m LETTER T O Do&or Zabdiel Boylston j Occafion'd by a late Dijfertation CONCERNING inoculation; Printed at Bofton. mm Cum tot in hat -—Populorum vita Salufq-, \ Pendeat — Savitia eft vofoijje wtri. Lucan Pbarfal If* BOSTON; Printed for D. Henchman over againft the old Brick-Meeting Houfe in CornhiT, and T. Hancock at the fign of the Bible and three Crowns ia Anafoeet. U. DCC. XXX* .*>Ji. •-.- L \ o *'.\ " 0 : o D r T.:...r ":' \ V,.\ * ' r } CO f^mm^^^^^^fmh^mh&^^^> T O Dodtor Zaldiel Boylflon. Dear Sir in SO great is your 'Practice both % Town and Country s and fuch is S3X ^ $S your Care and Tho't of your Pa- ^^§l§> tients, that I believe you have hard- J' ^^^ ly any time tQ Read d.V'1)^. ?^rio« 0/ &&« Inoculation tff *#« Small-Pox : You will therefore take it not amifs, if I fave you the labour of reading that injudicious Piece, by giving you this Evening fome Stric- tures upon it. It furprized me to find one, who is reputed a Scholar, and values himfelf upon a Degree which he little deferves, committing feveral manifexb Grammatical Blunders in a Sheet or two : And yet if he had referved them all for the DiJJertatirn, I mould have forgiven them ; but I can by no means excufe any one in a De- dication : Methinks he might, in honour to his Degree and Character, have afforded good Mr. Jekyll his Patron good fenfefbra Quarter of a Sheet without any Error at all * but it A a feems feems he has not ; whether it proceeded frou an unhappy Ignorance, or a noble Negligence one may eafily conjecture : Zofpeak in Medical Terms fays he, Integrity feems to be in the Con- ftitution of your Family. He may call you a guack, if he pleafes ; but I am fure he is a Btunderbufs to make the Conftitution of Mr. Je- xyl's Family Medical Zerms. And by the way, here he feems to me to be as much out in point of Decency9 as in Grammar : For I cannot but think it a great,invidious and inexcufable Neg- lect in him, when he mentions Mr. JJekyl's Family and its Conftitution, and applauds his Uncle, to overlook his Reverend Father, who was an Eminent Clergyman, and as I have been inform'd from undoubted Authorities, was highly efteemed for his Probity,Integrity and many more Virtues. There are one or two confiderable Errors more of his in the Dedication, and diverfe grofs ones in the Differtativn; but I (hall not ftay to expofethem ; left You, and others, mould think I regard his Words more than his Meaning and his Sounds rather than his Senfe. Before I come to what immediately relates to the Controverfy concerning Inoculation; I muft inform You, that our Author fays in his Dedi- cation, Without Paffion or Prejudice----I lhall impartially relate the Hiftory, &c. But, notwith- standing this good Promife, in his Book he (hews his old Paffion & Prejudice againft You, & your excellent Friend the late Doctor Mather. In pag. 10. he fays,he canfeldome have recourfe to your Accounts $ I expe&ed his Rcafon would c o fec,bccaufe they were lcarce here when he wrote his Diflertation i but his P.eafon is, becaufe ( as he fays) of their being fu jejune, lame, fufpecled, and only in the nature of a ghiack Bill. If this be a good Reafon -3 many, and I in particular, eanfeldom have recourfe to his infipid Pamplet: For many things are jejune and lame in it^ I - fu/pecl feveral things, and I verily belieVe any guack in Chriftendom would, with the AflRft- ance he has had, produce as good a Perfor- mance. And as for your part, you need not regard his Character of your ■Aceaunt of Inocu- lation here, when it has been approved by Dr. Jurin the late Secretary of the Royal Society, and many other Perfons of Learning and Fi- gure* and when C notwithstanding he calls your Dedication of it to the Princefs of Wales ajfuming ) it met with a kinder Reception from her Royal Highnefs, and a more favourable Entertainment from all the wife and impartial, than his Dijfertation ever ought to or will have a- mongMenofUnderftanding,orhisD^/V^w»from his Patron. And fo much concerning your Book. As to you your felf he tells us, that when your Bufinefs ran low here, you went for Lon- don, and expecJed under the Character of an ex- perienced Inoculator, a profitable Encouragement there, but was entirely difappointed, pag. ,7. This is an idle furmife, and great Untruth of his 5 for you went not to London under that Cha- racter he tells of; nor, as you have informed me, would you inoculate there ; tho* you were often prefled and encouraged to it. But he is not content with a rude Ufage of yon vou in his Dijfertation; He muft alfo tell his Patron,that you are a Man of no Literature and habitual Kajhnefs. I mult confefs, that I look upon you to be as well acquainted . with your Bufinefs as the Graduated Dotlor : You feem, from what I can learn, as well as he, f* un- derftand the ^theory of Difeafes ; and as to the Curing of them, I believe every Practitioner in Pbyfick at Boston will give you the Preference. Nor do I think any of them will blame you for the habitual KaJJjnefs, which he charges you with, fo much as they do and will hivn for his aclual Kajhnefs in many Inftances, but efpecial- ly withRegard to hisExcellency our lateGover- nour.-- Nee te, improbe, Saltern—Zcrruit Exenifh Phaeton. I have now done with you, Doctor, but not with D—s ; nor fhall J, on his Account, leave off my Letter this good while. D—s has but few words and fpiteful of Dr. Mather ; but it had been better for him to have faid nothing at all than to traduce and leflen the Character of that great Man : He might well think every good Man would con- temn every difgracefukword given out]concerning that Pious & Learned Gentleman,& at the fame time abhor the Perfon who fpeaks or writes it. I fhall not dwell on his faying the Doctor had Timonius* and Pylarinus's Accounts fur* reptioujly, which is a paltry word, and has an ill found : What does the Blade mean by it ? Would he make us believe the Doctor Stole the Book from fome-body he lent it to, that fo he might have the Honour of the new fangled Noti- tion^ p 2. Yes3 fo his words plainly import: But fuch an Infinuation,f befides the vaeaknefs he betrays in it ; inafmuch as he (imagining the aforefaid Accounts, publilhed to the World to be his private Property ) fuppofes no one, but he, had any Right to know the Purport of them ) it conveys alfo in it a notorious Falfity ; and therefore tends to the Difgrace of the Accufer, and is no Difparagement to the Deceafed.--—When the Doctor was alive, he tho't ill a Praife and an Honour to be Dijhumur- ed and infulted by fuch Mifcreants as D—s : anoVif h^ be maletreated now by fuch, it is ftill a Glory1 to him. But I can by no means put up his 8th page: In that he fays, ?the beft of men have fame Foible, and that of Dr. Mather'j«;^j Credulity. How natural is it to retort here, that the worft of men have many Foibles -, and thofe of Dr. X>—s feem to be Incredulity, Malice and IlUnature. But fuppofe one mould deny Credulity to be the Doctor's Foible $ the Inftances he has bro't to prove it, in the aforefaid Page, will never do it: For feveral of the Matters of Fact there- in are indifputably true, as there are many in Bos rp;* who can teftify. D—s indeed fays, that alls wing fuch bold Affertions without dijproving them, would be leading Mankind into a Snare. Why then did not he, firft of all, difprove 'em, and then advife Mankind, as thoughtlefs Birds., to avoid the Snare } Surely he was unwife that he did not at large demonftrate, that when Dr. Mather faid he never knew Bliftering mifs of faring Life in the Small Pox, &c He did knonsf that it had miffed^ He miftook or He lied. If ( « ) he had done lb in this particular, and fo in the reft, he would have difproved all the Doctor's Affertions in his Letters to the Royal Society. But after all, ( if thofe Stories or Accounts were Miftakes, ) they were undoubtedly the real Sen- timents of the Doctor ; ( as well as many o- thers j) and for D--s to treat his Communicati- ons ( which men of the greateft Characters a- broad receiv'd with Deference and Refpect ) with fuch Infolence and Rudenefs, it proves him unworthy the Nation from which he boafyi Original, and undeferving of any Eftccm or Practice in the American Regions. I (ha'lnot run into any longAnimadverfiOns on Dr. Brady of Port/mouth, for faying ( as D—s quotes him, p. 7. ) What wretched work the Gen- tleman (h. e. Dr. Mather ) makes in his Ac- iounts ? It was ridiculous in him to fay fo, unlefs he knew and could prove ( which he could not ) his Accounts to be wretched ; and it was wretched Folly in D--s to produce his Scrible for nothing ; unlefs indeed it might footh him in his Misfortune, of being the Doctors Ene- my and Accufer, to find one C as there now and then has happen'd fuch an one ) who haS de- tracted from the Doctor as well as he. But I fhall not infill here. Nor fhall I add any thing further in Favour ©f the Doctor, but that I would have D—J know, if his Credvlity was ever fo great in other things 5 he was not fo credulous as to believe him endued with Learning or Wit, with Vertu or Honour, with Civility or Manners; and I find a confiderable part of the Town in this ef the fune Opinion with the De&er, I I faid, I would add nothing further 5 but 1 cannot help fubjoining, that if D—s, or any o* ther of the fame rafh and illjudglng ConftitutioA ( he will forgive the Medical farms) with hifiij fhall dare to attack the Name and Reputation of the Doctor, he and they fhall know, there are fome who will always rife in his Defence to their Confufion. And now for Inoculation ! Without any fo* reign and ufelefs Remarks, which would fwell my Letter to a Volumn, let us come to the Merits of the Caufe. And here, at the fame Time that I am flunVd With Joy to find how frankly D—s owns that Dr.MEAD,Sk" Hans Sloane &PitCairn hisCoun* tryman,all celehratedPhyficians,c<>«»f*#tf//^ and ^favoured the Practice $ ( tho* by the way this looks as if they had Credulity as well as Dr*. Mather ) I am fill*d with forrow that I have not one of thofe Gentlemen's Books by me, n©r any one of the other Treatifes, out of which D—s hasfelected Paflages $ fo that I cannot tell whether he has quoted them exactly or nd : For my part myCredulity mail run fo far as to allow it. Granting then that all his Quotations are juft and fair ; let us Examine the feveral Heads he has offered, under which he has collected the Hiftories of Faffs, as he calls them, from Dr. Nettleton, Mr. Maitland and others. 1. From Nettleton and Maitland he fays5 and fhows, that fome receive not the Diftemper at all. And what then f Some, receive not thi Diftemper at all in the natural Way, when they are furrounded on every fide with it ; Perhaps B there f. 8 ■) there may be no proper Pabulum in their Bodies for it to prey on. Why then fhould this be accounted an Objection againft Inoculation ? For how is it likely or poflible that it fhould take Effect, when the Fluids are not in a Capacity to receive it ? But granting they were, and allowing that the Operation had no fuch Effect as to procure the Diftemper j ftill thofe who are Inoculated are not a whit the worfe for"it: Nay, I have Reafon to think feme have fared the better for it. The Reverend Mr. W— now living at Koxbury, on whom it did not take place, (as D—s beautifully tranflatcs a Paffage in Pylarinus) has enjoyed his Health fince he was inoculated much better than before -3 and he af- cribes it, in part, to his Incijions. 2. He remarks, from his Author Mr. Mait- land that fome had only Eruptive Fevers : I fuppofe, he means refulting from Inoculation, or he has no meaning at all. But who will be diffwaded from Inoculation if there really were two or three fuch Inftances ? Pray, Doctor Boylston, when you fee D—s ask him, Whe- ther thefe Eruptive Fevers are the natural and genuine EffecJ of Inoculation, or whether (to ufe a word or two of his) they arife only from fome accidental Contagition ? If he fays the former -, you can eafily prove the contrary by numerous witneffes and inconteftjble : For who among your inoculated Patient's has had this eruptive Fever ? Be fo kind as to tell him or me, if any one has. But if he fays the latter, it had been better for him to have laid afide his di- abetical Pen, than permit its Dropping to fo lit- tle Purpofe, 3- Hb (9 ) 3. He takes notice from Dr. Nettleton, that others from Inoculation have the Small-Pox to fo fmall a Degree as to admit of Doubt. Dr. Nettleton may fay, that in three of his Patients the Eruptions weref imperfect as to leave him in Doubt : But then, as L remember, he fome- where obferves, that his Doubts were diflipated at their Recovery ; for then they went any where, regardlefs of the Contagion and invulne- rable : And if others fare in the fame Manner, where will be the Difadvantage to Inoculation or thofc who receive it ? Sure I am this looks ra- ther as a Proof and Confirmation of Inoculation than any Objection againft it. 4. OI'HEKS have the worft Sort. For Peace fake, I am ready to allow D—s and his Friends this -3 but he will allow me to fay modeftly with Pylarinus, they moft frequently have the diftinct Sort. Here D—s may learnedly comment on moft frequently, (as in pag. 11.) h. e. not always fo. And I muft confefs, it is not always fo, that thofe who are inoculated have the diftintt and beft Sort. It would be cenfur'd as unfair here,if I fhould fay that fuch may have received the Small-Pox before Inoculation ; but is it not equally unjuft to lay either the cr-heerent or con- fluent Kind to Inoculation ? It is certainly as abfurd, at leaft, to fay, that even in Times of General In- fection none may have taken thcDeftemper before. they have been inoculated; as it is unfair to pro- nounce fuch infected before Inoculationwho have it very bad: So that under this Head the con- tending Parties may (hake hands. But for Argu- ment fake, I fhould be willing to allow that fome C 10) who have receiv'd the Small-Pox by Incifions, Have yet been very full of Pocks, and even of the confluent Hind $ but then they are very few in Comparifon with thofe who have a benign Sort and favourable Symptoms, as all who are not blind, or perverfely wilful and illnatur'd, may See. Even the dull, the heavy-ey'd, the fleepy D-^s himfelf can perceive it, and dares acknow- Jege it in pag. 25. and 26. 5. SOME have died of it. I am free to grant it, to oblige him, ( who never obliged any body nor favoured any Thing, unlefs for his own Prc- fit,viz.)our Graduated Friend. But \ifomc have died, their Number is very Small. Dr* Jurin, as D—s confeffcs, has fhewed that, of thofe who have been inoculated in Great Britain, nine only have died in 448, which is one in about 49, or 50. And the fame ingenious Doctor has pro- ved from the Bills of Mortality at London, that one in about 6, or 7, or 8. at fartheft, have died of the natural Small-Pox. For nay part I am ready to acknowlege, ( what he defires and con* tends for pag. 22. ) that but one in ten here have died of the natural Small-Pox ; or, if it will fatify him and his Chronies, that but one in ^twenty have given up the Ghoft with it : And yet, when I have allowed this, the Practice oi Inoculation appears, by far the moft fuccefsful and advantageous; *ind therefore every wife Man, in Danger ofthe Small- Pox,will prefer the taking of it by Incifions. As for thofe who have died under, or aftery or (if he pleafes) tf Inoculation in New-England ;I cannot but think, and I have Ihe Pleafure to find that many are with me in the Opinion, that, >f the fordid D—s had any Thing ofthe Generous in his abjeft 2y$ind, he would have relied upon it, that you have fairly ac- fcnowlegc<| ( II) knowleged all and every one you knew to have died under or of it :Bjp ic feems he won't believe you. And why ? Becaufe, fovfooth, Mrs. G. wlifpert that there were many more tube died of it. And will Mr. Goofe h;lieve her Whifper lboner tbaa your open Declaration ? And not ilir alone fays this; but (con- tinues he p. 14. ) fome Porters fay that it was whifpei'd in fun- dry Houfety where the Dead h.ul heen carried froms that the Per- fon bad b-en inoculated. Bji if he places fuch Confidence in what/owe Porters heard wlvfper'd lure I am he delcrvct to be treated like a Porter. And I cannne but think ir no Smalt Reflection on out UltrajeSfine Do11or; tbar he knows what the Porters fay ; it looks as if lis were acquainted with them. Bjc fliis is not all. To thefc Reports he adds p. 15.! am certain of one more who died after Inocul nion, at they exprefs rtt having with her Inoculator attended her in her Illnefs, this was Houfe- keeper to &c. Here I could make You and myfelf merry with that admirable Paragraph, having with her Inoculator attended her in her lllnefs ; But I will not, as long as I know his Mean- ing. In Anfwer to which, I proteft, firft of all, that I -cjueftioa whether the was Inoculated ? But if (be was, I maintain her Death is no Dityrace to Inoculation : For it is whifper'd, ( And jn-iy not ourlVhifpers be as good as D—s' ?) that foe was a Strum- pot > who ( if (he had not at the. time of her Inoculation fome foul Difiemper ) had fome Remains of the Venereal Taint in her grofs & filthy Body ; Bit if Ihe-Were aschaft, vertuous & pure 3« Diana herfeif, her Small Pox Fe*ver, he coiifeffa began after two Days, Ifuppofc be means on the third Day: It is therefore at leaft probable that the Wench had receiv'd the InfeHion before ; and by confidence it was hardly worth his while to make any noife about it. As to what he has remark'd of Capt. Osbo»n*s Account ib the Royal Tranfaclions; it is enough co fay, that thofe Words, I knew of £b many who were inocul.ued,werc expfts'd in a loofe and carelefs Manner by him; and that all he feems to mean, is, he helkv'd there had been that Number or thereabouts inoculated-, which indeed was all he could pretend to fay : For it is queftio- nabJe whether be did or omddabfolutely know, being vLondm how many you had inoculated, unlefs you had fen» him an Ac- counr.which I fuppofe yo did not. From hisAccount tbereioTe, for £f-s co gather and affert that 20 or 50 Inoculated 1 erlons are concealed\many efwkkb (be fays, p. 15.) without Doubt are in their fihnt Graves\h ihows l»e has a great deal of ill naturd «*- tiaUtyy unrcafooa,blc Prejudice and ftmky Cred^J *&l™,n fuhtioM UP°a ( lO Upon what he further relates (p.i 5.&K?.) of the two Quefti- ons, which either he or fome other Noddy askt; I fhall only ob- ferve that I conceive the latter did not anfwer his Oueftion fo well as the former: For Silence is the beft Anfwer to an imper- tinent Queltion, whether it be askt by a knowing Phyfician or an illiterate Mcchanick. 6. D—s goes on,& fays, that Inoculation fometimes leaves Im- pofiumathns and other Ails. For this he quotes a PafTage of Pylarinus, which I with he had been fb kind as to tranflate, but he would not ; becaufe that Author writes,, however fuch Things have happened, rariffime tamen, they are moft rare and unufuai. So it has proved in New-England, and perhaps the fame would have appeared more fully in Brittain, if due Care had been taken to purge the Reftored. 7. D--s plumply affirms pag. I 7. thofe who have had a Genuine Small-Pox by Inoculation never can have it again in the natural way by Reafon and Experience. A bold Affertion this! But, as bold as it is, he fays, We may confidently pronounce it; fo that now he feems to be one of us. I believe, that he, and fome other Doftors in Town, have held the contrary; and I hope they will ftiew themfclves, now at leaft as ingenuous as he, by making zpullick Retractation. But what if from their Incifions, the Patients have not the genuine Small-Pox, but imperfect Eruptions ? Will thefe excufe them from the Small-Pox ? To be plain and open, Do&or Bovlstone, I would roundly fay No. And I may well fay fo: For Dr. Jurin imagines it poflible for thofe who have fairly had the Small-Pox in the natural way to have it a Second Time, and He brings an example for the Proof of it : This I could not but take Notice of in his Treatife of Inoculation, dedicated to the Princcfs of Walks ; but not having hisBook, which I obtain'd of a Friend, now by me, I cannot refer to the Page where this is reported. But upon it I think it proper to remark, that as the Inftances of this Second Infection are uncommon in the natural Way; So they are unufuai in the way of Incifions : They are fcarcer,afar greater Rarity than Pious and Religious Phyficiansz For ubi tres Medici, ibi duo Athei ; but among three hundred Per- sons who have had the Small-Pox from Incifions, there have hardly been two, who have had it again. 8. He fays p. 20. If it is not us%d with Circumfpe&ion, it is ©/pernicious Confecjuence to populous and Trading Towns. Here I frankly acknowledge, that, if only two or three Perfons have the Small Pox in a City or Town, and there were no likelihood likelihood of its Spreading, it is not fo proper ; nay, to gra- tify him, it is pernicious to inoculate and fpread the Infe&ion.' But where many already have ir, and fcveral are daily vilitcd with itj unbounded Inoculation ( in his Style ) feems to me fo far from an Hardpip and a damping of Trade, that I am verily perfwadcd, if all thofe in Boflon who have not had the Small Pox would be inoculated in one week, it would be vaftly better for the Hwn : For thereby we thould be fpeedily rid of the Diftemper. But now, if the Small Pox goes on in the ufual Method, the Town muft linger under it many Months, and its Trade and Commerce will not only be damped; but have a Stop in a greac Meafurc put to it for a confiderable Time. 9. I have nothing to write againft what he remarks ( p. 21. ) of the Communication of constitutional Difiempers as a Diffi- culty : It will perhaps be found one, if the Pus be taken from thofe of bad Confiitutions and ill Habits :But where will be the Difficulty, if the Pus be taken from one, who before the Small Pox, was a found & vigorous Youth, whofejuices were in a due State of Fluidity, and who therefore was in Perfect Health. In this Cafe, I Ihould think the Patient fafe, and ( to borrow from p-s') I Ihould take all Fear to be chimerical and conjectural. Thus I have gone through his feveral Heads or Proportions, which he has confirmM by Authorities: I could eafily ani- madvert on fome more Particulars under thofe general Heads; but it is Time almoft to conclude my Letter. Indeed I can't help thinking, that D--s himfelf, in pag 2 5." has in a few Linej overthrown all the foregoing Part of his Dijfertationx wherein the Difficulties and Difcouragements of Inoculation are laid down by him : For there he allows, that the Small Pox received by Incifions is found not fo mortal, and that the Symptoms are generally more favourable, than whan it is received by accidental Contagition. Now, you, nor I, nor yet any other reafonable Man, can defire any more : For if the Small Pox is lefs mortal and the Symptoms are more favoura- ble by Incifions than by the natural way ; then he is a Simple- ton, not to fay worfc, who when he is in Danger, will not be inoculated. And then, if, as he further writes in the fame Page, one may take the advantage of benign Small-Pox Conjli- tution and a favourable Seafon of the Tear ; if one may pre- pare his Body for it, and remove the Anxiety which fome are poffefs'd with thro* Fear- ofthe Small Pox : I fay, if all thefe Benefits and Advantages flow from Inoculation, he, who is near the small Pox, and docs not get inoculated, cither knows not ---- ' his \ "r J his InreYeft or difregard* his Welfare. D--S hmifelf muft have drawn this Conclufion, if he had made any Inference from what he fays of the Advantages of Inoculation. It pleafes me much, that the Piijfidans in Town don't think Inoculation criminal now, whatever nil?ht he their Concepti- ons formerly : But D'-'s's Reafbn ( I lay H$ ; for it can never be theirs ) is poor for obviating their fufpielon that ij was fo j viz. The Example of the Royal Family. I mull confefs'their Example is of great Force ; and the fuccefs the Practice of Ino- culation has met with on the Royal Ojffprlng, the Hop's and Joys of Britain and itsPependencics is a ftrong Inducement and fuffieient Encouragement" to the Practice, were it In its own nature indifferent: Bur if the Practice be a Crime in it feif, no "Examples, however fuccefsful, in favour of it, Would make it ceafe to be triminal. What he fays, ( in page 26% viZ. that the Pra&Hionert in Town do generally refolve to perform the Ottration when fequi- *prf)is Very greatful ro you,! believers well as the otherFriends of Inoculation: It Ihows they have a juft Value for the Lives of good People : their Resolution is a credit, and their second Thoughts will bring Honours to them : It is frequent for fal- lible Men to peffevere in Mifiakes thro' Pride or Obftinaey J and yet it is monftrous, abfurd and difrcputable But it is now high time to break off: I (hall do fo, by with* ing that no one will be fo unadvifed ns to truft himfelf in D—s hands under Inoculation \ (fori believe he ftill retains fome of his old Spleen againft the PraBi.e) ; by letting you know that, let D—s write what he will about htaculation or any Tt'ing; elfe, I will ( if no one elfc will expofe him ) take liefure Op- portunity to Ihow his Blunders and Errors \ and by affuring you, that I am, with great Efttcm and A&dion, Tyear Sir, Tour v$*y faithful htmbk Servants March $< 1729,30,