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The first seizure of the Complaint was in November
1778 like the stroke of a Cudgel across my breast
giving me general pain, & occasioned, as it seem'd
by coming out of a warm room in a cold damp
evening without a great Coat, & happened upon
turning the corner of a street, but the pain was
soon removed by coming again to a fire, & sitting
still. This continued for 2 or 3 days, always pain upon
walking in the cold, & always relieved by coming to a
fire & sitting still, after this the pain increased
to such a degree that I could not bear the air of
my room, & was obliged to lie with my bed close to the
fire, & my breast turned to it. In about a fortnight
I was so far recovered as to lie free again from
pain except upon walking in the cold, or moving
quick up stairs, & then as before relieved by
coming to a fire & sitting still, & when the weather
became warm by sitting still only, as I still
continued to have the pain upon walking, but
finding no inconvenience from riding in a
Carriage, or on horseback & being in other respects
in seeming good health & spirits I neglected to
pursue any method of cure, tho' the pain at
times was excruciating upon my breast thro' to
my back, at the same time affecting my Elbows
& jaws as tho' Screw'd in a Vice. In April 80
I had a 2d. most violent attack, seemingly from
wind pent up, affecting my breast, elbows &
paws in the manner before described, with

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but little respite for 24 hours, tho' I had taken a
cordial draft mixed with an opiate, & the pain at times
continued very violent for 3 or 4 days, as the least motion
or cold air, or drinking flatulent liquor would occa¬
sion it, & I seemed principally relieved by opening
medicines giving me 2 or 3 stools a day, in about a [month?]
having the pain scarcely, but upon walking, I set
out for Bath, to which place I had been advised [less?]
two years before by Dr. Fothergill to bathe & drink
the waters only, in order to bring on a fit of the
gout, having had two very severe fits of it in
my life, & it being near the period when I might
expect a return. I must observe that except in
these two violent paroxysms of the complaint my
pain was always relieved, if not entirely removd
for a time by breaking wind, which in general my coming
to a fire, or drink'g any thing warm, would occasion
& in bed, as I frequently had it upon lying down by
sitting upright, & when at the worst I was bolsterd
up, not being able to lie on either side, particularly
the left, or upon my back without an oppression
like the night mare, when I came to Bath
I was recommendedd. to one of the covered baths, where
the degree of heat could be properly ascertained
but upon my first bathing, which was for 12
minutes, my breath was good deal affected
& I spit a little blood, upon a second bathing for only
5 minutes, my lungs were affected almost to
suffocation, discharging a thin lymph or serum
intimately mixed with blood, so as to be of a pink

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colour, & I was not relieved till I came into the air
spitting a little of the same matter that eveng. &
some congealed blood with phlegm the next morning
I was then ordered to desist from bathing, but to
continue drinking the waters, which I did for near 3
weeks at the Cross Bath, two small half pints
almost every morning till either from the heat
of the weather or from the water I was so much
affected with headachs that I was forbid the drinking
any more. I then took by the advice of Dr. [Lysony?]
3 grains Calomel, with some grains of Rhubarb made into
3 pills with Elixir Aloes, which purged me 5 or 6
times very copiously. I have since repeated the dose
which purged me not so much by stool, but a good
deal of urine, & it must be observed I had seldom
made the proper proportion of urine to what I
drank. I think the different stages of my
Complaint exclusive of the 2 violent paroxysms have been
an excruciating pain in my breast about the 3d. button
of my waistcoat, thro' to my back, affecting my
elbows, ↑&↑ jaws as tho' screwd in a vice, in a
milder degree it has appeared like a weight &
oppression upon the breast, some thing like the
nightmare, especially upon lying down, & when
affected in a still less degree like a tiredness &
uneasiness of the breast, with the sensation you have
upon an empty Stomach, increased to a degree
of pain, which is in general relieved by dinner & wine

Exclusive of the two violent paroxysms I am now
just as at my first seizure in 78 ---

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I have found on the Exercise I have taken in this
journey in walking more than usual I have
had a greater lightness upon my breast with
soreness.

But the complaint seems external, as I am
often much affected even in washing my hands,
or putting on my Cloaths. Any hurry of spirits
will likewise occasion it. If I happen to
sleep on my left side I awake with such an
oppression of the heart & lungs that I seem with
difficulty to recover both the circulation of the blood
& my breath, & is done by sitting up in my
bed & fetching my breath deep.