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Woodlawn (near King Geo: C.H.) 26 June '21
Dear Sir
I intended to have come to Fredricksburg to morrow, to consult
further with you, but the weather promises to be so very hot, & being
about to commence my Harvest, and fearing to encounter so much
exposure to the hot sun, have declined it, & must depend on writing
I have yet remaining a few of the Pills, perhaps enough to
last something upwards of a week - the tinctures are out -For the first week or 10 days after I commenced taking the
Medicine, & conforming to the regimen, I really thought I
was much better - during this time my bowels kept tolerably
open, & I gained strength & spirits - whether it was owing to my
eating some Milk & strawberrys, which seemed to disorder me,
(and Milk taken in any way for many years has seemed to do so)
or from some other cause, my bowels became very costive, the
Pain & burning in the side increased, with a head ache,with
other Bilious symptoms, so much so, that I deemed it prudent
to take a small dose of Calomel at night, & in the morning
a dose of Epsom salts - this relieved the symptoms, and since
I have been as usual, except that the Medicines given by you
have not been sufficient to keep open the bowels, & I have been
compe [lled] occasionally to take a little Rheubarb - I have ad_
hered strctly to the regimen, with the exception above, at present
the pain in the side & burning is much lessened - my appetite is
good, & stomach apparently sound - & I do believe that if I cou'd
be relieved tolerably from the costiveness, I might hope to get well -
Can the tincture be made stronger? will it answer as well to take
a dose at night, & another in the morning? or wou'd not small doses
of Rheubarb, combined with Vitriolated tartar, or Bark answer as
well? the tincture when taken on an empty stomach, and in an increased
dose
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dose, produces for a time a very disagreeable sensation - I have
found that about 10 Grs of Rheubarb taken at night, & a like dose in
the morning, operates moderately, & I believe wou'd be more efficacious
if combined with Vitriolated tarter or Bark-
I think the medicine has agreed very well with Mrs: Johnson,
and I believe wou'd be valuable with her, if she wou'd be a little
more particular in her diet as to quality - her bowels being pretty
regular -From these remarks you will please prepare, & send by the first
opportunity, another supply of Medicine - If I meet with no oppor-
-tunity and you shou'd not sooner, & Mr. Wilson shou'd come down
in a Chair, he will I expect bring it down the last of next week -
but as I hope to have an opp:y sooner will thank you to have it
prepared as soon after you receive this, as may be conveniently in your
power - If you think it best to continue the tinctures - wou'd [it] not
be as well to mix them, & send them down in a common quart bottle.In haste for the mail, wch is about closing, I remain
Your respectful friend &c
[Y] Johnson
