THE POOR MAN's MEDICINE CHEST; OR, THOMPSON's Box of Antibilious Alterative Pills.
WITH A FEW BRIEF REMARKS ON THE STOMACH; CLEARLY DEMONSTRATING HOW MUCH HEALTH DE⯑PENDS UPON PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT VEN⯑TRICLE IN PARTICULAR, AND THE BOWELS IN GENERAL.
The mind that is conſcious in rectitude fears no aſſailant! Mens ſibi conſcia recti
BY JOHN-WEEKS THOMPSON, SURGEON, MAN-MIDWIFE, &c.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR; And Sold by J. and J. TAYLOR, at the Architectural Library, No 56, HIGH HOLBORN.
M.DCC.XCI.
[PRICE ONE SHILLING.]
THE very ſlight perſonal knowledge which I have of your Lordſhip could not have juſtified me in the liberty I take in prefixing to this moſt humble little work your Lordſhip's name, had I not been well informed, by gentlemen of the higheſt integrity and honour, [vi]who are perfectly acquainted with your Lordſhip, of your uncommon philan⯑thropy and goodneſs of heart—General report, my Lord, has indeed ſaid ſuf⯑ficient in your praiſe to entitle you to the world's approbation — But when theſe were ſigned, ſealed, and delivered to me, by the very reſpectable charac⯑ters before mentioned, it became a moſt complete ratification of your ineſtima⯑ble worth.
It is not, then, my Lord, to your rank in life that I wiſh here to pay my reſpects, but to thoſe virtues which adorn your mind, giving to nobility that true and unſading luſtre which can alone render it complete, and which have ſo eminently diſtinguiſhed your [vii]Lordſhip as the hero in the field, the real and independent patriot in the ſe⯑nate, in private life the friend to merit, and inceſſant benefactor to the poor!
It is theſe, and theſe alone, my Lord, that I admire — and had they been placed in any other well-formed boſom of inferior rank in life to your Lordſhip I ſhould equally have paid my tribute to them, "The widow's mite;" con⯑vinced that the offering, however ſmall, that breathes good will towards man⯑kind cannot fail of being acceptable to one of your Lordſhip's exalted charac⯑ter: and if in the ſubſequent pages I ſhould be ſo happy as to have given any hints that prove of ſervice to my fellow citizens, &c., and be found worthy of [viii]your Lordſhip's approbation, it will be of no little ſatisfaction to a perſon who has the honour to ſubſcribe himſelf,
THE title of this pamphlet required that it ſhould be written in the plaineſt and moſt ſimple language, which I have endeavoured to do by avoiding as much as poſſible all technical words, a few excepted, (and thoſe by no means eſſential to many whether they underſtand them or not, as they cannot be embarraſſed for want of knowing them in the uſe of the pills, the directions for which are clear and intelligible to the loweſt capacity) but what may be found in an Engliſh dictionary, to which ſuch as read can have recourſe, and they who are ſo unfortunate as not to be able will re⯑ceive information from thoſe that can, which I am certain every truly generous mind will be happy to give them. For the preceding reaſons the Author truſts that ſuch recapitulations as the judicious [2]reader meets with in the courſe of this work will be excuſed, his wiſh being to render every thing reſpecting the medicine it treats of, &c., as plain and eaſy as poſſible to the common reader.
The Antibilious Alterative Pills is a moſt in⯑comparable remedy for all indiſpoſitions of the ſtomach and bowels ariſing from bile, foulneſs, in⯑digeſtion, worms, acidity, ardor ventriculi, (or heartburn, ſo called) predigeſtion, flatulency, (that many headed monſter), coſtiveneſs, &c., &c., which laſt often produces ſeveral of the foregoing, as well as many other, complaints, owing to the feces or excrement becoming highly putrid from too long retention in the body, thereby forming a nidus, or neſt of prediſpoſing putrefaction, which meeting with ma⯑lignant exhalations in the air, or thoſe ariſing from infected perſons or places, &c., &c., &c., the moſt dreadful fevers, agues, inflammatory diſorders of various kinds, ſcurvy, eryſipelas or St. Anthony's fire, rheumatiſm, leproſy, jaundice, cruptive com⯑plaints, and numberleſs others, are occaſioned: hence ariſes the neceſſity of paying the moſt reli⯑gious attention to the firſt paſſages of the body, which the able and judicious phyſician never fails to make the firſt object of his conſideration. The ſtomach is the grand reſervoir which receives and prepares whatever is to ſupport and nouriſh the whole machine, conſequently if that is out of re⯑pair, or diſeaſed from any of the before-mentioned cauſes, or others, whatever is taken into ſuch a [3]ſtomach muſt aſſuredly fail, more or leſs, of pro⯑ducing the natural and intended effect, and, inſtead of properly nouriſhing the body, ſends periodically into the circulation—ſince blood is made from what we eat and drink—a portion of diſeaſed matter, which, congregating by degrees, muſt inevitably occaſion various diſorders in the ſyſtem; and although the efforts of nature to relieve herſelf from the variety of attacks made upon her are often great and won⯑derful, (and always ſhould be attended to) yet without the aſſiſtance of art, ſeaſonably and pro⯑perly adminiſtered, ſhe frequently finks under the burden. The ſame All-good Being that provided remedies for the brute part of the creation, made them alſo for man; the former are directed by in⯑ſtinct to theirs, the latter ſhould have recourſe to reaſon and experience.
Thoſe Pills, then, which, in conſcious rectitude, I now venture to offer to the Public, are the atten⯑tive reſult of thirty years extenſive practice in va⯑rious parts of the world, (upwards of twenty of which I paſſed in His Majeſty's ſervice, in the army); the officers and ſoldiers of which, (to whom I have the honour to be known) and whom I beg leave, in this humble, little pamphlet, to invoke, will, I doubt not, do me the juſtice to ſpeak as, I preſume to think, my conduct and character merit, that of being indefatigable, attentive, and candid, in my profeſſion, and ſucceſsful in my practice: I have the ſame expectations from thoſe amongſt [4]whom I have now practiſed above ten years in this capital.
I am, however, well aware that this addreſs (and the object of it) is likely to ſubject me to the ſar⯑caſtical ſneers of ſome of the wonderful geniuſes of the faculty, many of whom owe, however, perhaps their moſt exalted fame to the ſecret uſe of Dr. James's powder, and other medicines of that de⯑ſcription. There are beſides, I make no doubt, ſome other thruſts I muſt be prepared to parry from thoſe uninformed, contracted minds, who term every medicine, the conſtituent parts of which the proprietor keeps in ſecret, a quack medicine, and re⯑fuſe to take it on that account; at the ſame time ſwallow abundantly the preſcriptions of the apothe⯑cary and phyſician, of which they have juſt as much knowledge as of the ingredients that compoſe my pills. But to ſuch I ſhall only obſerve, that they are totally ignorant of the true meaning of the word quack, that epithet being only applicable to illite⯑rate pretenders, not properly bred to the profeſſion, and unacquainted with its practice; otherwiſe it muſt neceſſarily follow that every man, of whatever art, ſcience, or profeſſion, who improves an old, or in⯑vents any new thing, becauſe he will not divulge the ſecret, becomes indiſputably a quack; conſe⯑quently there muſt be quack lawyers and preachers, who profit well by keeping mankind in ſecret dark⯑neſs; quack painters, coblers, tinkers, and taylors; and it may not be unfair to add, quack phyſicians of [5]State, who, notwithſtanding their feeling regard for His Majeſty's loyal ſubjects, will not bluſh to crib a ſhilling's worth of pills out of The poor Man's Me⯑dicine Cheſt (ſtamp duty) to adminiſter to the hectic conſtitution of the State, and relieve the canine ap⯑petite of minions, placemen and penſioners. Here ſtop for a moment, Humanity! and reflect upon what the ſenſations of that man's heart muſt be who firſt ſuggeſted this benevolent tax, extorted from the painful afflictions and miſeries of the ſick, particularly the lower orders of ſociety, who are frequently obliged to ſeek relief from what are termed quack medicines, after perhaps having ſpent nearly their little all in vain endeavours to obtain it from the moſt eminent gentlemen of the faculty.—A noſtrum they may term my medicine, if they pleaſe, for ſuch it is, (and of which moſt of the faculty have to boaſt a few); but which I ſhall be ready to make known to the Public for a proper gratuity, whenever it ſhall be found to anſwer, as I am confident it will do, to all ſuch as give it a fair and impartial trial.
I ſhould not have preſumed to take up ſo much of the reader's time as I have done in this addreſs, or have appeared ſo much my own panegyriſt, as moſt probably I ſhall be thought, but with a view to re⯑move as much as poſſible the prejudices which ge⯑nerally (and ſometimes juſtly) attend on addreſſes of this ſort, particularly when unſanctioned by a voluminous publication entered at Stationers' Hall —a mode quite in faſhion with modern practitioners, [6]who begin their career that way to attract public notice; in works of which deſcription the preſs al⯑ready teems with too many in the medical line, the mere offspring of lectures, and ſtuffed with the wri⯑ter's own and borrowed hypotheſes, uneſtabliſhed and inadmiſſible in practice, ſerving only to bewilder and lead the Public into fatal errors.
Hippocrates ſays the deſcription of the cauſes and treatment of diſeaſes ſhould not be the ſuppoſitions of ingenious men, (for all hypotheſes, ſays that learned father of the faculty, I reject as uſeleſs, nay dangerous, in phyſic) but from certain means often tried on human bodies, the effects of which bear evident proof to our ſenſes, all our reaſonings ſhould be drawn; not but I ever wiſh to ſee in print the well-digeſted ſentiments of able and experienced men of the profeſſion: it is their duty to give them, and the world are indebted to them for ſuch—ſuch as will ſtand the teſt and command the ſanction of the critical reviewer without fear, partiality, or bribe.
In ſhort, in my private opinion, the ſtudy of phyſic is by no means ſo difficult, or involved in ſuch labyrinths, as many writers would make the world believe. A proper knowledge of the human ſyſtem, with ſtrict attention to the efforts and ope⯑rations of nature, joined to a quick perceptibility on the part of the practitioner to watch and catch the critical period when ſhe can't relieve herſelf, and [7]then to aſſiſt her cautiouſly by the proper and expe⯑rienced uſe of ſuch aid as Providence has provided for that purpoſe, is the only taſk of a phyſician.
Having now ſaid as much as I think is neceſſary to offer (in this place) to a diſcerning Public in be⯑half of my Box of Pills, &c., I ſhall proceed to give as clear and conciſe directions as poſſible for their uſe in the complaints already mentioned, and ſome others, making ſome farther remarks as I go along.
For a grown perſon, a common doſe of theſe pills is three, one to be taken going to bed, and two the next morning. Strong conſtitutions may take two night and morning, and ſome have taken three night and morning; but in general one at night and two in the morning is ſufficient, and many require only one night and morning.
A child of one year old may take a third part of one of the pills; from three years to five, half a pill, and from five to ten a whole pill; and ſo on in proportion to age and ſtrength. As it may be diffi⯑cult to make children ſwallow a pill, it may be diſ⯑ſolved in any ſimple liquid, or mixed with a little pap or currant jelly.
[8]My reaſon for preferring part of the doſe to be taken over night is, that, by gradually diſſolving whilſt the body is at reſt, it mixes more readily with the offending matter in the ſtomach, &c., thereby exciting it into action, renders the remain⯑ing part of the doſe more effectual and ſpeedy in its operation in the morning.
As theſe pills are a declared enemy to bile, when⯑ever that is in the ſtomach they never fail to vomit, and ſometimes one pill in the courſe of the night will operate both ways; not owing to the violence or ſtrength of the medicine, as ſome may be in⯑duced to think, but from the great ſoulneſs and plenitude of the ſtomach and bowels at the time be⯑ing overloaded with bilious filth or too-long-retained feces — a ſelf-evident poſition which muſt appear clear to every intelligent capacity — therefore ſhould the night pill only operate by vomit, the patient muſt not be deterred from taking more in the morn⯑ing; for after the ſtomach has been well cleanſed of its contents, two or three more pills will only occa⯑ſion as many ſtools without any farther ſickneſs. If after the firſt doſe any part of the cauſe which in⯑duced taking them ſhould appear to remain, they may be taken daily, or every other day, until all the offending matter is carried off.
During their operation it will be proper to drink a draught of gruel, beef or chamomile tea, or ſome ſuch ſimple liquid, to ſacilitate each operation, and [9]render it more effectual, which the patient will do well to have in readineſs previous to taking the pills.
This efficacious medicine, though ſometimes ſo briſk in operating, is notwithſtanding, I do aver, as innocent and as ſafe as a doſe of ſalts, rhubarb, or a common emetic, and may be taken at all times and ſeaſons with as little riſk or danger, as they will always find their way out of the body by vomit, ſtool, or urine, and quietly by the latter, unleſs when they meet with ſuch humours in their paſſage as required being carried off by the other outlets.
The advantages, then, ariſing from theſe pills, according to this unvarniſhed account, muſt be many, and great.
Hence it will appear that theſe pills are not only an effectual cleanſer of the ſtomach and bowels, but alſo a moſt POWERFUL ALTERATIVE.
To which end, after having properly prepared the body by two or three common doſes, taken in the ſpace of a week or ten days, the patient ſhould then enter on the alterative courſe, firſt by taking one pill at night for four or five nights ſucceſſively, after⯑wards take one night and morning; continuing theſe as long as any part of the cauſe or effect which induced taking them appears to remain; and it will not be amiſs to continue them ſome little time longer, (for it ſometimes happens that cauſes re⯑main after effects vaniſh; and frequently it happens, as, for inſtance, in the ſmall pox, that effects, ſuch as a redneſs of the ſkin, &c., remain for ſome time after the cauſe is removed) obſerving to in⯑creaſe the night or morning doſe occaſionally to keep the body gently open. It having been already re⯑marked, [11]that after the ſtomach has been well cleanſed they ceaſe to act as an emetic; for as the bodies of ſome are conſtitutionally coſtive, it may become neceſſary in ſuch habits to increaſe the doſe as juſt mentioned, yet, in general, a pill night and morn⯑ing not only relieves the moſt coſtive habits, but one will prove ſufficient in moſt conſtitutions for that purpoſe. Here it may not be improper to remark, that coſtive habits are more ſubject than others to offenſive and fetid breath, (particularly children whoſe powers of digeſtion are by no means equal to the too great quantity of ſtrong and improper food they commonly take in); which idea perhaps may be one motive why the French have ſuch frequent recourſe to lavement, or clyſter. I ſay it has been already obſerved that our blood is made from what we take into the ſtomach, from whence is prepared that milky liquid called chyle, which forms the baſis of the blood, the whole proceſs of which is per⯑formed within the ſpace of twenty-four hours; after which period the feces or excrement can anſwer no good purpoſe by remaining in the body, ſince all their nutritive and eſſential parts (good or bad, which depends upon the nature of the food ſo taken in and ſtate of the ſtomach) has been extracted for the above purpoſe. Now as the feces in the moſt healthy conſtitutions are rendered highly offenſive when diſcharged at the end, or in the courſe of that time, how much more putrid muſt they inevitably become if retained for days or weeks, as is very [12]often the caſe in relaxed and weak habits, more eſpecially ſuch as lead ſedentary and inactive lives!
During the alterative courſe it will be highly ne⯑ceſſary for the patient to obſerve ſuch mode in diet as is calculated to aid and aſſiſt the intention of the medicine, by avoiding all ſalted, high-ſeaſoned, and inflammatory food; yet notwithſtanding to partake of ſuch proper innocent and nouriſhing food as is ſufficient to keep up the bodily ſtrength and pro⯑duce good juices; for my wiſh is not to reduce the patient's ſtrength, only to conquer the diſeaſe, and by ſupporting the conſtitution properly they will be the better enabled to obtain that end. But as it is impoſſible to give a bill of fare ſuitable to every conſtitution, palate, and ſituation in life, ſuffice it, therefore, to ſay, that the food ſhould be ſimple, eaſy of digeſtion, nutritive, plain dreſſed, and mo⯑derately taken; that is, not to load the ſtomach with too much at one time, but rather to eat as in⯑ſtinctive animals do in a ſtate of nature, little and often—a hint from thence is no bad precedent, for nature will ever be found to exceed the beſt philoſo⯑phical reaſonings of art.
After what has been already ſaid, I think it al⯑moſt unneceſſary to add, that ſuch as are accuſtomed to take phyſic in the ſpring and autumn will find this the beſt they can have recourſe to. Indeed no perſon, however healthy, would be the worſe for employing this friendly ſcavenger once or twice a [13]month; and all ſuch who are ſo unfortunate as to labour under a very faſhionable diſeaſe will find theſe pills a moſt certain remedy, (taken agreeable to the alterative courſe juſt laid down), without having their bodies loaded, like a barometer, with mercury, owing to the too liberal uſe of which, in the preſent practice, many unſortunate beings (though cured of that diſeaſe) are left a wreck, ſubject, like the ma⯑thematical inſtrument, to every viciſſitude of wea⯑ther, to trail out a miſerable exiſtence.
Women alſo at the turn of life would do well to pay ſtrict attention to this medicine, being in every reſpect calculated to carry off the humours which nature often, embarraſſed with at that critical pe⯑riod, throws on the legs and other parts of the body, rendering the remainder of their days painful, and often burdenſome.
And even women with child need not be afraid to take theſe pills (becauſe they ſometimes vomit) to remove that coſtiveneſs they are commonly ſubject to in that ſituation. Since vomiting is a natural at⯑tendant upon pregnant women, (and ſometimes vio⯑lently ſo) particularly in their firſt pregnancy, which the wiſdom of Providence has ſo ordered, no doubt, for the beſt of ends; and if any danger was likely to enſue from that operation, we might ſurely ex⯑pect it at that time, when all the bowels are more than ordinarily compreſſed from the extenſion of the uterus and weight of the foetus; yet who ever [14]heard of any ſuch women being injured by vo⯑miting?
In the courſe of my practice I never met with any inſtance of the kind; on the contrary, I always found it relieved, and made them more cheerful and eaſy. Again, how frequently do people at ſea go through that operation ſeveral times a day for weeks together without any bad conſequences from the operation itſelf? And even hectic people, and others who have been to all appearance at the laſt gaſp, and given over by their phyſician, by making a ſea voyage have been effectually relieved by that operation, and returned home, to the aſtoniſhment of all that knew them, perfectly ſound and hearty; and yet notwithſtanding all theſe evident proofs be⯑fore their eyes, moſt people are terriſied at taking an emetic.
As the greateſt inconveniency which attends this operation (particularly in coſtive habits) ariſes from wind pent up in the bowels, which ſometimes occa⯑ſion griping pains therein during the action of an emetic; that might in a great meaſure, if not alto⯑gether, be prevented by adminiſtering the following or ſome ſuch clyſter previous to taking any thing of the emetic kind, viz. Take about half a pint of gruel or broth of any kind, a table ſpoonful of common ſalt, three large ſpoonſuls of vinegar, and as much of oil, mixed, makes one for a grown per⯑ſon. In ſhort, wind being, from that neceſſary de⯑licacy [15]obſerved in ſociety, often kept back when nature is diſpoſed to diſcharge it, lays the foundation of innumerable tormenting complaints; the wind ſo reſtrained I have frequently, when ſitting in com⯑pany, heard rumbling for a conſiderable time in the bowels of a perſon ſeveral ſeats from me. And once travelling in a ſtage coach, (from Stamford to Lon⯑don) a poor woman therein, from a circumſtance of this ſort, was greatly embarraſſed and put to the bluſh from the tittering of two unfeeling young men (farmers to appearance) fellow travellers: ſhe ſoon after grew pale, and was about to faint when I ſtopped the coach, and got her out in the air; upon which ſhe fell into a ſtrong hyſteric fit, that held above half an hour, in the courſe of which ſhe ex⯑pelled an immenſe deal of wind both upwards, &c., which contributed to her recovery. I mention this juſt to prove how little a matter will put the boaſted human machine out of ſorts, and to reprobate the unfeeling conduct of ſuch as can enjoy a laugh at the painful misfortunes of their fellow creatures, particularly of that ſex who command our moſt hu⯑mane and affectionate attention, being, from the pe⯑culiar reſtraint their modeſty lays them under, liable to many inconveniences which men are not.
In the year 1770 the following extraordinary caſe occurred at Mahon, in the iſland of Minorca: — William Kearns, a ſoldier of the Old Buffs, was ſitting on a ſtone ſeat by the guard-room door, be⯑tween the hours of nine and ten at night, with ſe⯑veral [16]others of the guard. His comrade, on paſſing by him to the guard room, in play, put himſelf in a boxing attitude, ſaying, ‘"Have at you, Kearns; I can lick you now."’ Upon which Kearns threw his head back ſuddenly againſt the wall, the diſ⯑tance about ſix inches, which made him call out, ſeemingly dipleaſed, ‘"Damn you, meſſmate, that's no joke—I believe you have made me break my ſconce."’ Then taking off his hat, he rubbed the back of his head with his hand, ſaying, ‘"I will be up with you for this."’ The other ran laughing into the guard room.—Kearns continued afterwards above half an hour ſitting at the door, talking as uſual to the other men, without appearing the leaſt indiſpoſed, or ſaying any thing more about his head. He then went in and laid down on the guard bed. At twelve o'clock, being to go ſentinel, and not turning out with the relief, the corporal, thinking he was aſleep, went in to rouſe him, and ſound him lying on his ſide foaming at the mouth, ſpeechleſs, and his eyes wide open. The corporal then called to ſome of the men to come and ſee him, and they tried to raiſe him up; upon which he fetched a deep groan and expired. One of the men ran to Mr. Duffy, ſurgeon to the 67th regiment, who lived almoſt oppoſite the guard houſe, and another to me, about half a mile diſtant. Mr. Duffy went to him immediately, and opened the temple artery; but it was too late—he was dead. Upon my arrival ſoon after I learnt the preceding account. We then out off his hair, and carefully examined the head [17]and every part, but could not perceive the ſmalleſt external injury whatſoever, except a very ſlight ex⯑travaſation of blood behind the left ear, the ſide he lay on the guard bed. About one o'clock that day I opened the head of the deceaſed in preſence of Dr. Monro, phyſician to the garriſon, Mr. Duffy, and anoher ſurgeon; when we found about two ounces (not more) of coagulated blood on the right anterior hemiſphere of the brain, which appeared to have iſſued from a veſſel of the dura mater; every other part of the membranes, brain, ventri⯑cles, &c., &c., were in as ſound and perfect a ſtate as poſſible; the head was uncommonly full of brain, and the ſcull remarkably thin, and in many places quite diaphanous.
Dr. Monro immediately waited on General John⯑ſton, the Governor of the Iſland, to report his own and our opinion of this caſe; and Mr. Duffy and I proceeded to open the body, not in expectation of finding any thing farther relative to the cauſe of this man's death, but from a cuſtom I always followed of opening the body of every ſoldier that died. Upon raiſing the breaſt bone a very uncommon fulneſs ap⯑peared on the left ſide about the heart, and on divi⯑ding the pericardium a great quantity of very fetid wind iſſued forth, and about four table ſpoonfuls of clear lymph. The heart of this man (who was a very ſtout, well-made ſoldier, thirty-two years of age, and about five feet eight inches high) was un⯑commonly ſmall indeed, (weighing only fifteen [18]ounces five drams Troy) and looked as if it had been parboiled. The lungs, liver, ſtomach, and all the other entrails, were in as ſound and perfect a ſtate as poſſible, and in every other reſpect formed as much for longevity as any I ever ſaw in my life. I have been the more particular in ſtating all the circumſtances of this caſe from the ſuppoſed cauſe of his death, and the very extraordinary contents of the pericardium and ſtate of the heart, leaving the deci⯑ſion of the real cauſe of this man's death to thoſe whoſe ſuperior ſkill and microſcopic diſcernment may enable them to give a better ſolution to it than I chuſe to riſk my opinion in giving; at the ſame time to ſhew that windy complaints are (what I have al⯑ready ſaid of them) numerous, wonderful, and often puzzling, and therefore how neceſſary it is that all dead bodies ſhould be opened for information ſake, ſince the dead cannot be injured, and the living may benefit by it.—This caſe I have ſingled out from ſeveral others which I have in my poſſeſſion relative to windy tumours diſcovered by diſſection. I beg leave to add, that this man had once or twice been troubled with a ſlight aſthmatic complaint; but in every other reſpect was as healthy, to all appearance, as any ſoldier in the regiment.
To return again to the ſubject of emetics.
Some time ago I was called to a gentleman, a very free liver, and an extraordinary hard drinker, who I make no doubt had a hundred times in his life vomited moſt ſeverely from inebriety, infinitely [19]more ſo than he would have done from any common emetic given by the faculty; notwithſtanding which, upon my propoſing a vomit for him, which his ſituation abſolutely required, he immediately held up his hands, begging for God's ſake he might not take an emetic; that he was too weak; that it would ſtrain him to pieces and kill him. He, however, got an emetic, and obtained the wanted relief.—I ſay again, that, after all theſe incontrovertible ex⯑amples, it ſeems to me moſt ſtrange that a rational being ſhould be ſo much afraid of this operation, when many of the brute part of the creation (that feed carnivorouſly) take ſuch things as inſtinct di⯑rects them to in order to diſcharge the offending contents of their ſtomach that way; and I have ſeen a hawk diſgorge the contents of his craw: but I believe no perſon ever ſaw an ox, or an aſs, a goat, or gander, vomit, of courſe nature never intended it.
Here, by the by, though foreign to the ſubject of theſe leaves, permit me, however, to offer a hint about the treatment of horſes, which noble animal I am clearly of opinion has been often tortured, if not killed, by having things of the emetic kind ad⯑miniſtered, ſince a horſe can no more vomit than an aſs, though I once heard a gentleman declare that he ſaw a dead horſe vomit after having Dr. James's powders given him when alive; but as this is a mat⯑ter I may perhaps treat more at large on ſome future day, I ſhall cloſe it here, only adding, that I am ſa⯑tisfied [20]from all I have ſeen and heard that many medicines that are uſed by mankind are totally im⯑proper and highly dangerous for ſuch animals as feed granivorouſly and cannot vomit. But how this er⯑roneous method of treating horſes as human beings has become the practice could be very eaſily ac⯑counted for.
Vomiting is, I muſt, however, confeſs, a very unpleaſant operation; but, believe me, it is a much more ſpeedy and effectual method of relieving the ſtomach of its offending contents than carrying it off by the other channel, through all the turnings, feſtoonings, and curvatures of the lower bowels, in the cells of which ſome of the feces will frequently ſtick and lodge for weeks, nay months together, forming that nidus of miſchief I have before men⯑tioned, of which the following is a caſe in point:—A ſoldier of the third regiment of foot (in which I ſerved ſeveral years) was ſeized with a cholic in the latter end of September, 1771, at Exeter, where we were at that time quartered after returning from Minorca, which place we left in the month of May preceding, and arrived in England the beginning of June. As we were in a cyder country, I ſuſpected his complaint might ariſe from drinking that li⯑quor: but he aſſured me that he had not drank any cyder; that he did not like it. However, after ta⯑king a few doſes of rhubarb, and ſome other little things, his complaint went off, and he returned to his duty; but being a few days after attacked again [21]with the ſame diſorder in a moſt violent degree, he was taken into the hoſpital—every thing he took came off his ſtomach immediately, and, in ſpite of every effort, no paſſage could be procured down⯑wards. Being now exceedingly alarmed for the ſafety of my patient, I directed one of my pills to be given every hour until they ſhould operate by ſtool; the two firſt pills made him rather ſick, but did not vomit him: after taking ſix, they began to operate downwards, and in one of the diſcharges he brought off a great quantity, near a handful, of grape ſkins, highly putrid and offenſive. From that hour his violent pain went off, and in a week he was perfectly recovered.
Queſtioning him now about this appearance and evident cauſe of his complaint, I aſked if he had eat any raiſins, either alone or in pudding. He aſſured me he had not taken any thing of the kind ſince he was on ſhip board; but that on his leaving Minorca a friend gave him ſeveral pounds of dried grapes by way of ſea ſtock; that he eat them all on his paſſage, and from that time had never taſted any thing of the kind. He remembered, he ſaid, that the grapes griped him often in the ſame place as when he firſt applied to me, but not ſo much as to occaſion an ap⯑plication then, as the pain generally went off with a motion, and he thought they did him good. How⯑ever, it is very clear that a part of this traſh remain⯑ed in his body near four months. Beſides this, ſe⯑veral [22]other ſimilar caſes have occurred to me in the courſe of practice.
Gouty habits, and all thoſe who live freely either in eating or drinking, (for the reaſons already ſtated concerning the ſtomach and bowels) will find this a ſovereign remedy for the ſudden and violent attacks which ſuch are often ſubject to.
Perhaps it will be aſked how can any one medicine be good for ſo many different complaints as the au⯑thor has mentioned? To which I anſwer, BECAUSE IT IS AN ALTERATIVE! By which it is meant, that all ſuch offending humours in the body as nature is not able of herſelf to throw off, are, by means of this medicine, ſo changed, diſpoſed, and rendered capable of expulſion by the proper channels or out⯑lets, as to aſſiſt her efforts in removing them effec⯑tually.—And now I beg leave, in turn, to aſk of all thoſe good folks who ſtrain at a gnat and ſwallow a camel, how it happens that antimony, bark, mer⯑cury, and even ſeveral inſignificant and other medi⯑cines which I could mention, are made uſe of by all and every phyſician and medical practitioner as ge⯑neral remedies for almoſt every diſeaſe that falls under their cognizance? And laſtly, though often too late, why the patient is recommended to that univerſal re⯑medy, Bath water, &c., when the doctor can do no more for him?
[23]I ſhall not, however, preſume to impoſe ſo far upon the underſtanding of the Public as to endea⯑vour to maintain that my pills are an infallible reme⯑dy for all the diſeaſes to which human nature is in⯑cident: but thus much I venture poſitively and boldly to aſſert, that I do not believe it is in the power of chemical or medical art to compoſe a bet⯑ter medicine, a milder and more COMPLETE ALTERATIVE out of the drugs, &c. in preſent uſe. But what future time may produce I cannot pretend to ſay.
Surgeons of the army and navy, (without dero⯑gating from their abilities) by providing themſelves with theſe pills, would have a remedy immediately at hand, (which their ſituations ſometimes will not admit them to get ſeaſonably prepared) by which means many valuable lives might be ſaved, and themſelves ſpared much trouble and expence; but particularly maſters of merchant ſhips, who have no medical aſſiſtance, (more eſpecially ſuch as viſit warm climates, where bilious complaints are moſt preva⯑lent) and alſo thoſe who live in the country remote from ſuch aid, would find The poor Man's Medicine Cheſt (what I have juſtly termed it) a moſt invalua⯑ble remedy.
Here it may not be improper to give a little ad⯑vice to thoſe alſo who viſit Margate and other water⯑ing places, in the ſeaſon, for the benefit of their healths, from whence many return worſe than they [24]went, and numbers loſe their lives from injudicious bathing. Though I am convinced from experience that the uſe of the cold bath, when properly ap⯑plied, is of the higheſt importance towards pre⯑ſerving of health, yet it ſhould never be had re⯑courſe to until the body is firſt properly prepared, not by a few doſes of ſalt water, as is uſually the caſe, which ſlips quickly through the bowels, lea⯑ving behind the long-retained feces, &c., which I have ſo pointedly deſcribed, poſſeſſing no powers to act upon them effectually: for give me leave to ac⯑quaint thoſe who think that one thing that opens the body is as good as another, that they are moſt egregiouſly miſtaken, for, in fact, there is as much difference between one purgative and another as be⯑tween wine and water; for though both of theſe will allay thirſt, yet they will not equally exhilerate the ſpirits and produce intoxication. Permit me, therefore, moſt humbly to recommend to all ſuch as viſit thoſe places, for their health's ſake, previouſly to prepare themſelves for a fortnight or three weeks with my pills, agreeable to the alterative courſe laid down in page 10, convinced they will find their advantage in ſo doing. Afterwards, I have no objec⯑tion to their drinking occaſionally a doſe of ſalt water, if they like it, to keep the body gently open, being perfectly proper the body ſhould be ſo kept during a courſe of bathing.
There is one hint more, and that of no ſmall im⯑portance, which I ſhall preſume to offer to bathers, [25]which is to live temperately and regularly whilſt they are ſeeking relief from the bath, and not go into it hiſſing hot, like an iron out of a ſmith's forge plunged into his trough, after ſitting up all night, and partaking moſt unmercifully of all the luxuries of the ſeaſon; which miſconduct I am fully per⯑ſuaded has brought numbers to an untimely grave!
I could offer ſome other uſeful remarks upon this ſubject; but as it would extend this little work beyond the limits propoſed, I ſhall reſerve them for another place. For the ſame reaſon I ſhall alſo omit many reſpectable and well-authenticated vou⯑chers, which I have in my poſſeſſion, of the won⯑derful effects my pills have already produced; but indeed I could rather wiſh they ſhould eſtabliſh themſelves by their future good works, than endea⯑vour to ſupport them by anterior authorities.
Before I conclude, I think it a duty I owe the Public, as well as myſelf, to make a remark or two more; and although it is neither my talent nor wiſh to depreciate the productions of others with a view to enhance the value of my own, yet it is but juſ⯑tice to draw a fair line between mine and ſome of the pills which are at preſent in much-eſteemed uſe, not doubting at the ſame time but ſuch are juſtly entitled to the approbation they have obtained from the benefit thoſe who uſed them have experienced, and who think themſelves, no doubt, as much in⯑debted to them for ſuch relief as they would have [26]been to the preſcriptions of the late Sir Richard Jebb, or any great phyſician of the preſent day, of the ingredients of whoſe preſcriptions they had no more knowledge than of thoſe that conſtituted ſuch pills; and therefore I humbly preſume it is of very little conſequence to the party who is ſo relieved, whether obtained from Sir Jeffery Dunſtan, Mayor of Garratt, or the Vicar of Bray! But as one watch excels another in regulating time, ſo may one medicine ſurpaſs another in momentous eſſicacy. Many of thoſe pills, then, which I ſhall forbear to call by name, leſt I ſhould incur the appellation of being envious, and increaſe the number of my op⯑ponents, being only calculated to act merely as a purgative, can by no means come in competition with what I have aſſerted (and on which I pledge my re⯑putation) mine will be ſound to perſorm; conſe⯑quently a medicine of this ſort has long been want⯑ing. Therefore, without entertaining an iota of doubt but I ſhall in due time receive from a generous Public the approbation I ſeek for the offering made, I ſhall now conclude with an old but juſt proverb —
☞ Having entitled my box of pills The poor Man's Medicine Cheſt! it remains for me to main⯑tain that appellation. Theſe pills, then, are put up in boxes at four ſhillings and ſix pence, and ton ſhillings and ſix pence, ſlamps included. The ſmall [27]box contains forty-eight pills, or twelve large doſes. Now as a common doſe is but three, and ſome re⯑quire only two pills, it will often happen that this box may contain twenty doſes; and whoever is obliged to have recourſe to an apothecary for an equal number of doſes of medicine would have at leaſt twenty ſhillings to pay, excluſive of ſome con⯑ſideration for his trouble and attendance, and per⯑haps not receive as much benefit from the whole as from one doſe of theſe pills. The large box con⯑tains one hundred and twenty pills, or thirty large doſes.
For the preſent, the pills will be ſold by the Proprietor only, at his Patent Baume of Arquebu⯑ſade Warehouſe, No. 13, Leiceſter Street, Leiceſter Square; (the uſe of which Baume has been found, as will appear by the annexed letters, of the higheſt importance); but as ſoon as proper perſons are ap⯑pointed to vend them, their names will be affixed to this publication; and the better to prevent impoſi⯑tions, each box is ſealed with his coat of arms — Motto, Confido in Deo!
The Public are requeſted to pay ſtrict attention to theſe circumſtances, ſince there are a number of medicaſters and other piratical wretches ever ready to obtrude on the world their own dangerous imita⯑tions for the works of others, (preying like the hornet on the honey of the induſtrious bee) under a pretence of being able to analyſe, without knowing [28]the nature of that arduous and nice proceſs, and many of thoſe pretenders not even the meaning of the word; by which means a moſt valuable medi⯑cine loſes its reputation, and the Public are de⯑ceived.
I SHOULD think myſelf loſt to all ſenſe of gra⯑titude if I did not acknowledge that, under God, you have been the ſaver of my life by the uſe of your Baume d'Arquebuſade; and I am now happy in acquainting you that all thoſe violent pains in my ſtomach and bowels, as well as my loins and kidnies, [30]diſagreeable belchings, cold clammy ſweats, coſ⯑tiveneſs, ſloppage of urine, reſtleſs nights, &c., &c., occaſioned by a bilious complaint which I contracted in America, have all entirely left me, and I am now, thank God, in perfect health. — For the firſt ten or twelve days I took the Baume I thought myſelf worſe, and left it off; but at your particular re⯑queſt I began to uſe it again, and in about a week found myſelf better, and began to void gravel of a hard red ſubſtance, which I continued voiding, more or leſs, every day for upwards of two months; ſometimes found the quantity of a tea-ſpoonſul of this gravel in my pot of a morning. Indeed when I took to the Baume a ſecond time I had little or no hopes of myſelf, (whatever you might have) ha⯑ving been under the care of one or other of the fa⯑culty for upwards of three years, and could get no relief until I applied to you. In humanity to my fellow creatures I ſhould wiſh this letter to be made public; but that as you pleaſe —
I BEG leave to expreſs my gratitude, as an in⯑dividual, for the obligation you have conſerred on mankind by the diſcovery of your Baume d'Arque⯑buſade, and alſo to inform you of the benefit I have derived from it. I had been afflicted three years with a violent bilious complaint, attended with con⯑ſtant ſevers, lowneſs of ſpirits, violent head-achs, &c., &c. I applied to ſeveral of the moſt eminent of the faculty, and took all the medicines which were recommended: went twice to Bath for the be⯑neſit of the waters; the firſt time of uſing them found myſelf much worſe, as they increaſed my fever, head-ach, &c.; the ſecond time they had little or no effect. I at length deſpaired of a re⯑medy, and thought all I could hope was to prevent the complaint's increaſing by a ſtrict regard to diet, when I heard of the wonderful effects of your Baume d'Arquebuſade, and reſolved to try it. At firſt it would not ſtay on my ſtomach, and occaſioned ſaint⯑neſs and burning ſenſation in my throat: though I was rather diſcouraged by thoſe unpleaſant effects, I however determined to give it a fair trial, and by the time I had ſiniſhed the firſt bottle theſe effects ceaſed, and I began to find benefit. In about three months I became perfectly free from all complaints, and have ever ſince enjoyed a confirmed ſtate of health.—I have no objection to your publiſhing this letter, if you think proper; and am ready to an⯑ſwer, [32]in perſon, to any who may wiſh to queſtion me upon the ſubject.
*⁎* This lady has ſince been married, and has had two fine children, of both which I delivered her.
"I CANNOT conclude my letter without ren⯑dering your merit the tribute of praiſe ſo juſtly due for preſenting to mankind that moſt excellent medi⯑cine, the concentrated Balſam of Arquebuſade, which, by having taken a ſew bottles, has relieved me from a very dangerous bilious complaint, and for which I tried the Bath waters laſt ſummer, upwards of ſix weeks, in vain, after having previouſly been under the care of a very eminent phyſician a conſiderable time.—If this declaration of mine can be of any ſer⯑vice to you, you have ſull permiſſion to ſhew it to all aſſlicted with that dreadful diſorder, from which I have been ſo happily relieved. But I could wiſh you [33]not to publiſh in the newſpapers my name, as a refe⯑rence to yourſelf for a ſight of this declaration muſt anſwer every purpoſe.—Lieut. Scott, of the Royal Navy, hath alſo, to my knowledge, been entirely cured of a violent bilious diſorder by your medi⯑cine, and been free from any return for upwards of eight months."
"YOUR Arquebuſade Concentre is of the utmoſt uſe to us. I have never yet applied it inwardly; but in bruiſes, ſprains, ſevere cuts, and rheumntic com⯑plaints, it has never failed. One negro, who chopped half his finger off at the joint, had his wound healed by it as if it had been by magic: another, whoſe leg was violently tore by a dog, equally ſo. My Overſeer's foot was jammed by a cart, and it cured him in a ſew days. We uſe it for all ſores in ne⯑groes legs, and it never fails. From this you may gueſs that my proviſion thereof is much diminiſhed; therefore beg you will ſend me double the quantity I had the laſt year. Out of what I have I ſhall, how⯑ever, give Mr. Walter Neſbit and Mr. J. Taylor a little for a trial: they are two of our firſt planters here; and on your account, as well as theirs, I am ſorry I did not do it ſooner.
[34]"P. S. You are perfectly welcome to make any uſe you pleaſe of the paragragh about your Arque⯑buſade Balſam, for what I have ſaid is true, ſo help me, &c.
G. FORBES."
HAVING received ſo much benefit from your much-eſteemed and valuable Balſam, I ſhould be glad if you would have my caſe inſerted in the pub⯑lic papers, both for your credit and the good of the Public at large.—I received about two months ago a very violent ſtroke from a horſe on my kneepan, and was ſo very bad that all who ſaw me expected I muſt loſe my leg at leaſt — I was adviſed to apply to you—you gave me a few bottles of your Balſam, by the uſe of which, in a few days, I was much re⯑lieved, and in three weeks time got perfectly ſound and well, to the great aſtoniſhment of all our fa⯑mily, and of all who had ſeen my knee; ſo your publiſhing this will greatly oblige,
HAVING, by repeated trials, experienced the good effects of your excellent Baume d'Arquebuſade, which entirely cured me of a violent dropſical com⯑plaint that threatened the moſt ſerious conſequences, I think it but juſtice in me to avow it. I have alſo the pleaſure to inform you of a remarkable cure it lately performed upon one of my ſervants in the country, who had the misfortune to tear her arm by falling upon a ruſty ſpike, (where ſhe hung for ſome time) which made a hole as large and half as deep as my finger: I immediately filled the wound with the Baume, and after dreſſing it with the Baume a few days had the ſatisfaction to ſee her arm perfectly healed, and ſhe could do her work as uſual.
WE have a number of people ill in this neigh⯑bourhood, particularly of ſore throats. I have found your Baume d'Arquebuſade to be more efficacious than any other medicine, it having given almoſt im⯑mediate relief, and only from an outward applica⯑tion. Great numbers have died of this virulent ſore [36]throat; but I hope the timely application of this uſeful medicine may, through the bleſſing of God, prevent its direful effects. — Beg you will imme⯑diately ſend by the Boſton Coach ſix bottles, at 6s. 10d. per bottle, and write upon the direction to come in the inſide of the coach.
☞ This incomparable antiſeptic, chemical Bal⯑ſam is prepared from the concentrated juices of the moſt ſalatiferous, aromatic, ſaponaceous roots, plants, &c., and is of ſo pervading a nature, that it enters ſpeedily into the ſyſtem when rubbed upon the ſurface of the body, gradually opens the ob⯑ſtructed capillary veſſels, and paſſes through the whole courſe of circulation: its happy effects ha⯑ving exceeded the Patentee's ableſt panegyric in the following caſes, viz. violent ſprains, bruiſes, frac⯑tures, gun-ſhot and all kinds of wounds, cuts, old obſtinate ulcers, and ſwellings of the joints and other parts, ſcalds, burns, chilblains, &c.; for all of which, as well as for its internal uſe, a bill of directions is given with each bottle.