The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1686] From: Dr Alexander Taylor (Sanders) / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Miss Margaret Neilson (Peggy) (Patient) / 9 June 1779 / (Incoming)
Letter from Alexander Taylor concerning Miss Peggie Nielson and how she has faired since her journey. Taylor reports on her pulse-rate, but he has lost his 'pulse measurer'.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 4 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
[Page 3]
[Page 4]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 1686 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/773 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 9 June 1779 |
| 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 Alexander Taylor concerning Miss Peggie Nielson and how she has faired since her journey. Taylor reports on her pulse-rate, but he has lost his 'pulse measurer'. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | Yes |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:1110] |
Case of Peggie Nielson who has a chest complaint and has now developed an inflamed and swollen face. |
2 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:207] | Author | Dr Alexander Taylor (Sanders) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:2092] | Patient | Miss Margaret Neilson (Peggy) |
| [PERS ID:207] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr Alexander Taylor (Sanders) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:206] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Mr Robert Neilson (Nielson, of Paisley) |
| [PERS ID:2668] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Mrs Jean Neilson (Nielson) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Paisley | Glasgow and West | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Mentioned / Other | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place of Handstamp | Paisley | Glasgow and West | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Mr. Nielson wrote
on Sunday last informing you how
Miss Peggie had stood her journey &
how she had past the first night after
it - That day her pulse instead of
quickening towards evening became
slower and beat as near as I could
guess (for I have lost my pulse measurer)
betwixt 80 and 90 in a minute; 1 and con¬
tinued in this moderate state till yester¬
day morning - in the mean time she her¬
self was tolerably east and her Cough
less frequent - but yesterday morning a
reddish spot on the side of her nose next the
Cheek which was (↑had been↑) launced and which had been
[Page 2]
first observed on Monday night, extending
itself, the Cheek and eye-lid and all that
side of the face became swelled, inflamed
and painful - her pulse increased pro¬
portionally in quickness and she became
thirsty and hot and in the evening very
drowsy - last night proved to be more
easy than I expected; and this morning
tho' her Cheek and eye-lid were greatly
swelled in so much as to close up her eye,
yet the redness was considerably less and
the quickness of pulse and heat of her
skin greatly abated - the swelling of the
eye-lid appears this afternoon likewise
to be going off and the pain has almost
entirely left her and her pulse is at pre¬
sent nearly as slow as before this last first (↑last↑) at¬
tack - the inflamed parts were at first
kept dusted with flower; but this has been
Changed to-day for a Pultice made of bread
[Page 3]
and a solution of sugar of lead (half a drachm of the
sugar to one pint of Water) - the discharge
from the sores has been thinner and more
in quantity than usual - her looseness
has been on the decrease ever since she
left Edinburgh and she has had ↑since sunday↑ seldom more
than one passage in the 24 hours -
her Cough still continues moderate but
she is much distressed with a tough
ropy mucus in her throat which occasions
hawking and sometimes brings on a
retching to Vomit -
Mrs. Nielson is very anxious {illeg}
the directions she expects from you -
she is afraid your letter may have mis¬
carried by some accident and she begs
you will be so good as let us have an
answer by return of Post.
I am Sir
your most humble Servant
[Page 4]
To
Dr. Cullen
Edinburgh
Mr Taylor Concerning Miss Neilson
June 9. 1779.
Notes:
1: It is unclear precisely what instrument is being indicated by the term "pulse measurer". At this date physicians and surgeons used hour-glasses or specially designed stop-watches to measure the pulse-rate, but a device called a pulse-glass was also starting to be employed. This consisted of a glass-tube containing water or alcohol with a bulb at one end which, when held by the patient, causes the liquid to jump slightly.
Diplomatic Text
Mr. Nielson wrote
on Sunday last informing you how
Miss Peggie had stood her journey &
how she had past the first night after
it - That day her pulse instead of
quickening towards evening became
slower and beat as near as I could
guess (for I have lost my pulse measurer)
betwixt 80 and 90 in a minute; 1 and con¬
tinued in this moderate state till yester¬
day morning - in the mean time she her¬
self was tolerably east and her Cough
less frequent - but yesterday morning a
reddish spot on the side of her nose next the
Cheek which was (↑had been↑) launced and which had been
[Page 2]
first observed on Monday night, extending
itself, the Cheek and eye-lid and all that
side of the face became swelled, inflamed
and painful - her pulse increased pro¬
portionally in quickness and she became
thirsty and hot and in the evening very
drowsy - last night proved to be more
easy than I expected; and this morning
tho' her Cheek and eye-lid were greatly
swelled in so much as to close up her eye,
yet the redness was considerably less and
the quickness of pulse and heat of her
skin greatly abated - the swelling of the
eye-lid appears this afternoon likewise
to be going off and the pain has almost
entirely left her and her pulse is at pre¬
sent nearly as slow as before this last first (↑last↑) at¬
tack - the inflamed parts were at first
kept dusted with flower; but this has been
Changed to-day for a Pultice made of bread
[Page 3]
and a solution of sugar of lead (Ʒſs of the
sugar to ℔j of Water) - the discharge
from the sores has been thinner and more
in quantity than usual - her looseness
has been on the decrease ever since she
left Edinr. and she has had ↑since sunday↑ seldom more
than one passage in the 24 hours -
her Cough still continues moderate but
she is much distressed with a tough
ropy mucus in her throat which occasions
hawking and sometimes brings on a
retching to Vomit -
Mrs. Nielson is very anxious {illeg}
the directions she expects from you -
she is afraid your letter may have mis¬
carried by some accident and she begs
you will be so good as let us have an
answer by return of Post.
I am Sir
your most humble Servt.
[Page 4]
To
Dr. Cullen
Edinr.
Mr Taylor C Miss Neilson
June 9. 1779.
Notes:
1: It is unclear precisely what instrument is being indicated by the term "pulse measurer". At this date physicians and surgeons used hour-glasses or specially designed stop-watches to measure the pulse-rate, but a device called a pulse-glass was also starting to be employed. This consisted of a glass-tube containing water or alcohol with a bulb at one end which, when held by the patient, causes the liquid to jump slightly.
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