Nelson & His World

I have read a few reports of the varying states of Nelsons health, but this letter to Spiridon Foresti is quite intriguing, particularly in the postscript.
Here he is asking Spiridon for the 'infallible remedy' for Gout.

Does anyone know if Nelson suffered 'the fits' of Gout, I have never come across any reference, or was he perhaps trying to obtain the cure for someone else, Davison perhaps who was know to suffer.

TO SPIRIDION FORESTI, ESQ., CORFU.
28th March, 1800.
All your letters are highly interesting, and continue to
prove your unabated zeal in the cause of your King and
Country. Be assured that there is not any man in Europe
that estimates your services higher than myself. Most pro-
bably my health will force me to retire in April, for I am
worn out with fatigue of body and mind. Yesterday we had
the melancholy account of the loss of the Queen Charlotte,
by fire, on the 17th, off Leghorn. Lord Keith was on shore,
but many lives were lost. Buonaparte has again offered
terms of peace, which have been rejected. The Ships at
Malta are preparing to get out of the harbour, and whenever
that event happens, the Garrison will, of course, surrender. I
wish the Prince Volkonsky was there, with his 3000 troops.
The Grand Master wrote to me himself, that he had named
him as Commander of the troops ordered for Malta, and his
letter was dated January 4th, New Style. I am, &c.

BRONTE NELSON OF THE NILE.

P.S. A friend of mine has heard, and read in a French
book, that your Islands have an infallible remedy for the
gout, I therefore beg that you will either send the receipt or
ingredients.

[Nicholas vol. iv p.213 - also C&M vol. ii p.247]

Regards

Yes, I think you're right; this was a plea on someone else's behalf or surely he would have mentioned his gout along with his 'fatigue of body and mind' in the main text of the letter? And if he'd suffered from gout - you can bet HN would have mentioned it in his letters, along with coughs, colds, headaches, fevers, spasms, chest pains, brain fever....etc. etc.

People call him a hypochondriac but I don't think he was - his illnesses, pains etc. really existed (though sometimes his self-diagnosis was wrong) and caused him a lot of misery - and sometimes, it just helped to have a moan.

On second & third thoughts, I was sure I'd read 'somewhere' that Nelson suffered from gout and sure enough - here it is! In the well-known account of Nelson's death, Dr Beatty also notes that Nelson suffered from gout quite a lot:


'It is true, that HIS LORDSHIP, about the meridian of life, had been subject to frequent fits of the gout: which disease however, as well as his constitutional tendency to it, he totally overcame by abstaining for the space of nearly two years from animal food, and wine and all other fermented drink; confining his diet to vegetables, and commonly milk and water.'

Nowadays, of course, gout can be treated with anti-inflammatory drugs; but 'sensible' medical websites also recommend attention to diet, including lots of fresh vegetables, plus avoidance of alcohol and purine-rich foods [i.e. animal protein] - the sort of thing that worked for Nelson, apparently.

In a letter to William Locker dated 23 January 1780 sent from Port Royal, Nelson twice mentions that he is suffering from gout. 'You know my old complaint in the breast; it is tuened out to be the gout got there....' and later, 'I have been twice given over since you left this country, with that cursed disorder, the gout.'

Whether it was actually gout, or a misdiagnosis I'm not sure.

In a letter to William Locker dated 23 January 1780 sent from Port Royal, Nelson twice mentions that he is suffering from gout. 'You know my old complaint in the breast; it is turned out to be the gout got there....' and later, 'I have been twice given over since you left this country, with that cursed disorder, the gout.'

Whether it was actually gout, or a misdiagnosis I'm not sure.


Here's an interesting comment on 18th century perceptions about gout.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2553870/

I don't know much about gout. Is it even possible to have gout 'in the breast'?