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Presuming upon the many acts of civility
& politeness I received at your hands when at the Colledge of Edinburgh,
I take the liberty of addressing myself to you concerning the
indisposition of the bearer of this, Capt Campbell, who informs me
that he was lately for some time a Patient of yours & Doctor Black's.
Notwithstanding I have for some time quitted the Practise of Physick,
except in the circle of a few particular friends, I could not resist
the desire I had of being serviceable to so worthy a young man, as I
imagind from the almost uninterrupted success I had met with in treating
disorders similar to his that I should be able to remove his present
complaints. If in my treatment of & the regimen I have prescrib'd
to him I should appear to have differd in opinion from you & Doctor
Black I hope you will both do me the justice to beleive that it
doth not proceed from the least disesteem of your abilities, for
which I have the highest veneration, but from a conviction of
his complaints having originated in this climate & of their
requiring a mode of treatment peculiar thereto. With gratitude
I acknowledge the benefit I receivd from the precepts deliverd to me

at the University of Edinburgh by yourself & the other Professors of
Physick there, as it is to them I attribute that share of conscientious
as well as public applause which it has pleasd God to bless me with
since my first settlement in this my native Island. Actuated by
such sentiments I hope the motives of my conduct to & treatment
of Capt Campbell will be favorable interpreted by you. ----

The Captains complaints appear to me to have originated
certainly ↑principally↑ from the intense heats of this Climate, relaxing the System
& promoting a superabundant secretion of Bile. His Stomach as
a part of the System has been not only generally weakend by
the Original cause, but particularly so in process of the disease
by the very frequent vomitings excited by the regurgitation of the
a superfluous quantity of Bile into it & by the very imprudent
use he formerly made of frequent & strong emetics to remove it
thence. That some of this superfluous Bile has been absorb'd into
the blood is manifest from the very yellow colour of his Skin &
that a dissolution of the latter has been a consequence thereof is
apparent from his pallid hue. The Bile within & Atonia of his
Stomach have occasiond besides Acidity, Heartburn, Flatulency,
Indigestion, Nausea & Vomiting ------

To restore the Tone of his Stomach is what I principally

aim at, from a conviction that by effecting it I shall remove the most
if not all ↑of↑his complaints. The undue secretion of the Bile will, after
his strength be restord, I imagine cease from an alteration of Climate.
To restore the Tone of his Stomach my principal dependance is
upon Chalybeates, & of these I give the preference to the Prepar'd
Rust of Steel. I have therefore directed him to take it in such quanti¬
ties as will I suppose surprize you, i.e. to begin with a drachm
to a dose & to increase it ad libitum ¹ untill it may occasion a
severe pain of the Stomach or a disagreeable heat. This dose I have
directed him to repeat five or six times a day. Strange as it may
appear to you I can with truth assure you that I have taken myself
& given to others six drachms of it at a dose & have repeated it
frequently with the happiest of effects. Of all the medicines of our
Shops I know of none to be compar'd with it in combatting the
relaxation & debility occasiond by the heat of this Climate. I have
also with the same intention prescribd for him a wine glassfull
of Huxhams Tincture of the Bark mixd with a few drops of Elixir
of Vitriol twice aday. I have directed him to follow the Regimen
prescribd by you for his diet, with the addition only of his
drinking in common a mixture of Spaw Water & Old Hock

But as, untill the Tone of the Stomach may be restor'd, the Bile
may prove troublesome by forcing it to reject what may be taken

into it either as Medicine or food, I have directed him to take every
morning a pint of Whey made by the union of powderd Cream of
Tartar with boiling Milk, which I conceive proves serviceable in two
ways, Vizt: ² first by carrying off by Stool a great part of the Bile
& secondly by destroying the noxious qualities of the remainder
in consequence of a Tertium quid being found by their union
as in that of an Acid & Alkaly. How far this my conception
of its action may be just I leave you to determine, but this
I must beg leave to observe that I have even found in Bilious cases
the happiest effects resulting from the use of Acid purges in
preference to those of any others, & therefore I am inclined to assign
the above as the most probable reason for it. In Bilious cases
not attended with immediate danger I always prefer the carrying
off the Bile by Stool, as I have in such cases even found the
frequent use of Emetics more hurtfull than beneficial ---
I have also recommended to our patient the use of the Cold Bath
which with the air of Europe added to the use of the Steel & Bark
will I flatter myself effect a radical cure of his complaints.

If your leisure will permit you to favor me with a few lines
by Capt Campbell's return I shall think myself much honor'd

by it, & in that case shall expect that you will give me
your candid thoughts of what I have written, & will do me
the favor to set my opinions right where you may think
they have err'd ---

I hope that you have enjoyd since my departure from
the University as much Conjugal & Parental felicity as you
deservedly have Public Applause, & that you & every branch
of your amicable family continues to enjoy as great a portion
of bliss as falls to the lot of humanity ---

To
Doctor William Cullen
Professor of Physick in the
University of
Edinburgh
For favor of
Capt

Dr B. Clifton q.
Captn: Campbell
May 1775.