Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

91. The girl was infected with syphilis.

"That rutting donkey," Dugan chuckled, then went to Betty's farm near the military camp to find Gris.

Sure enough, Dugan rode his horse and saw from afar Gris leaning against Betty's cowshed, while Betty crossed her arms and leaned against the cowshed, looking at Gris with a sickeningly sweet gaze as he gestured wildly.

The two laughed and whispered intimately.

"Gris!" Dugan shouted from a distance.

When Betty saw that others had arrived, she hurriedly took a few steps back, distancing herself from Gris, and her face turned red.

"Dugan? What brings you here?" Gris, thick-skinned as ever, asked Dugan with a smile.

"The War Office wants me to go back. I suspect something big is going to happen." Du Gen intended to tell Gris that he was about to return to London and to instruct him and Ken to behave themselves, fully cooperate with Colonel Decken and Major Harkert in managing military affairs, and not to cause trouble.

But just as his gaze casually swept across Betty's face, his brows suddenly furrowed, his eyes drawn to an ulcer on Betty's face.

To be honest, this girl named Betty had fair skin and looked like a well-behaved girl, but there was a small ulcer on the right corner of her lip.

Oral ulcers caused by common internal heat usually present with red and swollen lesions, blurred edges, and significant pain, covered with a white necrotic membrane, and can heal on their own within a few days.

But Betty's wound on her lips was completely different. The wound was clean and neat, with a hard texture, slightly raised, and a dark reddish color. It didn't seem serious, but it was very distinctive.

Before his time travel, Dugan was a surgeon, albeit an intern, but he had seen many different types of skin diseases and sexually transmitted lesions during his internship.

With just one glance, Dugan could tell with absolute certainty that this was not a common canker sore caused by internal heat or inflammation, but a typical chancre of primary syphilis.

Even in later generations with advanced medical technology, syphilis remains a very difficult disease to treat. But in 1804, without penicillin or precise antiviral drugs, syphilis was a truly incurable disease.

Once fully infected, after the incubation period, the infection will erode all the organs, cause ulceration and pus discharge, damage nerves, and ultimately lead to a painful and tragic death with no cure.

Just that one glance was enough to make Dugan's pupils shrink and a cold sweat instantly break out on his back.

Although Dugan considers Gris a bad friend, a bad friend is still a friend!

Moreover, Gris is very loyal and would go to great lengths for me.

Moreover, Griss had grown up with Dugan since childhood, and Dugan couldn't just stand by and watch Griss contract syphilis.

"Gris, come with me," Dugan said sternly.

"What is it? Can't we say it here?" Gris said dismissively.

"Important military intelligence, concerning our life and death." Dugan dragged Gris away from Betty, and only stopped abruptly after confirming that no one was around and that they could not hear any conversation.

"Dugan, what are you trying to do?" Griss asked, somewhat annoyed. "You've wasted my precious time."

Dugan turned and stared intently at Gris. "I'm going to ask you a question now, and you must answer me truthfully, without hiding anything."

Gris had never seen Dugan so serious before. "You ask, and I'll tell you the truth."

Dugan asked, "Did you and Betty have a relationship?"

Gris clearly misunderstood Dugan. He was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "My brother, you're interested in Betty too? No problem, the three of us..."

"Idiot!" Dugan exclaimed angrily, grabbing Gris's collar but then letting go as if he'd been electrocuted, pushing Gris far away.

"I'm trying to save you. If you haven't had a relationship yet, cut off all ties immediately. Stay far away from her from now on, never see her again, and don't have any intimate contact whatsoever. If you have... well, now you can only pray to God for your safety."

Seeing Dugan's expression, Gris seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation. "What do you mean? Could it be?"

“That’s right, that girl has contracted the French disease!” Dugan said. “The sore on her lip is caused by the French disease.”

These words startled Gris so much that he collapsed to the ground, beads of sweat visible on his temples and forehead.

"We...we haven't..." Gris gasped, "We were planning to...God!"

Griss sat slumped on the ground for a while before finally standing up. "Dugan, thank you, you saved me!"

The British have always called syphilis the "French disease," a name that didn't come about overnight.

Over the centuries, the disease spread to Britain via merchants and returning soldiers across the Channel. Over time, the people came to believe that the disease originated in France.

In addition, given the long-standing animosity between Britain and France, and the British's long-standing contempt for the French people's dissolute lifestyle, they simply linked this shameful ailment to the customs of their neighbor.

When Napoleon was crowned emperor and the Anglo-French war intensified, the "French disease" became a coded language for the entire nation to vent their hostility.

In fact, this was the case all over Europe, with everyone blaming their neighbors: German soldiers called it "Polish disease," while the French called it "Neapolitan disease" or "Italian disease."

In Europe during this era, many nobles were infected with syphilis.

For example, some researchers in later generations believed that Napoleon Bonaparte suffered from difficulty urinating, which may have been caused by gonorrhea brought by Josephine.

Napoleon's health deteriorated after 1804, with symptoms including hair loss, obesity, and headaches. Some scholars speculated that this was due to latent syphilis, but the official autopsy concluded that it was stomach cancer.

For example, Napoleon's sister Pauline Bonaparte was known for her debauchery. Historical records indicate that she suffered from various sexually transmitted diseases, including salpingitis and gonorrhea, which led to infertility and chronic abdominal pain. By 1804, her health had clearly declined.

Other European royalty and nobility, such as King Frederick I of Württemberg, have reliable records indicating that he suffered facial disfigurement due to syphilis and wore a mask to formal occasions for many years.

Frederick, Duke of York, the second son of George III, became a target of attacks from the parliamentary opposition due to mental health issues stemming from syphilis and a chaotic private life.

For example, the Russian nobleman Alexander Kuragin was very active in Parisian social circles, and his diary contains cryptic records of his syphilis treatment experiences, including mercury fumigation and dietary restrictions.

Syphilis also spurred the development of fashion trends.

For example, the Ascot scarves and high-necked coats popular among European aristocratic men during that era were primarily used to cover up swollen and ulcerated lymph nodes in the neck caused by syphilis.

To conceal the patchy hair loss and scalp ulceration caused by syphilis, powdered wigs remained a standard accessory for the nobility in 1804.

To mask the putrid smell of syphilitic ulcers, Parisian perfumers launched "medical perfumes" for aristocratic clients, among other things.

"..." Seeing Griss so frightened and distraught, Dugan could only pat him on the shoulder as a consolation.

Gris clasped his hands together and looked up at the sky, saying, "I swear to God, I will remain chaste for the rest of my life!"

Dugan finally breathed a sigh of relief, mounted his horse and returned to the camp, then boarded a carriage and headed to London.