nal remittent, a dose of laudanum on the third evening, never produced a healthy crifis in the yellow fever. Wade has justly decided laudanum to be "mischievous in almost every instance;" and Moseley has with equal propriety termed it "a fatal medicine" in the yellow fever. Musk was tried but once, in an advanced cafe, in the hope of checking a haraffing hiccup. The fecond pill, consisting of three grains, excited fuch violent vomiting and increase of hiccup, as nearly destroyed the life it was intended to preserve. Wine was univerfally naufeous even in the smallest quantity, and in every form, in which it could be taken. Its effects refembled, on a smaller scale, those of laudanum. When swallowed in the fever, if it did not occafion vomiting, it caufed a burning heat in the ftomach, or delirium. I afcribe a general eruption of large red blotches over the body, in a particular instance, to the inflammatory action of the fanguiferous system, greatly increased by the free ufe of wine and water. I am not amazed therefore, at the affertion of Shenkius, that wine deftroyed all, who took it in the Hungarian fever; or of Wade, who declares it "ill adapted to the fevers of Bengal." Such was the uniformity of the disease, that to convalescents themselves, wine ftill proved injurious or difagreeable. A finall quantity of ather was used on one occafion, towards the clofe of the cafe, but with no good effect in checking the vomiting or the approach of death. The cold or warm bath, I never ufed. One patient informed me, that he had found the pains of his legs relieved by bathing his feet in warm water. Purging and bleeding had been previously used, and this partial bath was tried on the third evening of the disease. In no other inftance, did I find it useful in mitigating any fymptom, or in relaxing the skin. Every perfon of common obfervation, must have remarked the departure of the yellow fever from a ufual autumnal remittent, with refpect to its influence over the fkin. It did not tend to a crifis by fweat on the third day; and at any period of the disease, it was a mischievous mode of practice to exhibit the usual train of fudorific medicines; they failed to open the skin, and rarely failed of doing harm. In a few inftances, which occurred after the approach of cool weather, I thought that I found advantage in preferving the fweat, fucceeding the exhibition of the purge or venæfection, by means of small doses of fpt. mindereri occafionally administered. But at this time, fweat was more easily excited, than during the prevalence of great heat. Dover's powder produced worse effects from the naufea and vomiting attending its use, than good from its fudorific properties. I was foon obliged to defift from its use. The use of emetics in the yellow fever, deserves animadverfion. They were admissible in every moderate cafe; they were dangerous in every violent one. Ipecacuanha only could be given with safety; I know not, whether emetic tartar ever did good. When the difeafe commenced with no great violence, the gall-bladder might be evacuated, and the biliary ducts. emulged by a dofe of ipecacuanha; indigefted matters alfo might be thus thrown from the ftomach. But in violent attacks, too much time was loft during the formal administration of an emetic, without any compenfation of adequate importance. Emetic tartar, moreover, irritated the ftomach fo much, that the natural tendency of the disease to vomiting was highly increased, and in fome inftances this dangerous fymptom was awakened by it, and never ceased but with life. Thefe confiderations----that the preparations of antimony were dangerous, that ipecacuanha unproductively confumed a * valuable portion of time, and that vomits were not always requifite, induced me to reject these remedies, or to seek for their effects in another manner. With this view, I gave a large dofe of calomel immediately, and if vomiting was required, this medicine would produce the effect, without much naufea, exertion, or irritation of the stomach. The fame dofe would act alfo with more certainty on the bowels, and fave that time, which would have otherwise been loft. So repugnant to the ftate of the ftomach in this disease, were the preparations of antimony, that in every inftance in which I used the vinum antimoniale, even two or three drops of it irritated that organ, and excited a very troublesome rejection of every thing fwallowed. Before I close my letter, it may not be amifs to notice the ill effects of the combination of the evacuating plan with bark, wine, &c. A view of the yellow fever, as the fynochus of Dr. Cullen, led to a pernicious mode of treatment. The patient was firft bled, then bark, laudanum, &c. were administered, in order to provide against an expected state of debility. The mind was prepoffeffed with a notion of approaching putridity, and the appearance of inflammatory action in the commencement of the fever, was totally difregarded, or looked upon as a foe in ambush! How much to be regretted, that the name of a disease should ever have more potent influence over the judgement, than the Symptoms with which it is accompanied ! .....ADIEU! (To be concluded in the next.) The Angina Maligna fuccessfully treated by Mercury and Capficum Gargle. By GEORGE FARQUHAR, M. D. of Clarendon, Jamaica. HE autumnal rains in Jamaica, in the year 1800, being THER much fequent month of November, remittents were not only very general, but attended with unusual severity. The angina maligna, or putrid fore throat, was alfo at this period epidemical, and extremely fatal among children in several parts of the inland. Upon vifiting the hofpital upon Killit's eftate, in the • This eftate, which belongs to the honorable George Mackenzie, is one of the largest and most productive in the island, yielding fometimes a crop of parish of Clarendon, upon the 25th of November, I found three negro children, who had been admitted the preceding day with this disease. Several white floughs furrounded by a confiderable degree of redness, though with little or no fwelling, appeared in the fauces. They complained of a flight foreness of the throat, not attended however with much difficulty in swallowing. The pulfe was extremely quick and feeble; and there was every fymptom of general debility. A vomit of tartar emetic folution had been given them the preceding evening, and during the night they had used a gargle of fage tea, and the ́vegetable acid, in which fome alum was diffolved. I immediately ordered blisters to the fauces externally, with bark, wine, and elixir of vitriol, to be given as often as their stomachs would receive them; ufing fome of the fame, with the addition of a little tincture of myrrh, as a gargle. Thefe appli'cations were continued during the day and night with no good effect whatever, as the floughs in the evening gradually affumed a dark colour, indicating the approach of incipient gangrene; and upon removing the blifters, the parts to which they had been applied, had nearly the fame appearance. Two of the children died the following morning, the 26th, and the third in the course of that day. From the rapid progress of their complaints after admiffion to the hospital, I was led to suppose they had been for fome days indifpófed previous to their being presented for affistance. This their mothers acknowledged, nearly one thousand hogfheads of fugar; and the proprietor refiding upon it, devotes a confiderable portion of his attention to the comfort and happiness of his flaves, who amount to about seven hundred. During the time I had the medical care of this property, the following extraordinary occurrence took place. The mother of an infant, after an indifpofition of some time, died, leaving her child to the direction of its grandmother, a negro woman, about the age of seventy, who being in the habit of putting her breast in its mouth to keep it quiet, in a few days was aftonished, not only at a confiderable increase in the fize of her breasts, but at their being fo full of milk, that the child was receiving nourishment from them in abundance. She continued fuckling it for about a year, during which it was extremely healthy, and continued after one of the finest children upon the eftate. obferving, that as they appeared to have only flight colds, they did not confider they required medicine. Directions were now however given, that the children fhould not only be conveyed to the hospital the moment they complained of their throats, but that the fauces of all the children upon the estate, should be examined twice a day. Three more cases of the difcafe were this day received into the hospital; and the treatment of the former having proved so entirely unsuccessful, I adopted the following: Four grains of calomel, with as many drops of laudanum, were given to each of the children, (two of whom were of the age of fix years, and one of five,) and repeated every four hours, intermitting or continuing the laudanum, to prevent the mercury's paffing off by the intestines, as might be required. A drachm of mercurial ointment at the fame interval of time, was ordered to be rubbed into the fauces externally, and into the infide of the arms of each; they were also supplied liberally with wine, spices, and nourishing food. I at the fame time directed the following ftimulating gargle, to be used every hour: Take of Cayenne pepper, two table-fpoonfuls; common falt, one fpoonful; to which let of water and vinegar, each one pint, be added, and boiled down to half the quantity. Thefe applications were continued during the whole of the day and night; and the subsequent morning, the 27th, I was pleafed to find, by the state of the gums, that the mercurial action had commenced. Several of the floughs had also feparated, leaving little ulcers of a fine red healthy appearance. The pulfe was also become much stronger: medicines continued. The 28th in the morning, a confiderable degree of ptyalism having been produced, and the remainder of the floughs having caft off, the use of the mercury was difcontinued. The ftimulating gargle was alfo laid afide, and in its stead, a weak solution of alum in water, was fubftituted; a dofe of caftor-oil being twice given at an interval of two days, to carry off the remains of the mercury. No other medicine was required, fo that |