CASE XXII.
From the arm of this girl matter was taken and inserted April 12th into the arms of John Marklove one year and a half old,
Robert F. Jenner, eleven months old,
Mary Pead, 5 years old, and
Mary James, 6 years old.
Among these Robert F. Jenner did not receive the infection. The arms of the other three inflamed properly and began to affect the system in the usual manner; but being under some apprehensions from the preceding Cases that a troublesome erysipelas might arise, I determined on making an experiment with the view of cutting off its source. Accordingly after the patients had felt an indisposition of about twelve hours, I applied in two of these Cases out of the three, on the vesicle formed by the virus, a little mild caustic, composed of equal parts of quick-lime and soap, and suffered it to remain on the part six hours[1]. It seemed to give the children but little uneasiness, and effectually answered my intention in preventing the appearance of erysipelas. Indeed it seemed to do more, for in half an hour after its application, the indisposition of the children ceased[2]. These precautions were perhaps unnecessary as the arm of the third child, Mary Pead, which was suffered to take its common course, scabbed quickly, without any erysipelas.
[1]: Perhaps a few touches with the lapis septicus would have proved equally efficacious.
[2]: What effect would a similar treatment produce in inoculation for the Small-pox?
CASE XXIII.
From this child's arm matter was taken and transferred to that of J. Barge, a boy of seven years old. He sickened on the 8th day, went through the disease with the usual slight symptoms, and without any inflammation on the arm beyond the common efflorescence surrounding the pustule, an appearance so often seen in inoculated Small-pox.
After the many fruitless attempts to give the Small-pox to those who had had the Cow-pox, it did not appear necessary, nor was it convenient to me, to inoculate the whole of those who had been the subjects of these late trials; yet I thought it right to see the effects of variolous matter on some of them, particularly William Summers, the first of these patients who had been infected with matter taken from the cow. He was therefore inoculated with variolous matter from a fresh pustule; but, as in the preceding Cases, the system did not feel the effects of it in the smallest degree. I had an opportunity also of having this boy and William Pead inoculated by my Nephew, Mr. Henry Jenner, whose report to me is as follows: "I have inoculated Pead and Barge, two of the boys whom you lately infected with the Cow-pox. On the 2d day the incisions were inflamed and there was a pale inflammatory stain around them. On the 3d day these appearances were still increasing and their arms itched considerably. On the 4th day, the inflammation was evidently subsiding, and on the 6th it was scarcely perceptible. No symptom of indisposition followed.
To convince myself that the variolous matter made use of was in a perfect state, I at the same time inoculated a patient with some of it who never had gone through the Cow-pox, and it produced the Small-pox in the usual regular manner."