From Thomas Beddoes to William Withering   9 March 1799

9 March

I beg an answer of but 3 lines as soon as is perfectly convenient

Dear Sir,

I have long felt an inclination to trouble you with a few lines. But I was afraid from what I heard of the state of your health to put you to the inconvenience of an answer. A couple of years ago I mentioned to you my design to arrange some papers respecting the causes & signs of consumption. The more I considered the subject, the more I felt disposed to defer the execution of my purpose. But two valuable communications on the treatment of this disease for the contributions to Med^l & Physical science (a work which is to appear in a very few days) incline me to think this a favourable moment for exciting the attention of the public to the whole subject.

I found a good deal upon your observation respecting butchers. No doubt the observation was with you original. Have you since met with anything similar in books. I have not & the only thing approaching to it occurs in a thesis at Montpellier in 1788 of which I got knowledge by mere accident.

In a letter of yours you say you suspect snufftakers to be less liable to phthisis. If you chuse, I w^d add this to the quotation from your printed letter, but by no means unless it was quite satisfactory to you. I have no interest in suggesting this to you. I only feel it a duty to notice a very authentic or probable fact, which I can fairly obtain.

May I ask if you intend soon to publish your Lisbon obs^ns. I have alluded in a single sentence to what I heard you say of the unfavourableness of the Portuguese climate. This is of importance to one part of my reasoning, & I hope you will not be offended at the liberty.

We open our pneumatic hospital on Wednesday next. A circular prospectus will be sent round next week requesting suggestions. I shall not say how highly I think of the young man who is to superintend it. His papers in the contributions will put every philosoph^l physician in a capacity to judge whether I overrate him.

Considering the times, we push on the diffusion of science pretty well here. We have had 2 anatomical courses for men & 2 select ones for women these 2 last winters. Linnaeus Smith comes in May to lecture us in botany.

I am entirely persuaded of the antisiphylitic virtue of nitrous acid & oxyg. muriate. But I dare not say a word of its power as compared with that of ☿.¹ That remains to be settled.

I am Dear Sir
respectfully yours

Thomas Beddoes