More about Dr. Benjamin Allen (1666-1738), of Braintree, naturalist / by Miller Christy.

  • Christy, Miller.
Date:
1912
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: More about Dr. Benjamin Allen (1666-1738), of Braintree, naturalist / by Miller Christy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    10/18 (page 6)
    extremely popular. It was, no doubt, during the period when he held the deanery, that he suffered from the illness mentioned, and drank the water from the chalybeat spring at Wethersfield. This old mineral spring, now lost, has been noticed by Miss Thresh and myself in our article on the Medicinal Springs of Essex.6 7 One other passage dealing with medical matters shows Allen in a somewhat curious dilemma professionally. He is writing (p. 190) of some year in which small pox was prevalent in Braintree—probably either 1711 or 17218 9—and of certain patients who suffered from “ rhume ” as well as small pox. He seems to have considered (so far as one can gather) that he could cure them by administering a certain remedy which would first cure the “ rhume,” though there was some risk that it might kill the patient by stopping the development of the small pox. He hesitated, therefore, to administer his remedy; wch., at that time might have cost me my life ; for the malice of the Empirics (chiefly, John Barnard, the apothecary, and Mr. Firmm) had so- leaven’d the evil natur of the town that, had 1 given him anything and he had dyd they would have sayd L killed him and would have assaulted me so I was forced to let him dy ; so, by abusing my reputation, several others in other cases have dyd, which I could without question have been a means to preserve ; but I could not carry it, so on them let it [i.e. the blame] ly.” It was a nice point in medical etiquette. How would a modern physician have dealt with it ? Ours is not, however, a medical society, and this fact debars me from dwelling further on the medical aspect of Allen’s notes. I may however, repeat the belief I have already expressed that these volumes of Allen’s are “ worth the serious attention of some student of the history of medicine in this country It is true that they are not of very early date ; but, taking the period to which they belong, it would be impossible, I apprehend, to find a fuller personal record of the practice of medicine as carried on at the time by an exceptionally-careful and observant country practitioner, or to discover another equally-precise 6 Sir William Dawes (1671-1724). the ^ Taylors School and at his father s seat. Lyons, in Braintree, an.dn^8.3.^Xr unLpec?edly. he removed to St. at St.John’s College, Oxford. Succeeding h _ t ,6„6 becoming chaplain to Catherine’s Hall, Cambridge, of which he was chosen master in i 9 . Archbishop of the King in the same year. He was appointed Bishop of Chester in i7« , York in 17:3. 7 See E.N., xv., p. 229 (1909). 8 See ante,pp. 160 and t6t. 9 See ante, p. 158.