Letter 2659

Fols. 175-176 I believe an account of the progress of Sir William Thomson’s disorders from the time of his coming hither to its now, almost fatal period, cannot be unacceptable to you, though we both grieve the loss of our best natured men of our acquaintance. I think you were informed of his having voided some blood, both by stool, and vomiting before he left London; His stools continued full of [] blood for three or five days after he came hither, by which, and the foregoing discharges he was reduced to the last degree of weakness. From that time we had no more signs of any Blood in his stools; his chiefe complaint was of an uneasy, sometimes painful sensation in his stomach; everything, tho’ of the lightest kind on Broths, or Panadas lay like a heavy load and still gave fresh cause of complaining. At night he generally told us that he was troubled – things flying before his eyes, which at first he described as black [] after that as red bits of cloth which gradually grew larger and larger till they came to be red spoons. An odd phenomenon which I must leave to be accounted for by persons better skilled in opticks than I am. Perhaps as the whole vascular system, relaxed more, and more larger and larger globules of blood entered the lymphaticks of the retinas and by making percussions similar to those which the light reflected from such external objects, as he seemed to see, would have done, he had the same sensations as he would have had if such objects had really been [] to his virio. But this I fear is a poor conjecture and unphilosophical. In this state he continued a good while, only gradually diminishing in strength, tho’ he took down swiftly quantities of soft liquid food and once or twice a little bread pudding. About a fortnight ago he began to complain of a great dryness in his throat and an uneasiness of swallowing. Soon after the edge of the tip of his tongue grew hairy [?], white and almost transparent, and we did not doubt from all his complainings but that an aphthous crust would creep down the throat and probably pass us a thorough thrush to the anus. We accordingly foresaw that though he now had no stools but from emollient clysters, a diarrhea must soon [?] and be the last act of this fatal tragedy, perhaps from the mouths of the lacteads being covered over with the aphthous crust. About four days since the looseness began and has contined till now, when all the motions of his fluids are within a few hours of quite ceasing. About the time that the tongue grew hairy he began to show the disroder of his mind, descending on the weakness of his bodie; all his delirameata were about [?] processes and other parts of law, and tho’ he would collect all his strength to help himself out of what he saw sometimes to be only an [?] mentis, yet he soon relapsed, and seemed to have struggled to get out of the deep tracks made by a long and constant train of thinking, to as little purpose as a poor hare, just hunted down, [?] to pass a number of large ruts of heavy carriages; she rambles, she staggers and at last sinks in the insuperable burrow! A few hours will put an end to the life of this Gentleman, whose good qualities you were long acquainted with, and for whom I don’t doubt but you had a great regard, as he always expressed the truest esteem for you. I must beg a thousand pardons for troubling you with so long a letter, in which some things are almost [?]; but I know your great candor will excuse a trouble flowing from respect to you, and a dying friend, and by which I meant to show you how much I am…