CHARACTERS.
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nef?, tiiat he declared to Mr. HofF- man^hewoald not accept the whole province in which he lived upon condition that he Ihould renounce his ftudies, and that he had rather live on bread and water than with- hold from his mind that food which his intelleflual hunger perpetually required.
An account of fome remarkable par- ticulars that happened ta a lady af- ter having had tee conjiuent kind of the fmali-pox.
INthecourfeof thisdifeafe, dur- ing which the lady vv^as attended by the late Sir Hans Sloane, feveral threatenings fymptoms appeared, which, however, were a: length overcome; and the patient, being thought cut of danger, took feveral dofes of fuch purgative medicines as are ufuaily adminiftered in the decline of the difeafe, without any bad confequence.
But in the evening of the day on which {he had taken the laft dofe that was intended to be given her I on that occafion, Ihe was fuddenly fcized with pains and ccnvulfions in the bowels ; the pain and other fympcoms became gradually lefs violent, as the force of the medicine abated, and by fuch remedies as were thought beft adapted to the cafe, they feemed at length to be entirely lubdued. \ They were, however, fubdued I only in appearance ; for at eleven o'clock in the foienoon of the next day they returned with great vio- lence, and continued forne hours ; when they went off, they left the mufcles of the lower jaw fo much relaxed that it fell down, and the chin was fupported on the breaft. The ftrength of the patient was io
much exhaufled during this parox- yfm, that Ihe lay near two hours with no other fign of life than a very feeble refpiration, which was often fo difHcult to be difcerned, that thofe about her concluded fiie was dead.
From this time the fits returned periodically everyday, at about the fame hour. At tirft they feemed to afFeft her nearly in the fame degree; but at length all the fymptoms were aggravated, the convuliions became more general, and her arms were fometimes convulfedalternately ; it alfo frequently happened, that the arm which was lalt convulfed re- mained extended and inflexible fome hours after the Uruggles were; over. Her neck was often twirred with fuch violence, that the face locked directly backwards, and the back part of the head was over the brealt ; the mufcles of the counte- nance were alfo fo contrzcled and writhed by the fpafms, that the features were totally changed, and it was impoffible to find any re- femblance of her natu.-al afpett by which ih^ could be known. Her feet were not lefs diflorted than her head, for they were twifted almoft to diflocation at the inliep, fo that Ihe could not walk but upon her anclef.
To remove or mitigate thefe de- plorable fymptoms, many remedies were tried, and, among others, the cold bath; but either by the natural eltecl of the bath, or by fome mif- management in the bathing, the unhappy patient firil became blind, and loon afterwards deaf and dumb. It is not eafy to conceive what could increafe the mifery of deaf- nefs, dumbnefs, blindnefs, and Uc- q'jent paroxyfms of excruciating pain ; yet a very confiderable ag- gravation was added ; for the lofs of
