The medical side of Benjamin Franklin / by William Pepper.

  • William Pepper
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The medical side of Benjamin Franklin / by William Pepper. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    179/202 page 109
    any Soil so white as to dazzle the Eyes when the Sun’s Light is reflected from it. The Dissertation mentions that there are terres cretacees, &e. Are those terres white? . . . The Duke had sent Franklin the dissertation in July, 1788, together with a letter stating that nyctalopia was a disease endemic in the neigh¬ bourhood of La Rocheguyon. A letter showing how closely Franklin watched his own symptoms and what a keen observer he was of any changes. He here makes an important medical observation. Philadelphia, Oct. 24, 1788. To Jan Ingenhousz. . . . You have always been kind enough to interest yourself in what relates to my health. I ought therefore to acquaint you with what appears to me something curious respecting it. You may remember the cutaneous malady I formerly complained of, and for which you and Dr. Pringle favoured me with prescriptions and advice. It vexed me near fourteen years, and was, the beginning of this year, as bad as ever, covering almost my whole body, except my face and hands; when a fit of the gout came on, without very much pain, but a swelling in both feet, which at last appeared also in both knees, and then in my hands. As these swellings increased and extended, the other malady diminished, and at length disappeared entirely. Those swellings have some time since begun to fall, and are now almost gone; perhaps the cutaneous disease may return or perhaps it is worn out. I may hereafter let you know what happened. I am on the whole much weaker than when it began to leave me. But possibly that may be the effect of age, for I am now near eighty-three, the age of commencing decrepitude. . . . In addition to discussing again his stone, Franklin gives some advice about deafness, showing he had experimented even in this line. Philadelphia, February 17, 1789. To Alexander Small. Dear Friend: I have just received your kind letter of November 29th, and am much obliged by your friendly attention in sending me the receipt, which on occasion I may make trial of; but the stone I have being a large one,
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image