The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:4791] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Mr James Boswell / Regarding: Dr Samuel Johnson (Patient) / 10? March 1784 / (Outgoing)
Reply, for 'Dr Johnson'. Addressed to James Boswell. Cullen suspects Dr Johnson has 'not only water in his limbs but also in his breast' and is 'sorry to find there is so little in the power of Physic... to be done for him'. The day of the month is rather feint, but almost certainly the 10th. Cullen's original letter posted to Boswell is in the Boswell archive at The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 2 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 4791 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/16/195 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 10? March 1784 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Machine scribal copy |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply, for 'Dr Johnson'. Addressed to James Boswell. Cullen suspects Dr Johnson has 'not only water in his limbs but also in his breast' and is 'sorry to find there is so little in the power of Physic... to be done for him'. The day of the month is rather feint, but almost certainly the 10th. Cullen's original letter posted to Boswell is in the Boswell archive at The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:1686] |
Case of Dr Samuel Johnson who has asthma and dropsy. |
2 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:470] | Addressee | Mr James Boswell |
| [PERS ID:471] | Patient | Dr Samuel Johnson |
| [PERS ID:4336] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr Richard Brocklesby |
| [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 | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
| Destination of Letter | James' Court | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
| Mentioned / Other | England | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Dr Johnson
It would give me the greatest pleasure to be
of any service to a Man the Public properly esteem
and whom I esteem and respect so much as I do
Dr. Johnson. 1 I have considered the account of
his Case you have been pleased to honour me
with and I am sorry to find there is so little
in the power of Physic at least in my power
to be done for him. 2 At the age of 74 Asthma
and Dropsy are very insurmountable distem¬
pers. For the first I have found the most
useful remedies to be Blistering, issues and
especially gentle Vomits. How far he is fit
to bear the latter the Gentleman upon the
spot 3 must judge better than I can. I am
glad to observe that he is in the use of
[Page 2]
Laudanum as I believe it is the only means of rendering
his life tolerably easy. The Vinegar of Squills I judge
to be a medicine very well suited to both his Asthma
and Dropsy. I hope the coming in of mild weather
may be of service to him and if he is to live for
another winter he should certainly pass it in a
Climate much milder than that of England. 4 I
cannot help however telling you that I despair
of his having the opportunity for I suspect he
has not only water in his limbs but also in his
breast. 5 To Conclude I must tell you that the infor¬
mation is hardly enough to allow me to advise more
particularly and the general view of the Case gives me
no encouragement to attempt it so that it is only my
regard to Dr Johnson and my very particular regard
for your Commands that could have engaged me to say
any things on the subject. Believe me to be with great
respect and esteem
and most humble Servant
Notes:
1: Cullen had attended a dinner with Johnson, when the latter was visiting Edinburgh with Boswell on the evening of 16 August, 1773. Boswell reported that Cullen ‘talked, in a very entertaining manner, of people walking and conversing in their sleep’ (Frederick A. Pottle and Charles H. Bennet (eds) Boswell’s Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 1773 (Melbourne, London, Toronto: Heinemann, 1963), p. 7.
2: With a number of mutual acquaintances, Cullen could have also been informed of the seriousness of Johnson’s condition through other channels.
3: As Boswell had explained in the letter to which Cullen is responding, Johnson was under the care of the London physician and medical author, Dr. Richard Brocklesby (1722-1797).
4: In June 1774 Boswell approached Lord Chancellor Thurlow seeking to obtain a royal pension to support Johnson traveling to Italy but the plan never materialised.
5: As Cullen feared, Johnson did not survive the next winter, dying on 13 December 1784.
Diplomatic Text
Dr Johnson
It would give me the greatest pleasure to be
of any service to a Man the Public properly esteem
and whom I esteem and respect so much as I do
Dr. Johnson. 1 I have considered the account of
his Case you have been pleased to honour me
with and I am sorry to find there is so little
in the power of Physic at least in my power
to be done for him. 2 At the age of 74 Asthma
and Dropsy are very insurmountable distem¬
pers. For the first I have found the most
useful remedies to be Blistering, issues and
especially gentle Vomits. How far he is fit
to bear the latter the Gentleman upon the
spot 3 must judge better than I can. I am
glad to observe that he is in the use of
[Page 2]
Laudanum as I believe it is the only means of rendering
his life tolerably easy. The Vinegar of Squills I judge
to be a medicine very well suited to both his Asthma
and Dropsy. I hope the coming in of mild weather
may be of service to him and if he is to live for
another winter he should certainly pass it in a
Climate much milder than that of England. 4 I
cannot help however telling you that I despair
of his having the opportunity for I suspect he
has not only water in his limbs but also in his
breast. 5 To Conclude I must tell you that the infor¬
mation is hardly enough to allow me to advise more
particularly and the general view of the Case gives me
no encouragement to attempt it so that it is only my
regard to Dr Johnson and my very particular regard
for your Commands that could have engaged me to say
any things on the subject. Believe me to be with great
respect and esteem
and most humble Servant
Notes:
1: Cullen had attended a dinner with Johnson, when the latter was visiting Edinburgh with Boswell on the evening of 16 August, 1773. Boswell reported that Cullen ‘talked, in a very entertaining manner, of people walking and conversing in their sleep’ (Frederick A. Pottle and Charles H. Bennet (eds) Boswell’s Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 1773 (Melbourne, London, Toronto: Heinemann, 1963), p. 7.
2: With a number of mutual acquaintances, Cullen could have also been informed of the seriousness of Johnson’s condition through other channels.
3: As Boswell had explained in the letter to which Cullen is responding, Johnson was under the care of the London physician and medical author, Dr. Richard Brocklesby (1722-1797).
4: In June 1774 Boswell approached Lord Chancellor Thurlow seeking to obtain a royal pension to support Johnson traveling to Italy but the plan never materialised.
5: As Cullen feared, Johnson did not survive the next winter, dying on 13 December 1784.
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