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Wishing to avoid giving You
unnecessary Trouble. I have thus long declined writing
You, on Order that I might have had full experience of the
Effects of Your Medecine. Which has certainly been of very
great Service to me, and from which I have the greatest
Hopes. An Inability however to comply punctually with
Your Directions is the principal Cause of my writing You
at present --- When a Stricture or an Appearance
of One, arises, Your Medicine and, Your Medicine alone
invariably relieves me. At the same time it seems to me
that after taking it for five, Six, or, Seven Days, it
brings on a Stricture of itself. At least by leaving it off

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I have felt myself easier. It seems too, that after taking it
so long it heated (↑s↑) me. As one feels after drinking much
these are my present feelings and it is about eight Days
since I commenced to take it last and I had then only
omitted it for three days, owing to the following Circum¬
stance. The second night after I left it off I had an
Emission, the Almost never failing Cause of a return
of the Stricture next day -- a repetition of the same
the Night ensuing occasioned next day the most severe
Attack, I have had since last Winter, and was obliged
to use a Bougie. The third night I took the Balsamick
mixture and notwithstanding a repetition of
my dreams I had no return of the Stricture. The
ensuing Evening took the solution and continued it till
this Day, that is for eight days, and have continued
remarkably

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well. The solution appears to have the effect of
lessening the discharge as well as removing the
Stricture; exactly the effect the Bougies used to have
and the same consequences seems to attend the Sudden¬
ly leaving off; of - Both -

Having put off sending the Above from Day to Day
I will now just Observe, that I have taken the Solution
but once (and then it had the effect of stopping a
Discharge of thick Yellow Matter or rather co↑n↑ver¬
ting it into a thin White Discharge/since the 4th. In
having taken in {illeg} of it half a Spoonfull of
the Balsamick Mixture almost every Night
nor have I had any return of the One Complaint
or the Other, that is to say I have no positive

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Stricture. I dont make Water with that freedom
I could wish nor do I think I am so well in that
respect as when I took the Solution, and
when I am in the Habit of taking it there is nothing
I eat or drink / I have not ventured upon Red Wine
which by the bye I wish much to do / Fish excepted
that seems to Hurt me, and it is fortunate for me
that that is the Case, for I am not equal to the Task
of living alone in this gay metropolis. I have
to beg you a great many Pardons for troubling You
with so long a Letter and at the same time to beg
when Your time will permit to be indulgent with
a very short One in return

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Finding myself worse after writing the Above. I delayed sending this
Letter, which has remained so long upon my Hands that I am afraid it will never
reach You., the Emulsion was of no service. the Solution - Altho it had
not all its usual effect, it has nevertheless kept me tolerably
well notwithstanding the severity of the Weather. I have continued

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to take it constantly ever since, and shall continue to do
so with very little intervals, till I am favored with a few
Lines from You ---

Dr William Cullen
Edinburgh

Mr J. S.
February 1782.
V XIII. p. 312.