quently fallowed by great anxiety, an increase or return of pain, or by vomiting.

I fhall now close this long letter by again bidding you ADIEU.

(To be continued.)

Obfervations on Chorea Sancti Viti, extracted from a Letter of Dr. GEORGE WILLIAMSON, to the EDITOR, dated Baltimore, Sept. 6, 1804.

FLATTER myself thou wilt excufe the liberty I am about to take, in presenting thee a few obfervations on Chorea Sancti Viti. This liberty I fhould not have taken, had I not feen thy remarks on the subject in the laft number of the Medical Repository.-On reading those observations, it immediately occurred to me, that during my practice in Queen Ann county, eastern shore of Maryland, a cafe came under my care which might serve to confirm thy theory, of that disease being a fymptomatic affection; but whether it may not be a fymptomatic affection of fome other difeafe, as well as of hydrocephalus is questionable with me. On examining my note-book, I am forry to find I was not as particular in my obfervations as I ought to have been; I will, however, proceed to relate the cafe as it there ftands.

"In the 9th month (Sept.) 1803, I was called to fee a child about four years old, who had laboured under the intermitting fever for fome days: his father was much alarmed, and faid, his child, the day before, was taken with violent fits, which were almost continually on it; and which would foon terminate its existence provided relief could not speedily be procured.--I immediately went to fee his boy, and found him curiously affected indeed! his pulfe was regular, his eyes dull and languid, he was fpeechlefs, and appeared almost fenfelefs :--

his little frame was agitated in the most extraordinary manner imaginable; fometimes, almoft the whole frame; at other times, not more than one limb, as an arm or leg---fometimes his tongue only would be affected, then his eyes: his breast and upper fide were most affected; in fact, the side he laid on was never convulfed. Having never seen fuch a cafe, and not recollecting to have read of a fimilar one, I was at firft, at a lofs what to do; I, however, foon refolved on trying a blister, and accordingly applied one to the back of his neck, which drew remarkably well, and had a very happy effect. I gave no internal medicine except a little faline mixture. When I called the

next morning the child was brave, could talk, knew his relations, eat a hearty breakfast, and no difeafe appeared to be remaining, except a flight fever, for which I continued the faline mixture.---I heard of him a few days after, when he was well and running about.---Whether this child was or was not afflicted with the hydrocephalus, I fhall not pretend to determine; but might I hazard a conjecture from the state of his pulfe and eyes; an obtuse pain in his head, which, (if my memory serves me) his parents told me he complained of fome days before; and alfo from his idiotic appearance, I should fuppofe it probable he was.Thou haft juftly faid Man is not the only animal fubject to the chorea.' Thy mentioning the cafe of thy dog to prove the fact, brings to my memory a similar one, in a dog of my father's.---When he was a pup he had the diffemper very bad, and was ever afterwards troubled with the chorea: the first attack was violent, but as he grew up it became flighter. Let him be in what pofition he might, his frame was continually agitated; fo much fo, that it would have been utterly impoffible for him to have stood still one minute: he was fo univerfally affected that his barking was not natural."

Account of an Albino.
an Albino. By JOHN REDMAN COXE, M. D.

O

N the 6th of February 1800, a man ftopped at my door to folicit charity. He leaned upon a staff;---and appeared to distinguish objects with fo much difficulty, that I was defirous to ascertain the caufe. I accordingly took him into the house, and upon examination, found he exhibited the marks of an Albino.---The hair of his head was of a tranfparent white, not in the least resembling the grey hair from age. His eyebrows and eye-lashes were of the fame appearance, as was likewife his beard. The fkin of his head beneath the hair, feemed to approach to a light pink colour, and the skin, wherever I had an opportunity of feeing it, was of a very light hue. He had not much hair on his body; but the ufual quantity, or perhaps an excess, on his legs and thighs, and of the fame colour with that on his head.

His mouth and nose were large; his eyes deep funk in their fockets; the openings of the lids, fmall, and the eye with difficulty discovered, without elevating the lid. The pupils appeared of a light rofe colour, the iris of a light grey. The tunica conjunctiva of its natural colour, but appearing to have a greater number of blood-vessels than is common towards the external canthus; this probably arofe from his being frequently fubject to fore eyes, efpecially after walking in the wind.

He fays he is much more fenfibly affected by cold than by heat. The pulfe in both wrists beat about eighty in a minute. He is very fubject to an hemorrhage from the nofe, often eight and nine times a day, and coming on without even the action of blowing.

He had a flight tremor of the head, which he faid had been the cafe from his birth; and he is occasionally subject to cramps in his fingers and legs, and confiderable weakness of his arms.

He is about fix feet in height, and not lufty. Sleeps well, and fays his vifion is most distinct about the dusk of the evening, when he fees tolerably well. His appetite is generally

good, though he is frequently attacked with a vomiting of green or yellow bile. For thefe laft fix months this had occurred nearly weekly. His bowels are regular, and his urine natural in quantity and appearance; refpiration perfectly good.

The account which he gave me of himself, was, that his name is Jofeph Kearsley, and that he is twenty-five years of age ;--that he was born at the Northampton iron-works in Maryland.--His father was a waggoner, of a brown complexion, and employed about the iron-works. He married one Jane Paul, who bore him five children; he, Jofeph, and his brother William being the eldeft, and twins.---William was affected in a fimilar way in every respect as Jofeph.---Then came three girls at separate births;---the eldest of whom faw perfectly distinct. She had fandy hair, and died young after a week's illness. The two other fifters faw rather better than either him or his brother, but their eyes were red, though leis fenfible to the light.They both had brown hair, and died, one at four years of age, the other at two.

Jofeph, the subject of the prefent paper, was the youngest twin brother. When boys they employed themselves in digging the ore and fhoveling dirt ;---earning a guinea a month, when about eleven or twelve years of age. Their eyes were red from their birth, and, like their two youngest fifters, they faw much better than at prefent, their eyes being then much lefs fenfible to the light.

They continued the above mode of life till they were about nineteen or twenty years of age, when they went to New York, and there employed themselves in turning the wheels of tobac conists and cutlers. They both enjoyed good health, and remained in this fituation three or four years. In the year 1798, they quitted New York on their way home, during the prevalence of the yellow fever. William had received the disease before he left New York, and died after ten days illnefs about two miles beyond Trenton, having walked three miles on the day he died. Joseph slept with him every night,--and held

him in his arms when he died, yet no contagion was communicated!

Two years paft, Joseph had the small pox, by inoculation, in a very favourable way, about forty pock appearing on his face, and principally on that fide which he usually placed nearest the fire---Some time ago, he had the intermitting fever for fourteen weeks. It ultimately yielded to the bark, though he says he thinks it has injured him, from laying in his bones.

His brother was as tall as himself, and was affected with a fimilar tremor of his head from his birth, to that which affected Jofeph.

He appeared of a mild disposition, though he says he is much affected with vexation and low spirits, owing to his unfortunate fituation.

He describes the place of his birth to be a very low ground, furrounded by hills, marfhy, foggy, and very fickly. But, as far as he knows, none of the neighbours were affected in a fimilar manner.

I regret that my account of this interefting cafe terminates here; the man appeared anxious to go, and promised he would call again with his mother, who he faid could give me further information, especially refpecting his fifters; he however has never fince that period given me the wifhed-for opportunity. After he was gone, many questions occurred to me, which the fhortness of his vifit prevented my attending to.

With respect to the cause of this phenomenon, Mr. Blumenbach is of opinion" that the rednefs of the iris," (which however does not uniformly exift, as in the prefent inftance) "and of the other internal parts of the eye, as well as the extreme fenfibility which accompanies this redness, is owing to the total privation of that brown or blackish mucus, that covers all the interior parts of the eye in the found state."-And Mr. Buzzi, furgeon to the hospital at Milan, has demonstrated by diffection, what Blumenbach had only fuppofed. In this instance the uvea was entirely wanting; and the fkin, detached from different parts of the body, appeared to be entirely divested VOL. I. X