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Taking advantage of the Holydays I have been
out of Town and could not make a return to the honour
you have done me by your letter of the 20th before
now.

The Case you describe is truly Singular and
difficult but you have treated it with great Jud¬
gement and skill and your success has been
considerable but it is nothing extraordinary for us
to fear medicines upon repetition to lose their effect
while singular and especially topical ailments
are ready to remain obstinate and to recede only by
degrees.

I am clear that the repetition of Mercury
will be of no further service but a little of the Anti¬
monial may and I am going to propose to you a
medicine from which I have in Analogous Cases

received the greatest benefit. It is the {illeg}
Mezereon which I commonly employ as in the formula
set down below, You will please to observe that it
is the bark of the root only that is to be employed
the woody part being quite insipid and useless. In
this matter however the Apothecaries are often
careless and you must take care that it is only
the Bark taken from the larger branches or twigs
only that is employed and if that bark has been
peeled off a long time ago you must take care that
it still retains its original acrimony. Of the bark
thus chosen I employ at first only a dram to a
bottle of Decoction but if that does not prove
hot on the stomach I increase it to a dram and half
or two drams which is generally as much as [of?]
good Mezereon as most stomachs will bear. You
will perceive by the Prescription below that I
propose to add to each bottle of Decoction one dram

of Antimonial wine and if the stomach will bear
it I make it two drams providing always that
it does not produce any troublesome sickness or
nausea and if it shall happen as it does to some
that even a small quantity of the Antimonial
gives sickness you must take it out of the
Decoction altogether and give such an Antimonial
draft with a little Tinctura Thebaica at bed time
as you did before. You may begin to these medicines
when you please but I would wish they were
still delayed for a week or two, for though he seems
not to have observed that cold air was more
hurtful than mild I am persuaded that the cold
air will always have more tendency to affect
him than milder and therefore though the me¬
dicine does not require any confinement I think
it will operate better in mi temperate than in
cold weather.

If before my medicines have taken [their?] effect
the Gentleman on going abroad should happen to have a
return of his Complaint and especially of the singular
exudation I have no objection to the repeating of your
fomentation but without a necessity of that kind
I would rather let it alone and I would rather try
after washing his face in the morning and having
it very well dried again before he goes abroad to
anoint the lower part of his face with a little
Pomatum. I have no more to say but that you
must not expect much benefit from the Decoction
till it has been taken for two three weeks. With
respect to diet I have only to enjoin great tempe¬
rance in Drinking and abstinence from fish of all
kinds. It gives me the greatest pleasure to hear
of your success in business. I thank you for your
fee and must tell you that it entitles you to a
little farther correspondence on the subject.