He himself bestowed on him every mark of respect and confidence. He confulted him with regard to his most important affairs, and received the refponfes with implicit deference. By thefe arts, together with his grant of a large penfion, Francis fecured the Cardinal, who perfuaded his mafter to furrender Tournay to France, to conclude a treaty of marriage between his daughter, the princefs Mary, and the Dauphin, and to confent to a perfonal interview with the French King. From that time, the most familiar intercourse fubfifted between the two courts; Francis, fenfible of the great value of Wolfey's friendship, laboured to fecure the continuance of it by every poffible expreffion of regard, beitowing on him in all his letters the honourable appellations of Father, Tutor, and Governor.

⚫ Charles obferved the progrefs of this union with the utmost jealoufy and concern. His near relation to the king of England gave him fome title to his friendship, and foon after his acceffion to the throne of Caftile, he had attempted to ingratiate himself with Wolfey by fettling on him a penfion of three thousand livres. His chief folicitude at prefent was to prevent the intended interview, the effects of which upon two young princes, whofe hearts were no lefs fufceptible of friendship than their manners were capable of infpiring it, he extremely dreaded. But after many delays occafioned by difficulties about the ceremonial, and by the anxious precautions of both courts for the fafety of their refpective fovereigns, the time and place of meeting were at laft fixed. Messengers had been fent to different courts inviting all comers, who were gentlemen, to enter the lifts at tilt and tournament, against the two monarchs and their knights; and both Francis and Henry loved the fplendour of thefe fpectacles too well, and were too much delighted with the graceful figure they made on fuch occafions, to forego the pleafure or glory which they expected from fuch a fingular and brilliant affembly. Nor was the Cardinal lefs fond of difplaying his magnificence in the prefence of two courts, and of difcovering to the two nations the extent of his influence over both their monarchs. Charles finding it impoffible to prevent the interview, endeavoured to difappoint its effects, and to pre-occupy the favour of the English monarch and his minifter, by an act of complaifance still more flattering and more uncommon. Having failed from Corunna, as has already been related, he fteered his courfe directly towards England, and relying wholly on Henry's generofity for his own fafety, landed at Dover. This unex pected vifit furprized the nation. Wolfey, however, was well acquaint ed with the Emperor's intention. A negociation, unknown to the hiftorians of that age, had been carried on between him and the court of Spain, this vifit had been concerted, and Charles granted the cardinal, whom he calls his most dear friend, an additional pension of seven thou fand ducats. Henry, who was then at Canterbury, in his way to France, immediately difpatched Wolfey to Dover, and being highly pleased with an event fo foothing to his vanity, haftened to receive, with fuitable refpect, a guest who had placed in him fuch unbounded confidence, Charles, to whom time was precious, ftaid only four days in England: But during that short fpace, he had the addrefs not only to give Henry favourable impreffions of his character and intentions, but to detach Wolfey entirely from the interefts of the French king. All the gran deur, wealth and power, which the cardinal poffeffed, did not fatisfy his ambitious mind, while there was ftill one step higher to which an

ecclefiaftic

ecclefiaftic could afcend. The papal dignity had for fome time been the object of his wishes, and Francis, as the most effectual method of fecuring his friendship, had promised to favour his pretenfions, on the first vacancy, with all his intereft. But as the emperor's influence in the college of cardinals was greatly fuperior to the French king's, Wolfey grafped eagerly at an offer which that artful prince had made him of exerting it vigorously in his behalf; and allured by this profpect, which under the pontificate of Leo, ftill in the prime of his life, was a very distant one, he entered with warmth into all the emperor's fchemes. No treaty, however, was concluded, at that time, between the two monarchs; but Henry, in return for the honour which Charles had done him, promifed to vifit him in fome place of the Low Countries, immediately after taking leave of the French king.

·

His interview with that prince was in an open plain between Guifnes and Ardres, where the two kings and their attendants, difplayed their magnificence with fuch emulation, and profufe expence, as procured it the name of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Feats of chivalry, parties of gallantry, and fuch exercifes and paltimes as were in that age reckoned manly or elegant, rather than ferious business, occupied both courts during eighteen days that they continued together, Whatever impreffion the engaging manners of Francis, and the liberal and unfufpicious confidence with which he treated Henry, made on the mind of that monarch, was foon effaced by Wolfey's artifices, or by the interview which he had with the Emperor at Gravelines; which was conducted by Charles with lefs pomp than that near Guifues, but with greater attention to his political interest.

[To be concluded in our next.]

Obfervations on the Afthma, and on the Hooping Cough. By John Millar, M. D. 35. fewed. Cadell. 179.

DR

R. Millar is of opinion, that the Afthma ought only to be divided into two fpecies,, viz. the acute and the chronic; and that all other divifions and distinctions are at best useless. The various names, fays he, by which the Athma has been dif tinguished, are taken either from fome peculiar fymptom or circum fance attending it, and, in general, have not the leaft tendency to point out any useful diftinction, nor to afford the smallest hint for the proper treatment of the disease.

Thus a flight degree of this complaint is called Dyspnoea; when it is more fevere, it is denominated the Afthma; and when the patient can breathe only in an erect polture, it takes the name of Orthopnoз. Thefe circumttances are indeed very properly remarked, in giving a circumftantial detail of the fymptoms; but erecting each of them into a diftin&t disease, or even a different fpecies, muft increase the trouble of young phyficians, perplex them in their refearches, and draw them from an attentive obfervation of the rife and progrefs of the difeafe, to an unprofitable investigation of intricate and (in this cafe) hurtful minutiæ ; they should theretore rather be rejected as difficiles nuga, than retained among the collections of useful learning.

• Of

8

Of the fame importance are the diftinétions of Afthma convulfivum, fpafmodicum and fuffocativum. Nne of thefe require any particular treatment different from the general method, and all of them may therefore be very properly comprehended under the general titles of acute or chronic Afthma.

• Neither does the diftinction of Afthma claufum and humidum, seem better founded, fince it rather implies the different periods of a paroxyfm, than any diftinct fpecies of the difeafe.'

We do not altogether agree with our Author in thefe obfervations. A quick, painful, and difficult refpiration, with at fenfe of oppreffion and fuffocation, are the symptoms which characterize a fit of the Afthma; and thefe symptoms, differing only in degree, conftitute the difeafe, whether it be called acute or chronic, original or fymptomatic, humoral or fpafmodic, or by whatever other names it may be diftinguifhed. The imme diate caufe of the disease, is a fpafmodic affection of the bronchiæ; and the remote caufes, which lay the foundation of this fpafm, are various; a particular attention to which may be of confiderable confequence in order to a radical cure of the difeafe.

In fome conftitutions, the nerves of the bronchiæ have naturally a great degree of irritability, and in these the fpafmodic affection which conflitutes the Afthma, may eafily, and from flight caufes, be formed. In others, there may be a defluxion on the, lungs, from cold, moift air, diet, or other causes; the bronchiæ are loaded, and from this unusual stimulus, the fpafmodic affection may be excited, and the paroxyfm thus formed. Each of thefe cafes likewife may be either acute or chronic, i.e. the disease may either quickly terminate in death, or be lengthened out in repeated paroxyfms. And yet there may be fome use as well as propriety in calling thefe by different names, the fpafmodic, for inftance, and humoral: terms which are in fome degree expreffive of the caufe of the difeafe, and may likewife have their ufe in the general indications of prevention or

cure.

6

Neither can we agree with our Author, in confidering the Afthma as an undefcribed difeafe: that it has almost entirely escaped obfervation :'-or, that the accounts which have been given of it, feem only applicable to very advanced ftages of the difeafe:'-or, that the fubject has been treated in fuch a manner, as is rather calculated to mislead than inftruct.'-Aretæus gives a very accurate and minute defcription of the difeafe. Lib. Ill. c. xi.-In Hoffman we have many particular hiftories of the Afthma; fome of them very minutely defcribed from the first attack of the difeafe: Tom. IV. p. 125.-Hoffman alfo mentions it as a difeafe fometimes epidemic among young children. Other writers have likewife given hiftories of this dif

eafe,

ease, with many useful practical obfervations; and as to names, they are of little confequence, when the difeafe treated of is the fame.

But let us follow our Author through his account of the Afthma, as divided into acute and chronic. He thus defcribes

The First Stage of the acute Athma.

• It attacked chiefly children, from one to thirteen years old; it was rarely feen in adults, and feldom in children on the breast, but it moft frequently feized thofe who had been lately weaned. Its violence fell principally upon the lower clafs of people, and on those who were of a heavy leucophlegmatic conftitution, who had a voracious appetite, and whofe diet confifted of crude watery vegetables; though children who were healthy, well proportioned, and moderate in their diet, were not entirely exempted.

Children at play were fometimes feized, but it generally came on at night; a child who went to bed in perfect health, waked an hour or two afterward in a fright, with his face much flushed, or fometimes of a livid colour, incapable of defcribing what he felt, breathing with much labour, and with a convulfive motion in the belly; the returns of infpiration and expiration quickly fucceeding each other, in that particular, fonorous manner, which is often obferved in hyfterick paroxyfms. The child's terror sometimes augmented the diforder; he clung to the nurse, and if he was not fpeedily relieved by coughing, belching, fneezing, vomiting or purging, the fuffocation increased, and he died in the paroxyfm.

But if any of thefe happened naturally, or were excited by art, the paroxyfm ceased, and the child feemed perfectly well, flept during the remainder of the night, and continued to breathe eafily till the next evening, when, if not sooner, he suffered another paroxyfm, more vio lent, and of longer duration than the former.

The urine was fecreted in fmall quantity, and often difcharged with fome difficulty; it was generally limpid in the beginning, but in the progrefs more copiously evacuated, and either dropped a very light cloud at the crifis, or became turbid, and was covered with a white greafy fcum, and sometimes let fall a copious farinacious fediment.

The body was generally coftive, and the ftomach and bowels were often very much inflated.

The mucus was not discharged from the nofe, as is ufual in chil dren, and the perspiration was either diminished or entirely obstructed. In the beginning, the pulfe was but little affected, though in the progrefs of the paroxyfm it became quick, low, and feeble.

In that state of the disease, which may be ftyled the intermitting ftage, the patient was generally dull, timorous and dejected, even when free from the afthmatic paroxyfm. It was of great confequence to attend to this, as it afforded a fure criterion, by which the difeafe might be discovered, when no other fymptom of it appeared, and when the patient was in danger of being neglected from a fallacious fecurity, founded upon a perfuafion of its being entirely removed; but when these symptoms were observed in children of a more advanced age, who

had

had once been attacked with this illness, a speedy return of the asthmatic complaint might with certainty be prognofticated.

This dejection was not fo readily difcovered in very young chil dren; but if they were peevish, restless and fretful, and cried more than ufual, a return of the disease might be expected.

In fome, a train of nervous fymptoms appeared at this period, fuch as involuntary laughing and crying, delirium and fabsultus tendinum; but excepting a flight delirium, obfervable in many, thefe appearances were not frequent.

The attention of the phyfician was abfolutely neceffary to this dif eafe at its very first appearance, and in its latent intermitting stage, as it was in that period alone, that the cure could be attempted with much hope of fuccefs. This ftage fometimes continued eight or ten days, but more frequently the other commenced the fecond or third day, nay fometimes the very firft paroxyfm proved fatal.

• Second Stage of the acute Afthma.

If the first period was neglected, the paroxyfms returned with greater violence, and at fhorter intervals, till the difficulty of breathing became fixed and permanent; the child grew hoarfe, and breathed with a croaking noise, so as to be heard at a confiderable distance; the pulle now intermitted; it became fo low as fcarcely to be felt, and fo quick, that the pulfations could not be reckoned. The fhoulders were raised at every inspiration, which was now performed with great agony; the ftomach and belly fwelled; a profuse sweat broke out upon the head, face and breaft, the extremities were cold, the countenance of a livid colour, the eyes hollow, and the lips, tongue and throat, dry and parched. The child had great thirst, but durft not drink, as every attempt to fwallow was attended with the danger of inftant fuffocation.

The patient now either gradually funk under this accumulated diftrefs, or the violent convulfions, which generally came on at this period of the disease, put a speedier end to his fufferings.

• Though the acute Asthma ufually terminated in a few days either in death, or a perfect recovery, yet there were feveral inftances of its being changed into a different form, and the patient, furviving the violence of the first attack, continued ever afterwards fubject to the chronic afthma.'

The history being thus delivered, Dr. Millar proceeds to the cure, after giving previously a fhort account of the diagnofis and prognofis. With refpect to bleeding, our Author declares against it even in the acute Asthma, as tending rather to aggravate than mitigate the disease. Affafoetida is the principal medicine, and is to be adminiftered in large dofes both by the mouth and in clyfters, in order to break the force of the fit, and to procure a remiffion. As foon as this is effected, the bark is to be given, to complete the cure, and prevent a relapse.

An ounce of this gum has fometimes been taken by a child of eighteen months, in the space of 48 hours, and almoft as much at the fame time injected in clyfters; allowance being made for the refidue of the gum, which is loft in making the folution.

• The