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I understand by a
letter I received this day from Mr.
Gillies that an account of his Case
which I sent off for you, under cover to
him at Glasgow, has not reached you.
I have wrote to his father to foreward
it to you; but lest by some accident
it may have been lost I again send
you what I know of Mr. Gillies' Complaints

–––– It is a quarter of a year
since in the afternoon he found him¬
self in (↑affected with a↑) general heaviy (↑ness↑) and his head
confused and that night after having
supped and drunk 3 or 4 glasses of punch
he had a very severe faint or rather
a fit which lasted upwards of ten mi¬
nutes and had much the appearance of
being Epileptic for tho' he did not
foam at the mouth nor he d (↑made↑) any violent
motions with his hands or feet; yet his
face was very red and his neck swelled
and he writhed his head round to one

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side and I believe it came on with a sudde[n]
cry –– I saw him immediately after re¬
covering from it and found his pulse
quick and smart. He was blooded freely
next day and got a dose of salts and
was put upon a low Regimen and like¬
wise a day or two afterwards had a
pea placed in his arm which mattered
very freely at first but the discharge
has diminishd much for some time by
past –– About a month ago he complaine[d]
of the same heaviness and confusion he had
felt formerly and I intended at first
to have taken some blood from him, but
upon examination I found his pulse very
slow and weak and his skin cold, and
which led me to post-pone it; but in
a few days afterwards when at Portglasgow
he was attacked with another ↑faint↑ in every re¬
spect similar to the former –– It is ten
years since, after being exposed to a very
severe cold, an inflammatory eruption
appeared on his nose which has every
Winter since returned in very cold weather
and about two months ago such an eruption
came out upon his face and particularly upon

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one of his ears and had begun to disappear
a little before the last attack; and ↑this↑ gives me
some suspicion of acrimony perhaps a¬
rising from defective perspiration ––
Formerly a blister was proposed to be
applied to his head and a seton placed
in his neck and afterwards to have
his head bathed in cold water, but he
would not consent –– I am sorry I omitted
to take blood when he complained last
of heaviness and intend hereafter upon
such occasion to blood him freely if you
approve of it – Small bloodings frequently
repeated have been recommended to him
by Mr Mollison Surgeon in Portglasg[ow]
in the view of preventing Plethora but [I]
believe improperly ––

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Dr. William Cullen
Professor of Physic
Edinburgh