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A Young Gentleman aged twenty one years of a slender
make, pain Complexion, long neck, & round Chest -
has grown fast within these three last years; since which
time he has had a dry, tickling cough every Spring
and Autumn - however, as it gave him no trouble but
in the morning, he never passed any attention to its --
In the beginning of february last he was seized with
a severe, hard, dry cough (without any known cause)
which continued encreasing both in frequency, & hardness
till the end of the Mounth that it became so severe
as to deprive time of sleep, & he had profuse
sweatings in the morning - he now, for the first
time, applied to Mr. Robertson Surgeon in Edinburgh for
his advice -- to whom I must beg have to referr you to
for any particular enformation respecting this young
mans complaints while under his case, which was
I believe, about a fortnight at the end of which time
as Mr. Robertson found that he was rather daily growing
worse, then better, he advised him to try his own Country
air; and he came to this place about a fourtnight
ago

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when, I was call'd to him. I found him as follows
pulse about ninty, a hard bound, cough, expectorate
with great difficulty, and what he had Spit sunk among
water, colliguative sweats every night, & morning, much
emaciated, no pain in breast, or Sides (and he tells me
he never had) and can lay with equal ease ↑on↑ any of them,
no great thirst but in the Evening, when the hectic
heats, & Flushings in his face carries on; has no loosness,
but the stool he gets is there, and he complains of
gripes two, or, three, times in the day -

judging his Complaints to proceed from a {illeg} in
his lungs I immediately ordered him upon the following
Regimen -- viz to take every morning early about two gills
of warm cow milk vel Ass, or Mares milk can be got
for breakfast on Skin'd milk, with barley bread, or pottage,
or White bread, and Somes times an Coffie with bread &
Marmalad, particularly, the day he was distress'd with gripes
- for dinner boil'd milk with rice, sago, barley, or white bread.
and now & then light bread, or Sago, pudding -- the tenden¬
cy he had to in Diarrhæa was the reason of my not order¬
ing him wether boil'd fruit or Vegetables -

Milk & water, toast & water, or butter milk for his ordinary
drink - and to abstain from wine, and every kind of fermented
liquor -- to eat nothing after ten Oclock, excepting a little
buttermilk, or a glass of Calves fiel, or Hartshorn jelly
-- to go to bed always by ten Oclock, and to prevent the

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sweatings as much as possible I ordered him to take about
thirty drops of the Spt. Vitirol tenuis among a glass of
water on going to bed, and to take some of it thro the
night when wak'ned by the cough; to Lay upon a Matrass
with as few blankets as possible, and to have but little
fire in his room, and to get out of bed every morning
by eight O'clock, or Sooner if he found any sweat upon
himself when he wak'ned -- As I think the mornings yet
too cold to order him out upon horseback I make him
walk in the Garden when the weather is fair -- every pain
warm, forenoon he rides out three or four Miles, Taking care
neither to overheat or fatigue himself - in the Afternoon
he takes a walk in some well sheltered place when the weather
will permitt; but is never out after five Oclock --
upon his first coming here I apply'd a blister to his breast
which I have kept open ever since and which renders very
well -- his gripes being more severe within these [eight?]
days has obliged me to give him a pill of Camphor.
Japon: with ¼ of a grain Opium in it -- he seldom has
occasion to take more than one in the day as it always
gives him relief this is as exact a state of his case
as I am capable to give, and, if my method of treating
his Complaints shall meet with yours aprobation I will
be very happy - I am sorry however to Say that he has
received little or any benefit from what has yet been
done --- would you think a large pea issue in his
back proper --- as Such a thing has been sugested by some
I have only to ask farther for ↑[from his friends?]↑ your information that this
young man has lost severall Sister in

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Consumptions and that he assures me that no Several
disorder or any irregularity of life are any causes of
his present Complaints.

Dr. Cullen
Physician
Edinburgh

✍
Mr. Abernethie of
Banff Concerning a Gentleman
April 4. 1779.
9. p.157