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Franklin s Contribution 
 to Medicine 
 
Franklin s Contribution 
 to Medicine 
 
 Being a Collection of Letters 
 Written by Benjamin Franklin 
 bearing on the Science and Art 
 of Medicine and exhibiting his 
 Social and Professional Inter 
 course with various Physicians 
 of Europe and America 
 
 By Theodore Diller 
 
 ALBERT T. HUNTINGTON 
 MCMXII 
 
Copyright, 1912 
 
 By 
 Albert T. Huntington 
 
 Published *eb. 26, 1912. 
 
 Of this book three hundred copies 
 have been printed, of which this is 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 tie JBear jflemorp of Jflp 
 
 253785 
 
PREFACE 
 
 T| HE Pittsburgh Academy of Medicine, before whom 
 I this essay was read in abstract on November 27, 1907, 
 passed a resolution at that time requesting me to 
 publish it. And this I set about to do; but delays 
 in the matter were many and prolonged with the result that 
 more than four years have elapsed between the preparation 
 of this essay and its publication. 
 
 Probably very few physicians have an adequate idea of the 
 extent of Franklin s writings relating to their profession and of 
 the soundness and the very substantial character of some of 
 his contributions. Franklin must ever be accounted as f one of 
 the greatest benefactors, friends and patrons of the medical 
 profession as well as a most substantial contributor to the science 
 and art of medicine. Had this great man labored only in 
 the field of medicine and done nothing else than is herein set 
 forth, these things would entitle him to the lasting gratitude 
 of his fellow men. T. D. 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 January, 1912. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION 9 
 
 A BRIEF SKETCH OF FRANKLIN S LIFE 10 
 
 FRANKLIN S RELATIONSHIP TO MEDICINE AND THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. 18 
 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL 28 
 
 FRANKLIN S CONNECTION WITH THE FIRST MEDICAL SCHOOL IN 
 AMERICA, AFTERWARDS THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE UNI 
 VERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 31 
 
 FRANKLIN S RULES OF HEALTH ; WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF His OWN 
 
 HEALTH 31 
 
 Rules of Health and Long Life, and to Preserve from Malig 
 nant Fevers, and Sickness in General 35 
 
 Rules to Find Out a Fit Measure of Meat and Drink 36 
 
 FRANKLIN AS A MEDICAL BOOK PUBLISHER 45 
 
 SWIMMING AND BATHING 45 
 
 THE VALUE OF FRESH AIR AND PROPER VENTILATION 48 
 
 The Nature and Contagiousness of "Colds" 48 
 
 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 59 
 
 BI-FOCAL SPECTACLES 66 
 
 A FLEXIBLE CATHETER 67 
 
 POKE- WEED IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER 68 
 
 STATIC ELECTRICITY AS A REMEDY FOR THE RELIEF OF PARALYSIS 69 
 
 INOCULATION AGAINST SMALL-POX 70 
 
 LEAD POISONING 76 
 
 INVESTIGATION OF MESMERISM 78 
 
 A FEW MISCELLANEOUS SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS PERTAINING TO 
 
 MEDICINE 82 
 
 POPULAR MEDICINE 85 
 
 REFERENCES 89 
 
1 
 
 
Franklin s Contribution 
 to Medicine 
 
 |HE 2OOth anniversary of Benjamin Franklin s birth was 
 celebrated last year with appropriate ceremonies in 
 Boston and Philadelphia; and, in consequence, the life 
 and works of this great man have become the subject of 
 renewed interest and study. 
 
 Sainte-Beuve pronounced Franklin the most French of all 
 Americans. Thomas Carlyle, beholding a portrait of Frank 
 lin, at an exhibition, remarked to a group of spectators, "There 
 is the Father of all the Yankees." 
 
 The life and works of Franklin bearing upon Medicine and 
 the Medical Profession are, it appears to me, well worthy of 
 study and contemplation by the physician. Toutourat, in a small 
 thesis published in Paris, in 1900, has previously undertaken this 
 task which I am now attempting. I know of no other essay on 
 Franklin but that of Toutourat, which has for its object the 
 study of Franklin from the standpoint of the medical man. 
 Several new works have been published since the date of Toutou- 
 rat s essay, containing valuable letters and information concern 
 ing Franklin. The time, therefore, appears to me appropriate 
 for another attempt to study Franklin from the medical man s 
 point of view. 
 
 We of the medical profession may claim Franklin as one of 
 us, for he was a member of the Royal Medical Society of 
 Paris and an honorary member of the Medical Society of 
 London, besides holding membership in several medical 
 societies in this country. He was largely instrumental in 
 
io FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 founding the first hospital in America, wrote the inscription 
 for its corner-stone, served as clerk and later as president 
 of its Board of Managers. He founded the College of 
 Philadelphia which gave birth to the first school of medicine 
 ^ in America. He was a medical book publisher of note. He 
 
 (^investigated and wrote upon many problems in medicine. To the 
 medical profession he gave the Franklinic electricity. He invented 
 the bi-focal spectacles. He is the father of the modern scheme 
 of ventilation. His ideas upon the contagiousness of colds 
 which he stated one hundred and fifty years ago have within the 
 last few years been shown by medical research to have been 
 correct. 
 
 Franklin knew a large number of physicians in America and 
 Europe, with many of whom he corresponded upon or discussed 
 medical matters. Indeed, it is through this correspondence that 
 we learn most of Franklin s study of and interest in medical 
 matters. Leaders in our profession sought his opinion as that of 
 a colleague and even came to him like pupils to a master. Frank 
 lin s title of "Doctor" was conferred upon him by the University 
 
 v/6f St. Andrews in 1759. The title was that of Doctor of Laws. 
 He never received a medical degree as some have supposed he 
 
 ( jdid. In 1762 the degree of D.C.L. was conferred upon him by 
 the University of Oxford. 
 
 In short, Franklin s contributions to medical science taken 
 together are of the highest scientific and practical value. It may 
 indeed be doubted if they were equaled by those of any single 
 contemporary medical man in America. 
 
 It seems best, for the sake of conpleteness, to begin this study 
 of Franklin with some brief account of his life, even though to 
 do so is to go over familiar ground. 
 
 A BRIEF SKETCH OF FRANKLIN S LIFE. 
 
 Franklin was born January 6, 1706, in Boston, and was bap 
 tized the same day; he died in Philadelphia, April 17, 1790. He 
 was the youngest son of a family of seventeen, and he relates 
 that he can recollect when thirteen children sat down together at 
 his father s table. He spent only two years at school. He early 
 manifested a love for books, and tells us, "I do not remember 
 when I could not read." 
 
 He was unable to get on with his brother James, for whom he 
 worked as a printer and who was quick-tempered and domineer- 
 
BRIEF SKETCH OF FRANKLINS LIFE. II 
 
 ing, so he ran away from home at the age of seventeen. After a 
 short stay in New York and New Jersey, he arrived in 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Franklin entered Philadelphia, a runaway-apprentice boy, in 
 1721. Of this he tells us in his own words: 
 
 "I was in my working dress, my best clothes having gone 
 around by sea. I was dirty from my journey, my pockets were 
 stuffed with shirts and stockings, and I knew no soul, nor where 
 to look for lodging. I was fatigued with travelling, and rowing, 
 and want of rest, I was hungry; my whole stock of cash being 
 a Dutch dollar and about a shilling in copper." He then tells us 
 that he purchased three rolls of bread, one of which he placed 
 under each arm, and the third he began to eat, and "Thus I went 
 up Market Street as far as Fourth, past the door of Mr. Read, 
 my future wife s father; she, standing at the door, saw me and 
 thought I made, as I certainly did, a most ridiculous appearance." 
 
 At his funeral, fifty-nine years later, the Governor, the Chief 
 Justice of the State, and the Mayor of Philadelphia served as 
 pall-bearers ; and among those in attendance were the chief 
 officers of the federal, state and municipal governments, the mem 
 bers of the Legislature, the judges of the courts, the printers of 
 Philadelphia, the members of the Philosophical Society, and the 
 College of Physicians. Twenty thousand persons attended the 
 funeral of the runaway printer boy. His body was buried in 
 Christ Churchyard ; and his grave with the simple inscription 
 over it may be seen there to this day. 
 
 Surely there can be no greater contrast between the beginning 
 and the end of any man s life than is to be seen in that of Frank 
 lin s, when we look at his entry into Philadelphia, and then at his 
 homecoming from France, when he was easily the first citizen 
 of Philadelphia, and had become known throughout the civilized 
 world as a man eminent in philosophy, science, statecraft, and 
 renowned for his literary productions, his humor, and plain com 
 mon sense. 
 
 Soon after arriving in Philadelphia, Franklin entered the 
 printing office of a man named Keimer as an apprentice. 
 
 Keith, the Governor of Pennsylvania, who seems to have been 
 a most boastful individual with a lively imagination and a defec 
 tive sense of honor, sent Franklin on a fool s errand to London, 
 where he arrived, December 24, 1724, as penniless as when he 
 entered Philadelphia. Here he secured employment and worked 
 
12 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 at his trade as a printer. He returned to Philadelphia, October 
 n, 1726. In 1756, he again set out for England, where he acted 
 as agent for three of the colonies; and he resided abroad until 
 1785, with the exception of two rather brief visits to America 
 made during this period. The last nine years of this period, in 
 many respects the most brilliant of his career, were spent in 
 France. Then, in 1785, we find him returning to America, per 
 haps the most conspicuous figure in two continents, with the 
 unbounded friendship and praise of the French people on one 
 hand, and the gratitude and admiration of his countrymen on 
 the other. 
 
 The years from 1726 to 1757, which Franklin spent in Phila 
 delphia, were most eventful ones. It was on the achievements 
 and habits of life he then developed that his subsequent world 
 wide fame rested. He was only twenty-one years old when he 
 organized the Junto Club, which was at first called the "Leather 
 Apron." He attained rapid success as a printer and a business 
 man. By the time he was twenty-six years old he had become 
 the editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette, by far the most important 
 newspaper in the colonies ; he had founded the Philadelphia Pub 
 lic Library, the first of its kind in America, and had begun the 
 publication of Poor Richard s Almanac, which was destined to 
 be known throughout the civilized world by many translations. 
 He entered into political life at an early age and thus secured the 
 "profitable job" of printing the Pennsylvania paper money. 
 
 Franklin s great industry, thrift, and business sagacity made 
 him very prosperous. Indeed, in 1748, when he was only forty- 
 two years old, he planned to retire from business and devote 
 his life to scientific experiments and to philosophical studies. 
 This was a year of peace. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had 
 been signed and it was thought that the prospects for continued 
 peace were now good. Only two years before Franklin had 
 begun his famous series of experiments in electricity, on which 
 his fame as a scientist chiefly rests, and he now hoped to continue 
 them in peace and quiet. His fortune was now ample for his 
 needs. But he was destined to play many important parts before 
 he left his native shores in 1756. 
 
 Franklin served in the Legislature several terms. In 1753 
 he was made Postmaster General for the colonies. Under him 
 the office for the first time showed a balance on the right side. 
 After Braddock s defeat, the Governor offered Franklin a gen- 
 
BRIEF SKETCH OF FRANKLIN S LIFE. 13 
 
 eral s commission if he would attempt the capture of Fort 
 Duquesne. It will be remembered that Braddock s expedition 
 was fitted out by Franklin, to do which he pledged a large portion 
 of his private fortune. Had Braddock listened to a few sage 
 hints given him by Franklin, his crushing defeat might have been 
 avoided. Franklin was really interested in or started nearly every 
 good measure or institution which originated in Philadelphia 
 during the years he lived there. This is not the place to 
 recount his public services, his practical inventions, his scien 
 tific observations, or his literary achievements, so I must con 
 tent myself with the mere mention of a few of them. 
 
 He organized a State Watch in Philadelphia; founded the 
 Academy which was the beginning of the University of Penn 
 sylvania and from which originated the first medical school in 
 America; established the American Philosophical Society, which 
 flourishes to this day. He served as Justice of the Peace and as 
 a member of the Municipal Council. He was commissioned to 
 treat with the Indians. He served as Postmaster General. He 
 organized the first fire company and founded our first library in 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 He had, with Dr. Bond, the honor of founding the first 
 hospital in America, the Pennsylvania Hospital of Philadelphia. 
 He was Colonel of a regiment; a member of Congress, 
 a member of the Constitutional Convention, a Governor of 
 a Colony, Colonial agent at London, and Ambassador to France. 
 
 Franklin investigated the phenomena of the whirlwinds, the 
 Gulf Stream, and the thermometer. He made numerous experi 
 ments in producing cold by evaporation and was the first to do so. 
 Sir William Herschel, the foremost physicist of his age, wrote 
 Franklin asking his opinions on astronomy. By Franklin s in 
 fluence John Bartram, of Philadelphia, was made American 
 Botanist to George III. He interested himself to send rare seeds 
 from America to Europe and from Europe to America. His 
 observations on light are of the highest order. 
 
 Franklin began his philosophical and scientific studies at an 
 early age and continued them with more or less interruption all 
 through his life. His great European fame rests mainly upon his 
 achievements in the field of science. Apparently no subject 
 escaped his notice or failed to interest him. He wrote upon 
 electricity, seismology, geology, meteorology, physics, chemistry, 
 astronomy, mathematics, hydrography, horology, aeronautics, 
 
14 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 navigation, agriculture, ethnology, paleontology, medicine, hy 
 giene, and pedagogy. 
 
 During his long residence in England and France Franklin 
 met a large number of persons prominent in the world of politics 
 and science. When he sailed for England in 1756, he had gained 
 high distinction as a man of letters, a diplomat, a philosopher, 
 and a scientist; and this reputation steadily grew during his 
 residence abroad. When he returned to Philadelphia, at the age 
 of seventy-nine, after nine years residence in France, to spend 
 at home the four years that were yet to remain of his life, he was 
 one of the most commanding figures of the civilized world ; and 
 his name was a household word in America, England and France. 
 Franklin s autobiography ends with his arrival in London in 1756. 
 
 He made two visits to Scotland where he met many men 
 of prominence Hume, Robertson, Lord Kames, Alexander Dick, 
 Dr. Cullen and Dr. Alexander Monro. He also met Adam Smith, 
 with whom he discussed subjects in political economy. It is said 
 that Smith afterward submitted much of the manuscript of "The 
 Wealth of Nations" to Franklin for his suggestions. Upon his 
 return to Scotland, a few months later, he renewed his acquaint 
 ance with these gentlemen, and for years afterwards he corre 
 sponded with several of them. 
 
 In a letter which he wrote to his son William, dated London, 
 January 30, 1772, Franklin speaks of his second visit to Scot 
 land, where he met his old friends and made new ones. 
 
 Summing up Franklin s manifold activities Parton says of 
 him: 
 
 "We see him expatiating in his letters upon such diverse topics 
 as chimneys and swimming; metallic roofs and spots on the sun; 
 the average fall of rain and fireproof stairs; the torpedo, the 
 arnomica, and the Northwest Passage ; the magnet and the im 
 proved wheels ; glass-blowing, Prince Rupert s drops, and the 
 aurora borealis ; the inflammatory gases, and the effects of vege 
 tation upon the air and water. Nothing escaped him that trans 
 pired in philosophic circles, and his remarks on subjects agitated 
 therein were always valuable, and frequently original. It is, 
 however, the method of a philosopher that chiefly benefits those 
 who come after him ; the method being, as it were, the pathway, 
 which when discovered and described, any intelligent mind can 
 pursue, and reach interesting results. Franklin s method is par 
 ticularly noticeable, because it was not that of a professor, whose 
 
BRIEF SKETCH OF FRANKLIN S LIFE. 1$ 
 
 occupation it is to investigate, but that of a man naturally inter 
 ested in the phenomena surrounding him, who studied them with 
 a purely human curiosity." 
 
 Writing of his sojourn in London as a young apprentice, 
 Franklin states that he was promised an introduction to Sir 
 Isaac Newton and regrets that he never met him. 
 
 Upon his second trip to England Franklin met Dr. Shipley 
 and stayed for long periods at his home, where he wrote his 
 autobiography. Franklin always refers to Dr. Shipley as "The 
 good Bishop of St. Asaphs." The two grew to be very warm 
 friends. Dr. Shipley was a staunch friend of the colonies in the 
 House of Lords when his brother Bishops were opposed to our 
 cause. 
 
 Pitt was inaccessible to Franklin ; and he never met that com- v / 
 manding figure in London, Dr. Samuel Johnson, who, as is 
 well known, had a strong prejudice against Americans, believing 
 the revolutionary cause unjust, and it is said declined to meet 
 Franklin. 
 
 Priestley, Cavendish, and Lavoisier corresponded with Frank 
 lin on the subject of physics and chemistry. Sir Humphrey 
 Davy, who had a fine appreciation of literary merit as well as of 
 scientific attainment, writes : 
 
 "The style and manner of his publication on electricity are 
 almost as worthy of admiration as the doctrine it contains. He 
 has endeavored to remove all mystery and obscurity from the 
 subject. He has written equally for the philosopher and for ttte x 
 uninitiated ; and he has rendered his details amusing as well as 
 perspicuous, elegant as well as simple. Science appears in his 
 language in a dress wonderfully decorous, the best adapted to 
 display her native loveliness." 
 
 Franklin was in touch with many of the most distinguished 
 men of England. He enjoyed the company of Mrs. Montague 
 and Garrick and Lord Shelbourne. He knew Benjamin West, 
 Horatio Gates, Charles Lee, John Hawkesworth, Burke, Hume, 
 Kames, Sir John Pringle, Dr. Fothergill and Dr. Canton. He 
 dined frequently with certain of these gentlemen. 
 
 In France, Franklin s acquaintance and prestige was even 
 greater than it was in England. Among those with whom he 
 came in contact in this country may be mentioned La Duchesse 
 d Enville, Due de la Rochefoucauld, M. Turgot, Due de Chaulnes, 
 Comte de Crillon, Vicomte de Sarfield, M. Brisson, of the Royal 
 
i6 
 
 Academy of Sciences, Comte de Milly, Prince des Deuxponts, 
 Comte d Estaing, Marquis de Mirabeau, M. Beaugeard, Treasurer 
 of the State of Brittany. 
 
 "John Adams declared that Franklin s reputation was more 
 universal than that of Leibnitz or Newton, Frederick or Voltaire ; 
 and his character more beloved and esteemed than any or all of 
 them. Surely there never lived a man more idolized. Every 
 thing about him was imitated and extolled his spectacles, his 
 marten fur cap, his brown coat, his bamboo cane. Men carried 
 their canes and their snuffboxes a la Franklin, women crowned 
 him with flowers, and every patrician house in Paris showed a 
 Franklin portrait on the wall, and a Franklin stove in one of the 
 apartments. Busts were made of him in Sevres china, set in a 
 blue stone with a gold border, and barrels of miniatures made of 
 the clay from Chaumont found eager purchasers. When Voltaire 
 and Franklin kissed each other in the hall of the Academy, the 
 enthusiastic sages and tribunes thundered their applause Behold 
 Solon and Sophocles embrace!" 1 (Smyth.) 
 
 Franklin s conversation, it appears upon the competent testi 
 mony of Talleyrand, was as simple and direct as his writing, 
 which, indeed, gives the greatest charm to his literary style. 
 Speaking of his philosophical writings Jeffery remarked that, 
 "The most ingenious and profound explanations are suggested 
 as if they were the most natural and obvious way of accounting 
 for the phenomena." Balzac expressed utmost delight in the 
 writings of Franklin. 
 
 Franklin s scientific correspondence was carried on in nine 
 languages. He was a member of one or more scientific societies 
 in almost every country of Europe. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson had been appointed, March 10, 1/85, 
 Franklin s successor as minister plenipotentiary. He had already 
 been seven months in France under commission to assist Franklin 
 and Adams in negotiating commercial treaties with European 
 powers. He had noticed the universal admiration and reverence 
 with which Franklin was regarded. He said: 
 
 "There appeared to me more respect and veneration attached to 
 the character of Franklin in France than to that of any other 
 person in the same country, foreign or native. I had frequent 
 opportunities of knowing particularly how far these sentiments 
 were felt by the foreign ambassadors and ministers at the court of 
 Versailles. * * * The succession to Dr. Franklin at the 
 
BRIEF SKETCH OF FRANKLIN S LIFE. I? 
 
 court of France was an excellent school of humility. On being 
 presented to any one as the minister of America, the common 
 place question in such cases was, u esff Monsieur, qui remplacez 
 le Docteur Franklin? It is you, Sir, who replaces Dr. Frank 
 lin? I generally answered, No one can replace him, Sir; I am 
 only his successor. " 
 
 Jefferson also wrote to Congress : "Europe fixes an attentive 
 eye on your reception of Dr. Franklin. He is infinitely esteemed. 
 Do not neglect any mark of your approbation which you think 
 proper. It will honor you here." 
 
 Summing up Franklin s character as a scientist and a philos 
 opher Parton says : 
 
 "Franklin was the man of all others then alive who possessed 
 in the greatest perfection the four requisites for the successful 
 observation of nature or the pursuit of literature a sound and 
 great understanding, patience, dexterity, and an independent 
 income. 
 
 "The great merit of Franklin in his investigation of nature 
 was the soundness of his method, which was this: He collected 
 his facts diligently; then he subjected his theory to every test that 
 he could contrive; and, finally, he recorded the whole process 
 with clearness and modesty ** 
 
 In closing this short and very imperfect sketch of Franklin s life, 
 I wish to quote a charming picture given us of him when he was in 
 the evening of his life, quietly living in Philadelphia after his 
 return from France. It illustrates "the ruling passion strong in 
 death." 
 
 A scholarly Massachusetts clergyman, Manasseh Cutler, 
 visited Franklin at his home in Philadelphia after his return from 
 France. Under date of July 13, 1787, he makes a very interesting 
 note in his diary, from which I quote: 
 
 "He showed us a glass machine for exhibiting the circulation 
 of the blood in the arteries and veins of the human body. The 
 circulation is exhibited by the passing of a red fluid from a 
 reservoir into numerous capillary tubes of glass, ramified in every 
 direction, and then returning in similar tubes to the reservoir, 
 which was done with great velocity, without any power to act 
 visibly upon the fluid, and had the appearance of perpetual 
 motion. 
 
 "He seemed extremely fond, through the course of the visit, 
 of dwelling on philosophical subjects, and particularly that of 
 
i8 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 Natural History; while the other gentlemen were swallowed up 
 with politics. This was a favorable circumstance for me, for 
 almost the whole of his conversation was addressed to me, and I 
 was highly delighted with the extensive knowledge he appeared 
 to have of every subject, the brightness of his memory, and 
 clearness and vivacity of all his mental faculties, notwithstanding 
 his age. His manners are perfectly easy, and everything about 
 him seems to diffuse an unrestrained freedom and happiness. 
 He has an incessant vein of humor, accompanied with an uncom 
 mon vivacity, which seemed as natural and involuntary as his 
 breathing." 
 
 FRANKLIN S RELATIONSHIP TO MEDICINE AND THE MEDICAL 
 
 PROFESSION. 
 
 All his life Franklin took a deep interest in medical matters. 
 He made many experiments and observations bearing directly or 
 indirectly upon the science and art of medicine. Upon one 
 occasion, in writing to his "Honored father and mother," he told 
 them: 
 
 "I apprehend I am too busy in prescribing and meddling in the 
 doctor s sphere, when any of you complain of ails in your letters. 
 But as I always employ a physician myself when any disorder 
 arises in my family, and submit implicitly to his orders in every 
 thing, so I hope you consider my advice, when I give any, only as 
 a mark of my goodwill, and put no more of it in practice than 
 happens to agree with what your doctor directs." 
 
 Writing to John Adams in 1781, he remarked: 
 
 "I hope your health is fully established. I doubt not but you 
 have the advice of skillful physicians, otherwise I should presume 
 to offer mine, which would be, though you find yourself well, to 
 take a few doses of bark, by way of fortifying your constitution 
 and preventing a return of your fever." 
 
 The Earl of Buchan upon one occasion credited Franklin with 
 saving his life when he lay prostrated with fever. His physician, 
 Dr. Simpson, ordered that the patient be blistered. Franklin dis 
 sented from this view, and soon afterward the patient made a 
 speedy recovery. 
 
 To Rev. Samuel Johnson Franklin wrote the following letter, 
 giving some sound medical advice: 
 
 "DEAR SIR : I am sorry to hear of your illness. If you have 
 not been used to the fever-and-ague let me give you one caution. 
 
FRANKLIN S RELATIONSHIP TO MEDICINE. 19 
 
 Don t imagine yourself thoroughly cured, and so omit the use of 
 the bark too soon. Remember to take the preventing doses faith 
 fully. If you were to continue taking a dose or two every day 
 for two or three weeks after the fits have left you, twould not be 
 amiss. If you take the powder mixed quickly in a tea-cup of 
 milk, tis no way disagreeable, but looks and even tastes like 
 chocolate. Tis an old saying: That one ounce of prevention is 
 worth a pound of cure and certainly a true one, with regard to 
 the bark, a little of which will do more in preventing the fits than 
 a great deal in removing them. 
 
 "But if your health would permit I should not expect the 
 pleasure of seeing you soon. The smallpox spreads apace, and 
 now in all quarters ; yet as we have only children to have it, and 
 the doctors inoculate apace, I believe they will soon drive it 
 through the town, so that you may probably visit us with safety 
 in the spring." 
 
 Franklin s old friend, Dr. Peter Collinson, died from sup 
 pression of urine in 1768. Writing to Dr. Fothergill Franklin 
 makes mention of the fact and refers to a similar illness from 
 which Fothergill had recovered, and he adds : "As I am some 
 times apprehensive of the same disorder, I wish to know the 
 means that were used and succeeded in your case, and shall be 
 exceedingly obliged to you for communicating them when you 
 can do it conveniently." 
 
 In "Poor Richard," Franklin has a number of jokes at the 
 doctor s expense. Among them are these : 
 
 "Beware of the young doctor and the old barber." 
 
 "He s the best physician that knows the worthlessness of the 
 most medicines." 
 
 "Many medicines, few cures." 
 
 "There s more old drunkards than old doctors." 
 
 "God heals, and the doctor takes the fees." 
 
 "Don t misinform your doctor nor your lawyer." 
 
 "Don t go to the doctor with every distemper, nor to the 
 lawyer with every quarrel, nor to the pot for every thirst." 
 
 "Poor Richard" also offers some excellent hygienic and diete-. 
 tic suggestions. For example : 
 
 "We are not so sensible of the greatest health as of the least 
 sickness." 
 
 "A full belly makes a dull brain ; the muses starve in a cook s 
 shop." 
 
2o FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 "Eat few suppers and you ll need few medicines." 
 
 "A full belly is the mother of all evils." 
 
 "I saw few die of hunger; of eating, 100,000." 
 
 "He that steals the old man s supper does him no wrong." 
 
 "Three meals a day is bad living." 
 
 "If thou wouldst live long, live well ; for folly and wickedness 
 shorten life." 
 
 From "Poor Richard s" observations, which are of general 
 application, I quote four which every physician would do well 
 to lay to heart : 
 
 "Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge." 
 
 "The most exquisite folly is made of wisdom spun too fine," 
 
 "What signifies knowing the names, if you know not the 
 natures of things." 
 
 "No man e er was glorious who was not laborious." 
 
 Although Franklin had his jokes at the expense of physic and 
 the physician, he had a great respect for both. For all through 
 his life he took a deep interest in medicine and numbered phy 
 sicians among his closest and most intimate friends. He talked 
 to and wrote to many physicians in America, England, and 
 France, not only upon medical subjects, but also upon other 
 matters of scientific interest and upon philosophy and politics. 
 
 Among his American friends were Drs. Thomas and Phineas 
 Bond, John Redman, Benjamin Rush, William Shippen, John 
 Morgan, Thomas Cadwalader and John Jones, of Philadelphia, 
 Drs. Cadwallader Golden and John Bard, of New York, and 
 Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, of Boston. 
 
 In England Franklin met many medical men. He was on 
 intimate terms with Sir John Pringle and Dr. Fothergill and 
 knew Sir William Watson, William Heberden, Edward Ban 
 croft and William Hewson. A distinguished English physician, 
 John Coakley Lettsom, wrote a life of Franklin. In Scotland 
 Franklin met Dr. Cullen, Dr. Alexander Monro and other phy 
 sicians of the Edinburgh school. 
 
 Among the French physicians with whom Franklin came in 
 contact or corresponded were Dubourg, Guillotin, and Vicq 
 d Azyr. He was a regular correspondent with Dr. Jan Ingen- 
 housz, of Vienna, the court physician to Maria Theresa and 
 Joseph II. 
 
 These medical men at home and abroad, the leaders in their 
 
FRANKLIN S RELATIONSHIP TO MEDICINE. 21 
 
 profession, sought Franklin s opinions as an equal colleague, 
 and even came to him in the attitude of pupils to a master. 
 
 In Philadelphia Franklin did an immense deal for medicine 
 and the medical profession. With Dr. Bond he founded the first 
 hospital in America. From the College of Philadelphia, which he 
 founded, grew the first medical school in America. He pub- 
 lished several medical works, and by his criticism and advice 
 rendered material assistance to the authors. Rush, Bard, Cadwala- 
 der, and Thomas Bond dedicated medical works to him. On one 
 occasion Franklin had to remonstrate with Rush, who desired to 
 make use of a most "extravagant encomium" in dedicating one 
 of his books to him. Rush, after modifying the dedication, 
 published the book under the patronage of Franklin s great name. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, the first teacher of anatomy in 
 North America, aided Franklin in establishing the Philadelphia 
 Library and the Pennsylvania Hospital, u^ 
 
 Franklin s friendship for medical men of Philadelphia and 
 students beginning the study of medicine is shown in the follow 
 ing letter written by him to William Cullen, M.D., from London, 
 October 21, 1761. It may be supposed that Shippen and Morgan 
 were fortunate indeed to be introduced to the great Edinburgh 
 master by Franklin. 
 
 "I thank you for the civilities you were so good as to shew 
 my friend, Mr. Shippen, whom I took the liberty of recommend 
 ing to your notice the last year. Give me leave to recommend 
 one more to your advice and countenance. The bearer, Mr. 
 Morgan, who purposes to reside sometime in Edinburgh for the 
 completion of his studies in Physic, is a young man of Phila 
 delphia, whom I have long known and greatly esteem ; and as I 
 interest myself in what relates to him, I cannot but wish him the 
 advantages of your conversation and instructions. I wish it also 
 for the sake of my country, where he is to reside, and where I am 
 persuaded he will be not a little useful. I am, with the greatest 
 esteem and respect, dear sir, your most obedient and most humble 
 
 servant, 
 
 B. FRANKLIN." 
 
 Most of the American physicians who were friends and co- 
 workers with Franklin are well known and need no introduction. 
 But brief notes on a few who are not so well known may be of 
 interest in this place. 
 
22 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, who was professor of Theory and 
 Practice of Medicine in Harvard University, had taken his degree 
 at Leyden and was the first physician in this country to practice 
 vaccination. In July, 1800, he vaccinated his own children from 
 vaccine virus which he procured from Europe. Dr. Waterhouse 
 was a nephew of Dr. Fothergill with whom Franklin was on 
 such terms of intimate friendship. 
 
 In his "History of Medicine in the United States," Packard 
 gives us a good deal of information concerning Dr. John Jones, 
 who attended Franklin in his last illness. His father and grand 
 father before him were physicians, the former having come to 
 Philadelphia with Penn. Dr. Jones published a treatise on 
 surgery, which passed through three editions, the third in 1795. 
 Dr. Packard tells us that, "Dr. Jones had studied medicine under 
 Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, of Philadelphia, and his book is dedi 
 cated to him in terms of warm admiration. After completing his 
 studies with Dr. Cadwalader, Dr. Jones went abroad and pursued 
 his medical studies in London, Edinburgh, Leyden and France. 
 He received the degree of M.D. from the University of Rheims. 
 He performed the first lithotomy ever done in the city of New 
 York, and was professor of surgery in the Medical School of 
 New York. In 1780 he removed to Philadelphia and succeeded 
 to Dr. John Redman s place as one of the physicians to the 
 Pennsylvania Hospital. He was one of the founders of the 
 College of Physicians of Philadelphia and its first vice-president. 
 He was a friend of Benjamin Franklin, and attended that great 
 man in his last illness, afterwards publishing a very interesting 
 account of the philosopher s last hours. Dr. Jones died in June, 
 1791, in the sixty-third year of his age." 
 
 Dr. Cadwallader Colden was a Scotchman, educated in Aber 
 deen and Edinburgh. He came to Philadelphia in 1708. In 1718 
 he settled in New York. He was the author of several medical 
 essays and a botanist of note. He occupied many positions of 
 public trust and became quite wealthy. He died in 1776. 
 
 We get a very good glimpse of Franklin through the eyes of 
 Rush, who refers to him a number of times in his diary, from 
 which the following passages are quoted: 
 
 "1786, August. I waited on the doctor with a Dr. Minto. He 
 said he believed that tobacco would in a few years go out of use. 
 That about thirty years ago, when he went to England, smoking 
 was universal in taverns, coffee-houses, and private families, but 
 
FRANKLIN S RELATIONSHIP TO MEDICINE. 23 
 
 that it was now generally laid aside, that the use of snuff, from 
 being universal in France, was become unfashionable among 
 genteel people, no person of fashion under thirty years of age 
 now snuffed in France. He added that Sir John Pringle and he had 
 observed that tremors of the hands were more frequent in France 
 than elsewhere, and probably from the excessive use of snuff. 
 They once saw in a company of sixteen but two persons who had 
 not these tremors at a table in France. He said Sir John Pringle 
 was cured of a tremor by leaving off snuff. He concluded that 
 there was no great advantage in using tobacco in any way, for 
 that he had kept company with persons who used it all their life, 
 and no one had ever advised him to use it. The doctor in the 
 8ist year of his age declared he had never snuffed, chewed, or 
 smoked. 
 
 "Sept. 22d. Waited upon Dr. Franklin with Dr. Thibou, of 
 Antigua. The doctor said few but quacks ever made money 
 by physic, and that no bill drawn upon the credulity of the people 
 of London by quacks, was ever protested. He ascribed the suc 
 cess of quacks partly to patients extolling the efficacy of the reme 
 dies they took from them rather than confess their ignorance and 
 credulity, hence it was justly said, quacks were the greatest liars 
 in the world, except their patients. 
 
 "November. Spent half an hour with Doctor in company 
 with the Rev d. Mr. Bisset and Mr. Goldborough. He said Sir 
 John Pringle once told him 92 fevers out of 100 cured them 
 selves, 4 were cured by art, and 4 proved fatal. About the end 
 of this month I saw him alone. He talked of climates ; I bor 
 rowed some hints from the conversation for the essay on 
 climates." 
 
 That Franklin was a man of the world and well acquainted 
 with the temper of scientific societies as regards their constitution 
 and membership, is well seen from a letter which he wrote to 
 Rush from London, July 22, 1774. He says: 
 
 "DEAR SIR : 
 
 "I received your Favour of May 14, with the very ingenious 
 Oration you delivered at the Society, for which I thank you. The 
 Bookseller you had likewise sent it to, M. Dilly, being desirous of 
 Dr. Huck s Opinion & Mine as to its Publication, we had a little 
 Consultation upon it ; the Result of which was, that tho the Piece 
 had in many Respects a great deal of Merit, yet as there were 
 
24 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 some Particulars that would be excepted to by the medical People 
 here, many of whom are in the Royal Society & have great 
 Weight there ; and as the Society generally is of late grown more 
 difficult in the Admission of new Members, several Candidates 
 being this last year rejected, and a Criticism to the Disadvantage 
 of your Piece in the Reviews or otherwise might prejudice some 
 Votes against you ; we thought it best the Publication should be 
 postponed till after the Ballot for your Election ; it being intended 
 by us to put you up as a Candidate at the next meeting of the 
 Society, which will be in November, and we are unwilling to 
 hazard your being refused, as it would be better not to propose 
 you, than to do it without a moral Certainty of Success. We 
 therefore advised the Bookseller not to print it till Winter, which 
 he the more readily agreed to, as that is the best Season for 
 publishing." 
 
 In a letter to Rush three days later he writes : 
 
 "I took the Liberty last Year of recommending to the Society 
 for Election as a Member, our Friend (and Zealous Friend of 
 America) M. Barbeau Dubourg of Paris. I have never heard 
 whether it was done or not. You know his Merit in Science to 
 be such as would do honour to any Society in Europe. Is it 
 possible there could arise any Objection to his Admission?" 
 
 On the occasion of Braddock s defeat, Franklin, by his 
 prudence and common sense, saved his two friends, the Drs. 
 Bond, considerable embarrassment, of which he tells us in his 
 autobiography : 
 
 "Before we had the news of this defeat (Braddock s), the two 
 Doctors Bond came to me with a subscription paper for raising 
 money to defray expenses of a grand firework, which it was 
 intended to exhibit at a rejoicing on receipt of the news of our 
 taking Fort Duquesne. I looked grave and said it would, I 
 thought, be time enough to prepare for the rejoicing when we 
 knew we should have occasion to rejoice. They seemed sur 
 prised that I did not immediately comply with their proposal. 
 
 Why the D 1! says one of them, you surely don t suppose 
 
 that the fort will not be taken ? I don t know that it will not be 
 taken, but I know that the events of war are subject to great 
 uncertainty. I gave them the reasons of my doubting, the sub 
 scription was dropt, and the projectors thereby missed the mortifi 
 cation they would have undergone if the firework had been pre- 
 
FRANKLIN S RELATIONSHIP TO MEDICINE. 25 
 
 pared." Dr. Bond afterward said that he did not like Frank 
 lin s forebodings. 
 
 It will be remembered that Franklin gave Dr. John Morgan a 
 letter of introduction to Cullen, of Edinburgh. Not many years 
 later, he advised with Bond as to the relative claims of London 
 and Edinburgh as centers of medical teaching, since Dr. Bond 
 was then proposing to send his son abroad that he might have 
 some of the same advantages that he had had before him. 
 Under date of London, February 5, 1772, Franklin writes: 
 
 "I suppose your son Richard will spend some time in London, 
 where by what I have heard, Physic and Surgery may be studied 
 to as great Advantage as in any Part of the World, by Attending 
 the Anatomical Lectures and Hospitals, conversing with the most 
 eminent Practitioners, and Reading under their Advice and Direc 
 tion : And yet the general Run is at present to Edinburgh, there 
 being at the Opening of the Schools when I was there in Novem 
 ber last, a much greater Number of medical Students than had 
 ever been known before. They have indeed a Set of Able 
 Professors in the several Branches, if common Opinion may 
 be rely d on. I who am no Judge in that Science, can only say 
 that I found them very sensible Men, and agreeable Companions. 
 I will endeavour to obtain Sir John Pringle s Advice in the Affair, 
 as you desire. Every Wednesday Evening he admits young 
 Physicians and Surgeons to a Conversation at his House, which 
 is thought very improving to them. I will endeavour to intro 
 duce your Son there when he comes to London. And to tell you 
 frankly my Opinion, I suspect there is more valuable knowledge 
 in Physic to be learnt from the honest candid Observation of an 
 old Practitioner, who is past all desire of more Business, having 
 made his Fortune, who has none of the Professional Interest in 
 keeping up a Parade of Science to draw Pupils, and who by 
 Experience has discovered the Inefficacy of most Remedies and 
 modes of Practice, than from all the formal Lectures of all the 
 Universities upon Earth. I like therefore a Physician s breeding 
 his son to Medicine, and wish the Art to be continued, with the 
 Race, as thinking that must be upon the whole most for the 
 Publick Welfare." 
 
 In England Franklin was on most intimate terms with Priestley 
 and Dr. Fothergill, and Sir John Pringle, the president of the 
 London Medical Society. In 1787 he was made an honorary 
 
26 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 member of this Society, the meetings of which he had often 
 attended when he resided in London. 
 
 Jefferson relates an incident of Franklin which is well worth 
 quoting. "When I was in London, in such a year, there was a 
 weekly club of physicians, of which Sir John Pringle was Presi 
 dent, and I was invited to attend, by my friend, Dr. Fothergill. 
 Their rule was to propose a thesis one week and discuss it the 
 next. I happened there when the question to be considered was 
 whether physicians have, on the whole, done most good or harm? 
 The young members, particularly, having discussed it very 
 learnedly and eloquently till the subject was exhausted, one of 
 them observed to Sir John Pringle, that although it was not usual 
 for the President to take part in a debate, yet they were desirous 
 to know his opinion on the question. He said they must first tell 
 him whether under the appellation of physicians they meant to 
 include old women; if they did he thought they had done more 
 good than harm, otherwise more harm than good." 
 
 Franklin s friend, Sir John Pringle, was a man of excellent 
 parts. He had studied with the illustrious Boerhaave. He did 
 much to prevent dysentery and hospital fevers, thus improving 
 the condition of the English army. With Sir John, Franklin 
 once drove in a post-chaise through Scotland, Switzerland, Hol 
 land, and Germany. Franklin held Sir John in the highest esteem 
 and affection. Upon the news of his death he wrote to Dr. 
 Ingenhousz, October 2, 1781, lamenting their loss. "We have lost 
 our common Friend, the excellent Pringle. How many pleasing 
 hours you and I have pass d together in his Company!" 
 
 With Dr. Fothergill Franklin discussed questions of politics 
 as well as those of medicine ; and he held a high place in his 
 esteem and affection. Upon the death of Fothergill he wrote a 
 letter of condolence to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, a nephew of 
 Fothergill, who had studied at Leyden and came to America and 
 set up a practice, and who was Professor of Medicine at Harvard 
 (1783-1812). 
 
 "I think a worthier Man never lived. For besides his constant 
 Readiness to serve his Friends, he was always studying and pro 
 jecting something for the Good of his Country and of Mankind 
 in general, and putting others, who had it in their Power, on 
 executing what was out of his own reach; but whatever was 
 within it he took care to do himself ; and his incredible Industry 
 and unwearied Activity enabled him to do much more than can 
 
FRANKLIN S RELATIONSHIP TO MEDICINE. 27 
 
 now be ever known, his Modesty being equal to his other 
 Virtues." 
 
 Another of Franklin s English medical friends was Dr. Will 
 iam Hewson, a brilliant English surgeon who was cut down in his 
 usefulness by an attack of blood poisoning. Hewson married 
 Miss Mary Stevenson, to whom Franklin wrote so many delight 
 ful and sprightly letters. 
 
 During his stay in London, Franklin was a frequent visitor 
 to the Royal Society Club, if he was not a member. He was a 
 member of a London Coffee-House, at Ludgate Hill. Here he 
 met Dr. Richard Price, Dr. Priestley, Dr. Fothergill, Peter Collin- 
 son, Dr. Hawksworth, and Stanley, the composer, who were 
 all members or frequenters of this club, the weekly meetings 
 of which Franklin keenly enjoyed, and remembered with fond 
 ness to the close of his life. 
 
 The physicians of France honored and esteemed Franklin no 
 less than did their colleagues in America and England. 
 
 Vicq d Azyr, physician to the queen of France, founded the 
 Royal Society of Medicine in 1776 and became its perpetual 
 secretary. Franklin was elected a foreign associate, being the 
 first to receive this honor. Vicq d Azyr wrote to him: The 
 Royal Society recognizing the talents and brilliancy of the phy 
 sicians of America, we wish to confer the honor of correspondent 
 upon some of them, and we judge that that honor would be 
 doubled by passing through Franklin s hands, and therefore hope 
 that he will present the diplomas." 
 
 Dr. Barbeu Dubourg, one of the most distinguished physicians 
 in Paris, a member of many societies, translated Franklin s works 
 into French, in 1772. During a long and affectionate friendship 
 he always addressed Franklin as "Mon cher maitre." 
 
 Dubourg was a member of the Royal Society of Medicine, the 
 Royal Society of Montpellier, the Medical Society of London, 
 and the Academy of Sciences of Stockholm. He was born at 
 Mayence, February 12, 1709. Like his brothers he studied the 
 ology, and abandoned it for the practice of medicine. 
 
 Another of Franklin s Parisian doctor friends was Dr. Guillo- 
 tin (1788-1814), who was Professor of Anatomy, Physiology, 
 and Pathology in Paris. He assisted Franklin and Lavoisier in 
 investigating mesmerism. He consulted Franklin about a project 
 of emigration to America. Letters were frequent between them. 
 
28 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 His name was destined to be forever linked to the French instru 
 ment of execution. 
 
 Gastellier, a French medical writer, asked Franklin to allow 
 him to dedicate to him his treatise upon "Specifics in Medicine," 
 a work which was recognized by the Royal Academy of Medicine. 
 The Marquis of Mirabeau interceded for him with Franklin. 
 
 Franklin carried on an extended correspondence with Dr. Jan 
 Ingenhousz, of Vienna, the court physician to Maria Theresa and 
 Joseph II. Together they travelled in England and France. On 
 one occasion, Franklin s advice was sought by Dr. Ingenhousz 
 concerning the propriety of inoculating the young princess of the 
 imperial family. 
 
 Jean Baptiste Le Roy was highly esteemed by Franklin. Both 
 were members of the French Academy. 
 
 On the recommendation of Franklin, Dubourg and Ingen 
 housz were made members of the American Philosophical So 
 ciety. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 
 
 Franklin helped found not only the first hospital, but also the 
 first medical school in America; and if he had no other claim 
 upon us, he should be forever highly honored by the American 
 Medical Profession. 
 
 Franklin s account of the founding of the Pennsylvania Hos 
 pital, taken from his autobiography, at once challenges our 
 interest and admiration. The successful method of raising funds 
 for America s first hospital devised by Franklin has been copied 
 by many hospital managers in the succeeding generations down 
 to this day. 
 
 "In 1751, Dr. Thomas Bond, a particular friend of mine, 
 conceived the idea of establishing a hospital in Philadelphia (a 
 very beneficent design, which has been ascrib d to me, but was 
 originally his), for the reception and cure of poor sick persons, 
 whether inhabitants of the province or strangers. He was zeal 
 ous and active in endeavoring to procure subscriptions for it, 
 but the proposal being a novelty, in America, and at first not well 
 understood, he met with but small success. 
 
 "At length he came to me with the compliment that he found 
 there was no such thing as carrying a public-spirited project 
 through without my being concerned in it. For, says he, I am 
 often ask d by those to whom I propose subscribing, "Have you 
 
THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 2Q 
 
 consulted Franklin upon this business?" And when I tell them 
 that I have not (supposing it rather out of your line) they do not 
 subscribe, but say they will consider of it. I inquired into the 
 nature and probable utility of his scheme, and receiving from him 
 a very satisfactory explanation, I not only subscribed to it myself, 
 but engaged heartily in the design of procuring subscriptions 
 from others. Previously, however, to the solicitation, I endeav 
 ored to prepare the minds of the people by writing on the subject 
 in the newspapers, which was my usual custom in such cases, but 
 which he had omitted. 
 
 "The subscriptions afterwards were more free and generous ; 
 but beginning to flag, I saw they would be insufficient without 
 some assistance from the Assembly, and therefore proposed to 
 petition for it, which was done. The country members did not at 
 first relish the project; they objected that it could only be service 
 able in the city, and therefore the citizens themselves should be 
 at the expense of it ; and they doubted whether the citizens them 
 selves approved of it. My allegation on the contrary, that it met 
 with such approbation as to leave no doubt of our being able to 
 raise two thousand pounds by voluntary donations, they con 
 sidered as a most extravagant supposition, and utterly impossible. 
 
 "On this I formed my plan ; and, asking leave to bring a bill 
 for incorporating the contributors according to the prayer of 
 their petition and granting them a blank sum of money, which 
 leave was obtained chiefly on the consideration that the House 
 could throw the bill out if they did not like it, I drew it so as to 
 make the important clause a conditional one, viz.: And be it 
 enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that when the said con 
 tributors shall have met and chosen their managers and treasurer, 
 
 and shall have raised by their contributions a capital stock of 
 
 value (the yearly interest of which is to be applied to the 
 accommodating of the sick poor in the said hospital, free of 
 charge for diet, attendance, advice, and medicine), and shall 
 make the same appear to the satisfaction of the speaker of the 
 Assembly for the time being, that then it shall and may be lawful 
 for the said speaker, and he is hereby required, to sign an order 
 on the provincial treasurer for the payment of two thousand 
 pounds, in two yearly payments, to the treasurer of the said 
 hospital, to be applied to the founding, building, and finishing of 
 the same). 
 
 "This condition carried the bill through; for the members, 
 
30 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 who had opposed the grant, now conceived they might have the 
 credit of being charitable without the expense, agreed to its 
 passage, and then, in soliciting the subscriptions among the 
 people, we urged the conditional promise of the law as an 
 additional motive to give, since every man s donation would be 
 doubled; thus the clause worked both ways. The subscriptions 
 accordingly soon exceeded the requisite sum, and we claimed and 
 received the public gift, which enabled us to carry the design into 
 execution. A convenient and handsome building was soon 
 erected; the institution has by constant experience been found 
 useful, and flourishes to this day ; and I do not remember any of 
 my political manoeuvres, the success of which gave me at the 
 time more pleasure, or wherein, after thinking of it, I more easily 
 excused myself for having made some use of cunning." 
 
 Although the idea of founding the Pennsylvania Hospital 
 originated with Dr. Thomas Bond, to whom should be given full 
 credit, yet, without the active interest and aid of Franklin, it is 
 unlikely that the hospital would have been built at that time. 
 The petition to the Assembly of Pennsylvania was drawn up by 
 Franklin. The first President of the Board of Managers was 
 Joshua Crosby; and Benjamin Franklin filled the office of clerk. 
 Upon the death of Mr. Crosby, in 1754, Franklin succeeded him 
 as President of the Board of Managers. The design for the seal 
 for the hospital was devised by Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond. 
 The inscription for the corner-stone for the hospital was written 
 by Franklin and reads as follows: 
 
 IN THE YEAR OF CHRIST 
 
 MDCCLV 
 
 GEORGE THE SECOND HAPPILY REIGNING 
 (FOR HE SOUGHT THE HAPPINESS OF HIS PEOPLE) 
 
 PHILADELPHIA FLOURISHING 
 (FOR ITS INHABITANTS WERE PUBLICK SPIRITED) 
 
 THIS BUILDING 
 
 BY THE BOUNTY OF THE GOVERNMENT, 
 AND OF MANY PRIVATE PERSONS, 
 
 WAS PIOUSLY FOUNDED, 
 
 FOR THE RELIEF OF THE SICK AND MISERABLE; 
 MAY THE GOD OF MERCIES 
 BLESS THE UNDERTAKING. 
 
CONNECTION WITH THE FIRST MEDICAL SCHOOL. 3! 
 
 FRANKLIN S CONNECTION WITH THE FIRST MEDICAL SCHOOL IN 
 
 AMERICA, AFTERWARDS THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 The College of Philadelphia, which had been founded by 
 Franklin, organized its medical department through the efforts 
 of Drs. John Morgan and William Shippen, in 1766, when sys 
 tematic lectures were begun in this the first medical school in the 
 United States. The first commencement of the Medical Depart 
 ment of the College of Philadelphia was held in 1768. Later 
 dissensions occurred, and on November 27, 1779, the Legislature 
 repealed the charter of the College of Philadelphia and conferred 
 all the powers and privileges which it had enjoyed upon "The 
 University of the State of Pennsylvania." The friends of the - 
 College were very much displeased by this action and worked 
 steadily and persistently for the repeal of the bill. They finally 
 succeeded, and on March 6, 1783, the old college charter again 
 became operative. "Benjamin Franklin was in the forefront of 
 those who fought for the rights of the College. He had been in 
 Europe at the time the bill constituting the University had been 
 passed. The founders of the University had taken the liberty 
 of making him one of its trustees, but immediately on his return 
 he had withdrawn his name and joined with his old colleagues 
 of the College." (Packard.) 
 
 On November 17, 1789, the trustees of the College, of which 
 Franklin was now President, published a set of rules governing 
 the conferring of medical degrees. 
 
 FRANKLIN S RULES OF HEALTH ; WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS 
 OWN HEALTH. 
 
 Franklin states that his father "had an excellent constitution 
 of the body," and that "I never knew either my father or mother 
 to have any sickness but that of which they dy d, he at 89, and 
 she at 85 years of age." 
 
 Franklin must, therefore, have inherited his splendid con 
 stitution from his parents, without which his career could have 
 been neither so long nor so glorious. 
 
 He inculcated the habit of moderation in eating and drinking, 
 and warned against free indulgence of alcoholic drinks at a very 
 early age. When sixteen years of age, he wrote in the New Eng 
 land Courant the following lines on drinking: 
 
 "I doubt not but moderate drinking has been improved for the 
 Diffusion of Knowledge among the ingenious Part of Mankind, 
 3 
 
32 
 
 who want the Talent of a ready Utterance, in order to discover 
 the Conception of their Minds in an entertaining and intelligible 
 Manner. Tis true, drinking does not improve our Faculties, but 
 it enables us to use them, and therefore, I conclude, that much 
 Study and Experience, and a little Liquor are of absolute neces 
 sity for some tempers, in order to make them accomplished 
 Orators." 
 
 It was about this time that he became a vegetarian, a practice 
 which he followed up after he left Boston and became a resident 
 of Philadelphia. Of this he tells us in his autobiography from 
 which I quote. 
 
 "When about sixteen years of age I happened to meet with a 
 book, written by one Tryon, recommending a vegetable diet. I 
 determined to go into it. My brother, being yet unmarried, did 
 not keep house, but boarded himself and his apprentices in another 
 family. My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconveniency, 
 and I was frequently chid for my singularity. I made myself 
 acquainted with Tryon s manner of preparing some of his dishes, 
 such as boiling potatoes or rice, making hasty pudding, and a few 
 others, and then proposed to my brother, that if he would give 
 me, weekly, half the money he paid for my board, I would board 
 myself. He instantly agreed to it, and I presently found that I 
 could save half what he paid me. This was an additional fund 
 for buying books. 
 
 "I believe I have omitted mentioning that, in my first voyage 
 from Boston, being becalm d off Block Island, our people set 
 about catching cod, and hauled up a good many. Hitherto I had 
 stuck to my resolution of not eating animal food, and on this 
 occasion I consider d with my master Tryon, the taking every fish 
 as a kind of unprovoked murder, since none of them had or ever 
 could do us any injury that might justify the slaughter. All this 
 seemed very reasonable. But I had formerly been a great lover 
 of fish, and, when this came hot out of the frying-pan, it smelt 
 admirably well. I balanced sometime between principle and in 
 clination, till I recollected that, when the fish were opened, I saw 
 smaller fish taken out of their stomachs ; then thought I, If you 
 eat one another, I don t see why we mayn t eat you. So I din d 
 upon cod very heartily, and continued to eat with other people, 
 returning only now and then occasionally to a vegetable diet. So 
 convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables 
 
FRANKLIN S RULES OF HEALTH. 33 
 
 one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind 
 to do. 
 
 "Keimer wore his beard at full length, because somewhere in 
 the Mosaic law it is said, Thou shalt not mar the corners of thy 
 beard. He likewise kept the Seventh day, Sabbath; and these 
 two points were essentials with him. I disliked both ; but agreed 
 to admit them upon condition of his adopting the doctrine of 
 using no animal food. I doubt/ said he, my constitution will 
 not bear that. I assured him it would, and that he would be 
 better for it. He was usually a great glutton, and I promised 
 myself some diversion in half starving him. He agreed to try 
 the practice, if I would keep him company. I did so, and we 
 held it for three months. We had our victuals dress d and 
 brought to us by a woman in the neighborhood, who had from me 
 a list of forty dishes, to be prepar d for us at different times, in 
 all which there was neither fish, flesh nor fowl, and the whim 
 suited me the better at this time from the cheapness of it, not 
 costing us above eighteen pence sterling each per week. I have 
 since kept several Lents most strictly, leaving the common diet 
 for that, and that for the common, abruptly, without the least 
 inconvenience, so that I think there is little in the advice of 
 making those changes by easy gradations. I went on pleasantly, 
 but poor Keimer suffered grievously, tired of the project, longed 
 for the flesh-pots of Egypt, and order d a roast pig. He invited 
 me and two women friends to dine with him^ but, it being 
 brought too soon upon the table, he could not resist the tempta 
 tion, and ate the whole before we came." 
 
 Writing of his first sojourn in London, when he worked there 
 as a printer, Franklin makes these observations in his auto 
 biography : 
 
 "At my first admission into this printing-house I took to 
 working at press, imagining I felt a want of bodily exercise I had 
 been us d to in America, where presswork is mixed with com 
 posing. I drank only water; the other workmen, near fifty in 
 number, were great guzzlers of beer. On occasion, I carried up 
 and down stairs a large form of types in each hand, when others 
 carried but one in both hands. They wondered to see, from this 
 and several instances, that the Water-American, as they called 
 me, was stronger than themselves, who drank strong beer! We 
 had an alehouse boy who attended always in the house to supply 
 the workmen. My companion at the press drank every day a 
 
34 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 pint before breakfast, a pint at breakfast with his bread and 
 cheese, a pint at dinner, a pint in the afternoon about six o clock, 
 and another when he had done his day s work. I thought it a 
 detestable custom; but it was necessary, he supposed, to drink 
 strong beer that he might be strong to labor. I endeavoured to 
 convince him that the bodily strength afforded by beer could only 
 be in proportion to the grain of flour of the barley dissolved in 
 the water of which it was made; and that there was more flour 
 in a pennyworth of bread; and therefore, if he would eat that 
 with a pint of water, it would give him more strength than a 
 quart of beer. He drank on, however, and had four or five 
 shillings to pay out of his wages every Saturday night for that 
 muddling liquor; an expense I was free from. And thus these 
 poor devils keep themselves always under." While working as a 
 printer in London he tells us that "Our supper was only half an 
 anchovy each, on a very little strip of bread and butter, half a 
 pint of ale between us." The object of this economical fare was 
 really to save money with which to buy books rather than for 
 hygienic reasons. 
 
 Franklin approved of water used internally and also exter 
 nally. Swimming, he held, was one of the most healthful and 
 agreeable exercises in the world and a remedy for diarrhoea. He 
 strongly advocated warm baths, "for cleanliness and purifying 
 the skin" ; and he states, "I speak from my own experience, and 
 that of others, to whom I have recommended this." 
 
 In 1735 he suffered from some ailment characterized by 
 suppuration from the lungs. Just prior to this time, he thought 
 he had avoided an illness by drinking very freely of cold water 
 and by sweating himself. This treatment is interesting; for at 
 that time and for years afterward it was the practice to forbid 
 fever patients water. 
 
 To relieve some skin affection of which he began to suffer in 
 1778, he states, "I took a hot bath twice a week, two hours at a 
 time." He assures us that he derived great benefit from this 
 prolonged bathing and suffered afterwards by neglecting to take 
 them. Some years later, he took a daily prolonged warm bath 
 in a copper vessel shaped like a slipper. Cutler states he would 
 sit in the heel of this vessel with his legs under the vamp, while 
 on the instep he had fixed a place for his books so that he might 
 read while in the bath. 
 
 Franklin s early advocacy of the free use of water internally 
 
FRANKLIN S RULES OF HEALTH. 35 
 
 and externally, including the use of the prolonged warm bath, 
 seems very remarkable in view of some of the later developments 
 in medical practice. The prolonged warm bath in skin affections 
 and as a sedative for the various pyschoses seems to us very 
 modern ; and it is only a very few years since the bath has become 
 the chief therapeutic agent in the treatment of typhoid and other 
 fevers. 
 
 Franklin, too, was a strong advocate of fresh air, as will be 
 seen later. 
 
 He argued against the use of tobacco and never indulged 
 in it. Although very temperate in the use of alcoholic liquors in 
 his earlier life, he appears to have grown rather indulgent in this 
 respect as he grew older. 
 
 Franklin formulated the following hygienic and dietetic rules 
 when he published "Poor Richard." 
 
 Rules of Health and Long Life, and to Preserve from Malignant 
 Fevers, and Sickness in General. 
 
 "Eat and drink such an exact quantity as the constitution of 
 thy body allows of, in reference to the service of the mind. 
 
 "They that study much, ought not to eat so much as those that 
 work hard, their digestion being not so good. 
 
 "The exact quantity and quality being found out, is to be kept 
 to constantly. 
 
 "Excess in all other things whatever, as well as in meat and 
 drink, is also to be avoided. 
 
 "Youth, age and sick require a different quantity. 
 
 "And so do those contrary complexions ; for that w r hich is too 
 much for a flegmatick man, is not sufficient for a cholerick. 
 
 "The measure of food ought to be (as much as possibly may 
 be) exactly proportionable to the quality and condition of the 
 stomach, because the stomach digests it. 
 
 "That quantity that is sufficient, the stomach can perfectly 
 concoct and digest, and it sufficeth the due nourishment of the 
 body. 
 
 "A greater quantity of some things may be eaten than of 
 others, some being of lighter digestion than others. 
 
 "The difficulty lies, in finding out an exact measure; but eat 
 for necessity, not pleasure, for lust knows not where necessity 
 ends. 
 
 "Would st thou enjoy a long life, a healthy body, and a vigor- 
 
36 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 ous mind, and be acquainted also with the wonderful works of 
 God? Labor in the first place to bring thy appetite into subjec 
 tion to reason." 
 
 Rules to Find Out a Fit Measure of Meat and Drink. 
 
 "If thou eatest so much as makes thee unfit for study, or 
 other business, thou exceedest the due measure. 
 
 "If thou art dull and heavy after meat, it s a sign thou hast 
 exceeded the due measure ; for meat and drink ought to refresh 
 the body, and make it cheerful, and not to dull and oppress it. 
 
 "If thou findest these ill symptoms, consider whether too 
 much meat, or too much drink occasions it, or both, and abate by 
 little and little, till thou findest the inconveniency removed. 
 
 "Keep out of the sight of feasts and banquets as much as may 
 be ; for tis more difficult to refrain good cheer when it s present, 
 than from the desire of it when it is away; and like you may 
 observe in the objects of all the other senses. 
 
 "If a man casually exceeds, let him fast the next meal, and 
 all may be well again, provided it be not too often done ; as if he 
 exceed at dinner, let him refrain at supper, etc. 
 
 "A temperate diet frees from diseases; such are seldom ill, 
 but if they are surprised with a sickness, they bear it better, and 
 recover sooner; for most distempers have their original from 
 repletion. 
 
 "Use now and then, a little exercise a quarter of an hour 
 before each meal, as to swing your arms about with a small 
 weight in each hand; to leap, or the like, for that stirs the 
 muscles of the breast. 
 
 "A temperate diet arms the body against all external acci 
 dents ; so that they are not so easily hurt by heat, cold or labor ; 
 if they at any time should be prejudiced, they are more easily 
 cured, either of wounds, dislocations, or bruises. 
 
 "But when malignant fevers are rife in the country or city 
 where thou dwelst, tis advisable to eat and drink more freely, by 
 way of prevention, for these diseases that are not caused by 
 repletion, and seldom attack full-feeders. 
 
 "A sober diet makes a man die without pain ; it maintains the 
 senses in vigor; it mitigates the violence of passions and affec 
 tions. 
 
 "It preserves the memory, it helps the understanding, it allays 
 the heat of lust ; it brings a man to a consideration of his latter 
 
FRANKLIN S RULES OF HEALTH. 37 
 
 end ; it makes the body a fit tabernacle for the Lord to dwell in ; 
 which makes us happy in this world, and eternally happy in the 
 world to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour." 
 
 Writing to his son William from London, on August 19, 1772, 
 Franklin discusses, in a most interesting way, the value of exer 
 cise. 
 
 "In yours of May I4th, you acquaint me with your indis 
 position, which gave me great concern. The resolution you have 
 taken to use more exercise is extremely proper; and I hope you 
 will steadily perform it. It is of the greatest importance to pre 
 vent diseases, since the cure of them by physic is so very pre 
 carious. 
 
 "In consideration of the different kinds of exercise, I have 
 thought, that the quantum of each is to be judged of, not by time 
 or distance, but by the degree of warmth it produces in the body. 
 Thus, when I observe, if I am cold when I get into a carriage in 
 a morning, I may ride all day without being warmed by it; that, 
 if on horseback, my feet are cold, I may ride some hours before 
 they become warm; but if I am ever so cold on foot, I cannot 
 walk an hour briskly, without glowing from head to foot by the 
 quickened circulation, I have been ready to say (using round 
 numbers without regard to exactness, but merely to mark a great 
 difference) that there is more exercise in one mile s riding on 
 horseback, than in five in a coach; and more in one mile s walk 
 ing on foot, than five on horseback; to which I may add, that 
 there is more in walking one mile up and down stairs, than in 
 five on a level floor. The two latter exercises may be had within 
 doors when the weather discourages going abroad; and the last 
 may be had when one is pinched for time, as containing a great 
 quantity of exercise of the latter compendious kind. By use of it 
 I have in forty swings quickened my pulse from sixty to a hun 
 dred beats in a minute, counted by a second watch ; and I suppose 
 the warmth generally increases with quickness of pulse." 
 
 As Franklin grew older he relaxed many of the excellent 
 hygienic and dietetic rules by which he had been governed in his 
 early life. Indeed, he himself often violated the maxims which 
 were inculcated by "Poor Richard." 
 
 That he grew to appreciate the pleasures of the table may be 
 seen by the following remark he once made : 
 
 "Many people are fond of accounts of old buildings and 
 monuments, but for one, I confess that if I could find in any 
 
38 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 Italian travels a receipt for making Parmesan cheese it would 
 give me more satisfaction than a transcript of any inscription 
 from any old stone whatever." 
 
 In 1757 he referred to himself as "Dr. Fatsides," and even 
 before this he admits to "a little natural indolence." "In 1778, 
 Adams writes of him that he loves his Ease, hates to offend, and 
 seldom gives any opinion until obliged to do so. : 
 
 Later in his life he writes of himself: "For my own part," 
 he says, "everything of difficult discussion, and that requires 
 close attention of mind and an application of long continuance, 
 grows irksome to me, and where there is not some absolute neces 
 sity for it, as in the settlement of accounts, or the like, I am apt 
 to indulge the indolence usually attending age, in postponing such 
 business from time to time; though continually resolving to do 
 it." For a time Franklin combatted this tendency, but soon 
 again relapsed into his old habits. 
 
 In 1727 Franklin was taken down with his first illness, a 
 pleurisy, which he tells us nearly carried him off. While con 
 valescing he regretted "that I must now, sometime or other, 
 have all that disagreeable work to do over." 
 
 In 1749 Franklin began to suffer from the gout, which 
 troubled him at intervals during the remainder of his life. The 
 attacks were at first not serious; and once for a period of five 
 years he was free from attacks. 
 
 He wrote his wife from London, December 21, 1768: "Walk 
 ing a great deal tires me less than it used to do. I feel stronger 
 and more active. Yet I would not have you think that I fancy I 
 shall grow young again. I know that according to the Course of 
 Nature I cannot at most continue much longer, and that the living 
 even of another Day is uncertain. I therefore now form no 
 Schemes, but such as are of immediate Execution; indulging 
 myself in no future Prospect except one, that of returning to 
 Philadelphia, there to spend the Evening of Life with my 
 Friends and Family." Again on June 10, 1760: 
 
 "On Friday came on a Fit of the Gout, from which I had 
 been free Five Years. Immediately the Inflammation and Swell 
 ing in my throat disappeared; my foot swelled greatly, and I 
 was confined about three Weeks; since which I am perfectly 
 well, the Giddiness and every other disagreeable symptom hav 
 ing quite left me." Again on May 5, 1772: 
 
 "I thank you for your Advice about putting back a Fit of the 
 
FRANKLIN S RULES OF HEALTH. 39 
 
 Gout. I shall never attempt such a Thing. Indeed, I have not 
 much occasion to complain of the Gout, having had but two slight 
 Fits since I came last to England." 
 
 Writing to General Washington from Philadelphia, on June 
 21, 1776, Franklin says: "I am just recovering from a severe 
 Fit of the Gout which has kept me from Congress almost ever 
 since you left us, so that I know little of what has pass d there, 
 except that a Declaration of Independence is preparing." 
 
 In Franklin s well-known dialogues between himself and the 
 gout was a humorous note to Madame Brillon. There is much 
 besides humor in the dialogue. It clearly indicates Franklin s 
 appreciation of the conservative and corrective value of diseases. 
 In spite of his suffering he was able to recognize that the pains 
 of the gout were not an unmixed evil. 
 
 In 1779, while at the court of France, a serious seizure of 
 gout interfered with his diplomatic duties. 
 
 Franklin s account of his treatment of the gout is worth 
 quoting : 
 
 "I forgot to acquaint you," he told his friend, Dr. Small, "that 
 I had treated it (my gout) a little cavalierly in its last accesses. 
 Finding one night that my foot gave me more pain after it was 
 covered warm in bed, I put it out of bed naked ; and perceiving it 
 easier, I let it remain longer than I had at first designed, and at 
 length fell asleep, leaving it there till morning. The pain did not 
 return, and I grew well. Next winter, having a second attack, 
 I repeated the experiment; not with such immediate success in 
 dismissing the gout, but constantly with the effect of rendering it 
 less painful, so that it permitted me to sleep every night. I 
 should mention that it was my son who gave me the first intima 
 tion of this practice. He being in the old opinion, that the gout 
 was to be drawn out by transpiration ; and having heard me say, 
 that perspiration was carried on more copiously when the body 
 was naked than when clothed, he put his foot out of bed to in 
 crease that discharge, and found ease by it, which he thought a 
 confirmation of the doctrine. But this method requires to be 
 confirmed by more experiments before one can conscientiously 
 recommend it." 
 
 Franklin complained of his eyesight as early as 1755. In 
 1776 he devised a pair of spectacles for himself, each glass con 
 taining two lenses joined together by a horizontal line in the 
 
4O FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 center. The upper lense for distance and the lower one for near 
 vision. 
 
 The following extracts from a letter written to his wife, dated 
 London, Nov. 22, 1757, giving an account of his illness, his be 
 havior as a patient, etc., are of interest : 
 "My DEAR CHILD: 
 
 "During my illness, which continued near eight weeks, I wrote 
 you several little letters, as I was able. The last was by the 
 packet which sailed from Falmouth above a week since. In that 
 I informed you, that my intermittent fever, which had continued 
 to harass me, by frequent relapses, was gone off, and I had ever 
 since been gathering strength and flesh. My doctor, Fothergill, 
 who had forbid me the use of pen and ink, now permits me to 
 write as much as I can without over- fatiguing myself, and there 
 fore I sit down to write more fully than I have hitherto been able 
 to do. 
 
 "The second of September I wrote to you that I had had a 
 violent cold and something of a fever, but that it was almost 
 gone. However, it was not long before I had another severe 
 cold, which continued longer than the first, attended by great pain 
 in my head, the top of which was very hot, and when the pain 
 went off, very sore and tender. These fits of pain continued 
 sometimes longer than at others ; seldom less than 12 hours, and 
 once 36 hours. I was now and then a little delirious: they 
 cupped me on the back of the head, which seemed to ease me for 
 the present; I took a great deal of bark, both in substance and 
 infusion, and too soon thinking myself well, I ventured out twice, 
 to do a little business and forward the service I am engaged in, 
 and both times got fresh cold and fell again; my good doctor 
 grew very angry with me for acting contrary to his cautions and 
 directions, and obliged me to promise more observance for the 
 future. He attended me very carefully and affectionately; and 
 the good lady of the house nursed me kindly; Billy was also of 
 great service to me, in going from place to place, where I could 
 not go myself, and Peter was very diligent and attentive. I took 
 so much bark in various ways that I began to abhor it; I durst 
 not take a vomit, for fear of my head; but at last I was seized 
 one morning with a vomiting and purging, the latter of which 
 continued the greater part of the day, and I believe was a kind 
 of crisis to the distemper, carrying it clear off; for ever since I 
 feel quite lightsome, and am every day gathering strength; so 
 
41 
 
 I hope my seasoning is over, and that I shall enjoy better health 
 during the rest of my stay in England. 
 
 "It is now twelve days since I began to write this letter, and 
 I still continue well, but have not yet quite recovered my strength, 
 flesh, or spirits. I every day drink a glass of infusion of bark in 
 wine, by way of prevention, and hope my fever will no more 
 return; on fair days, which are but few, I venture out about 
 noon. The agreeable conversation I meet with among men of 
 learning, and the notice taken of me by persons of distinction, 
 are the principal things that soothe me for the present, under 
 this painful absence from my family and friends. Yet those 
 would not keep me here another week, if I had not other induce 
 ments ; duty to my country, and hopes of being able to do it 
 service." 
 
 As is well known, Franklin suffered stone in the bladder 
 for many years, which was very painful during the last few years 
 of his life. It appears that he first became aware that he 
 had a stone in 1783, when he was seventy-seven years of 
 age. Concerning the stone he wrote to John Jay : 
 
 "It is true, as you have heard, that I have the stone, but not 
 that I had thoughts of being cut for it. It is as yet very tolerable. 
 It gives me no pain but when in a carriage on the pavement, or 
 when I make some sudden quick movement. If I can prevent its 
 growing larger, which I hope to do by abstemious living and 
 gentle exercise ; I can go on pretty comfortably with it to the end 
 of my journey, which can now be at no great distance. I am 
 cheerful, enjoy the company of my friends, sleep well, have suffi 
 cient appetite, and my stomach performs well its functions. The 
 latter is very material to the preservation of health. I therefore 
 take no drugs lest I should disorder it. You may judge that my 
 disease is not very grievous, since I am more afraid of the 
 medicines than the malady." 
 
 Franklin also suffered from a cutaneous affection of which he 
 writes in several letters. 
 
 "To-morrow I set out with my friend, Dr. Pringle (Sir John), 
 on a journey to Pyrmont, where he goes to drink the waters ; 
 but I hope more for the air and the exercise, having been used, 
 as you know, to have a journey once a year, the want of which 
 last year has, I believe, hurt me, so that, though I was not quite 
 to say sick, I was often ailing last Winter, and through the 
 Spring." He comments upon a s>Hn affection with which he was 
 
42 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 now troubled, noting that it appeared after eating freely of beef, 
 and sometimes after a long confinement of writing with little 
 exercise and which he was told was scorbutic. In 1773, 
 he placed himself under the care of his good friend, Sir John 
 Pringle, on account of a scab or scurf about the head. Sir John 
 ordered a mercurial wash and a physic. Franklin states, "It 
 slowly left that place, but appeared in other parts of my head." 
 The physician also advised abstinence from salt meat and cheese, 
 which advice Franklin "didn t much follow, often forgetting it." 
 
 He complained during his attendance upon Congress of fre 
 quent attacks of dizziness. He suffered also from a number of 
 large boils about this time. In 17/6, when seventy years of age, 
 Franklin wrote from Paris where he had lately taken up his resi 
 dence : 
 
 "I lived chiefly on salt beef, the fowls being too hard for my 
 teeth. But, being poorly nourished, I was very weak at my 
 arrival; boils continued to vex me, and the scurf extending over 
 all the small of my back, on my sides, my legs, and my arms, 
 besides what continued under my hair. I applied to a physician, 
 who ordered me Mr. Bellosto s pills and an infusion of a root 
 
 called . I took the infusion a while, but it being disagreeable, 
 
 and finding no effect, I omitted it. I continued to take the pills, 
 but finding my teeth loosening, and that I had lost three, I desisted 
 "the use of them. I found that bathing stopped the progress of 
 the disorder. I therefore took the hot bath twice a week, two 
 hours at a time, till this last summer. It always made me feel 
 comfortable, as I rubbed off the softened scurf in the warm 
 water; and I otherwise enjoyed exceeding good health. I stated 
 my case to Dr. Ingenhousz, and desired him to show it to Sir 
 J. P., and obtain his advice. They sent me from London some 
 medicine, but Dr. Ingenhousz proposing to come over soon, and 
 the affair not pressing, I resolved to omit the medicine till his 
 arrival." 
 
 It is interesting to note in this account that the loosening of 
 the teeth of which Franklin complained, was probably due to 
 salivation. Dr. Franklin s own efforts, with those of Dr. Ingen 
 housz and Sir John Pringle, to combat the disease are all matters 
 of interest to physicians. 
 
 In 1779 Dr. Franklin wrote to a friend: "I can give you no 
 good account. I have a long time been afflicted with almost 
 constant and grievous pain, to combat which I have been obliged 
 
FRANKLIN S RULES OF HEALTH. 43 
 
 to have recourse to opium, which indeed has afforded me some 
 ease from time to time, but then it has taken away my appetite 
 and so impeded my digestion that I am become totally emaciated, 
 and little remains of me but a skeleton covered with a skin." 
 
 When an old man and reflecting on his past life and his bodily 
 ailments, Franklin writes: "One means of becoming content with 
 one s situation is the comparing it with a worse. Thus, when I 
 consider how many terrible diseases the human body is liable to, 
 I comfort myself that only three incurable ones have fallen to 
 my share, viz. : the gout, the stone, and old age ; and these have 
 not yet deprived me of my natural cheerfulness, my delight in 
 books, and my enjoyment of social conversation." 
 
 When the time arrived for him to leave France, in 1783, he 
 was so infirm by reason of the gout and the stone that it became a 
 question as to whether he could make the voyage. Marie An 
 toinette came to his rescue with an offer of a litter, carried by 
 means of large mules. It was in this fashion that the great 
 philosopher made his wonderful, triumphal march from Paris to 
 the seaboard, where he embarked for home. 
 
 After his arrival in Philadelphia he had to be carried to the 
 State House in a litter. He was a member of the Federal Con 
 vention. All his speeches were read by his colleague, Joseph 
 Wilson, as Franklin was unable to stand on his feet. 
 
 In a letter to Dr. Ingenhousz, dated Philadelphia, October 
 24, 1788, Franklin writes: 
 
 "You have always been kind enough to interest yourself in 
 what relates to my health. I ought therefore to acquaint you 
 with what appears to me something curious respecting it. You 
 may remember the cutaneous malady, I formerly complained of, 
 and which you and Dr. Pringle favored me with prescriptions and 
 advice. It vexed me near fourteen years, and was, the beginning 
 of this year, as bad as ever, covering almost my whole body, 
 except my face and hands ; when a fit of the gout came on, without 
 very much pain, but a swelling in both feet, which at last appeared 
 also in both knees, and then in my hands. As these swellings 
 increased and extended, the other malady diminished, and at 
 length disappeared entirely. These swellings have sometimes 
 since begun to fall, and are now almost gone; perhaps the 
 cutaneous disease may return, or perhaps it is worn out. I may 
 hereafter let you know what happens. I am on the whole much 
 weaker than when it began to leave me. But possibly that may 
 
44 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 be the effect of age, for I am now near eighty- three, the age of 
 commencing decrepitude." 
 
 Dr. John Jones, his attending physician, has thus written 
 of Franklin s last illness: 
 
 "The stone, with which he had been afflicted for several years, 
 had for the last twelve months confined him chiefly to his bed; 
 and during the extremely painful paroxysms he was obliged to 
 take large doses of laudanum to mitigate his torture ; still, in the 
 intervals of pain, he not only amused himself with reading and 
 conversing cheerfully with his family, and a few friends who 
 visited him, but was often employed in doing business of a 
 public as well as private nature, with various persons who waited 
 on him for that purpose ; and in every instance displayed not only 
 that readiness and disposition of doing good which was the 
 distinguishing characteristic of his life, but the fullest and clearest 
 possession of his uncommon mental abilities; and not unfre- 
 quently indulged himself in those f jeux d esprit and entertaining 
 anecdotes, which were the delight of all who heard him. About 
 sixteen days before his death he was seized with a feverish indis 
 position, without any particular symptoms attending it, till the 
 third or fourth day, when he complained of a pain in the left 
 breast, which increased till it became extremely acute, attended 
 with a cough and laborious breathing. During this state when 
 the severity of his pain drew forth a groan of complaint, he would 
 observe that he was afraid he did not bear them as he ought 
 acknowledged his grateful sense of the many blessings he had 
 received from that Supreme Being, who had raised him from small 
 and low beginnings to such high rank and consideration among 
 men and made no doubt but his afflictions were kindly intended 
 to wean him from a world in which he was no longer fit to act the 
 part assigned him. In this frame of body and mind he continued till 
 five days before his death, when his pain and difficulty of breath 
 ing entirely left him, and his family were flattering themselves 
 with the hopes of his recovery, when an imposthumation, which 
 had formed itself in his lungs, suddenly burst and discharged a 
 great quantity of matter, which he continued to throw up while 
 he had sufficient strength to do it ; but, as that failed, the organs 
 of respiration became gradually oppressed a calm lethargic state 
 succeeded and, on the I7th of April, 1790, about eleven o clock 
 at night, he quietly expired, closing a long and useful life of 
 eighty- four years and three months." 
 
SWIMMING AND BATHING. 45 
 
 Dr. Rush wrote to Dr. Price : 
 
 The papers will inform you of the death of our late friend, 
 Dr. Franklin. The evening of his life was marked by the same 
 activity of his moral and intellectual powers which distinguished 
 its meridian. His conversation with his family upon the subject 
 of his dissolution was free and cheerful. A few days before he 
 died, he rose from his bed and begged that it might be made up 
 for him so that he might die in a decent manner. His daughter 
 told him she hoped he would recover and live many years longer. 
 He calmly replied, I hope not. Upon being advised to change 
 his position in bed, that he might breathe easy, he said, A dying 
 man can do nothing easy. All orders and bodies of people have 
 vied with each other in paying tributes of respect to his memory." 
 
 FRANKLIN AS A MEDICAL BOOK PUBLISHER. 
 
 In days when but very few works on medicine were written 
 in America, Franklin deserves mention as a medical book pub 
 lisher of note. Among the works which he published or reprinted 
 are the following: 
 
 In 1732 he reprinted a book originally published in London, 
 dealing with "The Horror of the Gout," which set forth that the 
 disease is "one of the greatest Blessings which can befall mortal 
 man." 
 
 In 1734 he published a new edition of a book written by John 
 Tennent entitled, "Every man his own Doctor; or the Poor 
 Planter s Physician." 
 
 In 1741 Franklin printed the work of his friend, Dr. Cad- 
 wallader Golden, of New York, entitled "Essay on the Iliac 
 Passion." 
 
 In 1751 he printed two medical essays, one by Dr. John Kears- 
 ley and the other, "Medicina Britannica," by Dr. Thomas Short. 
 
 In 1754 he wrote and printed a paper entitled "Some Account 
 of the Pennsylvania Hospital from its First Rise, the Beginning 
 of the Fifth Month, called May, 1754," and which was circulated 
 for the purpose of procuring subscriptions for the hospital. 
 
 SWIMMING AND BATHING. 
 
 Referring to his first visit to London when he worked 
 there as a young apprentice, Franklin writes: 
 
 "At Watt s printing house I contracted an acquaintance 
 with an ingenious young man, one Wygate, who, having 
 
4 6 
 
 wealthy relations, had been better educated than most print 
 ers ; was a tolerable Latinist, spoke French, and loved reading. 
 I taught him and a friend of his to swim at twice going into 
 the river, and they soon became good swimmers. They intro 
 duced me to some gentlemen from the country, who went to 
 Chelsea by water to see the College and Don Saltero s curi 
 osities. In our return, at the request of the company, whose 
 curiosity Wygate had excited, I stripped and leaped into the 
 river, and swam from near Chelsea to Blackfriar s, perform 
 ing on the way many feats of activity, both upon and under 
 the water, that surprised and pleased those to whom they 
 were novelties. 
 
 "I had from a child ever delighted with this exercise, had 
 studied and practised all Thevenot s motions and positions, 
 added some of my own, aiming at the graceful and easy as 
 well as the useful. All these I took this occasion of exhibiting 
 to the company, and was much flattered by their admiration ; 
 and Wygate, who was desirous of becoming a master, grew 
 more and more attached to me on that account, as well as 
 from the similarity of our studies. He at length proposed to 
 me traveling all over Europe together, supporting ourselves 
 everywhere by working at our business. I was once inclined 
 to it; but, mentioning it to my good friend, Mr. Denham, 
 with whom I often spent an hour when I had leisure, he dis 
 suaded me from it, advising me to think only of returning to 
 Pennsylvania, which he was now about to do. 
 
 "On one of these days, I was, to my surprise, sent for by 
 a great man I knew only by name, a Sir William Wyndham, 
 and I waited upon him. He had heard by borne means or 
 other of my swimming from Chelsea to Blackfriar s, and of 
 my teaching Wygate and another young man to swim in a 
 few hours. He had two sons, about to set out on their trav 
 els ; he wished to have them taught swimming, and proposed 
 to gratify me handsomely if I would teach them. They were 
 not yet come to town, and my stay was uncertain, so I could 
 not undertake it; but from this incident I thought it likely 
 that, if I were to remain in England and open a swimming 
 school, I might get a good deal of money; and it struck me 
 so strongly, that, had the overture been made sooner, probably 
 I should not so soon have returned to America. After many 
 years, you and I had something of more importance to do 
 
SWIMMING AND BATHING. 47 
 
 with one of these sons of Sir William Wyndham, become 
 Earl of Egremont, which I shall mention in its place." 
 
 In a most interesting letter to Dubourg written in 1773, 
 Franklin discusses swimming, advocating it warmly, and 
 expressing the opinion that it has the effect of "stopping 
 diarrhea." 
 
 "The specific gravity of some human bodies, in compar 
 ison to that of water, had been examined by Mr. Robinson, in 
 our Philosophical Transactions, Volume L, page 30, for the 
 year 1757. He asserts, that fat persons with small bones 
 float most easily upon the water. 
 
 "The diving-bell is accurately described in our Transac 
 tions. When I was a boy, I made two oval palettes, each about 
 ten inches long and six broad, with a hole for the thumb, in 
 order to retain it fast in the palm of my hand. They much 
 resembled a painter s palette. In swimming I pushed the 
 edges of these forward, and I struck the water with their flat 
 surfaces as I drew them back. I remember I swam faster by 
 means of these palettes, but they fatigued my wrists. I 
 also fitted to the soles of my feet a kind of sandal ; but I was 
 not satisfied with them, because I observed that the stroke is 
 partly given by the inside of the feet and the ankles, and not 
 entirely with the soles of the feet. 
 
 "We have here waistcoats for swimming, which are made 
 of double sail-cloth, with small pieces of cork quilted .in 
 between them. 
 
 "I know nothing of the scaphandre of M. de la Chapelle. 
 
 "I know by experience that it is a great comfort to a 
 swimmer, who has a considerable distance to go, to turn him 
 self sometimes on his back, and to vary in other respects the 
 means of procuring a progressive motion. 
 
 "When he is seized with the cramp in the leg, the method 
 of driving it away is, to give the parts affected a sudden, vig 
 orous, and violent shock, which he may do in the air as he 
 swims on his back. 
 
 "During the great heats of summer there is no danger in 
 bathing, however warm we may be, in rivers which have 
 been thoroughly warmed by the sun. But to throw one s self 
 into cold water, when the body has been heated by exercise 
 in the sun, is an imprudence which may prove fatal. I once 
 knew an instance of four young men, who, having worked at 
 
4 8 
 
 harvest in the heat of the day, with a view of refreshing 
 themselves plunged into a spring of cold water; two died 
 upon the spot, a third in the morning, and the fourth recov 
 ered with great difficulty. A copious draught of cold water, 
 in similar circumstances, is frequently attended with the 
 same effect in North America. 
 
 "The exercise of swimming is one of the most healthy and 
 agreeable in the world. After having swam for an hour or two 
 in the evening, one sleeps cooly the whole night, even during 
 the most ardent heat of summer. Perhaps, the pores being 
 cleansed, the insensible perspiration increases and occasions 
 this coolness. It is certain that much swimming is the means 
 of stopping a diarrhea, and even of producing a constipation. 
 With respect to those who do not know how to swim or who 
 are affected with a diarrhea at a season which does not permit 
 them to use that exercise, a warm bath, by cleansing and 
 purifying the skin, is found very salutary, and often effects a 
 radical cure. I speak from my own experience, frequently 
 repeated, and that of others, to whom I have recommended 
 this." 
 
 In a letter to Oliver Neave which is rather too long to 
 reproduce, Franklin urges that it is not too late in life for his 
 friend to learn to swim; and then, in considerable detail he 
 lays down rules for beginners in the art of swimming which 
 would be of the greatest practical value were they, without 
 alteration, posted up in swimming schools to-day. 
 
 Franklin argues on several occasions that in the case of 
 scarcity of drinking water at sea, that the suffering from thirst 
 may be in some measure relieved by immersing the body in water 
 for some considerable period. In a letter to a young lady, 1769, 
 he remarks: 
 
 "I take this Opportunity to send you, also, a late Paper, 
 containing a melancholy Account of the Distresses of some Sea 
 men. You will observe in it the Advantages they receiv d from 
 wearing their Clothes constantly wet with salt Water, under the 
 total Want of fresh Water to drink. You may remember I 
 recommended this Practice many years ago." 
 
 THE VALUE OF FRESH AIR AND PROPER VENTILATION. 
 
 The Nature and Contagiousness of "Colds." 
 Franklin was deeply impressed with the value of fresh air, 
 at a time when it was far too much excluded from dwelling 
 
FRESH AIR AND VENTILATION. 49 
 
 houses, hospitals, and other pubic buildings. He thought upon 
 and investigated the subject much and wrote upon it repeatedly. 
 He devised and described the "Pennsylvania fire-place" which 
 was intended to heat a room equally and secure an even 
 temperature in it. Lord Kaimes, addressing him as a "uni 
 versal smoke doctor," asked his advice as to the ventilation 
 of his new house in Edinburgh. He was consulted as to the 
 best methods of ventilation for the House of Commons ; and 
 several medical friends asked for suggestions for the ven 
 tilation of hospitals. Franklin often twitted his doctor friends 
 on their fear of fresh air, or their tardy recognition of its 
 value. The present open air treatment of tuberculosis patients 
 may be fairly said to be nothing more than a concrete applica 
 tion of the principles for which Franklin stood. Franklin 
 would not allow that fresh air was bad even when damp. 
 Parton remarks : 
 
 " He was among the first who called attention to the cruel 
 folly of excluding fresh air from hospitals and sick rooms, par 
 ticularly those of fever patients. Unquestionably he was the 
 originator of the modern art of ventilation. He cleared the pure 
 air of heaven from calumnious imputation, and threw open the 
 windows to mankind." 
 
 In his investigations of the value of fresh air, Franklin gave 
 much consideration to the subject of "colds," "catching colds," 
 etc., and as will be presently seen, he set forth plainly and fully 
 the modern theory of "colds" and the conditions under which 
 they are contagious ; and not until one hundred and fifty years 
 later did these views of Franklin become those of the medical 
 profession. They are now accepted everywhere. 
 
 Franklin s investigations in the subject of ventilation natu 
 rally led him to the careful consideration of and experiments 
 upon chimneys. Smyth remarks : 
 
 "Before the time of Franklin s invention, smoky chimneys 
 were among the commonest annoyances of domestic life. A 
 smoky house is mentioned by Shakespeare in the category of 
 tedious things with a tired horse and a railing wife. How may 
 a smoky chimney be best cured? was one of Franklin s queries 
 for the Junto. It is strange methinks, he remarked, that though 
 chimneys have been for so long in use, the construction should 
 be so little understood, till lately, that no workman pretended to 
 make one which should always carry off all smoke/ " 
 
5O FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 The result of Franklin s studies was the invention of the 
 "Pensylvania fire-place," in 1742. Upon this subject he wrote a 
 remarkable essay containing as it does many observations on 
 physics, hygiene, ventilation, and public health. Several passages 
 germane to this study will bear quoting. 
 
 While recognizing the improvement which had been made in 
 the construction of chimneys by which the smoke had been 
 eliminated, he observed that they are still quite objectionable 
 because of the strong drafts at every crevice ; and he goes on to 
 say: 
 
 "Many colds are caught from this cause only; it being safer 
 to sit in the open street, for then the Pores do all close together, 
 and the Air does not strike so sharply against any particular 
 Part. The Spaniards have a Proverbial Saying, 
 
 " If the Wind blows on you thro a Hole, 
 Make your Will, and take care of your Soul/ 
 
 Women particularly from this Cause, (as they sit much in the 
 House) get Colds in the Head, Rheums, and Defluctions, which 
 fall into their Jaws and Gums, and have destroyed early many a 
 fine set of teeth in these Northern Colonies. Great and bright 
 Fires do also very much contribute to damage the Eyes, dry and 
 shrivel the Skin, and bring on early Appearances of Old-Age. 
 In short, many of the Diseases proceeding from Colds, as 
 Fevers, Pleurisies, etc., fatal to very great Numbers of people, 
 may be ascribed to strongdrawing Chimneys, whereby, in severe 
 Weather, a man is scorched before, while he s froze behind." 
 
 Continuing his argument for the advantages of the Penn 
 sylvania fire-place devised by him, he makes the following 
 observations : "That warm rooms make people tender and apt 
 to catch cold, is a mistake as great as it is (among the English) 
 general. We have seen in the preceding Pages how the common 
 Rooms are apt to give Colds; but the writer of this Paper may 
 affirm, from his own Experience, and that of his Family and 
 Friends who have used warm Rooms, people are rendered less 
 liable to take Cold, and indeed, actually hardened. If sitting 
 warm in a Room made One subject to take cold on going out, 
 lying warm in Bed should, by a Parity of Reason, produce the 
 same effect when we rise. Yet we find we can leap out of the 
 warmest Bed naked in the coldest morning, without any Danger ; 
 and in the same Manner out of warm Clothes into a cold bed. 
 The Reason is, that in these Cases the Pores all close at once, the 
 
FRESH AIR AND VENTILATION. 51 
 
 Cold is shut out, and the Heat within augmented, as we soon 
 after feel by the glowing of the flesh and skin. Thus no one 
 was ever known to catch Cold by the use of the cold Bath : And 
 are not cold Baths allowed to harden the Bodies of those that 
 use them? Are they not therefore frequently prescribed to the 
 tenderest Constitutions? Now, every Time you go out of a 
 warm Room into a Cold Bath, and the effect is in proportion the 
 same; for (tho perhaps you may feel somewhat chilly at first) 
 you find in a little Time your Bodies hardened and strengthened, 
 your Blood is driven with a brisker Circulation, and a Com 
 fortable, steady, uniform inward Warmth succeeds that equal 
 outward Warmth you first received in the room. Farther to 
 confirm this Assertion, we instance the Swedes, the Danes, the 
 Russians; these Nations are said to live in Rooms, compared to 
 ours, as hot as ovens; yet where are the hardy Soldiers, tho 
 bred in their boasted cool Houses, that can, like these People, 
 bear the Fatigues of a Winter Campaign in so severe a Climate, 
 march whole Days to the Neck in snow, and at Night entrench 
 in Ice, as they do?" He sums up the advantages of the Penn 
 sylvania fire-place under fifteen heads, of which the following 
 are quoted : 
 
 "If you sit near the Fire, you have not that cold draft of 
 uncomfortable Air nipping your Back and Heels, as when before 
 common Fires, by which many catch Cold, being scorcht before, 
 and as it were, froze behind. 
 
 "If you sit against a Crevice, there is not that sharp Draught 
 of cold Air playing on you, as in Rooms where there are Fires 
 in the common way ; by which many catch cold whence proceed 
 Coughs, Catarrhs, Tooth-aches, Fevers, Pleurisies, and many 
 other Diseases. 
 
 "In Case of Sickness, they make most excellent Nursing- 
 rooms; as they constantly supply a sufficiency of fresh air, so 
 warmed at the same time as to be no way inconvenient or dan 
 gerous. A small One does well in a Chamber ; and, the Chimney 
 being fitted for it, it may be removed from one room to another, 
 as Occasion requires, and fixed in half an Hour. The equal tem 
 per, too, and Warmth, of the Air of the Room, is thought to be 
 particularly advantageous in some Distempers: For twas ob 
 served in the Winters of 1730 and 1736, when the small-pox 
 spread in Pennsylvania, that very few of the Children of the 
 Germans died of that Distemper in proportion to those of the 
 English; which was ascribed by some to the warmth and equal 
 
52 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 Temper of Air in their Stove-Rooms; which made the Disease 
 as favorable as it commonly is in the West Indies. But this 
 Conjecture we submit to the judgment of Physicians." 
 
 Writing on "The Causes and Cures of Smoky Chimneys," 
 Franklin discusses, in some detail, the subject of ventilation, 
 dampness, fresh air, colds, etc. "Some are as much afraid of 
 fresh Air as persons in the Hydrophobia are of fresh water. I 
 myself had formerly this prejudice, this Aerophobia, as I now 
 account it ; and, dreading the supposed dangerous Effects of cool 
 Air, I considered it as an Enemy, and closed with extreme care 
 every Crevice in the Rooms I inhabited. 
 
 "Experience has convinced me of my Error. I now look 
 upon fresh Air as a friend ; I even sleep with an open Window. 
 I am persuaded, that no common Air from without is so unwhole 
 some, as the Air within a close Room, that has been often 
 breath d and not changed. Moist Air, too, which formerly I 
 thought pernicious, gives me no Apprehensions; for considering 
 that no Dampness of Air apply d to the Outside of my Skin can 
 equal to what is apply d to and touches it within, my whole Body 
 being full of Moisture, and finding that I can lie two hours in a 
 Bath twice a Week, covered with Water, which certainly is 
 much damper than any Air can be, and this for Years together, 
 without catching Cold, or being in any other manner disordered 
 by it, I no longer dread mere Moisture, either in Air or in 
 Sheets or Shirts : And I find it of no Importance to the Happi 
 ness of Life, the being freed from vain Terrors, especially of 
 objects that we are every day exposed inevitably to meet with. 
 You Physicians have of late happily discovered, after a contrary 
 Opinion had prevail d some Ages, that fresh and cool Air does 
 good to Persons in the Small-Pox and other Fevers. It is to 
 be hoped that in another Century or two we may all find out, that 
 it is not bad even for People in Health. And as to Moist Air, 
 here I am at this present Writing in a Ship with above 40 Per 
 sons, who have had no other but moist Air to breathe for 6 
 Weeks past; every thing we touch is damp, and nothing dries, 
 yet we are all as healthy as we should be on the mountains of 
 Switzerland, whose Inhabitants are not more than those of Ber 
 muda or St. Helena Islands. Islands on whose Rocks the 
 Waves are dashed into Millions of Particles which fill the Air 
 with Damp, but produce no Distemper, the Moisture being pure, 
 unmixed with the poisonous Vapours arising from Marshes and 
 
FRESH AIR AND VENTILATION. 53 
 
 stagnant Pools, in which many Insects die and corrupt the 
 Water. These Places only, in my Opinion (which however I 
 submit to yours), afford unwholesome Air; and that it is not 
 the mere Water contained in Damp Air, but the volatile Parti 
 cles of corrupted animal Matter mixed with that Water, which 
 renders such Air Pernicious to those who breathe it. And I 
 imagine it a Cause of the same kind that renders the Air in close 
 Rooms, where the perspirable Matter is breathed over and over 
 again by a number of assembled People, so hurtful to Health. 
 After being in such a Situation, many find themselves affected 
 by that Febricula, which the English alone call a Cold, and per 
 haps from the Name, imagine that they caught the malady by 
 going out of the Room, when it was in fact by being in it." 
 
 Franklin s study of the subject of ventilation led him to make 
 a number of interesting experiments, one of which is thus noted 
 by Dr. Small, an English surgeon: 
 
 "The doctor confirmed this by this following experiment : He 
 breathed gently through a tube into a deep glass mug, so as to 
 impregnate all the air in the mug with this quality. He then put 
 a lighted bougie into the mug, and upon touching the air therein 
 the flame was instantly extinguished; by frequently repeating 
 the operation, the bougie gradually preserved its light longer in 
 the mug, so as in a short time to retain it to the bottom of it, the 
 air having totally lost the bad quality it had contracted from the 
 breath blown into it." 
 
 As has been remarked before, Franklin was on terms of inti 
 mate friendship with Joseph Priestley and they exchanged many 
 letters and held many conferences together. Priestley performed 
 some very interesting experiments, causing plants to grow in air 
 which had become vitiated from human expiration. In a letter 
 to Franklin, Priestley informs him of the very flourishing state 
 of plants growing in this vitiated atmosphere. Replying to this 
 letter Franklin writes : 
 
 "That the vegetable creation should restore the air which is 
 spoiled by the animal part of it, looks like a rational system and 
 seems to be a piece with the rest. Thus fire purifies water all 
 the world over. It purifies it by distillation when it raises it in 
 vapors and lets it fall in rain ; and further still by filtration when, 
 keeping it fluid, it suffers that rain to percolate the earth. We 
 knew before that putrid animal substances were converted into 
 sweet vegetables when mixed with the earth and applied as 
 
54 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 manure ; and now it seems that the same putrid substances, mixed 
 with the air, have a similar effect. The strong thriving state of 
 your mint, in the putrid air, seems to show that the air is mended 
 by taking something from it and not by adding to it. I hope this 
 will give some check to the rage of destroying trees that grow 
 near houses, which has accompanied our late improvements in 
 gardening, from an opinion of their being unwholesome. I am 
 certain, from long observation, that there is nothing unhealthy 
 in the air of the woods, and no people on earth enjoy better 
 health or are more prolific." 
 
 Writing from London on July 28, 1768, to Dr. Dubourg, 
 Franklin describes what he calls a fresh air bath. 
 
 "I greatly approve the epithet which you give, in your letter 
 of the 8th of June, to the method of treating the small-pox, 
 which you call the tonic or bracing method ; I will take occasion 
 from it to mention a practice to which I have accustomed myself. 
 You know the cold bath has long been in vogue here as a tonic; 
 but the shock of the cold water has always appeared to me. 
 generally speaking, as too violent, and I have found it much 
 more agreeable to my constitution to bathe in another element, 
 I mean cold air. With this view I rise almost every morning 
 and sit in my chamber without any clothes whatever, half an 
 hour or an hour, according to the season, either reading or writ 
 ing. This practice is not in the least painful but, on the contrary, 
 agreeable; and if I return to bed afterwards before I dress 
 myself, as sometimes happens, I make a supplement to my night s 
 rest of one or two hours of the most pleasing sleep that can be 
 imagined. I find no ill consequences whatever resulting from it 
 and that at least it does not injure my health, if it does not in 
 fact contribute much to its preservation. I shall therefore call 
 it for the future a bracing or tonic bath." 
 
 In a letter to Dr. Hawkesworth, dated London, May 8, 1772, 
 Franklin writes of Prisetley s experiments with Fix d Air : 
 
 "Dr. Priestley discovered that two-fourths of the air, one 
 produced by suffering dead mice to putrefy under glass, the 
 other by the effervescence of chalk and water with a small quan 
 tity of acid or vitriol, in either of which living mice being put 
 would instantly die, yet the two being mixed both become good 
 common air, and mice breathe in it freely. From his own and 
 Dr. McBride s Experiments (who thought Fix d Air would pre 
 vent or cure the sea scurvy) he was persuaded it might be of use 
 
FRESH AIR AND VENTILATION. 55 
 
 in mortification. But of this there has been only a single experi 
 ment. A Physician of his acquaintance at Leeds wrote to him 
 while he was lately in town that a person dying as was thought 
 of a putrid fever with all the symptoms of a mortification in the 
 bowels had been suddenly relieved and recovered by the injection 
 of Fix d Air as a clyster. These are all our present premises 
 upon which you can judge as well as I how far one may expect 
 the same Fix d Air will be of service to a cancer, but, as you 
 ask my opinion, as the case might be desperate and we know of 
 no danger in the trial, I should be for trying it. I would first 
 syringe the sore strongly with warm water impregnated with 
 Fix d Air so as to cleanse well the part. Then I would apply 
 to it a succession of glasses filled with Fix d Air, each glass to 
 remain till the sore had absorbed the Fix d Air contained in it. 
 It would require a long description to explain the readiest 
 methods of obtaining the air, applying it, and impregnating the 
 water with it, and perhaps I would not make myself clearly 
 understood." 
 
 In a letter to Jean Baptiste Le Roy, dated June 22, 1773, 
 Franklin writes of his favorite subject, fresh air, as follows: 
 
 "I am pleased to hear you are engaged in the Consideration of 
 Hospitals. I wish any Observations of mine could be of Use to 
 you, they should be at your Service. But tis a Subject I am 
 very little acquainted with. I can only say, that, if a free & 
 copious Perspiration is of Use in Diseases, that seems, from the 
 Experiments I mentioned to M. Dubourg, to be best obtained 
 by light covering & fresh Air continually changing : The Moist 
 ure on the Skin when the Body is warmly covered, being a 
 Deception and the Effect not of greater Transpiration, but of 
 the Saturation of the Air included under the & in the Bed 
 clothes, which therefore can absorb no more, and so leaves it 
 on the Body. From those Experiments I am convinced of what 
 I indeed before suspected, that the Opinion of Perspiration 
 being checked by Cold is an error, as well as that of Rheum 
 being occasioned by Cold. But as this is Heresy here, and per 
 haps may be so with you, I only whisper it, and expect you will 
 keep my Secret. Our Physicians have begun to discover that 
 fresh Air is good for People in the Small- Pox and other Fevers, 
 I hope they will find out that it does no harm to People in 
 Health." 
 
 Two weeks later, writing to his old friend, Dubourg, he says : 
 
56 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 "I have not time now to write what I intend upon the Cause 
 of Colds, or Rheums, and my Opinions on that Head are so 
 singular here, that I am almost afraid to hazard them abroad. 
 In the meantime, be so kind as to tell me at your leisure, 
 whether in France you have a general Belief that moist Air, 
 and damp Shirts or Sheets, and wet Floors and Beds that have 
 not lately been used, and Clothes that have not lately been worn, 
 and going out of a warm Room into the Air, and leaving off a 
 long-worn waistcoat, and wearing leaky Shoes, and sitting near 
 an open Window, or Door, or in a Coach with both Glasses 
 down, are all or any of them capable of giving the Distemper 
 we call a Cold, and you a Rheum or Catarrh? Or are these 
 merely English ideas?" 
 
 In another letter to Dr. Dubourg, Franklin offers some 
 observations on the subject of perspiration, damp clothes, etc. 
 
 "I shall not attempt to explain why damp clothes occasion 
 colds, rather than wet ones, because I doubt the fact ; I imagine 
 that neither the one nor the other contribute to this effect, and 
 that the cause of colds are totally independent of wet and even 
 cold. I propose writing a short paper on this subject the first 
 moment of leisure I have at my disposal. In the mean time, I 
 can only say that, having some suspicions that the common notion, 
 which attributes to colds the property of stopping the pores and 
 obstructing perspiration, was ill founded, I engaged a young 
 physician, who is making some experiments with Sanctorius s 
 balance, to estimate the different proportions of his perspiration, 
 when remaining one hour naked, and another warmly clothed. 
 He pursued the experiment in this alternate manner for eight 
 hours successively and found his perspiration almost doubled 
 during those hours in which he was naked." 
 
 Franklin s view of "colds" and their contagiousness and the 
 advantage of fresh air are perhaps best set forth in a letter to 
 Dr. Benjamin Rush, which he wrote from London June 14, 1773. 
 
 "I shall communicate your judicious remark, relating to the 
 septic quality of the air transpired by patients in putrid diseases, 
 to my friend, Dr. Priestley. I hope that after having discovered 
 the benefit of fresh and cool air applied to the sick, people will 
 begin to suspect that possibly it may do no harm to the well. I 
 have not seen Dr. Cullen s book, but am glad to hear that he 
 speaks of catarrhs or colds by contagion. I have long been 
 satisfied from observation, that besides the general colds now 
 
FRESH AIR AND VENTILATION. 57 
 
 termed influenza (which may possibly spread by contagion, as 
 well as by a particular quality of the air), people often catch 
 cold from one another when shut up together in close rooms, 
 coaches, &c., and when sitting near and conversing so as to 
 breathe in each other s transpiration; the disorder being in a 
 certain state. I think too, that it is the frouzy, corrupt air from 
 animal substances, and the perspired matter from our bodies, 
 which being long confined in beds not lately used, and clothes 
 not lately worn, and books long shut up in close rooms, 
 obtains that kind of putridity, which occasions the colds 
 observed upon sleeping in, wearing, and turning over such 
 bedclothes, or books, and not their coldness or dampness. 
 From these causes, but more from too full living, with too 
 little exercise, proceed in my opinion most of the disorders, 
 which for one hundred and fifty years past the English have 
 called colds. 
 
 "As to Dr. Cullen s cold or catarrh a frigore, I question 
 whether such an one ever existed. Traveling in our severe 
 winters, I have suffered cold sometimes to an extremity only 
 short of freezing, but this did not make me catch cold. And, 
 for moisture, I have been in the river two or three hours for 
 a fortnight together, when one would suppose I might imbibe 
 enough of it to take cold if humidity could give it; but no 
 such effect ever followed. Boys never get cold by swimming. 
 Nor are people at sea, or who live at Bermuda or St. Helena, 
 small islands where the air must be moist from the dashing 
 and breaking of waves against their rocks on all sides, more 
 subject to colds than those who inhabit part of a continent 
 where the air is driest. Dampness may indeed assist in pro 
 ducing putridity and those miasmata which infect us with 
 the disorder we call a cold; but of itself can never by a little 
 addition of moisture hurt a body filled with watery fluids 
 from head to foot." 
 
 Writing to Thomas Percival, London, September 25, 1773, 
 Franklin argues that "moist seasons" are healthiest, and again 
 clearly sets forth his ideas as to the contagiousness of colds. 
 
 " Tis a curious Remark that moist Seasons are the healthi 
 est. The Gentry of England are remarkably afraid of Moist 
 ure, and of Air. But Seamen, who live in perpetually moist 
 Air, are always Healthy, if they have good Provisions. The 
 Inhabitants of Bermuda, St. Helena, and other Islands far 
 
58 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 from Continents, surrounded with Rocks against which the 
 Waves continually dashing fill the Air with Spray & Vapour, 
 and where no Wind can arrive that does not pass over much 
 Sea, and of course bring much Moisture, these People are 
 remarkably healthy. And I have long thought that mere 
 moist Air has no ill effect on the Constitution ; tho Air impreg 
 nated with Vapour from putrid Marshes is found pernicious, 
 not from the Moisture, but the Putridity. It seems strange 
 that a Man whose Body is composed in great Part of Moist 
 Fluids, whose Blood and Juices are so watery, who can swal 
 low Quantities of Water and Small Beer daily without Incon 
 venience, should fancy that a little more or less Moisture in 
 the Air should be of such Importance. But we abound in 
 Absurdity and Inconsistency. 
 
 "Thus tho 7 it is generally allowed that taking the Air is 
 a good Thing, yet what Caution against Air, what stopping of 
 Crevices, what wrapping up in warm Clothes, what shutting 
 of Doors and Windows ! even in the midst of Summer ! Many 
 London Families go out once a day to take the Air; three or 
 four Persons in a Coach, one perhaps sick; these go three or 
 four Miles, or as many Turns in Hide Park, with the Glasses 
 both up close, all breathing over & over again the same Air 
 they brought out of town with them in the Coach with the 
 least change possible, and rendered worse and worse every 
 moment. And this they call taking the Air. From many 
 Year s Observations on myself and others, I am persuaded 
 we are on a wrong scent in supposing Moist or cold Air, the 
 Cause of that Disorder we call a Cold. Some unknown Qual 
 ity in the Air may perhaps produce colds, as in the influenza ; 
 but generally I apprehend they are the effect of too full Liv 
 ing in proportion to our Exercise." 
 
 Franklin s views on fresh air brought him on one occasion 
 in active conflict with John Adams when the two were com 
 pelled to bunk together, in 1776. Adams, in his autobiography 
 says : 
 
 "At Brunswick, but one bed could be procured for Dr. 
 Franklin and me, in a chamber little larger than the bed, with 
 out a chimney, and with only one small window. The window 
 was open, and I who was an invalid and afraid of the air of 
 night, shut it close. Oh ! says Franklin, don t shut the win 
 dow, we shall be suffocated/ I answered I was afraid of 
 
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 59 
 
 the evening air. Dr. Franklin replied, The air within this 
 chamber will soon be, and indeed is now, worse than that 
 without doors. Come, open the window and come to bed, 
 and I will convince you. I believe you are not acquainted 
 with my theory of colds? 1 Opening the window, and leaping 
 into bed, I said I had read his letters to Dr. Cooper, in which 
 he had advanced, that nobody ever got cold by going into a 
 cold church or any other cold air, but the theory was so 
 little consistent with my experience, that I thought it a para 
 dox. However, I4iad so much curiosity to hear his reasons 
 that I would run the risk of a cold. The Dr. then began a 
 harangue upon air and cold, and respiration and perspiration, 
 with which I was so much amused that I soon fell asleep, 
 and left him and his philosophy together, but I believe they 
 were equally sound and insensible within a few minutes after 
 me, for the last words I heard were pronounced as he was 
 more than half asleep. I remember little of the lecture, except 
 that the human body, by respiration and perspiration, destroy 
 a gallon of air in a minute ; that two such persons as were 
 now in that chamber, would consume all the air in it in an 
 hour or two; that by breathing over again the matter thrown 
 off by the lungs and the skin, we should imbibe the real cause 
 of colds, not from abroad, but from within." 
 
 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 In two letters to his friend, Dr. Cadwallader Colden, writ 
 ten in 1745, Franklin discusses the subject of absorption, per 
 spiration, and circulation, at considerable length and after 
 a most interesting fashion. 
 
 "I am extremely pleased with your doctrine of the absorb 
 ent vessels intermixed with the perspiratory ducts, both on 
 the external and internal superficies of the body. After I had 
 read Sanctorius, I imagined a constant stream of the perspir 
 able matter issuing at every pore in the skin. But then I was 
 puzzled to account for the effects of mercurial unctions for 
 the strangury, sometimes occasioned by an outward applica 
 tion of the flies, and the like ; since whatever virtue or quality 
 might be in a medicine laid upon the skin, if it would enter 
 the body, it must go against wind and tide, as one may say. 
 Dr. Hales helped me a little, when he informed me, in his 
 Vegetable Statics, that the body is not always in a perspirable, 
 
60 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 but sometimes in an imbibing state, as he expresses it, and 
 will at times actually grow heavier by being exposed to moist 
 air. But this did not quite remove my difficulty; since, as 
 these fits of imbibing did not appear to be regular or frequent, 
 a blistering plaster might lie on the body a week, or a mercu 
 rial ungent be used a month, to no purpose, if the body should 
 so long continue in a perspirable state. Your doctrine, which 
 was quite new to me makes all easy: since the body may 
 perspire, and absorb at the same time, through the different 
 ducts destined to those different ends. 
 
 "I must own, however, that I have one objection to the 
 explanation you give of the operation of these absorbents. 
 That they should communicate with the veins, and the per- 
 spirants with the arteries only, seems natural enough; but, 
 as all fluids by the hydrostatical law pass equally in all direc 
 tions, I question whether the mere direction of one of those 
 minute vessels, where it joins with the vein or artery, with 
 or against the stream of blood in the larger vessel, would be 
 sufficient to produce such contrary effects as perspiring and 
 absorbing. If it would, perspirants and absorbents might 
 proceed from the arteries only, or from the veins only, or 
 
 FIG i. 
 
 from both indifferently; as, by the figure in the margin (Fig. 
 i) whether the vessel a b is an artery or a vein, if the stream 
 moves from a to b, the minute communicating vessel c shall 
 be a perspirant, and d an absorbent ; and the contrary, if it 
 moves from b to a. Yet I can not say I am certain the mere 
 direction of the vessel will have no effect ; I only suspect it, 
 and am making a little machine to try an experiment with 
 for satisfaction. 
 
 "It is a siphon made of two large joints of Carolina cane 
 united at e, into which two small glass tubes, f and g, are to 
 be inserted, one on the descending, and the other on the 
 ascending side. (See Fig. 2.) I propose to fill the siphon 
 and the two glass tubes with water, and, when it is playing, 
 unstop at the same instant the tops of both glass tubes, 
 
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 6l 
 
 observing in which the water sinks fastest. You shall know 
 the success. I conceive the pressure of the atmosphere on 
 the apertures of the two glass tubes to be no way different 
 from the pressure of the same on the mouths of the perspir- 
 ants and absorbents, and if the water sinks equally in the 
 tubes, notwithstanding the direction of one against the other 
 with the stream, I shall be ready to think we must look out 
 for another solution. You will say, perhaps, that it will then 
 be time enough when the experiment is tried, and succeeds 
 as I suspect, yet I can not forbear attempting at one before 
 hand, while some thoughts are present in my mind. If a new 
 solution should be found necessary, this may be ready for 
 consideration. 
 
 FIG. 2. 
 
 "I do not remember, that any antagonist, that has fallen 
 in my way, has assigned any other cause of the motion of the 
 blood through its whole circle, than the contractile force of 
 the heart, by which that fluid is driven with violence into 
 the arteries, and so continually propelled by repetitions of 
 the same force, till it arrives at the heart again. May we for 
 our present purpose suppose another cause producing half 
 the effect, and say that the ventricles of the heart, like 
 syringes, draw, when they dilate, as well as force when they 
 contract? That this is not unlikely, may be judged from the 
 valves nature has placed in the arteries, to prevent the draw 
 ing back of the blood in those vessels when the heart dilates, 
 while no such obstacles prevent its sucking (to use the vulgar 
 expression) from the veins. If this be allowed, and the inser 
 tion of the absorbents into the veins and of the perspirants 
 into the arteries be agreed to, it will be of no importance in 
 what direction they are inserted. For, as the branches of 
 the arteries are continually lessening in their diameters, and 
 the motion of the blood decreasing by means of the increased 
 
62 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 resistance, there must, as more is constantly pressed on 
 behind, arise a kind of crowding in the extremities of those 
 vessels, which will naturally force out what is contained in 
 the perspirants that communicate with them. This lessens 
 the quality of blood, so that the heart can not receive again 
 by the veins all it had discharged into the arteries, which 
 occasions it to draw strongly upon the absorbents that com 
 municate with them. And thus the body is continually per 
 spiring and imbibing. Hence after long fasting the body is 
 more liable to receive infection from bad air, and food, before 
 it is sufficiently chylified, is drawn crude into the blood by 
 absorbents that open into the bowels. 
 
 "To confirm this position, that the heart draws, as well 
 as drives the blood, let me add this particular. If you sit or 
 lean long, in such a manner as to compress the principle 
 artery that supplies a limb with blood, so that it does not 
 furnish a due quantity, you will be sensible of a pricking pain 
 in the extremities like that of a thousand needles; and the 
 veins, which used to raise your skin in ridges, will be (with 
 the skin) sunk into channels ; the blood being drawn out of 
 them, and their sides pressed so closely together that it is 
 with difficulty and slowly that the blood afterwards enters 
 them, when the compressed artery is relieved. If the blood 
 was not drawn by the heart, the compression of an artery 
 would not empty a vein, and I conjecture that the pricking 
 pain is occasioned by the sides of the small vessels being 
 pressed together. 
 
 "If there is no contrivance in the frame of the auricles or 
 ventricles of the heart, by which they dilate themselves, I 
 can not conceive how they are dilated. It is said, by the force 
 of the venal blood rushing into them. But if that blood has 
 no force which was not first given to it by the contraction 
 of the heart, how can it (diminished as it must be by the 
 resisting friction of the vessels it has passed through) be 
 strong enough to overcome that contraction? Your doctrine 
 of fermentation in the capillaries helps me a little; for if the 
 returning blood be rarefied by the fermentation, its motion 
 must be increased ; but as it seems to me that it must by its 
 expansion resist the arterial blood behind it, as much as it 
 accelerates the venal blood before it, I am still somewhat 
 unsatisfied. I have heard or read somewhere, too, that the 
 
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 63 
 
 hearts of some animals continue to contract and dilate, or 
 to beat, as it is commonly expressed, after they are separated 
 from the other vessels, and taken out of the body. If this be 
 true, their dilation is not caused by the force of the returning 
 blood. 
 
 "I should be glad to satisfy myself, too, whether the blood 
 is always quicker in motion, when the pulse beats quicker. 
 Perhaps more blood is driven forward by one strong, deep 
 stroke, than by two that are weak and light; as a man may 
 breathe more by one long common respiration, when in health, 
 than by two quick, short ones in a fever. I applied the siphon 
 I mentioned to you in a former letter to a pipe of a water- 
 engine. E is the engine ; a, its pipe, bbb, the siphon ; c and d, 
 the two glass pipes communicating with the siphon (Fig. 3). 
 
 FIG. 3. 
 
 Upon working the engine, the water flowed through the 
 siphon, and the glass tube c ; but none was discharged through 
 d. When I stopped with my finger the end of the siphon, the 
 water issued at both glass tubes, with equal force, and on 
 only half stopping the end of the siphon, it did the same. 
 I imagine the sudden bending of the siphon gives such a 
 resistance to the stream, as to occasion its issuing out of the 
 glass tube c. But I intend to try a further experiment, of 
 which I shall give you an account." 
 
 In another piece, of unknown date, under the title of "A 
 Conjecture As To The Cause Of The Heat Of The Blood In 
 Health, And Of The Cold And Hot Fits Of Some Fevers," 
 Franklin continues his discussion of the subject of anatomy 
 and physiology: 
 
64 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 "The parts of fluids are so smooth, and roll among one 
 another with so little friction, that they will not by any 
 (mechanical) agitation grow warmer. A phial half full of 
 water shook with violence and long continued, the water 
 neither heats itself nor warms the phial. Therefore the blood 
 does not acquire its heat either from the motion and friction 
 of its own parts, or its friction against the sides of its vessels. 
 
 "But the parts of solids, by reason of their closer adhesions 
 can not move among themselves without friction, and that 
 produces heat. Thus, bend a plummet to and fro, and, in the 
 place of bending, it shall soon grow hot. Friction on any part 
 of our flesh heats it. Clapping of the hands warms them. 
 Exercise warms the whole body. 
 
 "The heart is a thick muscle, continually contracting and 
 dilating near eighty times a minute. By this motion there 
 must be a constant interfriction of its constituent solid parts. 
 That friction must produce a heat, and that heat must conse 
 quently be continually communicated to the perfluent blood. 
 
 "To this may be added, that every propulsion of the blood 
 by the contraction of the heart, distends the arteries, which 
 contract again in the intermission and this distension and con 
 traction of the arteries may occasion heat in them, which they 
 likewise communicate to the blood that flows through them. 
 
 "That these causes of the heat of the blood are sufficient 
 to produce the effect, may appear probable, if we consider that 
 a fluid once warm requires no more heat to be applied to it 
 in any part of time to keep it warm, than what it shall lose in 
 an equal part of time. A smaller force will keep a pendulum 
 going, than what first set it in motion. 
 
 "The blood, thus warmed in the heart, carries warmth 
 with it to the very extremities of the body, and communicates 
 it to them; but as by this means its heat is gradually dimin 
 ished, it is returned again to the heart by the veins for a fresh 
 calefaction. 
 
 "The blood communicates its heat, not only to the solids 
 of our body, but to our clothes, and to a portion of the cir 
 cumambient air. Every breath, though drawn in cold, is ex 
 pired warm ; and every particle of the materia perspirabilis car 
 ries off with it a portion of heat. 
 
 "While the blood retains a due fluidity, it passes freely 
 through the minutest vessels, and communicates a proper 
 
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 65 
 
 warmth to the extremities of the body. But when by any 
 means it becomes viscid, as not to be capable of passing those 
 minute vessels, the extremities, as the blood can bring no more 
 heat to them, grow cold. 
 
 "The same viscidity in the blood and juices checks or stops 
 the perspiration, by clogging the perspiratory ducts, or, per 
 haps, by not admitting the perspirable parts to separate. 
 Paper wet with size and water will not dry so soon as if wet 
 with water only. 
 
 "A vessel of hot water, if the vapor can freely pass from 
 it, soon cools. If there be just fire enough under it to add 
 continually the heat it loses, it retains the same degree. If 
 the vessel be closed so that the heat may be retained, there 
 will from the same fire be a continual accession of heat to the 
 water, till it rises to a great degree. Or, if no: fire be under 
 it, it will retain the heat it first had for a long time. I have 
 experienced, that a bottle of hot water stopped, and put in my 
 bed at night, has retained so much heat seven or eight hours, 
 that I could not in the morning bear my foot against it, with 
 out some of the bedclothes intervening. 
 
 "During the cold fit, then, perspiration being stopped, a great 
 part of the heat of the blood, that used to be dissipated, is con 
 fined and retained in the body; the heart continues its motion, 
 and creates a constant accession to that heat ; the inward parts 
 grow very hot, and, by contact with the extremities, communi 
 cate that heat to them. The glue of the blood is by this heat 
 dissolved, and the blood afterwards flows freely, as before 
 the disorder." 
 
 On one occasion he wrote to his friend, Dr. Ingenhouz: 
 "To inquisitive minds like yours and mine the reflection that 
 the quantity of human knowledge bears no proportion to the 
 quantity of human ignorance must be in one view rather pleas 
 ing, vis., that though we are to live forever we may be continu 
 ally amused and delighted with learning something new." 
 He discussed with Dubourg the queston of life and death. 
 He related to his friend that on one occasion he had received 
 a bottle of Madeira from America ; and that upon opening it 
 three flies fell into the first glass that was filled. He goes on 
 to say: "Having heard it remarked that drowned flies were 
 capable of being revived by the rays of the sun, I proposed 
 making an experiment upon these; they were therefore ex- 
 
66 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 posed to the sun upon a sieve which had been employed to 
 strain them out of the wine. In less than three hours two of 
 them began by degrees to recover life. They commenced by 
 some convulsive motions of the thighs, and at length they 
 raised themselves upon their legs, wiped their eyes with their 
 forefeet, beat and brushed their wings with their hind feet, 
 and soon after began to fly, finding themselves in Old England, 
 without knowing how they came thither. The third continued 
 lifeless till sunset, when, losing all hopes of him, he was 
 thrown away. 
 
 "I wish it were possible, from this instance, to invent a 
 method of embalming drowned persons, in such a manner that 
 they may be recalled to life at any period, however distant; 
 for having a very ardent desire to see and observe the state of 
 America a hundred years hence, I should prefer to any ordi 
 nary death, the being immersed in a cask of Maderia wine, 
 with a few friends, till that time, to be then recalled to life 
 by the solar warmth of my dear country." 
 
 Commenting on the above Smyth remarked: "Had his 
 eyes opened after a century s slumber, upon what a world 
 would their calm gaze have rested ! The vast images that he 
 saw in glimmering dawn become now the commonplaces of 
 school boys. His daring prophecies of the possibilities of 
 electricity more than fulfilled. A great and proud people, 
 justifying his unfaltering faith in popular instincts and insti 
 tutions, holding in grateful and perpetual memory his lifelong 
 labours and sacrifices !" 
 
 BI-FOCAL SPECTACLES. 
 
 For the invention of the bi-focal glass we are indebted to 
 Franklin. When Dollond, the celebrated optician, learned of 
 Franklin s invention, he supposed that the device would be 
 suitable only for particular eyes. Writing to Whatley on this 
 subject Franklin observes: 
 
 "By Mr. Dollond s saying that my double spectacles can 
 only serve particular eyes, I doubt he has not been rightly 
 informed of their construction. I imagine it will be found 
 pretty generally true, that the same convexity of glass through 
 which a man sees clearest and best at the distance proper 
 for reading is not the best for greater distances. I therefore had 
 formerly two pair of spectacles which I shifted occasionally, as in 
 
A FLEXIBLE CATHETER. / 
 
 travelling I sometimes read, and often wanted to regard the 
 prospects. Finding this change troublesome, and not always 
 sufficiently ready, I had the glasses cut and half of each kind 
 associated in the same circle. By this means as I wear my 
 spectacles constantly, I have only to move my eyes up or down, 
 as I want to see distinctly far or near, the proper glass being 
 always ready. This I find more particularly convenient since 
 my being in France, the glasses that serve me best at table to see 
 what I eat, not being the best to see the faces of those on the 
 other side of the table who speak to me; and when one s ears 
 are not well accustomed to the sounds of a language, a sight of 
 the movements in the features of him that speaks helps to 
 explain; so that I understand French better by the help of my 
 spectacles." 
 
 A FLEXIBLE CATHETER. 
 
 The following letter, by Franklin, in the possession of Dr. 
 F. N. Otis, of New York, on the subject of flexible catheters, is 
 of peculiar interest for the physician : 
 
 "DEAR BROTHER : Reflecting yesterday on your desire to have 
 a flexible catheter, a thought struck into my mind, how one might 
 probably be made ; and lest you should not readily conceive it by 
 any description of mine, I went immediately to the silver-smith s 
 and gave directions for making one (sitting by till it was finished) 
 that it might be ready for this post. But now it is done I have 
 some apprehensions that it may be too large to be easy; if so a 
 silver-smith can easily make it less by twisting or turning it on a 
 smaller wire, and putting a smaller pipe to the end, if the pipe is 
 really necessary. This machine may either be covered with small 
 fine gut, first cleaned and soaked a night in a solution of alum 
 and salt and water, then rubbed dry, which will preserve it longer 
 from putrefaction ; then wet again and drawn on and tied to the 
 pipes at each end, where little hollows are made for the thread 
 to bind in and the surface greased. Or perhaps it may be used 
 without the gut, having only a little tallow rubbed over it, to 
 smooth it and fill the joints. I think it is as flexible as would be 
 expected in a thing of the kind, and I imagine will readily comply 
 with the turns of the passage, yet has stiffness enough to be 
 protruded; if not, the enclosed wire may be used to stiffen the 
 hinder part of the pipe while the fore part is pushed forward, 
 and as it proceeds the wire may be gradually withdrawn. The 
 tube is of such a nature, that when you have occasion to with- 
 
68 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 draw it its diameter will lessen, whereby it will move more easily. 
 It is a kind of screw and may be both withdrawn and introduced 
 by turning. Experience is necessary for the right using of all 
 new tools or instruments, and that will perhaps suggest some 
 improvement to this instrument as well as better direct the 
 manner of using it." 
 
 POKE-WEED IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER. 
 
 To Dr. Cadwallader Golden, Franklin wrote on April 23, 
 1752: 
 
 "I am heartily glad to hear more instances of the success of 
 the Poke-weed, in the Cure of that horrible Evil to the human 
 Body, a Cancer. You will deserve highly of Mankind for the 
 Communication. But I find in Boston they are at a loss to know 
 the right Plant, some asserting it is what they call mechoacan, 
 others other Things. In one of their late Papers it is publickly 
 requested, that a perfect Description may be given of the Plant, 
 its Places of Growth, etc. I have mislaid the Paper, or would 
 send it to you. I tho t you had described it pretty fully. With 
 great Respect and Esteem, etc. g FRANKLIN/ 
 
 In a letter to Dr. Dubourg, dated March 27, 1773, Franklin 
 writes : 
 
 "I apprehend that our poke-weed is what botanists term 
 phytolacca. This plant bears berries as large as peas; the skin 
 is black, but it contains a crimson juice. It is this juice, thickened 
 by evaporation in the sun, which was employed. It caused great 
 pain, but some persons were said to have been cured. I am not 
 quite certain of the facts; all that I know is, that Dr. Golden 
 had a good opinion of the remedy." 
 
 STATIC ELECTRICITY AS A REMEDY FOR THE RELIEF OF PARALYSIS. 
 
 Franklin wrote a most interesting letter to his old friend, Sir 
 John Pringle, on this subject, from which the physician may 
 draw several important lessons: 
 
 "SiR In compliance with your request, I send you the fol 
 lowing account of what I can recollect relating to the effects of 
 electricity in paralytic cases, which have fallen under my 
 observation. 
 
 "Some years since, when the newspapers made mention of 
 great cures performed in Italy and Germany, by means of elec 
 tricity, a number of paralytics were brought to me from differ- 
 
ELECTRICITY FOR RELIEF OF PARALYSIS. 69 
 
 ent parts of Pennsylvania, and the neighboring provinces, to be 
 electrised, which I did for them at their request. My method 
 was, to place the patient first in a chair, on an electric stool, and 
 draw a number of strong sparks from all parts of the affected 
 limb or side. Then I fully charged two six gallon glass jars, 
 each of which had about three square feet of surface coated; 
 and I sent the united shock of these through the affected limb 
 or limbs, repeating the stroke commonly three times each day. 
 The first thing observed, was an immediate greater sensible 
 warmth in the lame limbs that had received the stroke, than in 
 the others; and the next morning the patients usually related 
 that they had in the night felt a pricking sensation in the flesh 
 of the paralytic limbs; and would sometimes shew a number of 
 small red spots, which they supposed were occasioned by those 
 prickings. The limbs, too, were found more capable of volun 
 tary motion and seemed to receive strength. A man, for instance, 
 who could not the first day lift the lame hand from off his knee, 
 would the next day raise it four or five inches, the third day 
 higher; and on the fifth day was able, but with a feeble languid 
 motion, to take off his hat. These appearance gave great spirits 
 to the patients, and made them hope a perfect cure; but I do 
 not remember that I ever saw any amendment after the fifth 
 day; which the patients perceiving, and finding the shock pretty 
 severe, they became discouraged, went home, and in a short 
 time relapsed; so that I never knew any advantage from elec 
 tricity in palsies that was permanent. And how far the apparent 
 temporary advantage might arise from the exercise in the 
 patient s journey, and coming daily to my house, or from the 
 spirits given by the hope of success, enabling them to exert 
 more strength in moving their limbs, I will not pretend to say. 
 
 "Perhaps some permanent advantage might have been 
 obtained, if the electric shocks had been accompanied with 
 proper medicine and regimen, under the direction of a skillful 
 physician. It may be, too, that a few great strokes, as given 
 in my method, may not be so proper as many small ones ; since, 
 by the account from Scotland of a case, in which two hundred 
 shocks from a phial were given daily, it seems that a permanent 
 cure has been made. As to any uncommon strength supposed 
 to be in the machine used in that case, I imagine it could have 
 no share in the effect produced; since the strength of the shock 
 from charged glass is in proportion to the quantity of surface 
 
7O FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 of glass coated; so that my shocks from those large jars must 
 have been much greater than any that could be received from a 
 phial held in the hand. I am, with great respect, Sir, 
 
 "Your most obedient servant, 
 
 "B. FRANKLIN/ 
 
 How many physicians of the present day employing a new 
 or novel remedy observe the caution shown by Franklin in this 
 letter? The "spirit given by the hope of success" if recognized 
 by physicians as well as it was by Franklin would save us from 
 many therapeutic follies. The calm, judicious manner in which 
 Franklin gives his account of these electric experiments might 
 well serve as an admirable pattern for the medical essayist of 
 to-day. 
 
 INOCULATION AGAINST SMALL-POX. 
 
 Franklin took a very deep and personal interest in the subject 
 of inoculation against small-pox. In his autobiography he wrote: 
 "In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by 
 the small-pox, taken in the common way. I long regretted 
 bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inocu 
 lation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that 
 operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive 
 themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that 
 the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the 
 safer should be chosen." 
 
 Soon after the death of his child Franklin caused to be 
 printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette the following notice: 
 
 "Understanding tis a current report, that my son Francis, 
 who died lately of the small-pox, had it by inoculation; and 
 being desired to satisfy the publick in that particular; inasmuch 
 as some people are, by that report (join d with others of like 
 kind, and perhaps equally groundless) deter d from having that 
 operation performed on their children, I do hereby sincerely 
 declare, that he was not inoculated, but receiv d the distemper 
 in the common way of infection; and I suppose the report 
 could only arise from its being my known opinion, that inocula 
 tion was a safe and beneficial practice; and from my having 
 said among my acquaintance, that I intended to have my child 
 inoculated, as soon as he should have recovered sufficient 
 strength from a flux with which he had been long afflicted. 
 
 B. FRANKLIN." 
 
INOCULATION AGAINST SMALL-POX. 71 
 
 Many years later, while ambassador at the court of France, 
 in a pathetic chord he wrote to Franklin Bache from Passy 
 of the small-pox, to which four school children had succumbed, 
 remarking: "How happy it is for you that your Parents took 
 care to have you inoculated when you were an infant." 
 
 In a letter written to John Perkins in 1752, Franklin argues 
 strongly for the efficacy of inoculation, quoting the favorable 
 experience of American physicians with the method. Concluding 
 his letter, he says: "I have a French piece printed at Paris, 
 1724, entitled, Observations sur la Saignee du pied, et sur la 
 Purgation, um commencement de la Petite Verole, et Poisons de 
 double contrc I Inoculation. A letter of the doctor s is men 
 tioned in it. If he or you have it not, and desire to see it, I will 
 send it. Please to favor me with the particulars of your purg 
 ing method, to prevent the secondary fever." 
 
 In this place we must consider Franklin s interest in the sub 
 ject of inoculation against small-pox somewhat at length. 
 
 It is to Lady Mary Montague that we owe the introduction 
 of the practice of inoculation against small-pox into Europe. In 
 a letter dated, Adrianople, April i, 1717, O.S., she wrote: "The 
 Small-pox so fatal and general amongst us is here entirely harm 
 less by the invention of ingrafting, which is the term they give it. 
 There is a set of old women who make it their business to per 
 form the operation every autumn when the heat is abated. People 
 send to one another to know if any of their family has a mind 
 to have the small-pox; they make parties for the purpose; and 
 when they are met (commonly fifteen or sixteen together), the 
 old woman comes with a nut shell of the matter of the best small 
 pox." 
 
 Soon after writing this letter Lady Mary s three-year-old son 
 was inoculated by Mr. Maitland, surgeon to the British Ambas 
 sador (her husband) at the Ottoman court. 
 
 Lady Mary with her husband and children returned to Eng 
 land in 1718; and in 1721 her little daughter, who had been born 
 in Turkey, was inoculated in London by Mr. Maitland. This 
 was the first inoculation made in Europe outside of Turkey. 
 
 The scholarly clergyman, Cotton Mather, through the Trans 
 actions of the Royal Society, learned of the theory and practice 
 of inoculation and became greatly interested in it; and at his 
 instigation 285 persons were inoculated in Boston in 1721, by 
 Dr. Zabdiel Boylston. Only one of those inoculated died. But 
 
72 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 inoculation raised a great deal of opposition, which was for a 
 time so violent that Dr. Boylston and Cotton Mather were both 
 in danger of their lives. To the shame of our profession, it 
 must be recorded that Dr. Boylston was opposed not only by the 
 laity, but by every other physician in Boston. At the time, Ben 
 jamin Franklin was an apprentice boy in Boston, working for 
 his brother James. 
 
 This opposition to the practice of inoculation which developed 
 on its introduction, continued throughout several succeeding 
 decades. 
 
 In 1759 a joint pamphlet was published by Benjamin Franklin 
 and Dr. William Heberden, of London, the object of which was 
 to diffuse in the colonies a correct understanding of inoculation 
 and its advantages. Dr. Heberden s part of the pamphlet con 
 sisted in, "Plain instructions for inoculation in the small-pox, by 
 whicn any person may be enabled to perform the operation, and 
 conduct the patient through the distemper." The pamphlet was 
 entitled : 
 
 "Some account of the success of inoculation for the small-pox 
 in England and America. Together with plain instructions, by 
 which any person may be enabled to perform the operation, and 
 conduct the patient through the distemper." 
 
 Franklin s contribution to this joint production was as fol 
 lows: 
 
 "London, Feb. 16, 1759. 
 
 "Having been desired by my greatly esteemed friend, Dr. 
 William Heberden, F.R.S., one of the principal physicians of 
 this city, to communicate what account I had of the success of 
 Inoculation in Boston, New England, I some time since wrote 
 and sent to him the following paper, vis.: 
 
 "About 1753 or 1754, the small-pox made its appearance in 
 Boston, New England. It had not spread in the town for many 
 years before, so that there were a great number of the inhabitants 
 to have it. At first, endeavours were used to prevent its spread 
 ing, by removing the sick, or guarding the houses in which they 
 were; and with the same view Inoculation was forbidden; but 
 when it was found that these endeavors were fruitless, the dis 
 temper breaking out in different quarters of the town, and 
 increasing, Inoculation was then permitted. 
 
 "Upon this, all that inclined to Inoculation for themselves or 
 families hurried into it precipitately, fearing the infection might 
 
INOCULATION AGAINST SMALL-POX. 73 
 
 otherwise be taken in the common way; the number inoculated 
 in every neighborhood spread the infection likewise more 
 speedily among those who did not choose Inoculation ; so that in 
 a few months the distemper went thro the town, and was extinct; 
 and the trade of the town suffered only a short interruption, 
 compar d with what had been usual in former times, the country 
 people during the seasons of that sickness fearing all intercourse 
 with the town. 
 
 "As the practice of Inoculation always divided people into 
 parties, some contending warmly for it, and others as strongly 
 against it; the latter asserting that the advantages pretended 
 were imaginary, and that the Surgeons, from views of interest, 
 concel d or diminished the true number of deaths occasion d by 
 Inoculation, and magnify d the number of those who died of the 
 Small-pox in the common way : It was resolved by the Magistrate 
 of the town, to cause a strict and impartial enquiry to be made 
 by the Constables of each ward, who were to give in their returns 
 upon oath; and that the enquiry might be more strictly and 
 impartially, some of the partisans for and against the practice 
 were join d as assistants to the officers, and accompany d them in 
 their progress through the wards from house to house. Their 
 several returns being received, and summed up together, the 
 number turn d out as follows: 
 
 Had the Small- Received the Dis- 
 
 pox in the Com- Of these Died. temper by Inocu- Of these Died, 
 mon way. lation. 
 
 Whites. Blacks. Whites. Blacks. Whites. Blacks. Whites. Blacks. 
 5,059 485 452 62 1,974 139 23 7 
 
 "It appeared by this account that the deaths of persons 
 inoculated, were more in proportion at this time than had been 
 formerly observed, being something more than one in a hundred. 
 The favourers of Inoculation however would not allow that this 
 was owing to any error in the former accounts, but rather to 
 the Inoculating at this time many unfit subjects, partly through 
 the impatience of people who would not wait the necessary 
 preparation, lest they should take it in the common way; and 
 partly from the importunity of parents prevailing with the 
 Surgeons against their judgment and advice to inoculate weak 
 children, labouring under other disorders; because the parents 
 could not immediately remove them out of the way of the 
 
74 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 distemper, and thought they would at least stand a better chance 
 by being inoculated than in taking the infection as they would 
 probably do, in the common way. 
 
 "The Surgeons and Physicians were also suddenly oppressed 
 with the great hurry of business, which so hasty and general an 
 Inoculation and spreading of the distemper in the common way 
 must occasion, and probably could not so particularly attend 
 to the circumstances of the patients offered for Inoculation. 
 
 "Inoculation was first practised by Dr. Boylston in 1720. It 
 was not used before in any part of America, and not in Phila 
 delphia till 1730. Some years since, an enquiry was made in 
 Philadelphia of the several Surgeons and Physicians who had 
 practis d Inoculation, what numbers had been by each inoculated, 
 and what was the success. The result of this enquiry was that 
 upwards of 800 (I forget the exact number) had been inoculated 
 at different times, and that only four of them had died. If this 
 account was true, as I believe it was, the reason of greater 
 success then than had been found in Boston, where the general 
 loss by Inoculation used to be estimated at about one in 100, 
 may probably be from this circumstance; that in Boston they 
 always keep the distemper out as long as they can, so that 
 when it comes, it finds a greater number of adult subjects than 
 in Philadelphia, where since 1730 it has gone thro the town 
 once in four or five years, so that the greatest number of subjects 
 for Inoculation must be under that age. 
 
 "Notwithstanding the now uncontroverted success of Inocu 
 lation it does not seem to make that progress among the common 
 people in America, which at first was expected. Scruples of 
 conscience weigh with many concerning the lawfulness of the 
 practice: And if one parent or near relation is against it, the 
 other does not chuse to inoculate a child without free consent of 
 all parties, lest in case of a disastrous event, perpetual blame 
 should follow. 
 
 "These scruples a sensible Clergy may in time remove. The 
 expense of having the operation performed by a Surgeon weighs 
 with others, for that has been pretty high in some parts of 
 America; and when a common tradesman or artificer has a 
 number in his family to have the distemper, it amounts to more 
 money than he can well spare. Many of these, rather than own 
 the true motive for declining Inoculation, join with the scrupulous 
 in the cry against it, and influence others. A small pamphlet 
 
INOCULATION AGAINST SMALL-POX. 75 
 
 wrote in plain language by some skillful Physician, and published 
 directing what preparations of the body should be used before 
 the Inoculation of children, what precautions to avoid giving the 
 infection at the same time in the common way, and how the 
 operation is to be performed, the incisions dressed, the patient 
 treated, and on the appearance of what symptoms a Physician 
 is to be called, etc., might by encouraging parents to inoculate 
 their own children, be a means of removing that objection of the 
 expense, render the practice much more general, and thereby 
 save the lives of thousands. 
 
 "The Doctor, after perusing and considering the above, 
 humanely took the trouble (tho his extensive practice affords 
 him scarce any time to spare) of writing the following Plain 
 Introductions, and generously at his own private expense, printed 
 a very large impression of them, which was put into my hands to 
 be distributed gratis in America. Not aiming at the prize which 
 however is justly due to such disinterested benevolence, he has 
 omitted his name; but as I thought the advice of a nameless 
 Physician might possibly on that account be less regarded I have, 
 without his knowledge, here divulged it. And I have prefixed 
 to his small but valuable work these pages, containing the facts 
 that have given rise to it, because facts generally have, as indeed 
 they ought to have, great weight in persuading to the practice 
 they favour. To these I may also add an account I have been 
 favoured with by Dr. Archer, physician to the Small-pox Hos 
 pital here, vis.: 
 
 Persons. 
 There have been inoculated in this Hospital since its first 
 
 institution to this day, December 31, 1758 1,601 
 
 Of which number died 6 
 
 Patients who had the Small-pox in the common way in 
 
 this Hospital, to the same day 3*856 
 
 Of which number have died 1,002 
 
 "By this account it appears, that in the way of inoculation 
 there has but one patient died in 267, whereas in the common 
 way there has died more than one in four. The mortality indeed 
 in the latter case appears to have been greater than usual (one 
 in seven, when the distemper is not very favourable, being 
 reckoned the common loss in towns by the Small-pox, all ages 
 and ranks taken together) but these patients were mostly adults, 
 and were received, it is said, into the Hospital after great 
 
76 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 irregularities had been committed. By the Boston account it 
 appears that, Whites and Blacks taken together, but about one 
 in eleven died in the common way, and the distemper then was 
 therefore reckoned uncommonly favourable. I have also 
 obtained from the Foundling Hospital (where all the children 
 admitted, that had not had the Small-pox, are inoculated at the 
 age five years) an account to this time of the success of that 
 practice there, which stands thus, viz.: 
 
 Inoculated, boys 162, girls 176, in all . 338 
 
 Of these died in Inoculation, only 2 
 
 "And the death of one of these two was occasioned by a 
 worm fever. On the whole, if the chance was only as two to 
 one in favour of the practice among children, would it not 
 be sufficient to induce a tender parent to lay hold of the 
 advantages ? 
 
 "But when it is so much greater, as it appears to be by these 
 accounts (in some even as thirty to one) surely parents will no 
 longer refuse to accept and thankfully use a discovery God in his 
 mercy has been pleased to bless mankind with: whereby some 
 check may now be put to the ravages that cruel disease has 
 been accustomed to make, and the human species be again suf 
 fered to increase as it did before Small-pox made its appearance. 
 This increase has indeed been more obstructed by that distemper 
 than is usually imagined: For the loss of one in ten thereby 
 is not merely the loss of so many persons, but the accumulated 
 loss of all the children s children the deceased might have had, 
 multiplied by successive generations. 
 
 "B. FRANKLIN, of Philadelphia." 
 
 LEAD POISONING. 
 
 Franklin s observations on colica Pictonum or "dry bellyache" 
 are of the highest scientific value. John Hunter in his paper 
 on the same subject quotes Franklin, giving him due credit for 
 his observations. 
 
 In a letter to Cadwallader Evans, dated London, February 20, 
 1768, Franklin in a most suggestive way discusses the subject 
 of lead poisoning in these words : 
 
 "In yours of November 2Oth, you mention the lead in the 
 worms of stills as a probable cause of the dry belly-ache among 
 punch-drinkers in our West Indies. I had before acquainted Dr. 
 Baker with a fact of that kind, the general mischief done by the 
 
LEAD POISONING. 77 
 
 use of leaden worms, when rum-distilling was first practised in 
 New England, which occasioned a severe law there against them ; 
 and he has mentioned it in the second part of his piece not yet 
 published. I have long been of opinion, that that distemper pro 
 ceeds always from a metallic cause only ; observing that it affects, 
 among tradesmen, those that use lead, however different their 
 trades, as glaziers, letter-founders, plumbers, potters, whitelead 
 makers, and painters; (from the latter, it has been conjectured, 
 it took its name colica Pictonum, by the mistake of a letter, and 
 not from its being the disease of Poictou;) and, although the 
 worms of stills ought to be of pure tin, they are often made of 
 pewter, which has a great mixture in it of lead." 
 
 On another occasion Franklin made the following observa 
 tions regarding his experience when working as a printer in 
 London : 
 
 "I there found a practice I had never seen before, of drying 
 a case of types (which are wet in distribution) by placing it 
 sloping before the fire. I found this had the additional advan 
 tage, when the types were not only dried but heated, of being 
 comfortable to the hands working over them in cold weather. 
 I therefore sometimes heated my case when the types did not 
 want drying. But an old workman, observing it, advised me 
 not to do so, telling me I might lose the use of my hands by it, 
 as two of our companions had nearly done, one of whom that 
 used to earn his guinea a week, could not then make more than 
 ten shillings, and the other, who had the dangles, but seven and 
 sixpence. This, with a kind of obscure pain, that I had some 
 times felt, as it were in the bones of my hands when working 
 over the types made very hot. induced me to omit the practice. 
 ... I have been told of a case in Europe, I forget the place, 
 where a whole family was afflicted with what we call the dry 
 belly-ache, or colica Pictonum, by drinking rain water. It was 
 at a country-seat, which, being situated too high to have the 
 advantage of a well, was supplied with water from a tank, which 
 received the water from the leaded roofs. This had been drunk 
 several years without mischief; but some young trees planted 
 near the house growing up above the roof, and shedding their 
 leaves upon it, it was supposed that an acid in those leaves had 
 corroded the lead they covered, and furnished the water of that 
 year with its baneful particles and qualities." 
 
 When Franklin and Sir John Pringle were in Paris together, 
 
78 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 in 1767, the latter visited La Charite, a hospital noted for its 
 successful treatment of lead poisoning, and brought away a 
 pamphlet containing a list of the names of persons, with their 
 professions or trades, who had been cured there. Franklin 
 examined the list, and found that all the patients were of trades 
 that, some way or other, use or work in lead. 
 
 INVESTIGATION OF MESMERISM. 
 
 In 1784, the king of France appointed Franklin a member 
 of a Commission charged with the duty of investigating mes 
 merism or animal magnetism. This Commission consisted of 
 four physicians Borie, Sallin, D Arcet, and Guillotin; and five 
 members of the Royal Academy, Franklin, Le Roy, Bailly, 
 Bebory, and Lavoisier. 
 
 Mesmer had been driven in disgrace from Germany and 
 settled in Paris in 1778. He had at the time of the appointment 
 of this Commission attained an immense fame and become the 
 rage in the world of science and fashion of Paris. His income 
 was enormous, and he lived in princely style. His influence had 
 become so great that it is said the government at one time offered 
 him a pension of 20,000 francs a year for his secret. 
 
 Mesmer himself was too clever to submit to the investigation 
 of the Commission; but one of his pupils, Deslon, who was 
 himself said to have cleared 2,000,000 francs, was led to submit 
 to the inquiries of the Commission. 
 
 The Commission investigated the subject through a period of 
 five months, holding many meetings and making many experi 
 ments. Naturally they set out to ascertain whether the mes 
 meric phenomenon were not due to the operation of the imagina 
 tion. One class of patients was led to believe that certain opera 
 tions had been performed when they had not been; and in 
 another class of patients, the operation was performed and the 
 fact concealed from the subjects. To illustrate, the following 
 experiments were performed: "M. Deslon brought with him a 
 boy of about twelve years of age ; an apricot tree was fixed upon 
 in the orchard of Dr. Franklin s garden, considerably distant 
 .from any other tree, and calculated for the preservation of the 
 magnetic power which might be impressed upon it. M. Deslon 
 was led thither alone to perform the operation, the boy in the 
 meantime remaining in the house, and another person along with 
 him. We could have wished that M. Deslon had not been present 
 at the subsequent part of the experiment, but he declared that 
 
INVESTIGATION OF MESMERISM. 79 
 
 he could not answer for its success, if he did not direct his cane 
 and his contenance toward the tree, in order to augment the 
 action of the magnetism. It was therefore resolved, that M. 
 Deslon should be placed at the greatest possible distance, and 
 that some of the commissioners should stand between him and 
 the boy, in order to ascertain the impracticability of any signals 
 being made by M. Deslon, or any intelligence being maintained 
 between them. These precautions in an experiment, the essence 
 of which must be authenticity, are indispensable, without giving 
 the person with respect to whom they are employed a right to 
 think himself offended. The boy was then brought into the 
 orchard, his eyes covered with a bandage, presented successively 
 to four trees upon which the operation had not been performed, 
 and caused to embrace each of them for the space of two minutes, 
 the mode of communication which had been prescribed by M. 
 Deslon himself. M. Deslon, present, and at a considerable dis 
 tance, directed his cane toward the tree which had been the 
 object of his operations. At the first tree, the boy being inter 
 rogated at the end of a minute, declared that he perspired in 
 large drops ; he coughed, expectorated, and complained of a slight 
 pain in his head. The distance of the tree which had been mag 
 netized was about twenty-seven feet. At the second tree he felt 
 the sensations of stupefaction and pain in his head; the distance 
 was thirty-six feet. At the third tree the stupefaction and head 
 ache increased considerably; he said that he was approaching 
 to the tree which had been magnetized; the distance was then 
 about thirty-eight feet. In fine, at the fourth tree which had 
 not been rendered the object of the operation, and at the dis 
 tance of about twenty-four feet from the tree which had, the 
 boy fell into a crisis; he fainted away, his limbs stiffened, and 
 he was carried to a neighboring grass-plot, where M. Deslon 
 hastened to his assistance and recovered him." 
 
 The second experiment is likewise quoted: "One day the 
 Commission were all together at Passy, at the home of Dr. 
 Franklin, and M. Deslon was with them, they having previously 
 entreated the latter to bring some of his patients with him, select 
 ing those of the lower class, who were more susceptible to the 
 magnetism. M. Deslon brought two women; and while he was 
 employed in performing the operation upon Dr. Franklin and 
 several persons in another apartment, the two women were sep 
 arated, and placed in different rooms. One of them, Dame 
 
8o FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 P , had films over her eyes; but as she could always see a 
 
 little, the bandage already described was employed. She was 
 persuaded that M. Deslon had been brought into the room to 
 perform the magnetical operation; silence was recommended ; 
 three commissioners were present, one to interrogate, another to 
 take minutes of the transaction, and the third to personate M. 
 Deslon ; he was desired to begin the operation ; the three com 
 missioners in the meantime remained perfectly quiet and solely 
 occupied in observing her symptoms. At the end of three 
 minutes the patient began to feel a nervous shuddering; she had 
 then successively a pain in the back of her head, in her arms, 
 a creeping in her hands (that was her expression) ; she grew 
 stiff, struck her hands violently together, rose from her seat, 
 stamped with her feet. The crisis had all the regular symptoms. 
 The other commissioners who were in the adjoining room with 
 the door shut, heard the stamping of the feet and the clapping 
 of the hands, and without seeing anything were witnesses to this 
 noisy experiment. The two commissioners we have mentioned 
 
 were with the other patient, Mademoiselle B , who was 
 
 subject to nervous distempers. No bandage was employed upon 
 her, but her eyes were at liberty; she was seated with her face 
 toward a door which was shut, and persuaded that M. Deslon 
 was on the other side, employed in performing upon her the 
 magnetical operation. This had scarcely taken place a minute 
 before she began to feel the symptoms of shuddering ; in another 
 minute she had a chattering of the teeth and a universal heat ; 
 in fine, in the third minute she fell into a regular crisis. Her 
 respiration was quick, she stretched out both her arms behind 
 her back, twisting them extremely, and bending her body for 
 ward ; her whole body trembled ; the chattering of her teeth 
 became so loud that it might be heard in the open air; she 
 bit her hands and that with so much force that the marks of the 
 teeth remained perfectly visible." 
 
 The commissioners asked Deslon to reply to these inquiries : 
 
 ist. To give proof of the existence of animal magnetism. 
 
 2d. To reveal to them his ideas about this discovery. 
 
 3d. To prove to them its usefulness in healing the sick. 
 
 The Commission, after observing Deslon s method of pro 
 cedure without being convinced, resolved to make experiments 
 itself. They tried to magnetize each other several times without 
 result. They took seven of Deslon s patients to Franklin s home 
 
INVESTIGATION OF MESMERISM. 8l 
 
 at Passy, where quiet a series of experiments was made, two of 
 which have just been quoted. The report of the Commission was 
 quite lengthy and is said to have been drawn up by Franklin; 
 but its conclusions were brief and very much to the point. They 
 follow : 
 
 "The commissioners having recognized that the animal mag 
 netic fluid can not be perceived by any of our senses ; that it had 
 no influence either upon themselves, or upon the sick whom they 
 subjected it to; feeling assured that the pressing and touching 
 bring about in the animal economy changes which are rarely 
 favorable, and in the imagination shocks which are always 
 grievous; having in short, demonstrated by incisive experiments, 
 that imagination without magnetism produces convulsions, and 
 that magnetism without imagination produces nothing, their 
 unanimous conclusion was that there is no proof of the existence 
 of fluid animal magnetism ; that this fluid, since it does not exist, 
 is of no use ; that the violent effects observed at the public treat 
 ment are due to the manipulation, to an aroused imagination, and 
 to that quality of involuntary imitation, which leads us in spite 
 of ourselves to repeat whatever strikes our senses. And at the 
 same time they believe they are obliged to add as an important 
 observation, that the manipulations and the repeated action of 
 the imagination, in order to produce the crisis, can be injurious 
 on account of this quality of imitation, of which nature seems 
 to us to have made law; and that, consequently every public 
 treatment in which magnetism is used can have in the long run 
 only pernicious results." 
 
 Tourtourat, a pupil of Gilles de la Tourette, says that this 
 report was pronounced, by his master, "a scientific work of the 
 first order, worthy of being consulted even to-day by those inter 
 ested in hypnotism and in diseases of the nervous system." 
 
 The effect of this report was to drive Mesmer from Paris 
 eventually. Some of his followers, however, continued his 
 methods in Paris for a time. But the immense prestige gained 
 by the arch-charlatan was gone. 
 
 Writing to William Temple in a letter dated Passy, 
 August 25, 1784, regarding the report of the Commission ap 
 pointed to investigate mesmerism, Franklin says : "It makes a 
 great deal of talk. Everybody agrees that it is well written ; but 
 many wonder at the force of imagination describ d in it, as 
 occasioning convulsions, &c., and some fear that consequences 
 
82 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 may be drawn from it by infidels to weaken our faith in some 
 of the miracles of the New Testament. I send you two copies. 
 You would do well to give one to the French Ambassador, if he 
 has not had it. Some think it will put an end to mesmerism. 
 But there is a wonderful deal of credulity in the world, and 
 deceptions as absurd, have supported themselves for ages." 
 
 In a letter dated Passy, September 8, 1784, Franklin wrote to 
 William Temple Franklin in a postscript of a letter as follows : 
 
 "Mesmer has complained to the Parliament of our Report, and 
 requested that they appoint Commissaries, to whom he might 
 submit the Examination of not his Theory and Practice, but 
 un Plan qui renfermera les seuls moyens possibles de constater 
 infailliblement I existence & I ittilite de sa decouverte. The 
 Petition was printed. Many thought the Parliament would do 
 nothing in it. But they have laid hold of it to clinch Mesmer, 
 and oblige him to expose all directly. So that it must soon be 
 seen whether there is any difference between his Art & Deslon s. 
 Voici leur." 
 
 On April 29, 1785, he again speaks of Mesmer in a letter to 
 Dr. Ingenhousz: "Mesmer continues here and has still some 
 Adherents and some Practice. It is surprising how much Credu 
 lity still subsists in the World. I suppose all the Physicians in 
 France put together have not made so much Money during the 
 Time he has been here, as he has done. And we have now a 
 fresh Folly. A Magnetiser pretends that he can establish 
 what is called a Rapport between any Person and a Somnambule, 
 by a simple strong Volition only, without Speaking or making any 
 Signs; and many People daily flock to see this strange 
 Operation!" 
 
 A FEW MISCELLANEOUS SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS PERTAINING TO 
 
 MEDICINE. 
 
 In one of his letters to Dr. Dubourg he speaks of the effect 
 upon the flesh of animals which are killed by electricity, stating 
 that he has been led to believe that the flesh of such animals 
 putrefies very rapidly. The practical bent of Franklin s mind 
 comes into operation, for he observes : "It is not unreasonable to 
 presume, that, between the period of their death and that of their 
 putrefaction, a time intervened in which the flesh might be only 
 tender, and not sufficiently so to be served at table. Add to this, 
 that persons, who have eaten of fowls killed by our feeble 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 83 
 
 imitation of lightning (electricity) and dressed immediately, have 
 asserted, that the flesh was remarkably tender." 
 
 In a letter to the Due de la Rochefoucauld, under date of 
 Philadelphia, October 22, 1728, Franklin writes: "I thank you 
 much for the Dissertation sur la Nyctalopie. It was quite a 
 Novelty to me, having never before heard of such a Malady. 
 One of our most ancient Physicians assures me ; that tho he had 
 some knowledge of the Distemper from his Reading, he never 
 knew an Instance of it in any Part of North America. Indeed 
 we have no Chalk in this country, nor any Soil so white as to 
 dazzle the Eyes when the Sun s Light is reflected from it. The 
 Dissertation mentions that there are terres cretacees, &c. Are 
 those terres white? 
 
 "While I resided in England, I read in a Newspaper, that in a 
 Country Village at the Funeral of a Woman whose Husband had 
 died of the Small-pox 30 years before, and whose Grave was 
 dug so as to place her by his Side, the Neighbors at ending the 
 Funeral were offended with the smell arising out of the Grave, 
 occasioned by a Breach in the Husband s old Coffin, and 25 
 of them were in a few days after taken ill with that Distemper, 
 which was not in that Village or its Neighborhood, nor had been 
 for the number of (years above mentioned). 
 
 "About the Year 1763 or 1764, several Physicians of London, 
 who had been present from Curiosity at the Dissection of an 
 Egyptian Mummy, were soon after taken ill of a malignant fever, 
 of which they died. Opinions were divided on this occasion. It 
 was thought by some that the Fever was caused by Infection 
 from the Mummy; in which Case the Disease it died of must 
 have been embalmed as well as the Body. Others who considered 
 the Length of Time; at least 2,000 Years, since that Body died, 
 and also that the Embalming must be rather supposed to destroy 
 the Power of Infection, imagined the Illness of these Gentlemen 
 must have had another Original. 
 
 "About the year 1773, the Captain of a Ship, which had been 
 at the island of Tenneriffe, brought from thence the dried Body 
 of one of the ancient inhabitants of that Island, which must have 
 been at least 300 years old, that custom of drying the Dead there 
 having been so long discontinued. Two members of the Royal 
 Society went to see that body. They were half an hour in a close 
 room with it, examining it very particularly. The next day they 
 were both infected with a singularly violent cold, attended with 
 
 6A 
 
84 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 uncommon circumstances, which continued a long time. On 
 comparing together the Particulars of their Disorder, they agreed 
 in suspecting that possibly some effluvia from the Body might 
 have been the occasion of that Disorder in them both; perhaps 
 they were mistaken. But as we do not yet know with Certainty 
 how long the Power of Infection may in some Bodies be 
 retained, it seems well in such Cases to be cautious till farther 
 Light shall be obtained." 
 
 In his private diary kept in France under date, July 3, 1781, 
 Franklin makes this interesting note: "July 3d. Mr. Smeath- 
 man comes and brings two English or Scotch Gentlemen; one a 
 Chevalier of some Order, the other a Physician who had lived 
 long in Russia. Much Conversation. Putrid Fevers common 
 in Russia, and in Winter much more than in Summer ; therefore 
 supposed to be owing to their hot Rooms. In a gentleman s 
 House there are sometimes one hundred domestics; these have 
 not beds, but sleep twenty or thirty in a close room warmed by a 
 stove, lying on the floor and on benches. The stoves are heated 
 by wood. As soon as it is burnt to coals, the chimney is stopped 
 to prevent the escape of hot and entry of cold air. So they 
 breathe the same air over and over again all night. These Fevers 
 he cured by wrapping the patient in linen wet with vinegar, and 
 making them breathe the vapor of vinegar thrown on hot bricks. 
 The Russians have the art of distilling spirits from milk. To 
 prepare it for distillation it must when beginning to sour, be 
 kept in continual agitation for twelve hours; it then becomes a 
 uniform vinous liquor, the cream, curd, and aqueous part or 
 whey, all intimately mixed. Excellent in this state for restoring 
 emaciated bodies. This operation on milk was discovered long 
 since by the Tartars, who in their rambling life carry milk in 
 leather bags on their horses, and the motion produced the effect. 
 It may be tried with us by attaching a large bag of milk to some 
 part of one of our mills." 
 
 In 1762 Franklin returned to America and took his place in 
 the Colonial Assembly. 
 
 He published some experiments which he made in Phila 
 delphia, in 1749, on the effect of electricity on living bodies. He 
 states that it is known that electricity makes people blind. He 
 tells of a pigeon which had fallen over as a result of an electric 
 shock and which recovered, but afterwards it would eat nothing 
 and was so enfeebled that it soon died. He speaks of a strong 
 
POPULAR MEDICINE. 85 
 
 chicken as the largest animal which he had killed by an electric 
 shock. 
 
 POPULAR MEDICINE. 
 
 It is generally acknowledged that it is a difficult matter for 
 anyone, physician or layman, to write an essay on hygienic or 
 medical topics suitable for the needs of the laity. I have there 
 fore thought it well to insert at this place two pieces by Franklin 
 which may be regarded as examples of popular medical writing, 
 and which I think all will agree are well done. 
 
 The following letter, written by Franklin to the daughter of 
 his old friend, "The good Bishop of St. Asaph," is a good illus 
 tration of Franklin s inimitable style ; and it contains the soundest 
 sort of advice on hygienic matters put in such an attractive form 
 that it might well serve as a model for those, whether physicians 
 or laymen, who essay to write on health matters for the laity. 
 "The Art of Procuring Pleasant Dreams. 
 
 "Inscribed to Miss (Shipley), Being Written at Her Request. 
 
 "As a great part of our life is spent in sleep, during which we have 
 sometimes pleasant and sometimes painful dreams, it becomes of some 
 consequence to obtain the one kind and avoid the other; for whether 
 real or imaginary, pain is pain and pleasure is pleasure. If we can sleep 
 without dreaming, it is well that painful dreams are avoided. If while 
 we sleep we can have any pleasant dream, it is as the French say, autant 
 de gagne, so much added to the pleasure of life. 
 
 "To this end it is, in the first place, necessary to be careful in pre 
 serving health, by due exercise, and great temperance; for, in sickness, 
 the imagination is disturbed, and disagreeable, sometimes terrible, ideas 
 are apt to present themselves. Exercise should precede meals, not imme 
 diately follow them; the first promotes, the latter, unless moderate, 
 obstructs digestion. If, after exercise, we feed sparingly, the digestion 
 will be easy and good, the body lightsome, the temper cheerful, and all 
 the animal functions agreeably performed. Sleep, when it follows, will be 
 natural and undisturbed; while indolence, with full feeding, occasions 
 nightmares and horrors inexpressible ; we fall from precipices, are 
 assaulted by wild beasts, murderers, and demons, and experience every 
 variety of distress. Observe, however, that the quantities of food and 
 exercise are relative things; those who move much may, and indeed 
 ought, to eat more; those who use little exercise should eat little. In 
 general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eats about twice 
 as much as nature requires. Suppers are not bad, if we have not dined; 
 but restless nights naturally follow hearty suppers after full dinners. 
 Indeed, as there is a difference in constitutions, some rest well after 
 these meals ; it costs them only a frightful dream and an apoplexy, after 
 which they sleep till doomsday. Nothing is more common in the news 
 papers than instances of people who, after eating a hearty supper, are 
 found dead abed in the morning. 
 
86 FRANKLIN S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE. 
 
 "Another means of preserving health, to be attended to, is the 
 having a constant supply of fresh air in your bed-chamber. It has been 
 a great mistake, the sleeping in rooms exactly closed and in beds sur 
 rounded by curtains. No outward air that may come in to you is so 
 unwholesome as the unchanged air, often breathed, of a close chamber. 
 As boiling water does not grow hotter by longer boiling if the particles 
 that receive greater heat can escape, so living bodies do not putrefy 
 if the particles, so fast as they become putrid, can be thrown off. Nature 
 expels them by the pores of the skin and the lungs, amd in a free open air 
 they are carried off ; but in a close room we receive them again and again, 
 though they become more and more corrupt. A number of persons 
 crowded into a small room thus spoil the air in a few minutes, and even 
 render it mortal, as in the Black Hole at Calcutta. A single person is 
 said to spoil only a gallon of air per minute, and therefore requires a 
 longer time to spoil a chamber full; but it is done, however, in propor 
 tion and many putrid disorders hence have their origin. It is recorded 
 of Methusalem who, being the longest liver, may be supposed to have 
 best preserved his health, that he slept always in the open air; for, when 
 he had lived five hundred years, an angel said to him : Arise, Methusa 
 lem, and build thee an house, for thou shalt live yet five hundred years 
 longer. But Methusalem answered and said, If I am to live but five hun 
 dred years longer it is not worth while to build me an house; I will 
 sleep in the air, as I have been used to do. Physicians, after having for 
 ages contended that the sick should not be indulged with fresh air, 
 have at length discovered that it may do them good. It is therefore to 
 be hoped that they may in time discover, likewise, that it is not hurtful 
 to those who are in health, and that we may be then cured of the aeropho 
 bia that at present distresses weak minds and makes them choose to be 
 stifled and poisoned rather than leave open the window of a bed- 
 r.hamber or put down the glass of a coach. 
 
 "Confined air, when saturated with perspirable matter, will not 
 receive more, and that matter must remain iln our bodies and occasion 
 diseases; but it gives some previous notice of its being about to be 
 hurtful by producing certain uneasiness, slight indeed at first, which as 
 with regard to the lungs is a trifling sensation and to the pores of the 
 skin a kind of restlessness which is difficult to describe, and few that 
 feel it know the cause of it. But we may recollect that sometimes on 
 waking in the night we have, if warmly covered, found it difficult to get 
 asleep again. We turn often without finding repose in any position. 
 This fidgettmess (to use a vulgar expression for want of a better) is 
 occasioned wholly by an uneasiness in the skin, owing to the perspirable 
 matter the bed-clothes having received their quantity and, being satu 
 rated, refusing to take any more. To become sensible of this by an 
 experiment, let a person keep his position in the bed but throw off the 
 bed clothes and suffer fresh air to approach the part uncovered of his 
 body; he will then feel that part suddenly refreshed, for the air will 
 immediately relieve the skin by receiving, licking up and carrying off 
 the load of perspirable matter that incommoded it. For every portion 
 of cool air that approaches the warm skin, in receiving therewith a 
 degree of heat that rarefies and renders it lighter, when it will be 
 
POPULAR MEDICINE. 87 
 
 pushed away with its burthen by cooler and therefore heavier fresh air 
 which for a moment supplies its place and then, being likewise changed 
 and warmed, gives way to a succeeding quantity. This is the order of 
 nature, to prevent animals being infected by their own perspiration. He 
 will now be sensible of the difference between the part exposed to the 
 air and that which, remaining sunk in the bed, denies the air access: 
 for this part now manifests its uneasiness more distinctly by the com 
 parison, and the seat of the uneasiness is more plainly perceived than 
 when the whole surface of the body was affected by it. 
 
 "Here, then, is one great and general cause of unpleasing dreams. 
 For when the body is uneasy the mind will be disturbed by it and dis 
 agreeable ideas of various kinds will in sleep be the natural consequences. 
 The remedies, preventive and curative, follow: 
 
 "i. By eating moderately (as before advised for health s sake) less 
 perspirable matter is produced in a given time, hence the bed-clothes 
 receive it long before they are saturated, and we may therefore sleep 
 longer before we are made uneasy by their refusing to receive any more. 
 
 "2. By using thinner and more porous bed-clothes, which will suffer 
 the perspirable matter more easily to pass through them, we are less 
 incommoded, such being longer tolerable. 
 
 "3. When you are awakened by this uneasiness and find you can not 
 easily sleep again, get out of bed, beat up and turn your pillow, shake the 
 bed-clothes well, with at least twenty shakes, then throw the bed open and 
 leave it to cool ; in the meantime, continuing undrest, walk about your 
 chamber till your skin had time to discharge its load, which it will 
 do sooner as the air may be dried and cooler. When you begin to feel 
 the cold air unpleasant then return to your bed and you will soon fall 
 asleep, and your sleep will be sweet and pleasant. All the scenes pre 
 sented to your fancy will be, too, of the pleasing kind. I am often as 
 agreeably entertained with them as by the scenery of an opera. If you 
 happen to be too indolent to get out of bed you may, instead of it, lift 
 up your bed-clothes with one arm and 1 g, so as to draw in a good deal 
 of fresh air, and by letting them fall force it out again. This, repeated 
 twenty times, will so clear them of the perspirable matter they have 
 imbibed as to permit your sleeping well for sometime afterward. But 
 this latter method is not equal to the former. 
 
 "Those who do not love trouble and can afford to have two beds 
 will find great luxury in rising, when they wake in a hot bed, and going 
 into a cool one. Such shifting of beds would also be of great service to 
 persons ill of a fever, as it refreshes and frequently produces sleep. A 
 very large bed, that will admit a removal so distant from the first situa 
 tion as to be cool and sweet, may in a degree answer the same end. 
 
 "One or two observations more will conclude this little piece. Care 
 must be taken, when you lie down, to dispose your pillow so as to suit 
 your manner of placing your head and to be perfectly easy; then place 
 your limbs so as not to bear inconveniently hard upon one another, as, 
 for instance, the joints of your ankles; for, though a bad position may 
 at first give but little pain and be hardly noticed, yet a continuance will 
 
render it less tolerable and the uneasiness may come on while you are 
 asleep and disturb your imagination. 
 
 "These are the rules of the art. But though they will generally 
 prove effectual in producing the end intended there is a case in which 
 the most punctual observance of them will be totally fruitless. I need 
 not mention the case to you, my dear friend, but my account of the art 
 would be imperfect without it. The case is, when the person who 
 desires to have pleasant dreams has not taken care to preserve, what is 
 necessary above all things. 
 
 "A GOOD CONSCIENCE." 
 
 The second piece is likewise written in Franklin s happiest 
 style, with a delicious vein of humor permeating it. 
 
 "A Petition of the Left Hand, 
 "To Those Who Have the Superintendency of Education. 
 
 "I address myself to all friends of youth and conjure them to direct 
 their compassionate regards to my unhappy fate, in order to remove 
 the prejudice of which I am the victim. There are twin sisters of us, 
 and the two eyes of man do not more resemble nor are capable of being 
 upon better terms with each other, than my sister and myself, were it 
 not for the partiality of our parents, who make the most injurious dis 
 tinctions between us. From my infancy I have been led to consider 
 my sister as a being of a more elevated rank. I was suffered to grow 
 up without the least instruction, while nothing was spared in her education. 
 She had masters to teach her writing, drawing, music, and other accom 
 plishments, but if by chance I touched a pencil, a pen, or a needle, I was 
 bitterly rebuked, and more than once I have been beaten for being 
 awkward and wanting a graceful manner. It is true my sister asso 
 ciated me with her upon some occasions, but she always made a point 
 of taking the lead, calling upon me only from necessity or to figure by 
 her side. 
 
 "But conceive not, sirs, that my complaints are instigated merely 
 by vanity. No; my uneasiness is occasioned by an object much more 
 serious. It is the practice in our family that the whole business of 
 providing for its subsistence falls upon my sister and myself. If any 
 indisposition should attack my sister and I mention it in confidence upon 
 this occasion that she is subject to the gout, the rheumatism and cramp, 
 without making mention of other accidents what would be the fate of 
 our poor family? Must not the regret of our parents be excessive at 
 having placed so great a difference between sisters who are so perfectly 
 equal ? Alas ! we must perish from distress ; for it would not be in my 
 power even to scrawl a suppliant petition for relief, having been obliged 
 to employ the hand of another in transcribing the request which I have 
 now the honor to prefer to you. 
 
 "Condescend, sirs, to make my parents sensible of the injustice of 
 an exclusive tenderness and of the necessity of distributing their care 
 and affection among all their children equally. I am, with a profound 
 respect, sirs, your obedient servant, 
 
 "THE LEFT HAND." 
 
REFERENCES. 89 
 
 REFERENCES. 
 
 Bulletins issued by the New York Public Library and by the 
 Congressional Library contain full lists of all the writings of 
 and about Franklin. 
 
 The earlier works of Sparks and Biglow have been consulted ; 
 but the material for this essay has been chiefly drawn from the 
 sources indicated below. 
 
 Gushing (Henry K.). Notes suggested by the Heberden- 
 Franklin pamphlet, 1759. Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin, 
 Sept., 1904. 
 
 Ford (Paul Leicester). The Many-sided Franklin. 
 
 Fisher. The True Benjamin Franklin. 
 
 Packard (F. H.). History of Medicine in the United States. 
 
 Smyth (Prof. A. H.). The Writings of Benjamin Franklin. 
 
 Toutourat (Charles). Benjamin Franklin et la Medecine a 
 la Fin du XVIII Siecle. Paris, 1900. 
 
 Parton (James). Life of Benjamin Franklin. 
 
 McMaster. Franklin as a Man of Letters. 
 
 Morton (T. G.). History of the Pennsylvania Hospital, 1895. 
 
 The splendid work of Prof. A. H. Smyth, which has just 
 been published, contains many letters of Franklin which are there 
 printed for the first time; and it is to this work I am especially 
 indebted for much material. 
 
 I am under obligations to the executors of Prof. Smyth s 
 estate, C. M. Farr, Jr., Esq., and to the publishers, the Macmillan 
 Company, for their kind permission to quote several of Franklin s 
 letters from this work, which appear there for the first time. 
 
BROOKLYN EAGLE FKESS. 
 
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