The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1891] From: Dr John Gilchrist (of Speddoch) / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Dr Thomas Mutter (Reverend) (Patient), Mr George Mackenzie (McKenzie) (Patient) / 28 July 1780 / (Incoming)
Letter from John Gilchrist concerning the case of Mr Mackenzie, discussing when to harvest hemlock and its medicinal use. Also reports on the progress of Dr Mutter.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 3 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
[Page 3]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 1891 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/970 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 28 July 1780 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Authorial original |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Letter from John Gilchrist concerning the case of Mr Mackenzie, discussing when to harvest hemlock and its medicinal use. Also reports on the progress of Dr Mutter. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | Yes |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:9] |
Case of Dr Thomas Mutter who has suffered 'a palsy' (stroke). |
14 |
| [Case ID:1279] |
Case of Mr George Mackenzie staying near Dumfries, who has a cough and spits blood. He travels abroad where he dies. |
12 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:115] | Author | Dr John Gilchrist (of Speddoch) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:472] | Patient | Dr Thomas Mutter (Reverend) |
| [PERS ID:790] | Patient | Mr George Mackenzie (McKenzie) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:115] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr John Gilchrist (of Speddoch) |
| [PERS ID:2974] | Other Physician / Surgeon | Dr Ebenezer Gilchrist |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Dumfries | Borders | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place of Handstamp | Dumfries | Borders | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
I drop you a line this day at Mr Mackenzie's
desire, to inquire if you can say any thing as to
the choice of Hemloc -- I have never known but
one kind, that is we have never used but one,
agreeing sufficiently with the Linnean and other
descriptions, but, from its not producing any
sensible effects Mr M. has expressed his appre¬
hensions that it is not the right kind. - We
have tried two different parcels, and advanced
pretty quickly to 40 & 50 grains, and this as I
have observed, without any effects that are
perceivable. -- It was Mr Mackenzie's fears,
raised by a description of the sensible effects
we wanted, that made me write to you as I did
about the necessity of being cautious &c. - You
may be sure I could well trust to your opi¬
nion of the matter, &, for my own part, in
all the trials I have had made of Hemloc, which
[Page 2]
in two or three instances has been full & accurate;
increasing the dose to a great degree, (though slowly)
{illeg}
{illeg} I have not yet been so lucky as to experience
any of its activity, ↑at least nothing of any consequence↑ --- My father however was always
clear that he had done good with it; in cancerous
cases. --- What do you reckon the best time for gather¬
ing it? - Some writers I observe say when it is coming
to the flower; - others, when the flower is fading. --
We have used it here in the former case, that is, when
the flower was opening, but indeed, it may be more
reasonable to conclude that its strength will be
greater when the seeds are ripening.
Dr Mutter is now a good deal at a stand. -
How soon must we be thinking of Electricity?,
which his family is often speaking of, & I promi¬
sed to mention it.
Adieu for the present & believe me always
[Page 3]
To
Doctor Cullen
Physician
Edinburgh
Gilchrist on Cicuta.
July. 1780
XI. p.41
& Mr McKenzie ✍
Diplomatic Text
I drop you a line this day at Mr Mackenzie's
desire, to inquire if you can say any thing as to
the choice of Hemloc -- I have never known but
one kind, that is we have never used but one,
agreeing sufficiently with the Linnean and other
descriptions, but, from its not producing any
sensible effects Mr M. has expressed his appre¬
hensions that it is not the right kind. - We
have tried two different parcels, and advanced
pretty quickly to 40 & 50 grains, and this as I
have observed, without any effects that are
perceivable. -- It was Mr Mackenzie's fears,
raised by a description of the sensible effects
we wanted, that made me write to you as I did
about the necessity of being cautious &c. - You
may be sure I could well trust to your opi¬
nion of the matter, &, for my own part, in
all the trials I have had made of Hemloc, wh
[Page 2]
in two or three instances has been full & accurate;
increasing the dose to a great degree, (though slowly)
{illeg}
{illeg} I have not yet been so lucky as to experience
any of its activity, ↑at least nothing of any consequence↑ --- My father however was always
clear that he had done good with it; in cancerous
cases. --- What do you reckon the best time for gather¬
ing it? - Some writers I observe say when it is coming
to the flower; - others, when the flower is fading. --
We have used it here in the former case, that is, when
the flower was opening, but indeed, it may be more
reasonable to conclude that its strength will be
greater when the seeds are ripening.
Dr Mutter is now a good deal at a stand. -
How soon must we be thinking of Electricity?,
which his family is often speaking of, & I promi¬
sed to mention it.
Adieu for the present & believe me always
[Page 3]
To
Doctor Cullen
Physician
Edinr
Gilchrist on Cicuta.
July. 1780
XI. p.41
& Mr McKenzie ✍
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