THE
DROP
and
PILL
OF
Mr.
WARD, CONSIDER'D: AS WELL In respect to their
Composition,
as their
Operation
and
Effects.
WHEREIN, As there is great Reason to believe, the genuine RECEIPT of both.
IN AN EPISTLE TO Dr.
JAMES JURIN,
Fellow of the COLLEGE of PHYSICIANS, And of the ROYAL SOCIETY: FROM
DANIEL TURNER,
Of the same COLLEGE of PHYSICIANS in
London.
LONDON:
Printed for JOHN CLARKE, at the
Bible
under the
Royal-Exchange,
MDCCXXXV. [Price Six-pence.]
THE
DROP
and
PILL
OF
Mr.
WARD, CONSIDER'D. In an EPISTLE,
&c.
SIR,
YOU may wonder possibly, that I, who have been so uncivilly treated by some who call themselves
Gentlemen,
on the Account of my
Enquiry after the crude Quicksilver,
should give myself any manner of Concern about the
well
or
ill Fare
of my Fellow Citizens, but leave them rather to the ancient, and common Saying,
If They will be, let Them be deceived.
I dare be confident, whatever certain envious Persons may think to the contrary, you will be so charitable as to believe, that I have no Ends of my own to serve by an Undertaking, in which, though I may happen to please some, I shall, in all Likelihood, displease others.
The Friendship indeed of
good,
as well as
learned
Men, (and such I esteem yourself) I shall at all Times value, whilst the Malice and ill Nature of the
Petulant
and
Profligate,
however
learned,
I have long since learn'd to despise. But what, alas! avail the Smiles or Frowns of the World to an old Man, that must soon leave it? And, provided he has a well grounded Peace in his own Breast, when he takes that Leave, has less Reason to be concern'd at the unjust Censure of unreasonable Men.
To detain you no longer, I am satisfy'd you are no Stranger to the Fame this
Drop
and
Pill
of Mr.
Ward,
have acquired within these twelve Months past: How deservedly, we are now to examine: But first, a Word or two of their Composition.
The Conjectures about which are various, as the diverse Judgments and Opinions of the Conjecturers have diversly led them.
Some
(surely without Reason,)
have surmised the same to be
Mercurial:
Yet, among the Hundreds daily taking them, not one Instance can be given of a sore Mouth, or Tongue, much less
Salivation,
which must at some Time have inevitably fallen out, if the Basis was
Mercurial.
Others more rightly therefore conclude them
Antimonial:
Among these, there are, who pretend to be Masters of the Secret, and who tell us, that the Pill is the same with the
Kermes Mineralis,
of the
French Dispensatory,
made out of four parts
Antimony,
and one of fix'd
Nitre,
boil'd in Rain-Water, and then filter'd: After which, more Water is added, and more also of the
Nitre:
Boiling and filtering as before; when still more Water and
Nitre,
in the several Proportions observed by the
Prescript,
are decocted. Finally, the several Liquors filter'd, having stood to settle twenty-four Hours, are pour'd off from the Sediment, which being sweeten'd by often washing, the same is dry'd, and twice flagrated with Spirit of Wine.
But this
Praecipitate,
which I have seen prepared, comes forth of a deeper Red than Mr.
Ward
's, nor will it operate in so small a Quantity as his
Pill.
Hartman
has one more Simple than the former, which he calls his
Sulphur of Antimony,
answering nearer to the Colour, and working after like Manner, both upwards and downwards, not so doggedly, in the same Weight; though it has been given sometimes to four or five Grains.
This is made of the fine Powder of
Antimony,
digested for a Week in a strong
Lixivium
of
Aqua Calcis;
when it is filter'd, and after gentle boiling, a red Powder is thrown down; which being wash'd, is dry'd, and kept for Use.
His Copier,
Salmon,
says, this Powder performs all that the
Crocus
can do.
Related to the foregoing, is that of
Beguinus,
which is nothing but the same Mineral, boil'd also in a strong
Lixivium,
and after precipitated with Rain-Water, impregnated with the Spirit of Vinegar.
The
Lixivium,
used for these Purposes, is made commonly of the
Sal Tartari, Calx Viva,
and common Salt,
ā
dissolved in Water, and then filter'd, or of the
Alkaline Salt
of Plants; although the
Aqua Calcis,
as above, very frequently supplies the Place.
Again, there is a
Sulphur of Antimony
made from the
Crocus Metallorum
boil'd in the same
Lixive,
and precipitated with the
Acet. destil.
having the Virtues of the
Crocus,
and is much the finer of the two, given in the same Dose, from two to four Grains, or five.
The
golden Sulphur
is prepared by boiling the Dross, separated from the
Regulus
in a
Lixivium,
as the rest; then, precipitating with Vinegar, there falls a Powder of the Colour of Gold, (whence the Name,) which is sweeten'd by Ablution in a large Quantity of Rain-Water, and dry'd for Use.
But the true
Sulphur,
according to our last recited Author, is prepared from
Cinnabar,
finely powder'd, and boil'd in a Solution of
Salt of Tartar, Nitre,
and
Calx Viva.
After decanting the Liquor from the Quicksilver at the Bottom, filter and incline the Vessel, that the
red Sulphur
may settle, which you must sweeten with hot Water, and dry gently; so have you (with this Gentleman) the true
Sulphur Antimonti,
which opens all Obstructions of the
Liver, Spleen, Mesentery,
and
Hypochonders;
expelling all Humours whatever, or wherever heaped up in the Body, both upwards and downwards.
Of this
Sulphur
and the
Regulus,
there is a
Panacaea
compounded, wonderfully extoll'd by
Hartman,
as a
universal Medicine,
curing all obstinate Diseases, as the
Lues, Lepra, Scurvy, &c.
by the way of Sweat.
Mr.
Wilson
gives us another, little differing from the former, unless in the Strength of the Lee,
i. e.
by the pouring one Pound of the
Lixivium Capitale,
or the first running of the Soap-makers Lees, upon four Ounces of the finest levigated
Antimony,
set to digest in warm Sand, four or five Days, shaking them well together; then put thereto some warm Water: After thus standing to settle for some Time, it is pour'd off into a clean Pan. This Ablution is to be repeated, 'till all the brownish Powder is separated from that which appears like the crude Antimony, upon which more Lees are thrown; and the Washing renew'd, 'till the whole of the
Antimony
is reduced into the Powder aforesaid, which being well rinsed from the Salts, is to be kept dry 'till call'd for.
The Virtues are much the same with the rest, being
Emetic, Cathartick
and
Diaphoretick,
i. e. by
Vomit, Stool
and
Sweat.
According to our Chymist, this Process was used as a
Succedaneum
to that, which went formerly under the Name of
Russel
's
Powder.
Besides the abovemention'd, I could enumerate others, drawn from the same Mineral by the Torture of Fire, as when flux'd in the Crucible together with
Sal Armoniack.
Thus the
Antimon. resuscitatum,
or with
Nitre, common Salt,
and
Charcoal,
put into a red hot Crucible by a Spoonful at a Time; then either pouring it into a Cone, or suffering it to cool in the Crucible, there will be found three different Substances,
viz.
at the Bottom, a little
Regulus;
above that, a closer, or more compact Matter, like the
Liver of Antimony;
and on the Surface, a finer and lighter Mass.
The two last of these are to be kept asunder, putting by the
Regulus;
powdering the other and washing them apart, till freed from their Salts, which you may know by the Taste of the Water; the uppermost is accounted the best, being of a fine red Colour, after it has been wash'd; the middle Substance looks not of so pleasant a Colour, and works more roughly; the undermost, or
Regulus,
is the same with the
Regulus
of
Antimony.
These red Flowers, with
Monsieur Lemery,
are the more Sulphurous parts of
Antimony,
sublimed by Fire, as the same are precipitated from the
Lixivia,
or
Lees,
by the Ablution with Water and Vinegar.
Powder, saith he, and mix together four Pounds of common Glass, with one Pound of
Antimony;
put them into a
Retort
set in a Reverberatory Furnace, fitted with a Receiver, lute the Junctures, giving a little Fire at first, then increase, and you will see the red Flowers come forth into the Receiver.
Their Operation, as of the rest, is by Vomit and Stool, being given in the
Venereal Disease,
the
Gout, Dropsy, Scurvy,
and other
Chronical Distempers,
from two to four Grains.
It was the former of these Processes (according to Mr.
Wilson,
) that Mr.
Lockyer
aim'd at in the Composition of his Pill, by which he acquired a great Estate.
Now whether or no these Flowers of
Antimony,
thus raised by Fire, or any of the
Praecipitates
of the same Colour here observed, (as by some has been thought,) be the Composition of Mr.
Ward's Pill,
is less
material
to our Purpose; since it is, I think, out of Dispute, that most of them will do as much Good, and as much Mischief also, when directed by ignorant Persons, and taken by the like, at all Adventures: Although, to deal plainly, when I consider the strange Ravage it makes among the solid as well as fluid Parts of the Body, in so small a Quantity as one Grain Weight, as much even as the
Glass
itself, or
Crocus
would do, I have been ready to apprehend it rather a
Praecipitate
like the
Algarct,
though of a different Colour, from the same Caustick Oil, or
Butter of Antimony;
which, if fit to be countenanced, or to have a Sanction from any one in regular Practice, I leave all such, with yourself, to determine.
About the same Time, give me leave to acquaint you of Mr.
Lockyer
and Mr.
Russel
aforemention'd,
viz.
about Fifty or Sixty Years past, there was another
Russel,
who had been an
Itinerant Mountebank,
travelling the Countries, but happening to Marry a Lady of some Condition as well as Estate, he hired a very handsome House in
Holborn,
near
Grays-Inn-Gate,
and coming here acquainted with a Chymist, who had been, as he said, an Operator in Mr.
Boyle
's
Elaboratory,
he got a Preparation of
Antimony
from him, like this of Mr.
Ward
's, if not the same, which was prepar'd at the Doctor's House, being call'd by the Name of his
Panacea,
or
Golden Sulphur of Antimony,
by which many famous Cures were said to be effected.
It happen'd I was at this Time the Doctor's Patient, and going often to his House, as living but a few Doors off, I have seen his Black bring of this red Powder in a small earthen Platter into his Study; where his Master weighing it out, would moisten the same with a Liquor, and form it into Pills of the bigness of large Pins-heads, resembling, both in Bulk and Colour, these of our new
Aesculapius;
Ten of which being put into a small tin Box, were sold for as many Shillings. The Poor, who made an Interest to my Lady, had them
gratis;
their Operation was rough, both upwards and downwards, like the other Dr.
Russel
's
Powder;
and as
Lockyer
's would frequently work, according as they met with Constitutions more robust or weak, or as the Fibres of the Stomach and Guts were more or less susceptible of the Stimulating
Salt
and
Sulphur
in the Preparation.
What I would observe farther from these Persons Remedies, is this, that my Neighbour the Doctor his
Pill
did not survive him, but through some fatal Accidents, like these of Mr.
Ward
's, was soon blasted; and he fell then upon a safer and more popular Medicine, which was his
Spirit of Scurvy-grass,
both
plain
and
purging,
with which he furnished all parts of the Kingdom, as well as many abroad.
His
Name-sakes
Powder kept its Fame longer, and was, I remember, in much Esteem with some Midwives as a
Specifick
to forward
Childbirth;
but gradually declin'd for the same Cause, and is now, in a manner, lost.
Mr.
Lockyer
's held out still, and till within twenty or thirty Years past, some hundreds of Pounds, I have been informed, have been annually returned thereby, tho' I have known Mischief ensue thence. Upon his Death it came into the Hands of Mr.
Fyge,
an Apothecary in my Neighbourhood, and is to this Day, in his Family; but I believe now, with little Emolument or Advantage, to what it has been formerly.
Thus my Friend, you see the Fate of these
Empirical Medicines;
and how it is possible for some Antiquated Ones, after Mischief's forgot, to come into play again, or be revived; an Instance of which, we have surely now before us, as lately in the
crude Quicksilver,
which was tamper'd with in the last Age, and brought once more into great Request in this; but sunk almost again, by the popular
Eulogye
of the
Drop
and
Pill.
Thus it must always fare with Remedies, however powerful in themselves, distributed without Judgment, or indiscriminately to all People, without any Regard to the State and Condition of the Bowels which are to entertain them, or to any Circumstances whatever in the Sick, or his Disease, favouring or opposing their Administration.
Having laid down my Thoughts as to their Composition, I shall next proceed to the
pretended
Cures, and possibly some real Ones, effected thereby, with the Method how the same may be brought about.
And here, if we duly consider the Action of the Stomach, or the Force under which the same is acted, during the Operation of a strong Vomit, like most of these
Antimonial
Ones, together with that of all the Muscles therein concern'd, which according to
Mathematick Calculus,
is scarce credible; we shall less wonder that not only its own Cavity, or the near adjacent, but the most remote also in the whole
Animal Fabrick,
being drawn into Consent therewith, should have their Contents impel'd forwards by so forcible a Contraction of all the Fibres: by which the most rivetted Obstructions therein, may in Time, be this way opened; whilst the Fluxion of Humours on any particular Part is call'd off: whence Tumours, or Swellings of any kind, may be soften'd and diminish'd; Ulcers disposed for healing, which before would yield to no Application whatever. Of this, you know, we have constant Experience in our
Venereal Cancers,
and other corrosive
Phagedaenick
Ulcers, when a Dose or two of the
Turpeth. Minerale,
will render those Sores in a few Days tractable, which, for many Weeks before, would not yield to any Topicks administer'd by the best Artists: And surely we need not wonder, if by the same Way of Revulsion, many
Chronical Diseases,
from the heaping up of Humours and obstructing the Vessels, should, by this
Drop
and
Pill,
thus daily repeated for some Time, give Way; many
Scorbutic, Serpiginous, Leproas,
or
Venereal
Affects of the Skin, clear off; whilst the morbid Matter furnishing the same out of the Blood, is eliminated, or cast forth by this double, if not triple Discharge; first by
Vomit,
secondly by
Stools;
when thirdly, the Remainder is, by the Conflict raised therein, during the violent Commotion thereof, perspired in
Sweat.
This, I say, is the plain and obvious, as well as Mechanic Process, by which many surprising Alterations are brought about, and Cures perform'd by such Remedies: Yet, if we reflect upon the great Hazard some Persons undergo, it is surely incumbent upon all who take upon them the Administration of any such, or who may advise them, to consider thoroughly the State and Condition of the Sick, in regard to the Soundness of his Bowels and Blood Vessels, and of the Fibres in general, which compose them, and which are to undergo so forcible a Contraction under the Operation; as well as that of the whole
Nervous System,
suffering likewise under the Shock; and for want of Regard to which, there will sometimes fall out as great Harm, and as much Mischief, as at others, Benefit or Advantage.
To avoid the Accidents of this Nature, the honourable Mr.
Boyle,
who understood the
Chymical Pharmacy
as well as the
Animal Structure,
much better, I dare say, than Mr.
Ward
pretends; yet, being fearful of the least Injury that might arise by the trusting to his own Judgment, and tender of Life, when he had found out any Remedy, or had any such recommended to him, after preparing the same, gave it into the Hand of some learned and experienced Physician of his Acquaintance, to make such Trials therewith, as might be done with Safety, and to report to him the Success; that if found safe and beneficial, they might encourage it, or if any ways detrimental, point out the Danger, or lay it wholly aside: Nor, as I have been told, would he suffer any one of those which go under the Name of his
Receipts,
of which a Collection has been Publish'd since his Death, to go abroad, till it had the Approbation of one or other of the Faculty, to recommend it.
If Mr.
Ward
had taken the same Method, he might doubtless have been the Author of much greater Good to his Country Men, by avoiding the Danger that will attend his Medicines, in this promiscuous Distribution of them to all Sorts and Conditions of the People, under whatever Temperament as well as Distemper.
From his
Pill,
give me leave, just to make Mention of what is call'd his
Drop:
But here, whether he gives one or more, is uncertain, being diffused in a
Sack Vehicle;
and possibly, if rightly understood, may differ little from that common Infusion of our
Crocus Metallorum;
at least is of the same Family with his
Pill,
which we need not stay to Scrutinize.
Every one who is tolerably acquainted with the Chymists Furnace, must know that many Liquids, in the Forms of
Tincture, Spirit,
or
Oil,
may be drawn with this Mineral, which in a very small Quantity, as that of a Drop or two, however diluted, will work too powerfully for some weakly Habits, or tender Constitutions. An Instance of this we have in the Preparation of its
Cinnabar,
where a Caustick Oil, call'd the
Butter of Antimony,
will arise, the least Drop of which, notwithstanding its Dilution, is not safe to be given inwardly, being chiefly used by the Surgeons, to destroy what they term
Proud Flesh,
and to level the callous rising Lips of Ulcers: Tho' there have been those who (as
Lemery
observes) have given a Drop, two, or three of this
Butter
or
Oil
of
Antimony
in Broth, to cause Vomiting, which practice saith he,
"I cannot approve, because it is too strong, and produces the same Effects as the Powder of
Algarot,
which is nothing but the said
Butter
wash'd in warm Water, whence a white Powder is praecipitated, call'd (but very improperly)
Mercurius Vitae,"
which to some I have known, in like manner a
Mercurius Mortis.
The vast Subtilty of this Mineral, in some of its Preparations, is very surprizing; and in none more remarkably, than in that call'd the
Vomiting Cup,
without any sensible diminution in its Weight or Vertue.
One of these, compounded of the
Regulus
and
Mars,
I have now by me; which was sent me as a Present, about forty Years past, by a Country Gentleman, practising among his Poor Neighbours, in the way of Charity. This Cup was lent out from one Neighbour to another, in which they steep'd Cyder, Stale Beer, or other Spirituous Liquors all Night, and drank them the next Day, to cure
Fevers
and
Agues:
But after two Persons (for whom it prov'd too strong) were destroy'd thereby, it lost all the Credit it had gotten; and whereas before, it went by the Name of the
Angelick,
it was now call'd the
Devil's Cup.
Quickly after, being sent back to the Owner, it so happen'd that I became its Proprietor; who have never suffered one Tryal to be made with it, since it was in my Possession.
The Operation of all these
Antimonial Vomits,
is so very precarious, that no Man can be absolutely certain how they will turn out.
Monsieur Lemery
's Observation being very just, in the Words sollowing.
"When the Medicine diffuseth itself suddenly in the Stomach, mixing with the Juices thereof, and there Stimulating its nervous Fibres, the same is constrain'd to throw up its Contents: If it stays longer, or till some of its Particles are derived to the Guts, the same
Stimulus
twitching their Fibres, a purging downwards happens: They must differ also according to different Constitutions, in those who take them; and very often the same which makes a Person vomit at one time, purges him by Stool only at an Other; nay at sometimes will move only by Sweat, which shall often ensue both those Operations."
Course of Chym. p.
225.
With all which, I'm sure you are well acquainted. But there is one Observation; (give me leave to take notice) of this great Chymist, about this Mineral, which may give us to understand of how little Service a mere
Hypothesis
will be to us in our Practice, which is daily contradicted thereby, and that is this;
That the Crude Antimony is dangerous for to take inwardly, or in Substance, because it may meet with an Acid in the Stomach, that would open its Body, and be the Cause of great Vomitings to ensue.
What has led this Gentleman into a Mistake of this kind, must be surely his Surmise, that the Natural Heat of the Stomach, bears some Affinity or Resemblance with the Artificial of the Furnace or Crucible placed therein; by which the Body of the said Mineral being open'd, and its Texture broken, the
Sulphur
is set free, and enabled to raise such Disturbance therein.
For my own part (who have given many Pounds of
Crude Antimony,
) I have rarely known it to operate otherwise, (unless in too great a Dose,) than as an Alterative, correcting the salt and acrid Humours in the Blood, and by that Means subduing those corrosive, scorbutick Eruptions on the Skin, which have stood out even against
Mercury
itself. For these Purposes, I
direct
℥ ss
of the crude Antimony, most finely levigated, and
℥
j of the Cons. Cochlear. hort. with
ʒ
j,
ʒ
j
ss,
or
ʒ
ij of the Gum Guaj. to be form'd s. a. into an Electuary, with a q. s. of the Syr. E. Suc. Aurant.
of which the Patient takes the Quantity of a Nutmeg Night and Morning, drinking after it, a small Draught of the
Decoct. ex Lignis,
or of
Bates
's
Aq. Bened. Simpl.
which from the Gum, but hardly from the Antimony, gives a Stool, sometimes two or three in a Day, yet without
Regimen:
And for the
Psora, Scabies,
or common
Pruritus,
I know of few, or none, that excel (after a
Mercurial
Purge or two,) the same Mineral, with an equal Quantity of
Aethiops,
made up in like Manner, and taken the same Way. To return whence I have digress'd.
From this Account of these Remedies, with the Hazard and Uncertainty of their Operation, and the manifest Danger that must frequently attend upon many of those who think proper to venture on them, from the Warranty of such as know as little as themselves of the Nature of the Remedies they recommend, much less of the Diseases for which they recommend them, and less still of the human Frame which is to grapple with them, and for want of which many Persons must risque their Lives. For these Reasons, I say, I thought I might do an acceptable Piece of Service to the Publick, if I laid down some Cautions in Reference thereunto: And surely, the Dispenser of them to necessitous Persons, will not be displeased at the same, since the more Good he can do with them, without any unhappy Accident supervening, the greater Applause to him, as well as Esteem for his Remedies; nor will there be found any better Method for securing that Estimation, or that can render them of long Continuance, which, like others of like kind, palm'd upon the World for great and useful Discoveries, for want of proper Caution, have, through some fatal Miscarriages, soon dwindled away (as these, doubtless, will do in a little Time) to nothing.
First
then, I would advise all
Hysterical,
or
Hypochondriacal
People, subject to be ruffled by any Evacuation, especially of so rough a Nature, as these Medicines may produce, or to be thrown into
convulsive Suffocations, Palpitations at Heart,
with
Tremors on the Nerves,
to be careful how they engage with them: Some such I have known to suffer from the weak Frame thereof, and the Hurry their Spirits have been thrown into under the Operation, not recoverable for a long Time after.
Secondly,
these Medicines can by no Means agree with the
Hectical,
or
Consumptive
and thin Habits, under any inflammatory State of their Blood, their Vessels tender, and the same apt, upon any straining, to break its Inclosures. Some of these also I have heard of falling into profuse
Haemorrhages,
or bleeding at the Nose: And one that I was lately sent for to, seized the Night following the taking one of these Pills, with a Vomiting up a large Quantity of Blood, to which he is still liable between Whiles, and which, I have Cause to believe, will be, at long Run, fatal. For the same Reason, no Person whatever, with an over-bearing Heat therein, or Fullness of the Vessels, should enter upon this Course, before they have emptied them by free and repeated Bleeding.
Thirdly,
Such as labour under
Ruptures,
whether of the
Navel, Groin,
or
Scrotum,
must shun these Medicines, as they would
Rats-bane:
The Pressure of the Parts of the lower Belly being so great under the working of any Vomit, much more such as these, that there would be the greatest Danger imaginable of rendering the Malady irretrievable. Dr.
D—d
told a Friend of mine very lately, he had visited a Woman with a
Navel Rupture,
brought upon her by the hard straining in the working of this
Pill
of Mr.
Ward
's.
Fourthly,
Such as have weaken'd the Tone of their Stomachs, by
Dram-drinking
all Day,
Whetting
in the Morning, or
Bottling
a Nights, and have brought upon them a loathing to all Food, or after taking the same, immediately throwing it up again, can be no fit Subjects for these Remedies: For that, besides their feeble, if not rotten
Viscera,
with their weak and tender Vessels, rendering them liable to a Breach therein, their constant Retchings, more especially in a Morning, which scarce any Remedy can bridle, or put a Stop to, will be encreased; and an over Vomiting, or Purging, hasten their Deaths; of which I have had an Account of two Instances, in three Months past.
Fifthly,
Those who bear not this Evacuation, unless with Difficulty; also such as are easily set on Vomiting, must be careful they are not, with the foregoing, overset thereby; for that at sometimes, the
Sulphur
of the
Antimony
adhering to, or being entangled in the tender Coats of the Stomach, whose Lining, by preceeding Evacuation, has been scour'd off, is continually stimulating to the Excretion: And I could give as many Examples of those, where the Operation has never ceased, till the Sick has been quite run down, and died strongly convulsed. For this Cause, it will be always found expedient, that the diseased Patient, before he enterprizes either of these Medicines,
(if they may be so denominated,)
be provided with a proper Quantity of Chicken or Mutton Broth, which may serve to sheath and blunt the
Salts
and
Sulphur,
rendering their
Stimuli
more tolerable to the Nervous Fibres; preventing those hard Strainings, which might otherwise endanger the Animal Fabrick.
This you know, Sir, was the Advice of Monsieur
Lemery,
(
Course of Chymistry,
pag. 292.) in the following Words.
"Broth, a little fat, is necessary, when the Patient finds an Inclination to vomit, because it will render the same easier, and be the Means of hindering those great Efforts under the Operation of these Remedies, which sometimes break the Vessels, and occasion mortal
Haemorrhages.
When if, notwithstanding the Use of these, the Vomiting will not cease, you may dissolve a little
Cream of Tartar
in the said Broth, and take some Spoonfulls every Quarter of an Hour: This (saith he) stops the Vomiting, because joining with the
Antimony,
it fixes the same; so that together, they are precipitated by Stool."
The last general Caution I have to impart, leaveing you to judge if it be not a very necessary one, is this, That Children, weakly Persons, and all others, naturally prone to Fluxes of any kind, and who are apt to throw up what they take upon the slightest Occasion, not from any viscid, or phlegmatick Humours, nestling in the plushy Coat of the Stomach, but from mere Debility, or
Atony
(as it is named by us,) of the Fibres thereof, must be exceeding careful how they engage with these Remedies, for Fear, as in my last Caution, of raising such a Storm as may not be laid again, but by the Patient's Death. One single Pill (the only he ever took) taken by a poor Fellow, who had been my Patient, for a
Venereal Nocturnal Head-ach,
after a most violent Vomiting for some Hours, produced, as I was told by the Surgeon consulted, between sixty and seventy Stools, not without the most imminent Danger of his Life.
Having laid down these Cautions, very necessary for all People to observe, who think fit to venture upon such Medicines, I shall speak now of the Diseases for which they have been recommended; and in which, according to vulgar Report, they have been, at some Times, found successful.
Here, indeed, we have a large Field to survey, because there are very few, wherein, by some or other, they have not been try'd, by the Approbation of their Author first of all, and after, from One to Another: However, among the Principal, have been reckon'd many of the most obstinate; such as the
Gout
and
Rheumatism,
the
Scurvy, Palsy, Lues Venerea, King's-Evil,
and
Cancer
itself.
The former, I think, we may readily give up, provided we had one Instance of a true
Cancer
absolutely cured thereby. This, I say, would, and ought to be acknowledged the greatest Gift of Heaven to poor Mortals, on this side the Grave; the most useful Discovery, I will call it the most inestimable Jewel of a Medicine, since the Infancy of the Healing Art; provided at the same Time, it was found a certain, and withal a safe one.
I have already observed to you, how we may reconcile the Removal of many stubborn Obstructions of the Vessels; how the Fluxion of Humours may be call'd off, for the present, from some Part burthen'd therewith; how
Scabs, Blotches, fretful Sores,
and
eating Ulcers,
in this way of
Revulsion,
especially in those who can bear the repeated Shocks, are disposed to crumble off, and heal; though quickly after, they have broke out again, and spread with greater Virulence than before. But admit these Cures to stand, I am exceeding doubtful, whether the
Cancer
will bear to be handled after the same Manner, which I never found would suffer any other than
Lenients,
whether internal, or external; being ever exasperated by a
Stimulus
of any kind: So that the Strength of such a
Revulsion,
however it may for the present take off the
Tention,
relax the
Glands,
and soften, in some measure, the Induration for a Time; yet, soon after, the old Leaven fermenting afresh, the Disease repullulates, sprouts a-new, and rages oftentimes worse than before, at length putting an End to a miserable Life.
What I have seen of this Nature myself, or which has been imparted to me by Persons of Credit, as well as Judgment in their Profession, I shall now communicate unto you.
This last Summer, C—l
C—r,
from the
W—t I—s,
came over to
England,
to consult some Gentlemen, as well Physicians as Surgeons, about a stubborn Sore above his Eye-brow: Among the latter, Mr.
C—l—n,
was the first call'd in; quickly after he had a Meeting with Dr.
M—d,
and Dr.
H—s;
and afterwards (as I was told by the Apothecary) Mr. St.
H—l
and Mr.
S—n.
At one of these Meetings, I was propos'd by the C—l, but it so happened, that I was put by. At the time of these Consultations he was under the Care of Mr.
C—l—n,
but soon after, at the desire of some about the Court, and the Relations he receiv'd of several as bad Cases, set to Rights by Mr.
Ward
's
Medicines,
that Gentleman was advised with, and undertook the
Chyrurgery,
as well as the
Physical Regimen.
Whilst he was under this Person's Care, he desir'd a Visit from me; when I saw his Sore dress'd, the Ulcer had spread all over one side of the Fore-head, extending itself towards the Temple side-ways, and was making Havock downwards through the Brow, into the Orbit of the Eye: In some Places it appear'd sloughy and foul, in others fresh and red, with unequal callous Lips, and had the Aspect of an Ulcer truly
Cacooethic,
or what we call of an ill Dispofition: The whole of the local Medicine, was warm Butter-Milk to wash the Sore, and the Curd to be apply'd after, instead of a Plaister; which is the Gentleman's usual Topick.
Whilst the Ulcer lay bare for my View, the C—l asked me, what I call'd his Malady? I told him, it might well bear the Name of an
Herpes Exedens,
and what saith he, does that differ from a Cancer? I answer'd, every ulcerated Cancer might bear that Name, yet there were of the
Herpes
kind, which were not
Cancerous;
and that I hoped his might be such.
In order to subdue the Virulency of the Ulcer, and dispose it for healing, I proposed
Salivation,
which he said he had been under in the Country, but, as I understood, neither raised by the
Unction,
nor continued for due time: I then mention'd my
Cinnabar Suffitus,
and the
Quicksilver Pill;
by the former, I propos'd to gain at least this Satisfaction, that if the Edges of the Ulcer spread not under it, but contracted and look'd better Condition'd, I should have made less doubt of his Cure, by a
Salivation
rais'd by the Anointing, having lessened his Fears as well as my own of its being Cancerous, which indeed were not ill grounded; since by his Observation, it would not suffer any detersive Medicine, such as the
Praecipit. Rub.
his Surgeon had formerly sprinkled on the sordid Parts, without being exasperated thereby, so that he had prudently left off the same, and drest with dry Lint and a
Digestive
over all.
The Patient seem'd inclinable to the Experiment I had propos'd, but said he must go on a while longer with Mr.
Ward
's Medicines, or else his Friends would say he had mist his Cure for want of Perseverance. How long he continued that
Regimen
after my Visit, I cannot say exactly; but finding at length his Body harrass'd by this constant Vomiting and Purging, without any Encouragement from his Sore; the next News I had was from Mr.
J—s D—ie,
to whom I had imparted the Case, who told me the
C—l
had sent for him, and that having found the Ulcer in the Condition I had represented it, he had (whilst Mr.
C—l—n
was by) deliver'd his Opinion, that the
Salivation
by
Unction,
might be of Service to him, and probably lay a foundation for his Cure; to which that Gentleman assented.
After this, having lay'd aside Mr.
Ward
's Method, or fully purposing so to do, two Gentlemen of his Acquaintance came to me, in order to let me know they could not be satisfied unless the
C—l
was put under my Care; and that they would perswade him to remove into the City, for the Convenience of my Attendance, where I promis'd to do him what Service I could, and in the way I had propos'd,
viz.
by
Smoaking
the Ulcer for three or four times, and finding Encouragement, to proceed instantly with the
Unction.
In a few Days more they came again, and told me, they had concluded upon the Removal of their Friend, to an equal Distance between me and Mr.
C—l—n,
for the Convenience of us both: I now objected a Misunderstanding between myself and that Gentleman, which he had not rectified in the manner I expected; and therefore I propos'd Mr.
D—ie,
whom the
C—l
had so lately consulted, as a Person more agreeable to me, and with whom I could Act with more Freedom and Satisfaction: But whilst this Matter was under Debate, some other
Empirical
Undertaker, who knows, I hear, as little of the Affair as the former, by means doubtless of stronger assurance of a Cure, than he had from us, has undertaken him; but with what Success I know not.
This Case has been variously reported about the Town; some have taken the Liberty to give out, that Mr.
Ward
has cur'd him, after all these Consultations: Others, of that Gentleman's Friends, that he would have cur'd him, had he gone on; and others again, that I had left him in as bad a Condition as I found him, intimating his having been under my Care, who never saw him more than once, nor prescribed one Grain of Medicine for him.
The second Case of a
Cancer,
under this Method, I had from Mr.
D—ie,
in a poor Woman, recommended to him, with a painful
Schirrous
hardness in the Glands of her Breast, for which he advis'd her to be quiet, and not to tamper; at the same time she had the Opinion of the Surgeons of the House, particularly of Mr.
F—ke,
who were of the same Opinion, that nothing could be done more than to palliate, and keep her quiet; however, by some Interest or other, she was recommended to Mr.
Ward,
and took his Medicines with such success, that when Mr.
D—ie
saw her some Weeks after, he told me, he was surpriz'd, the Tention of the Skin, by means of the strong
Revulsion
made by the Operation, under the repeated Vomiting, being much lessened, the Glands soften'd, and the whole Breast reduced: But some Weeks after this, out of Curiosity, making her another Visit, the Aspect, it seems, was not so promising; for the Wolf, (as the common People express themselves) which before had withdrawn it for a Season, began to show its head again,
i. e.
the
Fomes
stiffled for a time, threatening to bust out a-fresh: Since when she has been deny'd, and the Surgeons not admitted to see her; possibly, for that her Cure is not yet compleated, which is the mildest Construction can be put upon the Case, if not for that the Disease is now raging as at first. But by the way, this poor Woman is since dead of her Cancer.
Since I had this account of Mr.
D —ie
's, I was desired by a Gentleman to Visit his Spouse, in one of whose Breasts, I felt a large and painful Knot, which had lain quiet for some Years, but by improper
Topicks,
was exasperated, and had put on the Appearance of a true
Cancer,
of which she had already been informed; I asked her, whether she had Courage to part with her Breast? not that I am over fond of recommending these Excissions, but it might so fall out, that she might herself think of it, when by the Increase or Adhaesion, or communicating with the Glands of the Axilla, it was not practicable.
This I found had given Offence, and I heard no more of her, till about a Month or six Weeks after, when by Accident meeting her Husband in the Street, and enquiring how she did; he told me she was almost well, by taking Mr.
Ward's Pill,
which unknown to him, by the Interest of some Friend or Acquaintance, she had procur'd; and in the working of which, her Breast broke, and discharged a great quantity of Bloody Water; since which her Nipple had been drawn in, but she was easier, and the Breast a great deal less than when I saw it. I told him I wish'd a Continuance of the Amendment, but own'd myself very doubtful: For this Retraction of the
Tubuli Lactiferi,
or Milk Pipes, with the tucking-in of the Nipple, is always an untoward Appearance, and generally speaking, as sure a Sign of a
Cancer
in the Breast, as the painful Knot therein itself; and truly by the distant Enquiry I have since made, this Truce was but of a short Duration; the Distemper being again, worse than ever, the Remedy, by reason of its rough Operation long since laid aside, and the Patient, as I heard but this Day, deceased also.
The last Instance I will give you upon my own Knowledge, in respect to the pretended Cures of
Cancers,
shall be that of
C—n W—s
Lady, whom I Visited this last Summer, not long after Mr.
F—n
had been to see her on the same Occasion: I perceived one of her Breasts of an uncommon Magnitude, the whole Body of which, was one continued Induration, and so very ponderous, that she was forced to wear a Suspensory round her Neck, for the better support of it. She was prepar'd to receive any Sentence, I should pass on her Disease: But finding we were able to administer little Comfort, at the Importunity of a Friend, Mr.
Ward
was consulted, and gave her (if I am rightly inform'd) the greatest Assurance of a Cure, by his
Butter-milk
and
Curds
externally, and his
Drop
and
Pill
internally administer'd; nay, when she told him she fear'd by the great stretch of the Skin, the Breast would burst, he made very light thereof, and reply'd, no matter, his Medicines would make it whole again.
How long this unhappy Gentlewoman prosecuted his Method, I am not positive, but have heard, as long and as often as he himself desir'd her; at first with that seeming Advantage, that she apprehended herself lithsomer and better able to turn herself in her Bed; but at this time, now many Months past, I understand, in as bad a State as ever: And altho' under the same Gentleman's Care, the
Drop, Pill
and
Pultis,
having fail'd him, he now has chang'd them for a different set of Medicines; at least the Old in a different Disguise.
These are the Cases which have fallen under my own Inspection, or have been confirm'd by the Persons concern'd, relating to the Cure of
Cancers.
I have heard indeed of more, and some which common Rumour has spread for Cures compleated: But whether or no they have been really, or truly
Cancers,
or only so reported, remains with me a Doubt.
I should be glad if the Author, or his Confident, who gives them out, would be careful to collect a History of his Cures, more especially of this kind, well attested, where any Artist had before passed the Sentence of a true
Cancer,
which might very much conduce to the clearing up of this Affair; and we may allow, I dare say, of nine Miscarriages, if every tenth Experiment in this terrible Distemper has been attended with Success. Among those I have talk'd with, or have heard from others, the far greater Number, on whatever Occasion they may have taken the same, have bitterly inveigh'd against the roughness of the Operation, without any benefit thereby.
From the
Cancer,
in the inverted Order I took notice of them, I come to the
Scrofula,
or
King's Evil;
and here I must say, that I have seen some stubborn Ulcers, where there were no foul Bones, better dispos'd for healing, after taking of these
Pills
three or four times; but they have crack'd, fester'd, and spread again quickly after: nor have I heard of any
strumous Glands
about the Neck and
Fauces
thereby resolv'd: here indeed the
Revulsion
is lost, because the Humours in the Operation of Vomiting, are still more derived to these Parts, as is evident in those constant Tiplers of strong Liquors, who sometimes from their violent retchings, and throwing up all they take, whether Food or Physick, shall have their Faces bloated, when the rest of their Bodies are emaciated and wasted away.
These Remedies have been also cried up as infallible in the
Lues Venerea,
or
French Pox.
Here also, as in the foregoing, as likewise in
Scorbutick
Affects of the Skin, I have heard of Scabs and other breakings out, which by using of the Pill, have cast off, and dried away, as I have before observ'd; but whether or no the Venereal Poison is this way to be extirpated, as it has been at sometimes by the late
Misaubin
's, and by the
Quicksilver Pill,
as I have hinted in my Discourse thereon, I am alike doubtful: Yet as to safety in the Operation, I must give the Preference to either of the two last; having known (as I took notice before) a poor Fellow very merely destroy'd by the first.
The
Palsy
is another Disease, reported to be cur'd thereby; and for those who can bear the Ruffle of such repeated Revulsion, it is not improbable but that Examples may be given, where not only obstructed Blood-vessels, but obstructed Nerves, by a pituitous Humour therein impacted, such as the
Gutta Serena,
which is a Palsy of the
Optick Nerves,
may be thence discharg'd: In like manner the
Apoplexy, Lethargy, Coma, Carus,
and other
Phlegmatick Soporous
Disorders, where the Nervous Fibres are relax'd and sluggish, with the Sensation dull and torpid; and where these
Antimonial Vomits
may be more safely enterpriz'd than when those Fibres are in a State of
Tention,
and the Spirits more active.
A remarkable Recovery of this kind, Mr.
Ward
has given us, in the
London Evening Post, Nov.
7. and continued in several other Papers, which he tells us was drawn up by my
Lord Chief Baron Reynolds
's own Hand; but that surely does not appear by the
Baron
's Letter to him, who says only, That
he had sent him the Case enclos'd, drawn up with exactness in point of Fact; for which he desires his Credit may be look'd upon as a Guarantee,
as doubtless it will be: But it can hardly be suppos'd that if the Narrative had been drawn by him, the Case would have been express'd as follows: MARY BETTS,
a young Country Maid, Servant in the Lord Chief Baron Reynolds's Family, and constantly residing at his House, in St. Edmunds Bury, &c.
— Besides the Terms
Emetic, Cathartic, Emmenagogue,
denote the same, however sign'd by the
Baron,
to have been originally drawn up by the Physician, or Apothecary at least, concern'd; and if indeed in the Manner it is drawn, it was intended for the Information of the Common Reader, great part thereof might have been modestly omitted, as absolutely useless to them, and that without any way lessening the Cure: If for the Instruction of the Faculty, few of these, I dare say, will think it strange, that from so great a force upon the Blood-vessels under the violent Streining, together with the
Stimulus
added to the Blood itself from the Medicine, the same should break through, not only the Vessels of the
Uterus,
but those of other Parts also, as it has done in others, under the same Force. However, as these Obstructions might have no share in the
Palsy,
unless every Woman thus obstructed was
Paralitical,
or
Vice Versa,
every
Paralitiek
thus obstructed, this part of the History was superaboundant: No less,
the pulling down of the Eye-lids to bring on Sleep, and the lifting them up again, that she might lye awake;
as if either depended on those Motions, or that a Man could not Sleep with his Eyes open, which some do frequently, and others are forc'd to do, from a
Cicatrix
after a Wound or
Absces
on the upper Lid, occasioning such a Stricture as will not suffer the same to be depress'd; or that he could not lye awake with his Eyes shut, which others are constrain'd to do also, where the elevating Muscle has had its Fibres transverfly divided, so that the Lid falls.
There seems, I must own, something singular in this
Paralysis
of the Maid's Eye-lids, that upon lifting them up, they should keep so, and not fall down again, upon removing the Finger. This Part, however, of the Description, together with
her inability to compress the Glands of her Eyes, in order to shed Tears,
with that
also of lifting up the Lip, for the taking in of her Nourishment,
however inaccurate, were, I suppose, intended to give us to understand, that there was a universal Resolution of the whole
System
of the Nerves; unless, possibly, those of the
Sphincters,
of which no Notice is taken. And whether or no a
Salivation
was any Part of
Regular Practice,
or carried any Likelihood of bracing up the Fibres, or invigorating their Tone, thus debilitated, I shall leave to you, and others in such Practice, to determine.
If we go upon those two great Principles, of the
Strictum et Laxum,
of the
Animal Fibre,
and consider the latter to be the Condition of it, for the most part, if not always, in
Paralytic
Patients: The
cold Submersion,
especially in a youthful Subject, had carried greater Probability of Success, than a
Salivation,
which I have known to have brought on that Disease, but rarely, that I remember, proved its Cure.
We are not, I must acknowledge, certain, that this Experiment also, of
cold Bathing,
was not try'd, among other Parts of the
regular Practice
mention'd: Nor will I question all proper Methods taken for the poor Girl's Relief, by the Physician, who was concern'd. I will grant farther, all that Mr.
Ward,
or his Friends, can desire, that it was by the Three-fold Evacuation,
Vomiting, Sweating,
and
Purging,
that this remarkable Cure was effected; and that these were the Result of his
Drop
and
Pill:
But with whatever Views this Narrative was made publick, I hope no one, under the like Circumstances, will try the Experiment, upon an Expectation of the same Success, or run unadvisedly thereon. Let them consider, I say, first, that Part of the Story, relating to the Operation, and then, possibly they may judge it fit only for those who choose the Chance (and a very sorry one,) of being cured, or kill'd, rather than drag on longer a very miserable Life. The Case Writer says, That
after two or three Days Interval from the Drop, Mrs.
Reynolds
gave her one of the Pills, which had so violent an Operation, both as an Emetic and Cathartick, (i.e.
upwards and downwards,)
that the Maid, weaken'd to the last Degree, by her former long Course of Physick, was, for twelve Hours together, with great Difficulty, kept alive.
A Case somewhat related to this, in a
Paralytick,
farther advanced in Years, has been, with great Industry, conceal'd; where a violent Vomiting began the Tragedy, and after seventy, or nearer eighty Stools, most of them Blood, the Patient died upon the
Bed-pan.
If then the same tender Concern for the People's Welfare, the same Humanity Mr.
Ward
takes Notice of in my
Lord C— Baron,
puts me (and I solemnly declare to the World, it is nothing else,) upon giving them this Advice, and delivering these Cautions, I hope I shall stand clear of any unreasonable, or unkind Censure, as well from the B—n, who recommends, as Mr.
Ward
himself, the Dispenser of these Remedies.
I must own, Sir, to you, it was ever my Opinion, that private Gentlemen, or others of Fortune, unacquainted with human Bodies, and the Disorders it is subject to, might employ their Charity to much better Advantage, by succouring the Indigent with Food and Raiment, than by administring Physick, especially such as must inevitably be attended with equal, if not greater Mischief than Benefit or Advantage. Whether the good Intention will attone for the
Homicides
happening in this Way, is out of my Province: But if the People cannot be content without some
Quackery,
it were better, surely, they would return again to their
Quicksilver,
as the least hazardous of the two.
Asking Pardon for this Digression, occasion'd by so notable an
Advertisement,
I proceed.
The
Rheumatism
and
Gout,
they tell us, have been removed by the same Medicines; of which I can say nothing, any more than of the foregoing, upon my own Knowledge. It is, I grant, less to be wonder'd at, if some strong Habits, with robust Fibres, both
Muscular,
as well as
Nervous,
should, in the like Method of
Revulsion,
with some others, after repeated Evacuation of the Humours, as well upwards as downwards, be set free of their Confinement: But I should expect the same
Regimen
exceedingly hazardous to those of differing Temperaments and Constitutions; the sound Bottom may ride out the Storm, when the leaky founders.
And now, lastly, in respect to the
Gout,
it has been long since my settled Judgment, That the prime physical Intentions, are (with
Sydenham,
) to strengthen the Digestion, and fortify the noble Parts, leaving the Gouty Matter, thrown forth upon the Joints, to spend itself there: For though, at some Times, I have heard of such, who, by the Use of my
Name-sake
's Powder of
Turbith, Hermodacts, Scammony, &c.
have put by a Fit, as they thought, or lessen'd the same, by discharging the Gouty Matter in the way of Stool. I have heard of others, who, by the same Means, have brought the Distemper upon their Bowels, their Stomach, or their Brains, where, notwithstanding all Endeavours, they have lost their Lives thereby: An Example of which, I was a Witness, about four Years past, in an elderly Gentleman, who labouring long therewith upon his Feet, was perswaded to take one of these Purges; the Day after which, he grew easier on those Parts, but was instantly tortured in his Bowels, to such Degree, that the strongest Dose of
Opium
would scarce give Ease: Hence the Distemper took to his Stomach, and raised as great a Storm with incessant Vomiting. His Apothecary had given an easy Dose, as I remember, twelve Grains of the
Indian Root,
and in the Evening an
Opiate
again, which freed him from this new Attack; but before Morning, the same Matter had seized his Head, when he grew stupid, snorted, and fell into a
Coma,
out of which, neither
Volatiles, sharp Clysters, Cupping, Blistering, Vomiting, Sternutatories,
or any
Stimulus,
could rouse him. In this Condition he lay for forty-eight Hours, and then expired, through the unfortunate Translation of a Disease, with which could he have been content to have conflicted as formerly, some Days longer, whilst the same was upon the extreme Parts, he might, as in those he had formerly undergone, in all Probability, have protracted his Life.
These Considerations, which I readily submit, Sir, to your Judgment, I thought proper to communicate to the Publick, at a Time when great Numbers of the People, who can so readily come at them, are trying Experiments with Remedies, so often hazardous to their Welfare; and by which, as it may fall out, some Benefit, so also much Mischief must ensue the present Method of promiscuously taking them, or through the want of proper Information.
If that which I now offer, or from the Cautions here laid down, I may be instrumental in saving one single Life, it will afford me abundantly more real Pleasure and Satisfaction, than the idle Cavils of evil-minded Men, the snarling of loose-Principled Persons, or the Scurrilities offer'd by
Debauchees,
(who, destitute of Argument, fly to Slander,) shall give Disquiet.
I am, Sir, in the strictest Sincerity, Your Friend, and very humble Servant, D. TURNER.
POSTSCRIPT.
THE following CASES are drawn with so much Judgment, and appear withal so authentick, that I have taken the Liberty to transcribe them, for the Satisfaction of all those into whose Hands the
Journal,
whence they are extracted, has not fallen; and as I have been charged with being the Compiler, I take this Opportunity to declare, that I know not the Author; yet, at the same Time, return him hearty Thanks, as the whole Kingdom ought to do, for his Industry, in collecting them, and that honest Zeal he has shown, to safe-guard his Countrymen from that Danger they may see others have been betray'd into, under the specious Views of
Infallible Remedies.
CASE I. A Gentleman of a middle Age, of a very robust and strong Habit of Body, having no other Disorder but some of the common Symptoms of the
Scurvy,
was, about three Months ago, brought to take one of these
Drops,
and two of the
Pills.
The
Drop
work'd very roughly; but he went on, in Hopes of being made quite sound by this pretended
Catholicon,
and took one
Pill.
That carried on the Disturbance, and so shook his Constitution, that he broke out all over his Body; with many other Disorders, too tedious to mention. He goes to WARD himself, tells his Complaints, and asks further Advice, which was given him, That he must take more
Pills.
He bought four more; but upon taking one, became so shatter'd with its Violence, that his under Jaw became paralytick; so that, without the Assistance of his Hand, he could not move it up or down: The Eruptions increased, and grew troublesome, in some Parts leaking a sharp Ichor. He recover'd the Use of his Jaw in a little Time, but languish'd, with vain Hopes, that other Disorders would mend. But the Tendons of his Insteps, and of the Backs of his Hands swell'd: He had a general Weakness of his Joints all over his Body; the tendonous Parts apt to swell, upon any little Exercise, and be painful. His Head grew much disturb'd; he almost loft his Hearing of his right Ear, and had a continual Noise in it; his Eyes grew watry, and sore, and so weak, he could not read five Minutes at a Time, without Pain and smarting. In this declining State, he fell into a Fever, about three Weeks ago, but by safer Remedies is recover'd; only those ill Effects of WARD's Medicines are not yet removed.—Those who are curious to know this Gentleman's Name, may enquire of the Bookseller.
CASE II. Mrs. TEMPRO, Servant to FRANCIS WHITWORTH, Esq; in
Clifford-Street, Burlington-Gardens,
aged about Thirty-five, had some wandring Pains, and other small Complaints, about last
Whitsuntide.
She took one Dose of WARD's
Nostrum,
which vomited and purged her very much, and so affected her Nerves, that one of her Hands became numb'd upon it. She took a second, and that was so violent, it threw her into strong Convulsions, and brought a confirm'd Palsy upon both her Hands and Arms, so that she could make no manner of Use of them, attended with grievous Sickness, and Vomiting almost continually. She apply'd for Relief to those in the Physical way near Hand, for she was then in one of the Lodges in
Windsor
Forest; but they being unable to relieve her, she was brought to
London
about the second of
October,
has received some Benefit here, and is in a Way of Recovery.
I shall in the second Place, relate some Cases which have proved mortal.
CASE III. ELIZ. MOOR, Servant to Mrs. BURTON, in
King's-Street,
near St.
Ann
's Church, aged thirty-four; subject to Hysteric Fits, advised with Mr. WARD first of all, on
Friday, July
5, 1734; he ordered her to take his
Pill,
she took one that Night, which had no Operation at all, so that she went about her Business. The
Tuesday
Night following she took another, which operated no more than the first. Then she went to Mr. WARD again, who advised her to take another, which she did the next
Wednesday
Night, being
July
the 10th, this operated no more than the others that Night: But the next Day she was taken very ill at a Neighbour's House, and was brought home in a Coach, screaming and crying out of an intolerable Pain in her Stom
ch and Guts, declaring to her Friends who stood by, that the
Pill
had killed her. Her Pulse was scarcely to be felt, she had cold Sweats, fell into Convulsions, and died about three o'Clock on
Friday
Morning the 12th.
CASE IV. HESTER STAPS, a Waiter at the Bagnio, Charing-Cross, aged about forty-five, of a moderate strong Constitution, and troubled with no other Distemper, but some small Scorbutic Pimples, which used to break out Spring and Fall, would needs try Mr. WARD's
Panacea.
The first Dose she said Vomited and Purged her times beyond numbering, and brought upon her many Disorders; she hoping, that repeating the like Medicine would cure them, took a third Dose; but instead of curing them, it brought on a violent Disorder and Pain in her Head, loss of Appetite, an inward continual Fever, or Fever on the Spirits, with great Dejection and lowness of Spirits, and continual griping Pain in her Bowels. She grew from hence Pleuretic and Pthisical: But more than all these, the third Dose threw out all over her Body a most violent Leprosy. This Disease she never had any sign of before, but now it was so violent, that the Scales which came off her were very offensive: Thus she miserably wasted away, and the beginning of last Month died; which was about two Months, from her taking the third Dose from WARD.
CASE V and VI. JOHN WOOTEN, Aged thirty-six, and DANIEL his Brother thirty-four, being Pthisical, took WARD's
Drop;
and DANIEL took one of his
Pills
besides. They both had the
Drop
mixed in a Decoction of Riasins, which they took near two Months, but grew much worse; and DANIEL's
Pill
burst a Vessel within him in the working, and forc'd up a quantity of Blood: He died about four Days after, and his Brother JOHN the next Day. They were Chairmen in Lumley-Court, in the Strand.
CASE VII. Mr. T. KING, Baker in St. Giles's, about forty Years old, was Consumptive, but with the Direction of an eminent Physician, grew better. He took one of WARD's
Pills
the twenty-third of
July
last, which vomited him for three Days, then turned downward, and purged him as much, till it brought a quantity of Blood with his Stools; and the first of
August
he died.
CASE VIII. SAMUEL GRAY, middle Aged, being ill of a Consumption, in the Parish Work-house of St. George Hanover-Square, would needs take WARD's Medicine; he died within an Hour after taking the second Dose.
CASE IX. MARCUM CAMBEL, about forty Years old, of Patin-street, Hanover-Square, having an Ague, took six Doses of WARD's Medicine; but was made so ill by them, that being sent three Days after to the Infirmary at Hyde-Park-Corner, he could not there be relieved, but died in five Days.
CASE X. Mrs. MAGEE's Daughter, of Carnaby-Market, about five Years of Age, was only ill of a Rash, took three Doses, and died the next Morning after taking the third Dose; it never Operating with her.
CASE XI. ANNE EVING, Servant to Mr. BURTON, of Conduit-street, about thirty Years old, had only Scrophulous Tumours on her Neck, took five Doses of WARD's Medicines, and died two Days after taking the last Dose.
CASE XII. Mrs. GILBERT, who kept the Horseshoe Ale-house in Essex-street, of a middle Age and robust Constitution, took one of WARD's
Pills
the beginning of
July
last; it vomited her thirty-four, and purged her twenty-two times. She sent for an eminent Physician and Apothecary the next Day, who found her very feverish, and thirsty, having continual retchings to Vomit, violent Pains in her Belly; and to be short, with all the Symptoms of Bowels a mortifying; and, what was almost as bad, the Operation had caused a violent Navel Rupture. The Physician used his utmost Endeavours to assist her, but could get nothing to pass through her, but on the Morrow-night, she miserably died.
To the foregoing, give me leave to add the two following.
I have already observed, in discoursing of the
Palsy,
a Case industriously conceal'd, and notwithstanding all the Application and Interest I could make, have been denied Admittance, to the Widow of the Deceased. Thus much upon the most solemn Assurance, that no Names should ever be brought upon the Stage, I have gather'd from a Relation to the Family; that about the middle of last Month, the Brother of the Deceased, having read in the publick Papers, of a great Cure of a
Palsy,
perswaded him to take one of these
Pills;
When I asked what Condition he was in at that time? they said he had a
Palsy
on one side, under which he labour'd several Years: That in four Hours, after taking of the
Pill,
he was seiz'd with a violent Vomiting, and could not keep from the Close-stool, till he fell off in a Fit; that they then laid him on the Bed, with the Pan under him, where he lay in cold Sweats, and very great Agonies; the Stools continuing to run from him, till he lost all Sense, and fell into Convulsions; his Jaws lock'd up, and all his Limbs contracted; in which Posture he died the same Evening.
I now enquired, What
Report
the
Searchers
had made upon so violent a Death, and so evidently brought on, by the Poison he had taken? and received for Answer, That they supposed it was return'd
Convulsions.
Whence Sir, it seems plain to me, that whilst these poor Women, employ'd as
Searchers,
either ignorantly, or through Corruption, pass by such miserable Deaths, we shall never be able to come at the tenth part of these Miscarages: To detect which, I think it absolutely necessary, that every
Parish Clark,
lay the strictest Injunction upon these Creatures, to make a true Report of all those immediately ensuing the taking of these Medicines, where they can come to understand, that any such had been given the same or the Day or two before; and that these Symptoms of violent Vomitings or Fluxes have instantly destroyed the deceased Person. If this trust had been duly executed, I question whether we should have had one Weekly Bill, these three or four Months past, wherein there might not have been inserted among the
Accidents; Poison'd by the Drop and Pill.
—
If a Person voluntarily or with Design of destroying himself, takes
Poison (and these Pills we see will do the same Execution)
he is deem'd a
Felo de se,
and an
Inquesi
must sit upon the Body; nay, if by Mistake or Accident he is destroyed the same way, yet still there must be the same Enquiry. Why then should so many of his Majesty's Subjects be thus hurried out of the World, and no notice taken, for that some others have struggled and got the better, as well of the said Poison, as the Discase sometimes, for which it was taken.
You very well know, that every Member of the College, is Sworn to present what is justly denominated by us
Mala Praxis;
dear Doctor, tell me what is this? but as the Gentlemen of the Faculty care not to turn
Informers,
neither the Governing Part of the College to take Cognizance yet a while thereof; so possibly, the Government itself, may in time, see Cause to enquire into an Affair of so great Moment, and either wholly suppress the distribution of these dangerous
Druggs,
among the People, or take Care to see, that they are placed under a better Regulation.
About ten Days past, a Gentleman, in Company with his Wife, having some tetterish Eruptions on her Skin, consulted with Mr.
Ward,
who made no Doubt of curing her in Time, if she pursued his Directions. When she objected the Weakness of her Constitution, unable to undergo the Operation of any rough Medicines, he did assure her, that he would order nothing which the weakest Person might not venture on with the greatest Safety, and gave her, at that Time, two of his
Drops,
that is, the same Number of his
Sack Draughts,
one of which she took on the
Sunday
Morning following, without other Effect, than a little Sickness and Vomiting. On the
Tuesday
she took the other, with as small Disturbance as the first. On the next Day, which was
Wednesday,
she went again to Mr.
Ward,
who now gave her two of his
Pills,
the one of which she swallow'd the next Morning,
viz.
on
Thursday;
this had as little Effect as the Draughts, but at Night she found herself swell'd, as if she had been poison'd, which indeed she was: However, on the
Friday
she lay by, continuing thus full, and pain'd in her Bowels. On the
Saturday
she ventured on her second
Pill,
in hopes that might work off the rest, when by Noon she was taken with enormous Vomiting and Purging at the same Time, which, after some Hours Continuance, threw her into strong Convulsions; so that she lost her Senses, and seem'd as one dead to the Assistants round about. The Apothecary was call'd, and her Husband proposed a Physician; but he told them, the whole Stress lay upon getting down what Quantities they could of small Broths, or other dilating Liquors, which might wash off the poisonous Salts, and defend her Bowels from a Mortification thereby.
In this Condition she continued all Night; her Fainting and Convulsions often returning; and frequently no Pulse, or other Signs of Life. The Day following, she came a little to herself; yet is not, at this Time, free from the malign Impression left upon her Nerves by the Poison, being still, upon the least Occasion, subject to the convulsive Motions; nor, possibly, may she suddenly, if ever, get clear from the same.
In the first of these Relations, I could have the Opportunity of letting myself only into the Misfortune of a Family, which must, it seems, remain secreted from the World, under a Pretext of preventing the surviving Brother running out of his Senses, who was instrumental in procuring and giving the fatal Pill, if the same were to be made publick. In this last, though I am forbid the Publication of Names, yet I have Leave given to send any Gentleman or Lady of Reputation, who doubts the Truth of the Narrative, to the House, where the Husband will confirm it, as well as the Gentlewoman herself, who underwent the cruel Symptoms, and who has so narrowly escaped with Life.
To these Instances it may be objected, that many Hundreds of People have taken, and are daily devouring, these Draughts and Pills, without these mischievous Accidents. To which may be answered, That the same Number might very likely take
Arsnick
in that Dose, with as little Complaint: It is not every one who takes ten times as much, that can dispatch themselves thereby, as they had intended. Either some Quantity of Liquor already in the Stomach, or pour'd down immediately after, dissolving and diffusing the Caustick Salts, Nature rousing by strong Efforts, throws up by Vomit,
(as in these Cases,)
what lies therein, discharging, at the same Time, (however, with horrid Gripings,) what is passed lower, by the way of Stool, and at length frees herself therefrom, though much weaken'd, and almost spent. Thus I say, (and I doubt not, you will join Issue with me,) that it is possible for many, by the Strength of a good Constitution, or some lucky Incident in their Favour, to escape these Symptoms, and to suffer little otherwise than under common Vomiting and Purgeing from a rough Medicine, of a different Tribe: But, indeed, it is so very difficult to come at all which have fallen out in this Way, that it may be made a Question, whether the one hundredth Part is brought to Light; the People who have been imposed on, being ashamed of their Credulity, in listening with the Herd after them, have stifled all they can: And unless they have been destroy'd outright, which too, you see has been the Case, their Friends care not it should be known, but endeavour what they can to conceal them. Had this been the Fate of a great Man's Servant, (and surely, nothing could be more near,) she also had, in all Likelihood, died simply, as some others, of Convulsions, without an Inquest: And why it should be made an Example (as it was) for others to imitate, is, I own, above my Comprehension. But the Nature of these Medicaments will better appear from the following more certain Account of their Composition, as the same is reported to have been communicated by the
French
King's Physician; the Original of which is at this Time, I hear, or was very lately, in the Custody of that worthy, and very learned Man, Dr.
P—t.
Mr. WARD's
DROP.
℞
Butyr. Antimon.
℥
ij. Crem. Tartar.
℥
iv. M. et Coq. in Aq. Com. q. s. per octo horas. deinde adde gradatim Ol. Tart. p. Deliq.
℥
iv. Cola & Evapora ut paretur Sal. quod fluat. p. Deliq. Capiat hujus a gut. j. ad plures. in haustulo vini albi cujuslibet Mollioris.
The PILL.
Is said to be no other than the
Vitrum Antimonij,
formed, with the
Drop,
into small
Pills,
each of a Grain Weight.
Now, Sir, as none but the
Physician, Apothecary,
or
Chymist,
can rightly inform the World of the poisonous Nature of these Compositions, and the dangerous Effects thereof, upon the more sensible Parts of Mens Bodies, such, I mean, as the
Nerves,
I will readily submit to the whole Body of these Gentlemen, whether any one of a sound Judgment in Physick, and well acquainted with the human Frame, will either prescribe any such himself, or consent to their being taken; and if it must not denote all those to have a weak one in this Particular, how knowing soever, in some others, who shall venture to take them; especially after so fair a Warning as has been given in the
Journal,
already referr'd to, as well as from the farther Intimation here deliver'd by,
SIR, (once more,) Your humble Servant.
ADVERTISEMENT.
WHOEVER shall think fit, to send an Account of what they know, of the Good or Bad Consequences (that equal Justice may be done the same,) from the taking of these Medicines; by a Letter directed for the AUTHOR, to be left at Mr. JOHN CLARKE's, Bookseller, under the
Royal Exchange,
the Favour will be acknowledged; and provided the Facts are truly stated, with the Patients Names, and Places of Residence, at least private Allowance for any diffident Person to satisfy themselves of the Truth of such Facts; the Persons Name who sends such Information, shall be made no other Use of, than he himself gives free Permission.
FINIS.