[47]. Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad; and thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon: and it shall be when thou shalt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back, and cover that which cometh from thee, &c.
Deuter, chap. xxii. ver. 12, 13.
[48]. As it is impossible to be thoroughly clean without a sufficient quantity of water, we would earnestly recommend it to the magistrates of great towns to be particularly attentive to this article. Most great towns in Britain are so situated as to be easily supplied with water; and those persons who will not make a proper use of it, after it is brought to their hand, certainly deserve to be severely punished. The streets of great towns, where water can be had, ought to be washed every day. This is the only effectual method for keeping them thoroughly clean; and, upon trial, we are persuaded it will be found the cheapest.
Some of the most dreadful diseases incident to human nature might, in my opinion, be entirely eradicated by cleanliness.
[49]. Were the tenth part of the care taken to prevent the importation of diseases, that there is to prevent smuggling, it would be attended with many happy consequences. This might easily be done by appointing a physician at every considerable sea-port, to inspect the ship’s company, passengers, &c. before they came ashore, and, if any fever or other infectious disorder prevailed, to order the ship to perform a short quarantine, and to send the sick to some hospital or proper place to be cured. He might likewise order all the clothes, bedding, &c. which had been used by the sick during the voyage, to be either destroyed, or thoroughly cleansed by fumigation, &c. before any of it were sent ashore. A scheme of this kind, if properly conducted, would prevent many fevers, and other infectious diseases, from being brought by sailors into sea-port towns, and by this means diffused all over the country.
[50]. There is reason to believe that infection is often conveyed from one place to another by the carelessness of the faculty themselves. Many physicians affect a familiar way of sitting upon the patient’s bedside, and holding his arm for a considerable time. If the patient has the small-pox, or any other infectious disease, there is no doubt but the doctor’s hands, clothes, &c. will carry away some of the infection; and, if he goes directly to visit another patient without washing his hands, changing his clothes, or being exposed to the open air, which is not seldom the case, is it any wonder that he should carry the disease along with him? Physicians not only endanger others, but also themselves, by this practice. And indeed they sometimes suffer for their want of care.
[51]. The ancients would not suffer even the temples of their gods, where the sick resorted, to be built within the walls of a city.
[52]. The conduct of parents with regard to the disposal of their children in marriage is often very blamable. An advantageous match is the constant aim of parents; while their children often suffer a real martyrdom betwixt their inclinations and duty. The first thing which parents ought to consult in disposing their children in marriage, is certainly their inclinations. Were due regard always paid to these, there would be fewer unhappy couples, and parents would not have so often cause to repent the severity of their conduct, after a ruined constitution, a lost character, or a distracted mind, has shewn them their mistake.
[53]. It has long been an observation among physicians, that the appearances of the urine are very uncertain, and very little to be depended on. No one will be surprised at this who considers how many ways it may be affected, and consequently have its appearance altered. The passions, the state of the atmosphere, the quantity and quality of the food, the exercise, the clothing, the state of the other evacuations, and numberless other causes, are sufficient to induce a change either in the quantity or appearance of the urine. Any one who attends to this, will be astonished at the impudence of those daring quacks, who pretend to find out diseases, and prescribe to patients from the bare inspection of their urine. These impostors, however, are very common all over Britain, and by the amazing credulity of the populace, many of them amass considerable fortunes. Of all the medical prejudices which prevail in this country, that in favour of urine doctors is the strongest. The common people have still an unlimited faith in their skill, although it has been demonstrated that no one of them is able to distinguish the urine of a horse, or any other animal, from that of a man.
[54]. I never knew a more remarkable instance of the uncertainty of the weather in this country, than happened while I was writing these notes. This morning, August 14, 1783, the thermometer in the shade was down at fifty-three degrees, and a very few days ago it stood above eighty. No one who reflects on such great and sudden changes in the atmosphere, will be surprised to find colds, coughs, rheums, with other affections of the breast and bowels, so common in this country.