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For Mr Reddie

I have had a conversation with our Patient Mr Reddie
& has served only to confirm my firmer opinion, that his
Ailments are purely nervous without any least Affection or inward
disorder of any particular bowel. The Chief of the Symptoms
are manifestly in his (↑the↑) Stomach and Colon, & it is a communication
from these whenever either his heart or head are Affected. --

If I was of this opinion formerly the length of time which
has intervened since I first gave this opinion confirms it
Strongly, as not only no marks of local Affection have
farther appeared & on the contrary all his sym↑p↑toms symptoms
are easier, with a recovery of appetite flesh & strength. But
to all this I must add that the obstinate & tedious nature
of such ailments prevent my being surprised at his not being
quite well & indeed I believe it must still take some time,
& require a great deal of attention to some of the measures
which has been already proposed. In eating & drinking
I would have him keep exactly to the same rules he has
for some time past observed. I think he has done right in
intermitting all his medicines & he should continue to do so
for some time to come ↑at least↑ till some new symptom or a
recurrence of former ones should require them, neither
of which I expect. I think the Chalybeate water was
very properly advised & I think he should still con¬
tinue for some time. You might have good reasons

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for drying up the Issue on his head but it is without hazard
& I would have you put it in again in the proper place
as soon as the skin on his head is ready for it. When
it may be allowable to dry it up again must be de¬
termined by the circumstances of his complaint, but
at any rate I would not have done till after Mid¬
Summer. For his entire recovery I depend upon the
advance of the Season, proper Exercise & Cold bathing, -
His Exercise may be by walking riding, going in a
Carriage, or even Sailing but to all the rest I would pre¬
fer riding. At present it does not seem to agree very well with
him, but I would wish he would take pains to reconcile
himself to it, by bringing on the briskness of the motion
& the length of his rides by slow degrees. I am confident that
sea bathing will be of Service to him, but it must not
be tried before the Middle of May & not even then
if the North East winds prevail. Before he go in to
the Sea let him have his head washed well with cold
water, for some days every morning. The Issue in
his head will not prevent it as the dressing of it may
be delayed till after the washing. When he is to go in
to the Sea, he must take care to dip his head or at
least to wash it well before he go in. A piece of bladder
may be put above the plaister of the Issue to
prevent the Salt water fretting it, and your
discretion will manage all this very well.

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If anything new occur I shall expect to hear from
you.