TO RENÉ DESCARTES FROM HELENA JANS

Santpoort

United Provinces

Saturday, September 1, 1640

Dearest Rener,

Please, you must return home at once. Our Francine has taken ill. At first she was only tired and I thought it was not serious. Then her throat got sore. Spots came up on her chest and neck. Now the rash reaches everywhere, even into her armpits. Her whole small body is an angry red, save around her mouth, where her skin has turned ghostly white. What worries me most is the fierce fever that refuses to leave her. I have brought in a physician and like me, he is mainly concerned about the fever. I had heard that bloodletting from the vein above the thumb can be good against fevers but the doctor has counselled me against all bloodletting from any part of her body. He says it may actually increase the fever. She is not to eat any animal food nor take cordials. He will not purge Francine, although he says when she has fewer symptoms he may treat her with a mild laxative. He says these are modern ideas of the English doctor Sydenham and he follows Sydenham’s teachings in his own practice with some success. It is a way to achieve natural healing, he says. But I am not sure. How she suffers.

I waited a day to send word to you. Maybe this was a mistake, but I knew your meeting with your publisher in Leiden was important. In any case, I can wait no more. Come now.

I fear for our child. How can a little five-year-old defeat so big a sickness? Today, I began to feel unwell too. How will I care for our daughter if the disease strikes me?

Praying for your speedy return,

Helena