ABSTRACT
The indisposition that I heard my Daughter4 was in att Pitfirane all this weeke was a trouble to mee to heare itt[, a]nd so much the more that the Long distemper I haue beene in my selfe (hauing nott these 9 months beene able to ride any where) made mee vnfitt to goe outt to see her. And my aprehensions for her was the greater because rising well outt of her bed shee tooke so sodaine & so violent a paine in her backe & <all> one side yt shee was nott able to stirre butt as shee was caried to her bed. Docter St Clare was sent for & hee nott beeing in Towne & Doctor Halkett nott well himselfe could nott come to her[, a]nd so wanted them when shee had most need[. B]utt itt seemes Dr Halkett beeing informed of her condittion sent word to haue her take 9 or 10 ounces of blood. And this Morning hearing accidentally that shee had sent for Saundus Petry to doe itt[, a]nd hee nott beeing att home{,} I Looked vpon itt as a duty in mee too goe & offer my selfe to performe that seruice to her. [T]hough I had many debates with my selfe whether I should goe or noe[, 321] first nott beeing well my selfe & then perhaps riding might make mee worse And yn I would nott bee able to performe the thing I went for. Then I considered how many whose imployment itt was to lett blood had had very ill succese with itt so that some had lost the vse of there arme.5 And if such an accedent should fall outt vnder my hand itt would bee a trouble to mee as Long as I Liued. Butt on the otherside I considered that if any ill consequences should fall outt vpon her nott beeing bled; That on the otherside would trouble mee as much. So in this as in all things els of concerne; I sought the Lord & hee heard mee and deliuered mee from all my feares. [F]or Blesed bee his holy Name I went outt safe & returned in safety And Lett her blood very well And I hope ye Lord will make itt conduce to her recouery. One of my troubles before I went was that this beeing a day of my retirement wch I indeauer to spend in Deuotion that my going outt would bee an interuption to that[.] Butt I considered with my selfe that itt was the retirement [322] of the heart from all vaine & sensuall delight and to abstaine from all apeareance of euill which was the best way to make my abstaince6 acceptable to God who was in all places, and therfore could make all places & occations contribute to that end for wch I doe deuote ye day to his seruice. I thought perhaps the Lord had giuen mee this occation to goe there this day to stirre vp my owne Deuotion by taking some
4 I.e., Sir Charles Halkett’s wife, Janet. 5 Although leeches were used in blood-letting in the seventeenth-century, Halkett’s
reference to the potential loss of a limb suggests that she was planning to use venesection, which involved opening a vein, usually with a lancet (a small two-edged knife). A false cut could slice a nerve or a tendon (Johnson (1665): 441-4).
