Col. William Scollay, aged fifty-two, of a plethoric habit of body,
was attacked, in the year 1805, with dyspnoea and palpitation of the
heart, attended with irregularity of the pulse, and oedema of the
lower extremities. By the aid of medicine, the dropsical collections
were absorbed, and he recovered his health, so far as to follow his
usual occupations, nearly a year; but was then compelled to relinquish
them. The symptoms afterwards underwent various aggravations and
remissions, till the beginning of the winter of 1808-9, when the
attacks became so violent, as to confine him to the house. His face
was then high coloured. The faculties of his mind were much impaired.
The dyspnoea became more constant, and was occasionally attended by
cough; the palpitations rather lessened in violence; the pulse was
more irregular, and exceedingly intermittent. The abdomen and inferior
extremities were sometimes enormously distended with water, and
afterwards subsided nearly to their usual size. One of the earliest,
most frequent, and distressing symptoms, was an intense pain in the
head. About two months before death, a hemiplegia took place, but
after a few days disappeared. This so much impaired the operations of
the mind, that the patient afterwards found great difficulty in
recollecting words sufficient to form an intelligible sentence. During
the existence of the last symptom the pulse was regular.
He gradually expired, on the 15th of March, 1809.