Eighth day. His skin continues hot and dry without any observable remissions, with liquid stools and much flatulency and sickness; his water when observed was of a straw colour. He has asked for cyder, and drinks nearly a bottle a day mixed with cold water, and takes three drops of laudanum twice a day.
Twelfth day. He continues much the same, takes no milk, drinks only cyder and water, skin hot and dry, tongue hot and furred, with liquid stools, and sickness always at the same time; sleeps much.
Sixteenth day. Was apparently more torpid, and once rather delirious; pulse 112. Takes only capillaire and water; sleeps much.
Twentieth day. Pulse 100, skin dry but less hot, liquid stools not so frequent, he is emaciated to a great degree, he has eaten half a tea-cup full of custard to day, drinks only capillaire and water, has thrice taken two large spoonfuls of decoction of bark with three drops of laudanum, refuses to have his legs bathed, and will now take nothing but three drops of laudanum twice a day.
Twenty-fourth day. He has gradually taken more custard every day, and began to attend to some new play things, and takes wine syllabub.
Twenty-eighth day. He daily grows stronger, eats eggs, and and butter, and sleeps immediately after his food, can creep on his hands and knees, but cannot stand erect.
Thirty-second day. He cannot yet stand alone safely, but seems hourly to improve in strength of body, and activity of mind.
In this case the remote cause of his fever could not be well ascertained, as it might be from having his feet cold for many successive days, or from contagion; but the latter seems more probable, because his younger brother became ill of a similar fever about three weeks afterwards, and probably received the infection from him. The disease commenced with great torpor of the stomach, which was shewn by his total aversion to solid food, and perpetual sickness; the watery stools, which were sometimes green, or of a darkish yellow, were owing to the acrimony, or acidity, of the contents of the bowels; which as well as the flatulency were occasioned by indigestion. This torpor of the stomach continued throughout the whole fever, and when it ceased, the fever ceased along with it.
The contagious material of this fever I suppose to have been mixed with the saliva, and swallowed into the stomach; that it excited the vessels, which constitute the stomach, into the greatest irritative motion like arsenic; which might not be perceived, and yet might render that organ paralytic or inirritable in a moment of time; as animals sometimes die by one single exertion, and consequent paralysis, without a second struggle; as by lightning, or being shot through the back part of the brain; of both which I have seen instances. I had once an opportunity of inspecting two oxen, a few minutes after they were killed by lightning under a crab-tree on moist ground in long grass; and observed, that they could not have struggled, as the grass was not pressed or bent near them; I have also seen two horses shot through the cerebellum, who never once drew in their legs after they first stretched them out, but died instantaneously; in a similar manner the lungs seem to be rendered instantly inanimate by the fumes of burning sulphur.
The lungs may be sometimes primarily affected with contagious matter floating in the atmosphere as well as the stomach, as mentioned in article [9]. of this Supplement. But probably this may occur much less frequently, because the oxygene of the atmosphere does not appear to be taken into the blood by animal absorption, as the saliva in the stomach, but passes through the moist membranes into the blood, like the ethereal fluids of electricity or heat, or by chemical attraction, and in consequence the contagious matter may be left behind; except it may sometimes be absorbed along with the mucus; of which however in this case there appeared no symptoms.