If you have a prostate, especially an enlarged one, then this post about an 18th century senior judge and his swollen gland, the one located below every man’s bladder, will be (should be) of interest to you. I had a prostate scare two years ago this month, so this is a subject close to my heart (and my prostate). We start in 1768 then flashback to 1765, then return to 1768. Here we go.
1768: Meet Scottish judge Auchinleck and his dicky prostate
This story is about 18th century Scottish judge Lord Auchinleck (60), his prostate (also 60) and his son James Boswell (27), who we know today as the world’s greatest biographer. On 2 January 1768, father and son were visiting lawyer friends, the hugely influential Dundas family, at their home, Arniston House, just south of Edinburgh. (Actually, Robert Dundas, Lord President of Scotland’s Court of Session, was Auchinleck’s boss.)
We know all this because Boswell writes about it in his journal, which academics at Yale university published in 1957, as Boswell in Search of a Wife 1766-1769. The journal entry for that day (2 January 1768) says his father fell ill with an old complaint at 9pm that evening (p.121). A note about the “complaint” appears at the bottom of the page: “A suppression of urine, probably due to an enlarged prostate.” See where I’m going with this?
That same note tells us Auchinleck first mentioned this complaint in a letter to Boswell more than two years earlier, at the time of a trial in 1765 when he sat for nine hours “without rising” (I’m assuming he didn’t pee for nine hours.) And helpfully – thanks to journal editors Frank Brady and Frederick Pottle – there’s a cross reference to this trial in the preceding Yale journal Boswell on the Grand Tour: Italy, Corsica, and France 1765-1766 (p.225-226), which every self-respecting Boswell aficionado should have on his/her bookshelf.
1765: Lord Auchinleck tells Boswell about his complaint
So now we go back in time to 1765. At this point, the young Boswell had completed his law studies in Utrecht (1763-1764) and was on the final leg of his Grand Tour of Europe. By the end of November of 1765 letters from his frustrated father (Auchinleck), who was grudgingly funding this tour, were reaching the young man in Italy and, besides updates on news about the family and urging Boswell to hasten his return home, he mentions the court case which he believes started the complaint. In the letter, which reached Boswell on the Continent more than three months later, Auchinleck writes:
Edinburgh, 14 August 1765
Boswell on the Grand Tour: Italy, Corsica, and France 1765-1766, p.224-225The trial I mentioned came on Monday at seven in the morning and did not end till this morning at one o’clock.
That’s one o’clock on WEDNESDAY morning. So the court sat for 40 hours!
Yale editors Brady and Pottle’s notes on the trial and prostate
Brady and Pottle’s associated note (Boswell on the Grand Tour: Italy, Corsica, and France 1765-1766, p.225) tells us this trial was one of the most notorious of the 18th century and involved a young woman, Katharine Nairn (19), who married the laird of Eastmiln, Thomas Ogilvy (40). Soon after their wedding, Nairn began an affair with the laird’s younger brother Patrick. And sometime after, they plotted, poisoned and murdered the laird. Both were found guilty. Patrick was hanged, and the pregnant Nairn gave birth (the infant died) and then escaped to France. The editors’ note (p.225) says:
“During the examination of the principal witness for the prosecution in this trial, Lord Auchinleck sat nine hours without rising from his seat. This was believed to have brought on the serious ailment which he reports in his next letter, and from which he suffered all the rest of his life.” [Excerpt from next letter, below.]
Lord Auchinleck’s letter to his son James Boswell
Glasgow, 16 September 1765
Boswell on the Grand Tour: Italy, Corsica, and France 1765-1766
p.225…I came to Auchinleck, where I was taken dangerously ill and was a’ death’s door; indeed, for a day or two I expected every hour would have been my last. My distemper was a total suppression or obstruction of urine.
The letter sets out the work of his surgeon Mr Parlane and how he managed to get the “water drawn off” – an operation that needed to be done twice a day – in order to achieve some ease. He then makes the case, based on “filial duty” for his son (Boswell) to return home soon.
1768: Boswell describes his father’s agony and advice
Now, fast forward and return to Saturday 2 January 1768. Remember Boswell says his father was struck down at nine in the evening. He adds that Thomas (Thomas Edmondson, Boswell’s servant) was sent to Edinburgh to fetch a catheter (it’s not clear from the text and presumably someone, the surgeon Mr Parlane, to put it in place).
Saturday 2 January 1768
Boswell In Search of a Wife, 1766-1769
p.121For some hours my father was in agony. In the view of death he gave me the best and most affectionate advices. He spoke of Miss Blair as the woman whom he wished I would marry… He said if business did not succeed with me after his death I should retire to the country. He charged me to take care of my brothers, to be a worthy man, and keep up the character of the family.
Boswell continues and tells us Thomas returns with the catheter and Auchinleck was easy within five minutes. He writes that he himself went calmly to bed.
2024-2026: My prostate versus Auchinleck’s prostate
It’s not a competition, but two years ago I finally went to the doc after complaining to my wife of an ache round about my bladder. The doc gave me a three second rectal exam at the end of which he announced in a surprised voice: “Oh my, your prostate is very swollen.” After I got dressed he held up his fore and middle finger pinched together and said: “Your prostate should be this size. But yours is that size,” and he knitted together all four fingers, waved them at me and nodded his head.
My enlarged prostate gave me some slight discomfort, I was but Auchinleck had been in agony (his symptoms and the treatment lead researchers to speculate the cause was an enlarged prostate). I had blood tests and a specialist the following week reassured me all was fine. [NOTE: I’ll leave the medical descriptions and advice to the experts. I make sure to get my information from a reputable source, eg. UK’s National Health Service.]
My ‘scare’ happened one week after Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy announced his prostate cancer had spread to his bones and doctors had given him a two to four years life expectancy. My GP and the specialist told me it’s common for men my age (I was 59 then) to have an enlarged prostate and my symptoms were also common – slight discomfort, peeing more often – especially at night (it’s true), taking a long time to complete a pee etc.
So, when I think about Auchinleck I’m very sympathetic. He was 58 when he first noticed the problem, and I was 59. If you need to pee, even if you’re a judge hearing a trial, then please don’t hold on to it for too long. Just ‘go’. Righto, I’ll stop speaking about prostates and peeing.
Notes
Boswell on the Grand Tour: Italy, Corsica, and France 1765-1766, (eds) F Brady and FA Pottle (1955)
Boswell in Search of a Wife, 1766-1769, (eds) F Brady and FA Pottle (1957)
* Both these editions are from publisher Heinemann, so page numbers mentioned in the text may differ from the McGraw-Hill editions.
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