Thomas Beddoes to James Watt, 26 March 1807
My dear Sir
I have never forgotten that I am indebted to you in an answer to yr friendly enquiries. I delayed it from the hope of being able to say something satisfactory. I have never been confined; but in common with my neighbours, had attempts at severe colds repeatedly since the beginning of ye year – but threw them off sooner than many others did. I found myself easily fatigued & in walking up hill proceed slowly from necessity – I do not find any analogy between the circumstances you were so good as to point out & my affection – I have no cough whatever – scarcely when I have as great a cold as I ever do get – Universal chronic rheumatism I am hourly sensible of – but it amounts to little more than the ache of fatigue & I can bring it on in any voluntary muscle by merely contracting that muscle strongly. But I had this in a considerable degree before being laid up last year – That the liver is diseased I know from occasional pain & visible deficiency of bile – & there is certainly some disorder of ye heart, added to adhesion & thickenings of the lungs – so that the same scene must be renewed & with a difft event – But I can have no sort of depression of spirits – Mrs Beddoes had got better than for years – but a young brother crossed her & her endeavours to amuse him have thrown her sadly back – The children are well – Mr Edgeworth I hear is going to lose a daughter the flower of his flock by consumption I judge from very imperfect accts that she is near the last stage – Dr Gregory is her physician. This will be the 5th female, I think, so carried off in that family –
I do not know whether you have heard the same alarm from mad dogs as we have – I do not think ours was false or excessive – I have seen several animals in a state of violent & fatal disease after the bite of a suspected dog – a dog is now confined here under the symptoms – 2 cows, some pigs & a horse, as I certainly know, died – Mr King carefully dissected a cow & horse – There was inflammation of the most violent kind at the fauces – no disease below ye diaphragm – But this excessive inflammation is, as you know, not universal in the genera of animals – I & others saw the symptoms just as described – & they were seen to be bitten – so the evidence is very compleat – In my opinion our medical police wants reformation But I do not see on what grounds an order for the long confinement of dogs shall be given out & enforced. Shall the magistrates be obliged on the requisition of any person to procure an examination of those who may have seen a suspected dog by two medical men & on their concurrence in an opinion of his madness to give notice to keep up dogs for 3 months under a penalty of ten pounds for every dog seen at large – Mrs B joins in compts to you & Mrs & Mr James Watt – I am
Dear Sir
Yr obliged & faithful
Thomas Beddoes
26 March
1807
Address: James Watt Esq / Heathfield / Birmingham
Endorsement: Dr Beddoes Mar 26th 1807 / his health – mad dogs
MS: LoB MS 3219/4/048/09