ee spoonfuls
to be given every fourth hour, until it either excited nausea, or a
free discharge of urine; both these effects took place nearly at the
same time: he made a large quantity of water, the swellings subsided
very considerably, and his breath became easy. Eight days afterwards
he began upon a course of bitters and deobstruents. The dropsical
symptoms soon increased again, but he had suffered so much from the
severity of the sickness before, that he was neither willing to take,
nor I to give the same medicine again.

Perhaps this patient might have been saved, if I had been well
acquainted with the management and real doses of the medicine, which
was certainly in this instance made very much too strong; and
notwithstanding the caution to stop the further exhibition when
certain effects should take place, it seems the quantity previously
swallowed was sufficient to distress him exceedingly.

CASE VIII.

_March_ 11th. Mrs. H----, AEt. 32. A few days after a tedious labour,
had her legs and thighs swelled to a very great degree; pale and
semi-transparent,[5] with pain in both groins. After a purge of
calomel and rhubarb, ung. merc. was ordered to be rubbed upon the
groins, and the following decoction was directed:

R. Fol. Digital. purp. recent. [Symbol: ounce]ii.
Aq. purae. [Symbol: pound]i. coque ad [Symbol: pound]iss et
colatur. adde.
Aq. cinn. sp. [Symbol: ounce]iv. M. capiat. cyath. vinos.
parv. bis quotidie.

The decoction presently increased the secretion of urine, and abated
the distension of the legs: in a fortnight the swelling was gone; but
some days after leaving her bed, her legs swelled again about the
ancles, which was removed by another bottle of the decoction on the
21st of _April_.

[Footnote 5: This disease has lately been well described by
Mr. White, of Manchester.]

CASE IX.

_March_ 29th. Mr. G----, AEt. 47. Very much deformed; asthma of several
years continuance, but now dropsical to a great degree. Took several
medicines without relief, and then tried the Digitalis, but with no
better success.

CASE X.

_April_ 10th. G--G----, AEt. 70. Asthma and anasarca. Took a decoction
of the fresh leaves of the Digitalis, which produced violent sickness,
but no immediate evacuation of water. After the sickness had ceased
altogether, the urine began to flow copiou