appeared among us, and to ridicule the authors of fuch a declaration. But the disease foon extended itself fo widely, that incredulity ceafed, and even the tongue of calumny itself was almost filent. About the fixth of September, the healthy tranquillity of the town of Baltimore was again ruffled by the return of remitting fevers, which, together with the intermittents of this season, were almost universally accompanied with catarrhal symptoms. The tenth of this month will be long remembered by the inhabitants of Baltimore, as the day which deprived them of Mr. Stephen Wilfon. He died of a bilious colic. His unfhaken patriotism, as a citizen; the rectitude of his conduct, as a great commercial character; the liberality of his foul, as a humane and virtuous chriftian; the dignified fimplicity of his manners, as a man; and the fincerity of his heart, as an ineftimable friend, have left on every heart an impreffion, which can wear away only with life itself. The yellow fever continued to increase on the Point in extent and malignity. Doctors Allendre and Richard Griffith, and Degraffenreidt were at the fame time in imminent danger of falling victims to it. Dr. Dorling had lately died in town, and Dr. --- Griffith, fen. on the Point, was carried off after thirty hours indifpofition. The reverend Mr. Bufton, of the Roman catholic church, who had been much engaged on the Point in administering the last offices to the dying, was now dangerously ill. So great was the number of the fick about the twenty-fifth, that Doctor Coulter vifited and prescribed for more than a hundred and twenty perfons daily. Before the clofe of September, a panic spread through the town, and drove a great number of families to feek refuge in the country. As I rode on the morning of the thirtieth, through the Point, I was struck with the melancholy change induced by a very few days. The ftreets were no longer crowded, and noify with business or feftivity. The eye would scarcely meet a dozen perfons in its longest street. In the rooms of the fick, I more particularly obferved the ftillness of the streets. But a little time before, even when the reduced violence of disease would have permitted them to doze, every flumber was broken or banished by the noife without. The whole day resembled in filence the hours of night. A happy change of weather at this time, checked the rapid progress of the fever, and rescued the town from sharing the general misfortune of the Point. The difeafe declined; and by the middle of October, the health-committee closed the accounts of the dead. The citizens returned to their homes and bufinefs; and in a very fhort time, a perfon paffing through the Point itself, would be reminded of its late fituation only by obferving in fome alleys the bodies of a number of dead cats. I have been, fir, as concife as poffible in the preceding obfervations. To have a more enlarged view of our fituation, while the mind was affailed on the one part, by the actual reprefentation of disease and mortality, and fupported on the other by the wish and assurance, that our fears beheld the occurrences through a magnifying glafs, you must only fubmit yourself to the guidance of memory while fhe bids the misfortunes of your own city glide before your imagination. The retrospect will remind you of that principle of the human mind, which subjects our fenfes to our wishes. The eye is unwilling to behold a fcene that gives certainty to our apprehenfions of misfortune; and we prefer lingering in a state of fufpenfe, (fo tormenting on every other occafion), to an abfolute knowledge of our fituation. Hope fooths an uncertainty, but deferts us when convinced. We can scarcely believe, what we wish to be untrue: fo powerful is this principle, that, as you must have frequently obferved, a perfon, while hanging over the body of a deceased friend or relation, cannot form an idea that it is dead. Hence, fir, it was long before our citizens could shake off their fancied fecurity, by believing the existence of danger. But when the charm was diffolved, the panic fpread, like electricity, from mind to mind. Now too late, it was remembered, that the dictates of reafon had been lulled to reft, and truth had been heard, but oppofed, ridiculed, and contemned. ADIEU! LETTER II. WE have hitherto, dear fir, travelled only around the borders of our fubject. We will now, if you please, take a nearer view of the disease, which, although neglected and despised for a time, at length ftruck the fouls of our citizens with anxiety and terror. The yellow fever, as it appeared here, tended naturally to death. A fatal cafe therefore will portray more ftrikingly its form. The eye of the phyfician, entering the chamber of the fick, would be arrested by a countenance of distress; the countenance of one weeping with the anguish of a broken heart. He would behold a face fuffufed with blood; an eye, red, watery, half-clofed and fad: the parts immediately around it, fwoln: its filent glance spoke forcibly to the foul, and feemed to demand its pity. He would fee the tongue moist and white or clean. His hand would feel the skin exceffively dry, and parched with heat; a pulse, hobbling or intermitting, flow or frequent, full or fmall, but always tenfe. He would behold the patient tortured with excruciating pains, rendered lefs fupportable by conftant exertions to vomit, till delirium mingled with his groans a frantic laugh or fong. At uncertain periods, the heat of the skin would abate for a short time, but every other symptom would continue with unremitted violence. But at length, the fkin would become cool; the pulfe lofe its tenfion and frequency, and every pain cease. The fiery redness of the eye would disappear, and affume the yellow livery of bile. A yellownefs would appear about the neck and gradually extend itself over the whole body. A vomiting of a black fluid would occur, refembling the grounds of coffee. The patient would be fenfible of immenfe and oppreffive weakhefs. As these symptoms increafed, the lips would appear oedematous, and the tongue fwoln. The skin would become colder, and impart on pressure a sensation, like that of a dead perfon. The pulfe would continue preternaturally flow, and generally acquire fulness as death approached. A hiccup would at length occur; the pulse fink rapidly and seem to pause after every pulfation, as though it were to beat no more. The blood bursts from different parts of the body---the action of the arteries is no longer felt--the heart gradually ceafes its exertions, while delirium and convulfions announce the victory of death, The primary caufe of the preceding catalogue of fymptoms will require a diftinct letter hereafter. We will then fearch into the origin of a disease, whofe ravages have not been confined to one ill-fated portion of the globe; and therefore we need remark only in this place, that its appearance in Baltimore seems to have arisen not from importation, but from an internal fource. It will appear alfo that the first cafes originated from a domeftic cause, but that its fubfequent extenfive range, depended in part on communication of contagion. But to roufe the original feed of difeafe into actual fever, generally requires the co-operation of fecondary causes, to which schoolmen have affixed the name of exciting, or occafional. Among these, we may particularly enumerate, 1. INTEMPERANCE. Almost all the first victims of the yellow fever, were perfons habituated to the immoderate use of ardent fpirits: and it is a melancholy truth, that very few of these unfortunate creatures could be rescued from death, by all the powers of medicine. So intimately are morals connected with our physical happiness, that we need but look around us with the eye of reason, always to engage in our pursui tof the one, the company of the other.--All the first occurrences of mortality by the yellow fever, were generally ascribed to the primary influence of rum. The mind was unwilling to admit a more hideous cause, while this offered to its choice. In drinkers of ardent fpirits, the fever was excited not only with more facility, but was attended alfo with almost irrefiftible violence and malignity. Even a moderate but unusual indulgence in thofe liquors foon roufed the difeafe into action. A glafs of wine would occafion a head-ach in thofe, who were much expofed to the exhalations of the fick, or to the air of infected places; and for a confiderable time in September, half that quantity would affect me in a fimilar manner. The intemperate ufe of food alfo frequently gave existence to the latent disease. A large fupper of oysters excited the fever in one perfon. Even indulgence in accustomed meals, or in particular fubftances, was fometimes attended by fimilar misfortunes. A dinner of animal food would often cause an acute pain in the back for three or four days. The fever was excited in a gentleman, before he had completed his usual fupper; and in another by using a small quantity of cucumbers at his dinner. 2. HEAT. This was a very frequent exciting caufe, especially when combined with fatigue, either of walking, riding on horse-back, or of labour in the fun. To the latter circumftance must be in a great degree attributed, the more general prevalence of the fever among the laborious class of citizens.-The heat of a fire produced in feveral inftances the fame effect. Hence the blackfmiths fuffered peculiarly with the disease. Sitting in the cool evenings or mornings of September over a fire, caused an exacerbation or return of fever in fome, who were in a convalefcent state. 3. COLD. Cold, fays Sydenham,-" has destroyed abundance more, than the fword, plague and famine together." The cold air, and dews of night, excited the fever in a great number of those |