The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:5310] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Colonel George Clerk (Clarke, Clark) / Regarding: Colonel George Clerk (Clarke, Clark) (Patient) / 18 July 1786 / (Outgoing)
Reply, for 'Col. Clerk'. Addressed to the Colonel, concerning his own case and in response to queries forwarded by his nephew, Colonel Maxwell. Cullen repeats previous advice and recommends Buxton and Bath for his 'Gouty constitution'.
- 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 | 5310 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/19/121 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 18 July 1786 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Machine scribal copy |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply, for 'Col. Clerk'. Addressed to the Colonel, concerning his own case and in response to queries forwarded by his nephew, Colonel Maxwell. Cullen repeats previous advice and recommends Buxton and Bath for his 'Gouty constitution'. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:1473] |
Case of Colonel George Clerk [Clark, Clarke, Clerke] who becomes excessively weak and feeble from chronic costiveness, breathlessness, and other chronic complaints. In New York he has a perpetual fever and stomach complaint and mentions consulting Cullen before but no firm evidence traced unless he is the same patient as Case 283 in 1768. |
24 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:2507] | Addressee | Colonel George Clerk (Clarke, Clark) |
| [PERS ID:2507] | Patient | Colonel George Clerk (Clarke, Clark) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:3190] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Colonel William Maxwell (General Sir William Maxwell of Calderwood, 7th Bt (after 1829)) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Cullen's House / Mint Close | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Destination of Letter | Rooks Nest | Godstone | London and South-East | England | Europe | inferred |
| Therapeutic Recommendation | Bath | South-West | England | Europe | certain | |
| Therapeutic Recommendation | Buxton | Midlands | England | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Col. Clerk
I have here some account of your present
state, and some queries with respect to manage¬
ment from your nephew Col. Maxwel, and
I am always very willing and anxious to show all
the attention in my power.
You still complain of weakness and it is
what I expected. After what you have suffered
you cannot be strong, but I hope that any extreme
or dangerous weakness may be long prevented
and for that purpose the bitters you take
may be useful, and as I judge the bark is
wothe (↑worth↑) all the other bitters put together. I can
find no objection to your taking the bark alone
and one of the surest ways of getting the
greatest benefit from it, is by taking it in
powder, with a sixth part of Cinnamon joined
with it. You may take half a dram of the
[Page 2]
bark for a dose, and take it three times a day
an hour before meals, but if you find this incon¬
venient, you may take forty grains for a dos[e]
and take it only twice a day. In this way
you may take the bark for a fortnight, bu[t]
no longer at one time, but once every month
you may repeat such a course of the bark
alone and in the intervals you may take
the bitters which have a proportion of the
bark in them.
I am sorry to find that you do not bea[r]
your exercise in a Carriage as well as I could
wish but I am however clear that you shoul[d]
continue it daily to the extent that your
strength will easily bear.
I have no doubt that you should take
a glass of wine every day at dinner, and I
believe that Madeira properly diluted is t[he]
best. With respect to the quantity I can
[Page 3]
only give this rule, that you may take as much
as does not heat you, but whatever quantity
has that effect is certainly improper.
As to what you should eat, you should
entirely consult your own stomach and appetite
Whatever you like best, and commonly digests
easily is the most proper, and whatever does not
digest easily should be carefully avoided.
I am sorry to find your costiveness continue
but what I could say on that subject I
have said to you long ago, and can only say no
more unless I had been particularly informed of
your late experience
For the sake of getting strength I can hardly
advise at this season any change of place, but I
am still of opinion that Buxton, Bath mode¬
rately employed might be of service to your Gouty
constitution. Praying earnestly for your good health
I am very respectfully
most Obedient humble Servant
Diplomatic Text
Col. Clerk
I have here some account of your present
state, and some queries with respect to manage¬
ment from your nephew Col. Maxwel, and
I am always very willing and anxious to show all
the attention in my power.
You still complain of weakness and it is
what I expected. After what you have suffered
you cannot be strong, but I hope that any extreme
or dangerous weakness may be long prevented
and for that purpose the bitters you take
may be useful, and as I judge the bark is
wothe (↑worth↑) all the other bitters put together. I can
find no objection to your taking the bark alone
and one of the surest ways of getting the
greatest benefit from it, is by taking it in
powder, with a sixth part of Cinnamon joined
with it. You may take half a dram of the
[Page 2]
bark for a dose, and take it three times a day
an hour before meals, but if you find this incon¬
venient, you may take forty grains for a dos[e]
and take it only twice a day. In this way
you may take the bark for a fortnight, bu[t]
no longer at one time, but once every month
you may repeat such a course of the bark
alone and in the intervals you may take
the bitters which have a proportion of the
bark in them.
I am sorry to find that you do not bea[r]
your exercise in a Carriage as well as I could
wish but I am however clear that you shoul[d]
continue it daily to the extent that your
strength will easily bear.
I have no doubt that you should take
a glass of wine every day at dinner, and I
believe that Madeira properly diluted is t[he]
best. With respect to the quantity I can
[Page 3]
only give this rule, that you may take as much
as does not heat you, but whatever quantity
has that effect is certainly improper.
As to what you should eat, you should
entirely consult your own stomach and appetite
Whatever you like best, and commonly digests
easily is the most proper, and whatever does not
digest easily should be carefully avoided.
I am sorry to find your costiveness continue
but what I could say on that subject I
have said to you long ago, and can only say no
more unless I had been particularly informed of
your late experience
For the sake of getting strength I can hardly
advise at this season any change of place, but I
am still of opinion that Buxton, Bath mode¬
rately employed might be of service to your Gouty
constitution. Praying earnestly for your good health
I am very respectfully
most Obedient humble Servant
XML
XML file not yet available.
Feedback
Send us specfic feeback about this document [DOC ID:5310]
Please note that the Cullen Project team have now disbanded but your comments will be logged in our system and we will look at them one day...
