dumfries to adjust the Dose but ↑in↑ my
opinion it should be always a full one.

Along with this course what exercise you can
easily bear in a carriage will be of service to you.
I do not know you could be the better for any
mineral water. It is possible there are certain
circumstances in your ailments which might require
or be the better for mercury but I could not direct
that unless you were under my own eye