He then took three grains of white vitriol twice a day, with some bitter medicines, and a grain of opium with five grains of rhubarb every night; was advised to eat flesh meat, and spice, as his stomach would bear it, with small beer, and a few glasses of wine; and had issues made in his thighs; and has suffered no relapse.

4.  A lady, about fifty years of age, had for some weeks great difficulty of breathing, with very irregular pulse, and considerable general debility:  she could lie down in bed, and the urine was in due quantity and of the natural colour, and she had no pain or numbness of her arms.

She took one large spoonful of the above decoction of foxglove every hour, for ten or twelve successive hours; was sick, and made a quantity of pale urine for about two days, and was quite relieved both of the difficulty of breathing, and the irregularity of her pulse.  She then took a grain of opium, and five grains of rhubarb, every night, night, for many weeks; with some slight chalybeate and bitter medicines, and has suffered no relapse.

Hydrops Thoracis.

5.  A tradesman, about fifty years of age, became weak and short of breath, especially on increase of motion, with pain in one arm, about the insertion of the biceps muscle.  He observed he sometimes in the night made an unusual quantity of pale water.  He took calomel, alum, and peruvian bark, and all his symptoms increased:  his legs began to swell considerably; his breath became more difficult, and he could not lie down in bed; but all this time he made a due quantity of straw-coloured water.

The decoction of foxglove was given as in the preceding cases, which operated chiefly by purging, and seemed to relieve his breath for a day or two; but also seemed to contribute to weaken him.—­He became after some weeks universally dropsical, and died comatous.

6.  A young lady of delicate constitution, with light eyes and hair, and who had perhaps lived too abstemiously both in respect to the quantity and quality of what she eat and drank, was seized with great difficulty of breathing, so as to threaten immediate death.  Her extremities were quite cold, and her breath felt cold to the back of one’s hand.  She had no sweat, nor could be down for a single moment; and had previously, and at present, complained of great weakness and pain and numbness of both her arms; had no swelling of her legs, no thirst, water in due quantity and colour.  Her sister, about a year before, was afflicted with similar symptoms, was repeatedly blooded, and died universally dropsical.

A grain of opium was given immediately, and repeated every six hours with evident and amazing advantage; afterwards a blister, with chalybeates, bitters, and essential oils, were exhibited, but nothing had such eminent effect in relieving the difficulty of breathing and coldness of her extremities as opium, by the use of which in a few weeks she perfectly regained her health, and has suffered no relapse.