Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-08-23

At a. m. the surgeons gave the patient
| an enema, consisting of four ounces of beef
| extract with the yolk of an egg, and shortly
afterward, In compliance with his request
he was given a small quantity of koumiss,
which he swallowed and retained without
discomfort. Later in the morning, as there
were no signs of gastric disturbance, the
patient was given more koumiss and milk
porridge, and by noon he had taken and re-
tained ten or twelve ounces.
The exciting cause of the vomiting yester-
day-namely, mucus in the throat-seemed
to day to be absent. The secretions from
the infamed parotid gland were very scanty
and gave the patient no annoyance, and the
| gland itself caused little, If any, pain. He,
therefore, rested more quietly than usual
throughout the day, swallowing liquid nour-
| ishment at regular intervals without nausea
| or discomfort.
Between I2 and l O'Clock another anema
was given, consisting of five ounces Of beef
extract and the yolk Of an egg, and shortly
after this the patient went to sleep. With
| the exception of the usual slight rise of the
pulse and temperature his condition re-
maiued substantially unchanged throughout
the remainder of the day.
TAKING FOOD THE ONLY GOOD SIGN.
II P. M.-Soon after the evening examina-
tion the President went to sleep, and
slept continuously for two hours. His fever
has gradually abated, and his pulse has
fallen to 1922 Dr.. Boynton, who
came from his room short
time since, reports that he
seems slightly better than at the date of the
evening bulletin. He has swallowed to day
in all about twenty ounces Of liquid food,
and has taken eighteen or twenty ounces
more by enemata. SO far as his ability to
take nourishment is concerned, he is better
| to night than last night. In other respects
his condition is substantially unchanged.
SLEEPING AT MIDNIGHT.
MIDNIGHT.-Since IL o'clock the Presi-
dent has rested quietly and comfortably,
and at this hour is asleep.
| A FRANK CoLLoQUY WITH DIR BoYNToN.
DIR. Boynton, Mrs. Garfeld's physician,
who is now acting as nurse to President
! Garfield, was met at the Ebbitt House this
afternoon by representative of the Asso-
ciated Press, when the following dialogue
| took place:
"In your opinion, doctor, what is the out
| look at present ?"
81 think the President is little improved
today. He has taken and retained his
nourishment we'll"
''What kind of nourishment are you
| giving him today"
"The same as heretofore, koumiss and
milk porridge."
''Does the patient appear to relish it?"
ooh yes, he asked for it this morning, you
know"
Glow do you feel about the glandulsr
| trouble today"
''I feel better about it to-day"
elias it grown materially harder than 1t
wasp
"No, do not think it quite so large as it
was, and | am quite confident, should sup
! puration set in, it will be in much smaller
| degree and have a less serious effect than it
would have had had it commenced to sup
purate before. If it should suppurate now,
| possibly it will not do any great injury"
"What are the chances of preventing sup
puration?"
"Well, | cannot answer that question. 1t
is very uncertain complication, and one
about which no reliable prediction can be
made"
Chow long will it be before you can de-
eide whether or not suppuration is likely to
occur?"
"The glandular affection became visible
on Wednesday last. | should think by to-
morrow or Wednesday we should be able to
determine"
"Do you consider that the Presidents
stomach is performing its natural functions
now ~
''Yes. think his stomach is doing very
well "
"There has been some talk about the
! Presidents being delirious at times. Doc
tor. what are the facts about.that ?n
"The President has been a little delirious
at times, but it has not amounted to any
| thing serious"
"To what do you attribute the delirium ?"
''It is caused by his extremely feeble con
dition, together with his long Illness It
would be likely to occur in any case where
the patient had become SO enfeebled as the
President has"
"Then you do not attach any great i'm
| portance to itH''
"NO, sir; none at al"
"Well, doctor, / understand that the at
tending surgeons have administered with
/ the enemata portion of opium. Is that
true? If so, wouldn't it have a tendency to
cause deliriums?"
SIN all cases where enemata are admin
istered a small quantity of laudanum, or
something similar, is one of the compo-
nent parts. This is administered for the
| purpose of aiding the retention of the enc
mats. 1t isn't sufficient to cause diIirium."
"What do you think of the case on the
whole to-day?"
81 feel more encouraged than 1 did yes
terday."
The doctor intimated at the conclusion of
the interview that the President was still in
a very precarious condition, and that his
encouragement was based on the outlook at
that time.
CAN HE BE NoURIsHED
In conversation with a reporter of the
Associated Press late this afternoon, DIR.
| Bliss, who seemed rather more than ordi-
narily cheerful and confident. said that the
! general condition Of the President had not
changed very much since yesterday, but
that what change there had been was in the
direction of an improvement. at is fur
| thermore," he said, ga change in pre-
cisely those symptoms which are re-
garded with most anxiety, and
which have the most direct bearing upon
the future of the case, viz: the symptoms
| dependent upon the condition of the stom-
ach. The one great question now," he
said, sis the question of nourishment. If
| the Presidents stomach will take and as
simulate food enough to meet the drain on
his system caused by the fever and the con-
slant secretion Of the pus, and to sustain
his strength until the other unfavora-
BILE complications disappear, and to enable
nature to carry on the process of
repair, which has begun in the wound, l
think there is every probability of a COM
! plete recovery. The consequence of the
swelling of the parotid gland or the slight
septic taint OF the blood, in which that
swelling had its origin, are of secondary
importance when compared with the con-
| sequences OF the failure of the stomach to
assimilate food. Exhaustion is the thing
most to be feared.n
Upon being asked what he thought of the
condition of the patients stomach to-day,
DIR. Bliss said: sit takes food to-day very
well, and we hope to have no further
trouble with it. The stomach itself was
not so much in fault yesterday. The vomit-
ing was caused by the patients strenuous
efforts to get rid of the mucuous in his
throat. He told me at the time that he felt
no nausea. To-day hardly any mucus has
been seereted, and consequently the stom-
ach has not been disturbed in that way'
In reply to questions in regard to the in
famed gland, Dr. Bliss said: "The glandu-
lar swelling is still hard, and shows no
signs, as yet, of subsiding, although
the swelling of the surrounding parts has
pretty much disappeared. Whether suppu-
ration will take place or not we cannot tell.
| am rather inclined to think It will. l do
not, however, apprehend any serious conse-
quences, even in that case, pro-
vfded we can maintain the
patients strength. The pus which forms
is likely to be Of healthy character, and
we shall liberate 1t promptly by an incision.
There has been no pain in the gland this
afternoon, and it has caused the patient lit
tie annoyance"
With regard to the septic faint in the
blood WHICH was the predisposing cause of
the glandular Inflammation, DR.. Bliss said:
"In case of this kind, where the patient
becomes enfeebled by loDg-contiaued fever
and suppuration, there is always a low and
impoverished state of the blood. 1t is indeed,