The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1494] From: Mr Patrick Campbell (of Raschoille; in Greenock) / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Mr Donald Campbell (of Rudil) (Patient) / 20 February 1778 / (Incoming)
Letter from Patrick Campbell concerning the case of his brother, making the excuse of being in the tavern till 4am for not keeping an appointment at 12.30.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 2 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 1494 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/588 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 20 February 1778 |
| 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 Patrick Campbell concerning the case of his brother, making the excuse of being in the tavern till 4am for not keeping an appointment at 12.30. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:476] |
Case of the brother of Mr Patrick Campbell at Greenock who has dysentery and a discharging issue. |
2 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:2250] | Author | Mr Patrick Campbell (of Raschoille; in Greenock) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:2251] | Patient | Mr Donald Campbell (of Rudil) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:2250] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Mr Patrick Campbell (of Raschoille; in Greenock) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Greenock | Glasgow and West | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Mentioned / Other | Jamaica | West Indies | certain | |||
| Mentioned / Other | Greenock | Glasgow and West | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Sir
I had no sooner gone from your House than
I was attacked by certain honest Fellows who dragged
me to the Tavern where I remained late 4 o'Clock in
the Morning. Hence, it was impossible for me to ob¬
serve the appointment of waiting on you at half an
hour past 12 of this day. To say the truth, 12 had struck
before I was out of Bed; And, even had that not been the
Case, there was an absolute Necessity of riding into the
Country and [rouuctery?] mt Animal Spirits. I therefore
beg your Pardon; And, relying upon your {illeg} (↑Attention↑)
take take this Opportunity of stating imperfectly, tho' briefly,
my Brother's unhappy Situation ----
He is now 35 Years of age and lingering under a
Dysentery and a perpetual Issue in each leg carrying --
the Appearance of a most inveterate scorbutic Disorder
from these Issues, there is a daily Discharge of a con¬
siderable Quantity of Matter and the surroundings
affected Parts resemble Gray Paper made into a Pulp and
are besides of a scaly Substance -- His Sores are upon
his shins; The Bone is even supposed to be carious --
And it was the Opinion of the Surgeons who attended
him in Jamaica where he remained about 11 Years
that Amputation of one Leg especially became in¬
evitable. By external Applications he has in vain --
attempted to heal them; And, tho' he has oftener than once
dried one Sore, he has never succeeded in both. On the
contrary he has experienced that what he seemingly --
removed has again quickly returned: From all --
which I concluded the Discharge to be rather salutary
than hurtful and every attempt to stop it to be very
dangerous. At present he has a Pea in each Leg above
the Sore and uses Solutions, Decoctions and the strongest
spirits for {illeg}. About the 63 or 65 he received a hurt
upon his Skin which did little more than ruffle the skin
and indeed his Disorder, cannot be accounted for in --
any other Manner as none of our Family have at any
Period been affected with the King's Evil. But I sus¬
pect
[Page 2]
he has fed his Disease by Salt Provisions of which he was
exceedingly fond and which, considering our proneness
to the Scurvy, ought therefore cautiously to be avoided --
In fact, his Appetite before and since till very lately was
sharp and he constantly indulged it, perhaps, at least
in my opinion, intemperately which has probably brought
upon him the Bloody Flux, a Disease to which he --
has been subject for some years and on which I shall
barely remark, that he is bad with it 5 days out of 7 --
In short, he is seized with Lassitude, oppressed with a
Palpitation of Heart, panting for breath before he has --
walked 100 yards uphill, and, according to the Judgement
of his Surgeon, altogether infirm, his Lungs muc
spent.
Forgive my Inability and Inaccuracy in laying
his Case before you; And, when you have confided --
it, do me the Favour of forwarding your Opinion to
me; Writer in Greenock -- I shall not fail to --
make the proper acknowledgement And I am --
Respectfully -----
Sir
Your Most Obedient Humble Servant
Patrick Campbell
Doctor Cullen Edinburgh
Mr Pat. Campbell
Concerning
22 February 1778
8 N.70
Diplomatic Text
Sir
I had no sooner gone from your House than
I was attacked by certain honest Fellows who dragged
me to the Tavern where I remained late 4 o'Clock in
the Morning. Hence, it was impossible for me to ob¬
serve the appointment of waiting on you at half an
hour past 12 of this day. To say the truth, 12 had struck
before I was out of Bed; And, even had that not been the
Case, there was an absolute Necessity of riding into the
Country and [rouuctery?] mt Animal Spirits. I therefore
beg your Pardon; And, relying upon your {illeg} (↑Attention↑)
take take this Opportunity of stating imperfectly, tho' briefly,
my Brother's unhappy Situation ----
He is now 35 Years of age and lingering under a
Dysentery and a perpetual Issue in each leg carrying --
the Appearance of a most inveterate scorbutic Disorder
from these Issues, there is a daily Discharge of a con¬
siderable Quantity of Matter and the surroundings
affected Parts resemble Gray Paper made into a Pulp and
are besides of a scaly Substance -- His Sores are upon
his shins; The Bone is even supposed to be carious --
And it was the Opinion of the Surgeons who attended
him in Jamaica where he remained about 11 Years
that Amputation of one Leg especially became in¬
evitable. By external Applications he has in vain --
attempted to heal them; And, tho' he has oftener than once
dried one Sore, he has never succeeded in both. On the
contrary he has experienced that what he seemingly --
removed has again quickly returned: From all --
which I concluded the Discharge to be rather salutary
than hurtful and every attempt to stop it to be very
dangerous. At present he has a Pea in each Leg above
the Sore and uses Solutions, Decoctions and the strongest
spirits for {illeg}. About the 63 or 65 he received a hurt
upon his Skin which did little more than ruffle the skin
and indeed his Disorder, cannot be accounted for in --
any other Manner as none of our Family have at any
Period been affected with the King's Evil. But I sus¬
pect
[Page 2]
he has fed his Disease by Salt Provisions of which he was
exceedingly fond and which, considering our proneness
to the Scurvy, ought therefore cautiously to be avoided --
In fact, his Appetite before and since till very lately was
sharp and he constantly indulged it, perhaps, at least
in my opinion, intemperately which has probably brot
upon him the Bloody Flux, a Disease to which he --
has been subject for some years and on which I shall
barely remark, that he is bad with it 5 days out of 7 --
In short, he is seized with Lassitude, oppressed with a
Palpitation of Heart, panting for breath before he has --
walked 100 yards uphill, and, according to the Judgement
of his Surgeon, altogether infirm, his Lungs muc
spent.
Forgive my Inability and Inaccuracy in laying
his Case before you; And, when you have confided --
it, do me the Favour of forwarding your Opinion to
me; Writer in Greenock -- I shall not fail to --
make the proper acknowledgement And I am --
Respectfully -----
Sir
Your Most Obedt. H. Servt
Patrick Campbell
Doctor Cullen Edinr.
Mr Pat. Campbell
C.
22 Feb.February 1778
8 N.70
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