An impartial and uncontrollable account of the effects of the late Dr. William Cockburn's specific, for curing diarrhoeas, bloody fluxes, &c. since its revival, i.e. within three months past : exemplified in various cures performed by it, when all other medicines had been tried for many years together, to no purpose ... / By John Dove.

  • Dove, John, active 18th century.
Date:
1751
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An impartial and uncontrollable account of the effects of the late Dr. William Cockburn's specific, for curing diarrhoeas, bloody fluxes, &c. since its revival, i.e. within three months past : exemplified in various cures performed by it, when all other medicines had been tried for many years together, to no purpose ... / By John Dove. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    die. I enquired who attended her; for if any one elfe did, I would not. They anfwercd, fhe had no more Medicines, befides a Cordial Draught, to take; for the Cafe was looked upon as defperate, and beyond the Reach of Phyfic. The Clergyman that attended her alfo, recommended Refignation to the Will of God, looking upon it as impofiible for her to recover. Under thofe Circumftances, I returned to her Bedfide and found her in s Fever, her Pulfe high, her Tongue black and very rough, herfelf helplefs and in fuch Agony, that though (he lay up two pair ofStairs behind the front Room, {he was heard to cry out even in the Street. She had about thirty Stools in twenty lour Hours, had kept her Bed in this Condition above a Month, and was fevenrv-fix Years of Age. There was no Time to be loft; befides, (he was too weak to take a Purge, and under fuch Cir- cumftances as rendered it impoflible to have a Clyfter; fo I gave her a large Quantity of the Medicine at Ten that Night: And atTen o’Clock next Morning I found her with no Fever, her Tongue fmooth, and of a natural Colour ; and though fhe was ftill very bad, faid fhe was better than fhe had been, and more eafy, but that fince fhe muft die, defired to die peaceably; and for fome Days would take no more of the Medicine, except now and then the Quantity of a Pea, whicli they gave her without her Knowledge. Thus two or three Days were loft; at the End of which fhe was perfuaded to take a Bolus Night and Morning. Her Bowels though tortured before, were immediately quieted ; the fecond Day her Stools were confiftent, and abated in their Number gradually for four or five Days, I cannot fay which, and then ceafed. She was perfectly cured, and has had but one regular Motion, in twenty-four Hours ever fince. The Apothecary with¬ out knowing what had been done, twice pronounced her Recovery a Miracle; but when he knew it, made light of it. The Gentlewoman is now alive and well to juftify the Truth of this and every other Circumftance in this Account; her Daughters, the Family, and Neighbours, will do the fame. CASE III. 7V/JR. Cowper, in IVheeler-Slreet, Spittal-Fields, defired me to attend Mr. John Becky ’*-*-*- one of his Neighbours, who was in a defperate Condition with a Diarrhoea,and (as was thought) his Bowels ulcerated ; I called and found him in a perfectly compofed Frame of Mind, without the leaft Expectation of Life, and indeed I as little expected he fhould live as himfelf did, and was blamed by fome Friends for meddling in a Cafe that was deemed an inflexible and loft one, and where the Man muft inevitably fink under the Force of his Difeafc, being given over by a Gentleman of as much Integrity, Skill and Humanity, as the Faculty can boaft of. He had not frequent Stools, but one continual Flux\ and when he fet up in his Bed, it flowed as through a perpendicular Tube, and appeared like a thin Pus, or corrupted Matter; his Urine but little in Quantity, with a Sedimenc like Brick- Duft half Way from the Bottom of the Glafs, attended with conftant Gripings in his Bowels. I gave him the Medicine without any Preparative, which he took at twelve Hours Diftance, and then at fix Hours Diftance. The firft four Days it had no other Ef¬ fect but to quiet his Bowels, which it did from the Beginning. I locked upon his Cafe ab- folutely incurable, and part the Power of Medicine. He was as much convinced of this as myfelf, and indifferent as to Life or Death, faying Let the JVill of the Lord be doney if 1 live it is for the bef, if 1 die it is the fame^ it will be well with ?ne, 1 fhall be received to the Mercy of God, through the Merits of Chrift, and my Family not want : When my Mafier calls I am ready to obey. Upon this I propofed to him to take it at every three Hours, He complied, and told me, he would eat it all Day if he might, for he found it fa- iutary ; thus I left him, with no Expectations of ever feeing him alive more. At twelve o’clock the fame Night his Flux flopped at once, after half an Hour’s intenfc Pain in his Bo web; he Cent me Word the next Day that he was better, but as I did not hear of it till 'ate at Night, I did not call till the next Morning,when I found him weak, but perfectly well, and remains fo to teftify the Truth of this Account; his Neighbours will do the fame; and what is remarkable, he has had an even Habit of Body ever fince without Coftivenels ©r Fever.