A young woman, who lived at a considerable distance from Glasgow, was, in May 1797, seized with erysipelas of the right foot and leg, which, by her account, had been extremely violent, and very much neglected. On the tenth day of the disease she was brought to town, and admitted into the hospital. The foot was quite cold, the leg livid, and extremely painful. Pledgets dipped in camphorated spirit of wine were applied to the parts, and bark, wine, and opium, were prescribed, together with oranges, &c. and gradually increased in quantity, until at last she came to drink, besides soup, a couple of bottles of wine daily, at the same time that she took eight grains of opium, and a very considerable quantity of bark, in the twenty-four hours. By these means, the pulse was soon brought down from one hundred and forty to one hundred and eighteen strokes in the minute; but it was not until twenty days after her admission that the ulcerative action was evidently induced. The quantity of the medicine was now gradually diminished; and, in a few days more, the separation being complete, the limb was amputated above the knee. During the operation, I paid particular attention to the saving of blood; and the circulation being destroyed in the parts below the knee, there was scarcely any lost. At this time, she was still taking a bottle of wine, with a considerable quantity of bark and opium, daily. The wine was omitted after the operation; but she had a drachm of laudanum, and continued to take the bark. In the evening the same quantity of laudanum was repeated. Next day she was quite easy, and had slept well; the pulse beat only one hundred in the minute. On the third day the stump was dressed, when it was found (as was to be expected[74]), that only a very imperfect adhesion had taken place: One of the corners was also livid. The bark was therefore freely continued, and six ounces of wine added daily; but the pulse having, on the fifth day, risen to one hundred and ten, and the spot becoming of a darker colour, she was allowed a pound of wine, which made the pulse fall, and soon produced a separation of a small slough. In a short time she went to the country cured. During the whole period of the cure, the opium and wine which she took produced neither stupor, nor the slightest appearance of intoxication. I at one time, when the pain had for a couple of days been moderate, was willing to ascertain the effects of a milder preparation than the camphorated spirit, and substituted proof spirit in its place; but, in an hour, it was obliged to be renewed, the pain having greatly increased.