Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser 26 September 1776
C A S E I.
J. P. of Great Ayliffe-street, was attacked about
two years ago with a rheumatic complaint, which
has never since been totally removed; not only a
pain, but a weakness likewise of the right arm
has attended him, with pains in the other limbs
upon taking cold. For thes complaints he appplied
to Dr. Myersbach on the 9th of June, with
a phial of urine; upon inspecting it, the Doctor
told the patient, that he had a slime in his kidnies[sic],
which if he had not applied to him, would have
eaten through his back, and have destroyed him in
a fortnight. The patients, who is an intelligent
person, enquired of the water-oracle, if the pain
and weakness of the arm depended upon the slime
in the kidnies[sic]? Yes, yes replied the Doctor, it
all proceed from the kidnies[sic], but I will cure it very
soon. To expel this slime in the kidnies[sic], he ordered
green drops, pills, the red powder and the absorbent
powder; but after five weeks attendance,
the patient found the Doctor had not routed this
slime; the rheumatism was severer than at the 9th
of June, and the patient, besides the aggravation
of his misery, had given the conjuror, and Koch
his apothecary, who shares in the impositions as
well as in the spoils, to the amount of several
guineas. Though I saw the patient to day for
the first time, I do not hesitate to declare, that
the rheumatism, of which he complains, has no
more connection with the kidnies[sic] than with his
great toes; and that there is as little probability of
the slime eating through his back, as there is of
Dr. Myersbach’s brains eating through his skull.
Supposing it is possible that this slime, like a mole,
could make a passage through the back bone, the
green drops, or tincture of tanzy; the red powder,
or salt-petre; the absorbent powder, or
burnt oyster-shells powdered, are as little likely
to stop its progress, as to remove rheumatism.
Source:
British Library Newspaper Collection Colindale - Burney Collection
26 September 1776 (14,851) Page 1 Column 4 and Page 2 Columns 1 and 2