[]A diſtinguiſhing feature of the preſent times, in a medical point of view, is the prevalence of nervous diſorders, and a great increaſe of paralytic affections. Their origin is not difficult to be aſcertained. A deter⯑mination appears to pervade all ranks, to call forth into immediate action all the re⯑ſources of exiſtence, by an employment of the moſt powerful agents; and, in the gra⯑tification of a moment, to riſque their whole ſtock of nervous energy. To ſuch inordinate movements, kept up by a repeated uſe of the moſt active ſtimulants, may we juſtly look for the cauſe of that derangement, which phyſicians have to encounter under the multiplied forms of nervous debility. [2]Various chemical, pncumatic, and mecha⯑nical operations, it is well known, are con⯑ſtantly going forward in the human body: and when any of theſe is too much accele⯑rated, or precipitately urged, the machine itſelf is deſtroyed, or is rendered uſeleſs. Strongly incited to animal gratifications, men become inſenſible to the condition of their preſent exiſtence, which, ſo far from implying an inceſſant ſeries of pleaſures, in many caſes ſeems to produce the higheſt en⯑joyments by preceding pain; thus inculcating upon human creatures the neceſſity of tem⯑perance, and, in many inſtances, the utility of ſelf-denial. However, as was ſaid, but fewattend to the admonitions of their animal conſtitution. They aim at acquiring what Nature, more provident than they, has pro⯑hibited to be attained; and by a laviſh uſe of wine, ſpirits, or laudanum, endeavour to procure to themſelves the power of perpe⯑tual enjoyment. They bid defiance to the [3]warnings of experience in the fate of others: and ſolicitous only to appear replete with ſpirit and animation in the eyes of thoſe with whom they aſſociate, (who probably have recourſe to the ſame incitements) they continue to urge on the proceſſes of life, till ſome part of the apparatus gives way, and they ſuddenly feel all the ſymptoms of a ru⯑ined conſtitution, not to be repaired by the utmoſt efforts of medical ſkill. Hence pro⯑ceed that train of nervous ſymptoms, which no leſs impede the operations of the mind, than occaſion painful bodily ſenſations: ſen⯑ſations ſo acute, as to drive the unhappy victims into the hands of daring empirics, to whoſe pretended ſkill they too often ſa⯑crifice thoſe lives and fortunes, which ought to have been devoted to the good of their connections.
In the proſecution of my ſubject, I ſhall endeavour carefully to avoid every thing [4]that has the appearance of abſtract ſpe⯑culation. I wiſh only to announce what, I conceive, will prove a benefit to the public, in alleviating ſome of the moſt di⯑ſtreſſing diſorders, that are incident to the human frame. I will ſimply relate what has taken place under my own obſervation. I will not attempt to account for the modus operandi of the plant, which is the ſubject of the preſent eſſay; nor take upon me to decide whether it acts by renewing the ir⯑ritability of the ſyſtem, or only by giving energy to the natural powers: nor ſhall I preſume to determine whether the nerves, acting as conductors of electricity, are, by its means, made capable of tranſmitting a larger quantity of this ſubtile fluid through the whole frame, as Aurum Muſivum, when applied to the rubber of an electrical appa⯑ratus, enables the cylinder to accumulate a much larger quantity of that agent—It is [5]my intention only, by the relation of facts, to eſtabliſh the uſe of this powerful drug in thoſe diſorders, which uſually attend upon an enervated conſtitution. As the plant is not to be found in our Materia Medica at preſent, I ſhall, as briefly as poſſible, deſcribe it, give it's hiſtory, and relate the caſes in which I have ſucceſsfully employed it; in hopes that the faculty will be induced to make a fair trial of it, and, if found worthy of further notice, that they will furniſh the world with the reſult of their obſervations.
My firſt acquaintance with the ſubject of this eſſay began while I was examining, about four years ago, the plants in the Nurſery Grounds at Cottingham. I was told by the proprietor, of the wonderful effect of the Poiſon Oak; that, if touched by the fingers, and not immediately waſhed off, the acrimony it imparts would be [6]retained for a long time; that ſhould a perſon accidentally touch his eyelids, or any part of the body where the ſkin uſually corrugates, whilſt the virulence of the deleterious particles thus contracted conti⯑nues unimpaired, a ſwelling and trouble⯑ſome itching would come on, and continue for ſome time; and that even ſome of his men had ſuffered ſo much as to loſe ſuch parts of the ſkin by ſphacelation, as the acrid juice had touched. This deter⯑mined me to make further enquiries into it's powers; and I ſoon after ſaw in the Analytical Review (to the conductors of which I beg leave to make my acknow⯑ledgements) ſome account of experiments made in France, with the Rhus Radicans, to which this plant is cloſely allied, by Monſ. Freſnoi; from which it appeared, that he had given the diſtilled water and extract of this plant, in caſes of paralyſis of the lower extremities, with ſucceſs. [7]This information induced me to hope, that the Sumach I now poſſeſſed, might be ex⯑hibited with equal advantage, in the ſame and ſimilar complaints: and though, in the form of diſtilled water and infuſion I was not ſucceſsful, yet the event of the caſes ſubjoined, in which I have given it in ſub⯑ſtance, has made me ample amends. I muſt, however, confeſs, that it's uſe has not been uniformly attended with complete ſucceſs. Having always adviſed extreme caution in it's firſt exhibition, it has required a greater length of time to produce the deſired effects, than the general impatience, which, I apprehend, all medical men have to com⯑bat with in their practice, will allow; an impatience continually encreaſed by the bold advertiſers of ſpecifics for the cure of every diſeaſe.
I have not found that an attempt has at any time been made in this country, to aſcertain, by experiments, the power of the [8] Toxicodendron, as a medicine. In France it ſeems to have been made the ſubject of enquiry for ſome time; for Monſieur Fontana, ſpeaks of the many celebrated writers,† who have conſidered it as a moſt virulent poiſon. The experiments how⯑ever, which he made upon animals, and has related, are not neceſſary to be intro⯑duced here, ſince I hold all experiments on animals as inſignificant, and irrelevant to the effects of any medicine on the human ſubject. And thoſe made on himſelf go to ſhew merely the manner in which it affected the ſkin, and ſeem to have terrified* him from any internal exhibition.
RHUS TOXICODENDRON,* PUBESCENT POISON-OAK, OR, SUMACH.
[9]RHUS. Lin. Gen. Pl. 369. PENTAN⯑DRIA TRIGYNIA, Flores inferi.
Cal. 5. partitus. Petala 5. Bacca 1. Sperma.
Juss. Gen. Pl. p. 369.
Tournef. 381.
Sectio ** foliis ternatis.
RHUS Toxicodendron foliis ternatis: foliolis petiolatis angulatis pube⯑ſcentibus, [10]caule radicante, Lin. Sp. Pl. 381. Syſt. Veg. ed. Murr. p. 293. Syſt. Veg. Lichf. Soc. v. 1. p. 230. Syſt. Nat. ed. 13. Gmel. Tom. 2. 494. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 1. p. 367. Walter Flo. Carolin. p. 255. Gaert. de Fr. et Sem. Cent. 3. t. 44. f. 5. Bulliard. Herb. Franc. t. 143. Gron. Virg. 149.
RHUS foliis ternatis: foliolis petiolatis angulatis pubeſcentibus. Clayt. Flo. Virg. 46.
RHUS Toxicodendron Hill's Hort. Kew. p. 453.
TOXICODENDRON. 2. (pubeſcens.) foliis ternatis: foliolis ovatis inciſo⯑angulatis pubeſcentibus. Mill. Gard. Dict. ed. 6? Mill. Gard. Cal. ed. 14. octavo. p. 166.
[11]TOXICODENDRON tryphyllum folio ſinuato pubeſcente. Tournef. Inst. 611.
TOXICODENDRON 2. Boerh. Ind. Hort. Batt. 1727. 2. p. 229.
HEDERA Virginienſis trifolia. Park. Theat. 679. f. 5.
HEDERAE Trifoliae Canadenſi affinis Planta, Peregrina, arbor venenata quorundam. H. R. Par. 84.
HEDERAE Trifoliae Canadenſi affinis, ſur⯑recta, Arbor Tinctoria, virginiana multis. Pluken Alm. 181. H.
EDERA Trifolia Canadenſis. Corn. Can. 96. t. 97. Barr. Icon. 228.
VITIS Canadenſis. Muntin Phytogr. t. 60.
[12]ARBOR Trifoliata venenata virginiana, folio hirſuto. Raj. Hist. 1779.
THE Pubeſcent Poiſon-Oak or Sumach, is a deciduous ſhrub of moderate growth, riſing to the height of about four feet, it is covered with a greyiſh coloured ſome⯑what ſtriated bark, which is uſually marked with minute ſpots, or glandular appear⯑ances, not greatly unlike the effect of an inſect, they have alſo a diſtant reſemblance to ſome of the ſmalleſt ſpecies of Sphoeria, for like Sphoerioe they ſeem to ariſe from the wood, and finally cauſe a ſort of burſt⯑ing or opening of the bark, immediately over them equal to their own ſize, they further reſemble Sphoerioe in being largeſt on the older and more ſtunted ſhoots, par⯑ticularly in the winter ſeaſon; but in all likelihood they are the common excretory ducts of the plant, whoſe fluid being exceſſively acrid, may poſſibly require more [13]capacious outlets, than ſhrubs of a milder juice.
The lower ſhoots, on and near the ground, in moiſt ſhady ſituations, which the plant moſt affects, trail conſiderably like the Rhus radicans Linnoei, (ſmooth rooting Poiſon-Oak or Sumach) and have like that ſhrub, the property of ſending down radicles into the earth, by which the plant admits of great increaſe, in any of the winter months.
In ſuch ſituations, however, I have not ſeen it produce ſeeds ſo readily, as in drier and more pinching places, where it looſes in a great degree, it's radicating principle, grows more ſtiff and robuſt, and pro⯑duces annual crops of pale yellow ſtriated berries.
There is a remarkable inſtance of this kind, (the ſingularity of which induces me [14]to mention it) now exiſting in a wall, in the Phyſic Garden of the Company of Apothecaries at Chelſea, out of a chink in the ſide of which, and near the ground, grows a ſtrong plant of this Rhus, that has proſpered there ever ſince the time of the celebrated Miller, and which Mr. Fairbairn, the Company's preſent gardener, obligingly aſſured me, was what Miller called the ſecond ſpecies of Toxicodendron, in his Gardener's Dictionary; it is, in all probability, the identical plant from which the deſcription in that well known work was made; it ſeeds annually, but none of it's lower ſhoots exhibit the leaſt radicating propenſity, although other plants of the ſame kind, in the ſhady parts of the ſame garden, have that quality in great perfec⯑tion, but I believe they rarely produce ſeeds; ſo much do local circumſtances affect and alter the moſt permanent and diſtin⯑guiſhing characters of vegetables.
[15]I believe it is pretty generally known to Gardeners, and others concerned in the pleaſant and inſtructive employment of horticulture, that many other fibrous plants, which, like the Rhus Toxicoden⯑dron, poſſeſs the power of encreaſing ing themſelves in any conſiderable degree by their roots, have that property material⯑ly leſſened, when the place they grow in happens to be dry and poor, for nature has chiefly allotted them rich and moiſt habitations, and, with her uſual care, conſtructed their conſtitutions accordingly; the alteration ſuch plants undergo, in ſuch a ſoil, is doubtleſs in the direction of their juices, which (being fewer) appear to paſs by the lower and leſs noble parts, (they had before rendered luxuriantly radicant or prolific) and mount upwards by a natural and almoſt inſtinctive impulſe, to feed and mature, with collected force, the infant germs which they had before too ſparingly ſupplied with nouriſhment.
[16]Thus Nature checked by art or accident, in any cuſtomary channel of renewing her works, kindly ſearches out and perfects another, that ſhe may not be diſappointed in the multiplication of her productions, for
"— each moſs,
Each ſhell, each crawling infect, holds a rank,
Important in the plan of Him who fram'd
This ſcale of Beings; holds a rank, which loſt
Would break the chain, and leave a gap behind
Which Nature's ſelf wou'd rue."
I am not acquainted with any common plant, that more abundantly exemplifies the above doctrine, than the Lilly of the Valley, Convallaria majalis Lin. which is well known to all who poſſeſs a garden, to flower freely, and increaſe amazingly by the root, in a moiſt north border, yet few, I fancy, have ſeen it produce perfect ſeeds in that ſituation, notwithſtanding the vigour of it's growth; but when it is planted and confined in a garden pot, and it's increaſe [17]by the root conſequently checked, it will frequently produce good ſeeds.
Vinca major et minor, greater and leſſer Periwinkle, Tuſſilago Petaſites, Butter Burr, and many other plants, as remarkable for the ſterility of their ſeeds, as their great increaſe by roots, might, in all probability, experience a ſimilar effect, if under ſimilar circumſtances; their ſuppoſed ſterility therefore, ſhould ſeem to reſult chiefly from the peculiarity of their ſituation and conſtitutions, and not from any real defect in the formation of all, or any of their parts of fructification, as has ſometimes been ingeniouſly conjectured by botaniſts and others; but, to return to the Rhus Toxicodendron,
The leaves are alternate and three'd, and F [...]nd upon remarkable long petioles, the lateral leafits are uſually ſupported on very [18]ſhort petioles, which frequently looſe them⯑ſelves by a kind of dilatation, in the ſub⯑ſtance of the leafits; the terminal leafit has often a footſtalk half an inch long or up⯑wards: all the leafits are dull green, have a drooping poſture, and an unpleaſant aſpect, they are oval-angulate and nervoſe, with a kind of undulated margin, which ſometimes forms diſtant tooth-like crena⯑tures. The young wood-buds, petioles, and the nerves on the underſides of the leafits, are furniſhed with a very viſible degree of pubeſcence, on which account I have ventured to give the plant the Engliſh name of Pubeſcent Poiſon Oak, or Sumach, for the purpoſe of diſtinguiſhing it from the Rhus radicans Lin. which has conſtantly ſmooth leaves and ſhoots.
The flowers are produced in June, July, and Auguſt, on ſhort, crowded axilleay racemi, which are paniculate, and in a ſtate [19]of nature, dioecious. In our ſpecimens, however, (which were cultivated luxuri⯑ant ones, and the only ones which we could procure in a ſtate of fructification) a few of the flowers were hermaphrodite, and had an encreaſed number of parts, particularly, a minute ſix cleft calyx, ſix ſmall lance-oval whitiſh, rather ſtriated, petals; and ſix ſhort ſtamina, ſupporting as many antherae.
When not rendered unnaturally luxuriant by cultivation, the male flower conſiſts of a minute calyx with five ſhallow clefts, a corolla of five ſmall petals, and five ſtamina which ſupport as many antherae, and the germen in the female flower is roundiſh, and when a little magnified, appears ſome⯑what bottle-ſhaped, and ſupports a ſhort ſtylus, which is crowned with three very ſmall ſtigmata.
[20]The fruit or ſeed arrives at maturity in England about the month of October and November, it is a round, dry, pale-yel⯑low ſtriated berry, which is ſomewhat ſcarioſe, and nearly the ſize of a ſmall pea, and encloſes one hard compreſſed end-nick⯑ed kernel, which has a thick furrowed mealy covering.
The germination of the ſeed, I am ſorry to add, I have had no opportunity of obſerving.
The Rhus Toxicodendron is a native of North America, it has been introduced into England ever ſince the year 1640, and was cultivated in this country as a curious ſhrub in the time of Parkinſon, who figures it in his Theatre.*
[21]I ſhall conclude this long account of ſo common a ſhrub, by obſerving, that my ſpecimens did not in all points accord with thoſe preſerved in the Herbarium of the great Linnaeus, which were very obligingly twice compared with mine, by the preſent learned and well known poſſeſſor of that ineſtimable treaſure; my ſpecimens are larger in all their parts, their leafits are leſs undulate, and poſſeſſed of ſomewhat longer footſtalks than thoſe of Linnaeus, the lateral leafits of which are nearly ſeſſile, but his ſpecimens are ſaid to have been gathered wild in North America, by Kalme, and mine were the luxuriant produce of young plants, in the ſtrong moiſt loam of a York⯑ſhire nurſery,* which circumſtances, I humbly truſt, ſufficiently account for the above-mentioned diſparity.
[22]A ſhort account of caſes in which it has been employed, will enable the reader to judge of it's power as a medicine.
The following caſe is inſerted as drawn up by my ingenious friend Mr. B—, an eminent ſurgeon in this neighbourhood, who paid the greateſt attention to the exhibition of the medicine, and has related, in a clear and intereſting manner, the gradual recovery of his own wife.
CASE I.
Mrs. B—, aged 38, always enjoyed remarkable good health, till about eight years ago, at which time ſhe complained of a diſorder in her bowels, which ſhe de⯑ſcribed to feel as if the bowels had loſt their ſenſation, and that a cold wind ſeemed to riſe up the oeſophagus. As ſhe was coſtive, two ounces of the Ol. Ricini were given at four doſes, which having no effect, ſtronger purgatives were admini⯑ſtered, but without producing a ſtool; after [23]which the ſmoke of tobacco was thrown up, the warm bath applied, a doſe of calo⯑mel given, and a bliſter put upon the belly. At length an evacuation was obtained; and from the large quantity of cathartic reme⯑dies uſed, the bowels now took on the other extreme, and a violent purging enſued.— She now complained of a pricking pain on the right ſide of the abdomen, which went off upon her voiding by ſtool a piece of a large plumb ſtone, one ſide of which was worn as ſharp as the edge of a knife. After this ſhe was frequently troubled with ob⯑ſtinate conſtipations of the bowels, and obliged to have recourſe to purgative me⯑dicines. In the year 1789, ſhe had two fits, which, I believe, were epileptic; but, as I happened not to ſee her in either of them, I cannot be certain. In the month of September, ſhe was ſeized with pains in her hands and feet, which were ſuppoſed to be gouty; and when theſe went off, ſhe [24]loſt entirely the uſe of the extenſor muſcles of the wriſts, and ſoon after thoſe of the feet, which was followed by the loſs of the extenſors of the fingers and toes. A tumour now aroſe upon the metacarpal bones of each hand, which ſeemed a ſwelling either of the pcrioſteum or bone itſelf, and had greatly the appearance of a ſcrophulous affection, The tumours ſeemed ſometimes likely to ſuppurate, but about the end of the year 1790, they gradually diſappeared. The hands now looked livid, and the exten⯑ſor muſcles upon the arms and hands waſted and ſhrivelled; her feet felt like logs of wood, and the fingers and toes were con⯑tracted from the action of the flexor muſ⯑cles; ſhe could not walk without help, and when ſhe attempted it, always com⯑plained of ſomething drawing her back⯑wards. During this time, ſhe took a variety of volatile, cardiac, and tonic medicines, but without any good effect. In the month [25]of September, 1791, Dr. ALDERSON was conſulted, and adviſed her to take the TOXICODENDRON. Six grains of the pow⯑dered leaves of that plant were infuſed in eight ounces of boiling water, a table ſpoon⯑ful to be given three times a day. The whole of this was taken without any ſenſi⯑ble effect, except a ſlight pricking ſenſa⯑tion in the feet and hands:
Oct. 3d, She took one fourth of a grain of the powdered leaves made into a bolus with Conſ. Cort. Aurant. twice a day.
4th, The ſame; the pricking ſenſa⯑tion continues, and the arms, to the ends of the fingers, feel as if warm water was running-down them.
5th, Medicines continued three times a day.
6th, The ſame. In the evening, had an [26]irregular ſpaſmodic fluttering in the toes.
Oct. 7th, Medicines continued. Was agree⯑ably ſurpriſed to find ſhe could extend her fingers and toes a little. Her hands a little ſwel⯑led, and her feet and ancles much more ſo. She has, in a great meaſure, recovered the uſe of the extenſor pollicis of the right hand, and that of the left in a ſmaller degree; has alſo loſt the dead hard ſenſation in her finger ends, which was al⯑ways her conſtant attendant.
8th, Medicines continued.
9th, One third of a grain ter die.
10th, The ſame. Walked up ſtairs with⯑out help, her hands alſo ſtronger and better, but the extenſors of the wriſts ſtill inactive.
11th, The ſame.
[27]Oct. 12th, Took half a grain ter die. Begins to walk tolerably well, and can uſe her hands better, the ex⯑tenſor, adductor, and abductor muſcles of the thumbs, having recovered their action.
15th, Three grains were made into four boluſes, and one taken three times a day. At night the ſen⯑ſation, as if hot water was run⯑ning down the arms, very trou⯑bleſome, with the pricking feel in the fingers.
17th, One grain ter die.
30th, Takes one grain and a half ter die; and this day perceived that ſhe had recovered the uſe of the extenſor muſcles of the wriſts.
She continued the medicine, gradually in⯑creaſing the doſe to four grains ter die, for ſome time longer. It ſeemed to act as a [28]gentle aperient, and frequently, when the large doſes were taken, occaſioned a ſlight vertigo, with a pain acroſs the forehead, and a nauſea for about half an hour after taking it. She has now left off the medicine twelve months, has entirely recovered the uſe of her hands, and walks a mile or two very well; but the muſcles of the feet are not ſo well recovered as thoſe of the hands, and ſhe always lifts the feet very high when ſhe walks; which may be owing to a re⯑membrance that in her former ſtate, if ſhe attempted walking, and met with the ſmalleſt obſtacle, a fall on the face was generally the conſequence.
Barton, July 25, 1793.
CASE II.
GREG, mariner, complained of the loſs of one ſide, which he attributed to falling aſleep upon the deck, after being exhauſted [29]by fatigue during a gale of wind. I ordered him half a grain of the powdered leaves of the TOXICODENDRON, three times a day. On the ſecond day, he felt an unuſual twitching, or convulſive motion, in the arm and leg affected; and when I ſaw him on the Monday following, he could, without any aſſiſtance, bring the diſeaſed leg acroſs the other, and had much more uſe of his arm. He continued his medicine a week longer, when, finding himſelf ſo far recovered, that he could be employed as a pilot on the river, he was content not to compleat his cure, leſt it ſhould ſubject him to be impreſſed. He has continued in much the ſame ſtate for ſome time paſt, having gotten more uſe of his limbs than he ever expected. It is but right to obſerve, that during two years previous to his application to me, every other means had, in vain, been employed, to reſtore the action of his leg and arm.
CASE III.
[30]Mr. B—, ſurgeen, aged 47, after having endured a complication of ills, haemoptysis, jaundice, meſenterie obſtruction, and gene⯑ral atrophy, loſt the total uſe of all his limbs; and even his mental faculties under⯑went a ſimilar paralyſis. All his powers of ratiocination were ſuſpended, and he was reduced to a ſtate nearly as helpleſs as that of a child only ſix months [...]d. In this ſituation I gave him the TOXICODENDRON, half a grain three times a day, which, in the courſe of a week, improved his appetite, and removed the habitual coſtiveneſs to which he had long been liable. The doſe was gradually increaſed to one grain, three times a day. It produced ſome twitching acroſs the abdomen, with irregular or convulſive motion in the limbs; and when the nervous influence ſeemed to paſs to the extremities, [...] excited in the brain ſuch a ſenſation of pain, as made him frequently [31]exclaim moſt violently: but when any one aſked him where his pain was, he anſwered, he could not mention any particular place, but that all his limbs were, as if ſtretched forcibly. This was more eſpecially the caſe after ſleep.
The doſe was gradually increaſed to three grains four times a day, and he has now taken it for three months. His brain has recovered its wonted functions; his ſtomach and bowels do their office more completely than for years; he reſts without opium, though for a long time in the conſtant habit of taking it; his animal ſpirits are wonderfully invigorated; and although he has not yet acquired the perfect uſe of his limbs, they ſeem to be recovering their tone, and I have every reaſon to hope, that he will, in time, be reſtored to the full enjoyment of life.
CASE IV.
[32]GEORGE. FORD, ſhip carpenter, aged 24, of a ſtrong athletic make, and full habit of body, was admitted into the Hull General Infirmary, on Wedneſday the 13th of November, 1793, for a paralytic affection, which had deprived him of the uſe of his right ſide; his recollection was ſo impaired, that he could not give any account of the attack himſelf, but his wife informed me, that, for a week before he loſt the uſe of his limbs, he had, at times, complained of a dull pain in his head, and numbneſs in his right hand and foot; that, by the advice of ſome old woman, he had been blooded on the Monday, and that upon going out of doors ſoon afterwards, he was ſuddenly ſeized with hemiplegia. In which ſtate he was admitted into the Infirmary, on the Wedneſday following.
A vomit was given him ſoon after his admiſſion, which was followed the next day [33]by a warm purgative, and volatile and ſti⯑mulant medicines for the courſe of the firſt week; but finding that I was not likely to gain any ground from the uſual plan, and being deſirous of trying the power of the TOXICODENDRON in a recent caſe, I order⯑ed him half a grain of the powdered leaves of this plant in pills, three times a day; on the ſecond day, after the exhibition of this medicine, he felt a ſudden convulſive twitching, or involuntary motion in certain muſcles of the affected ſide; from that moment he found he had the ſame motion at will; every ſucceeding day he felt ſome muſcle or other convulſively moved, and it was always remarked, by the other patients in the ſame ward, that he poſſeſſed the power of voluntarily employing all thoſe muſcles that had been once convulſively affected in conſequence of the TOXICODEN⯑DRON. He regularly purſued the medi⯑cine, and gradually increaſed it to one grain [32] [...] [33] [...] [34]every four hours, taking care always to add to the doſe, till he found ſome convulſive action was produced.
In the courſe of three weeks, in which time every injured muſcle had felt the in⯑fluence of this powerful drug, he regained the free and perfect motion of his leg and arm; and recovered the full enjoyment of his mental faculties, which had been equally affected from the firſt attack.
December 24, 1793.
