other; so various external applications to the part affected have been proposed; but almost all of them are of a doubtful effect. The narcotic, refrigerant, and astringent applications, are suspected of disposing to gangrene; spiritous applications seem to increase the inflammation, and all oily or watery applications seem to occasion its spreading. The application that seems most safe, and which is now most commonly employed, is that of a dry meally powder frequently sprinkled upon the infamed parts,

712. An Erysipelas Phlegmonodes frequently appears on other parts of the body beside the face; and such other erysipelatous inflammations frequently end in suppuration. These cases are sel dom dangerous. At coming on, they are sometimes attended with drowsiness, and even with some delirium; but this rarely happens; and these symptoms do not continue after the inflammation is formed. I have never seen an instance of the translation of this inflammation from the limbs to an internal part; and though these inflammations of the limbs be attended with pyrexia, they seldom require the same evacuations as the erysipelas of the face. At first they are to be treated by dry meally applications only; and all humid applications, as fomentations, or poultices, are not to be applied, till, by the continuance of the disease, by

the increase of swelling, or by a throbbing felt in the part, it appears that the disease is proceeding to suppuration.

713. We have hitherto considered erysipelas as in a great measure of a phlegmonic nature; and, agreeably to that opinion, we have proposed our method of cure. But it is probable, that an erysipelas is sometimes attended with, or is a symptom of, a putrid fever; and, in such cases, the evacuations proposed above may be improper, and the use of the Peruvian bark may be necessary; but I cannot be explicit upon this subject, as such putrid cases have not come under my observation.

714. THIS

CHAP. VII.

OF THE MILIARY FEVER.

HIS disease is said to have been unknown to the ancients, and that it appeared, for the first time, in Saxony, about the middle of the last century. It is said to have spread from thence into all the other parts of Europe; and, since the period mentioned, to have appeared in many countries in which it had never appeared before.

*

715. From the time of its having been first par

ticularly observed, it has been described and treated of by many different writers; and by all of them, till very lately, has been considered as a peculiar idiopathic disease.

It is said to have been constantly attended with peculiar symptoms. It comes on with a cold stage, which is often considerable. The hot stage, which succeeds, is attended with great anxiety, and frequent sighing. The heat of the body becomes great, and soon produces profuse sweating; preceded, however, by a sense of pricking, as of pinpoints, in the skin; and the sweat is of a peculiar ly rank and disagreeable odour, The eruption appears sooner or later in different persons, but at no determined period of the disease. It seldom or never appears on the face; but discovers itself first upon the neck and breast, and from thence often spreads over the whole body,

716. The eruption named Miliary is said to be of two kinds, the one named the Red, the other, the White Miliary. The former, which in English is strictly named a Rash, is commonly allow. ed to be a symptomatic affection; and as the lat ter is the only one that has any pretensions to be considered as an idiopathic disease, it is this alone that I shall more particularly describe and treat of in the present chapter.

717. What then is called the White Miliary

eye

eruption, appears at first like the red, in very small red pimples, for the most part distinct, but sometimes clustered together. Their slight prominence is distinguished better by the finger than by the Soon after the appearance of this eruption, and at least on the second day, a small vesicle appears upon the top of each pimple. At first the vesicle is whey-coloured; but soon becomes white, and stands out like a little globule on the top of the pimple. In two or three days, these globules break, or are rubbed off; and are succeeded by small crusts, which soon after fall off in small scales. While one set of pimples takes this course, another set succeeds; so that the disease often continues upon the skin for many days together. Sometimes when one crop of this eruption has disappeared, another, after some interval, is produced. And it has been further observed, that in some persons there is such a tendency to this disease, that they have been affected with it several times in the course of their lives.

718. This disease is said to affect both sexes, and persons of all ages and constitutions: but it has been observed, at all times, to affect especially, and most frequently, lying-in women.

719. This disease is often accompanied with violent symptoms, and has frequently proved fatal. The symptoms attending it are, however, very va

rious. They are, in one or other instance, all the several symptoms attending febrile diseases; but I cannot find that any symptom or concourse of symptoms are steadily the same in different persons, so as to furnish any specific character to the disease. When the disease is violent, the most common symptoms are phrenitic, comatose, and convulsive affections, which are also symptoms of all fevers treated by a very warm regimen.

720. While there is such a variety of symptoms appearing in this disease, it is not to be expected that any one particular method of cure can be proposed: and accordingly we find, in different writers, different methods and remedies prescribed; frequent disputes about the most proper; and those received and practised by some, opposed and rejected by others.

721. I have thus given an account of what I have found delivered by authors who have considered the white miliary fever as an idiopathic disease; but now, after having often observed the disease, I must say that I doubt much if it ever be such an idiopathic as has been supposed, and I suspect that there is much fallacy in what has been written on the subject.

722. It seems to me very improbable, that this should have been really a new disease when it was