A Rowland for an Oliver, in answer to Dr. Moseley's Oliver for a Rowland, and to Mr Birch ; containing a defence of vaccination / By John Ring.

  • Ring, John, 1752-1821.
Date:
1807
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A Rowland for an Oliver, in answer to Dr. Moseley's Oliver for a Rowland, and to Mr Birch ; containing a defence of vaccination / By John Ring. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    some time ago, came under my own observation. In November 1805, a poor woman of this place caught the small-pox at a neighbouring village; of. which she died. Her husband soon fell a victim to the same disease; leaving five helpless orphans to the care of the parish. The alarm was immediately given ; and a general inoculation commenced. Unfortunately, at that time, many of the absurdities and falsehoods contained in Dr. Rowley's publications, had become known to the lower orders of people ; consequently the very mention of the word cow-pox, produced in them evident tokens of horror and disgust; and they preferred the hazard of the natural small-gG|s;^ to vaccination. It was in vain urged, that the most respectable inhabitants of the place had their families vaccinated ; 1 had no alternative ; but was under the necessity .of inoculating a great number of patients for the small- pox, within a few days. In the mean time, however, I collected several children, whom I had vaccinated at different periods, some as far back as the year 1800; and, in the presence of a great number of these de^ luded people, inoculated them with variolous matter; in order to convince them of the efhcacy of vacci- nation. Several days elapsed before they could be satisfied of the, truth of what I had asserted; and, during this interval, five hundred persons were ino- culated for the small-pox. All the vaccine patients having resisted the test of variolous inoculation, upwards of two hundred others came forward to be vaccinated; and as no deaths