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Mr. Rudd

I am favoured with yours of the first current and
have very attentively considered the account that Mr.
Rudd has been pleased to give me of his case.

I am very well persuaded that the whole of his
ailments depend upon a disposition to Gout which a
sedentary life and full living, full at least with
respect to his exercise, have brought on and have
at the same time induced such a flaccidity of the
System and prevents the Gout's being thrown upon
the extremities with sufficient vigour.

To mend this it is absolutely necessary that Mr.
Rudd should take more exercise than he has done of
late. In his present situation walking cannot be
admitted and Riding is certainly the best exercise,
that could be employed but at this season it is
liable to be interrupted and he must therefore take
{illeg} all situations he must take

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great care to avoid cold, to use warm Cloathing
and particularly to keep his feet and legs always
warm and dry and it may also be of service to
have his feet and legs pretty well rubbed with
a flesh brush every morning.

Unless at I had seen his face at the time so[me]
yellowness appeared upon it I cannot judge whether
the bile was concerned in that or not but if it was
it must have been from an obstruction rather
than from any redundancy of it and in his pre¬
sent complaints I cannot find that the bile ha[s]
any concern in them.

In the paper inclosed I have prescribed a
medicine which I hope will favour the tendency
to Gout and at the same time fortify his digest[ion]
and prevent the pains of his bowels without
purging him but if it shall show any tendenc[y]
to this the dose of it may be lessened. By the
medicine proper exercise and proper diet I ho[pe]

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his constitution will be mended and all his com¬
plaints removed. With respect to the last I would
propose no nice choice of the quality of it except
that in general he should avoid whatever experience
has taught him to be in any degree heavy or heating
to him but I think it necessary to say something
with respect to the quantity. I believe his own
account very well that he is moderate in compa¬
rison of other men, but I know that such a
Constitution requires more moderation than is
necessary to many others. I am indeed of opinion
that every man who has a tolerable appetite
eats always more animal food than he should
is suitable to health and that those certainly
do so who take little exercise which I think
by his own account has been Mr. Rudds
Case. I would therefore earnestly recommend
to him to keep his stomach always light

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with respect to Animal food and hardly to take
any at all of it at supper. He observe that he is
sometimes troubled with indigestion but it will
depend upon himself to observe whether this
proceeds from one kind of food more than
another and certainly to mind what seems
more difficult to digest but I must observe
that I have found indigestion ↑often↑ proceeding from
the quantity rather than the particular qua¬
lity of food. With respect to Drink I believe
that Mr. Rudd is quite moderate and though
any excess would be pernicious I think people
of little exercise often take too little wine. I
think red wines are no ways necessary to him and
Claret would actually do harm. If the indiges¬
tion he mentions consists either in acidity or
flatulency the strong white wines are the
only fit ones for him and in some Cases the
spirits and water are ↑even↑ safer than these. These

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are the hints which occurr to me at present but
upon a trial of any medicine and especially of my
regimen any doubts or questions shall occurr
either to you or to Mr. Rudd I shall be most
willing and ready to mend this advice as well
as I can. With respectful Compliments and best
wishes to Mr. Rudd I am with great regard

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✍
For Mr. Rudd