Letter 3442

[fol. 140] Apr. 4th. 1729 Sr For about 18 days, or rather nights, as soon as warm in my bed, I have bin under grievous pains in both my feet, my right much ye worst, wth the Gout, wch continued all the nights till 8 or 9 in ye morning, then wearisomness procured me some sleep till towards noon, wch pacified the pain, and I gott up, & drink Coffee or Tea wth bread & butter, & laid my feet up in pretty easy benumd condition all the day after, both being much soothd, & ye great pain renewing evry night. After a littler slumm one night I found my pain suddainly gone out of my feet, & immeadiately my bowells all in commotion, upon wch I drank a Tea cupp of snake root Cordial being that root, scutchaneel, & saffron steepd in Brandy, wch I keep by mee for such purpose, this presently quieted my bowells, & set my feet to akeing again, & my bowells quiet ever since. And now my pains in my feet are much abated, & my rest returnd in ye nights I bless God to mee. I have eat & drank wholesom food wch a good stomach all ye time, & chearfull afternoons. Lyeing long a bed, & constant sitting made my makeing water uneasy, for wch. I suppd on mallow gruel, wch much helpd me. And now every morning I find the swelling of my feet down, but they begin to fill towards ye after noon, & are much swell’d by bed time, and pitt, the pain has kept verry much inward in the feet amongst the Nerves, & little of redness outwardly on the swellings, the swelling seems now to rise something above the ankles to ye small of the legg whereas it has kept hitherto totally in the feet. I would desire to know whether I am to wait on its dispersing itself in its own time & manner or whether by bleeding, or by purging, or any other meanes, I should endeavour to dispers, & abate it, as it now is. Thus we strive to sustain these crasie earthly tabernacles what we can, begging that God will give the soul, pardon & a blessed immortality. A word of your thoughts will oblige verry much. Sr Yr verry humble servant I am at waies rideing, & in exercise when pretty well. Now going into my 69th yeare. For mee at Rowant near East grinstead in Sussex Cha Goodwin. ally Nephew Goodwin shall wait on you wth my thanks. The Cordiall above, & Sr Wal. Rawleigh’s is good I perceive, when it attacks stomach or bowels, but what is to be done, if it attack the head, I am totally ignorant, & that they say it does sometimes, pray what is to be done in that case, sure that must be verry badd. [Prescription written in Sloane’s hand:] Infus. amar. Chalybeat. pulv. Jalap. Lemel in ana.