A TREATISE OF THE PLAGUE. Being an INSTRUCTION how one ought to Act, in Relation,
I. To APPAREL and LODGING.
II. To DIET.
III. To ANTIDOTES or PRESERVATIVES.
IV. To such MEDICINES, as are necessary to be made use of, when any one shall be so unhappy, as to be visited with the
DISTEMPER.
Wherein is Inserted A rare Collection of a great many
Recipe's
of very valuable
Medicines,
made use of in the
PLAGUE,
by the greatest Physicians in the World, and published for the
General Good
of Mankind, especially the meaner Sort.
By EUGENIUS PHILALETHES, Jun.
LONDON:
Printed for JAMES HOLLAND, at the
Bible
and
Ball
in St.
Paul
's
Church-Yard;
LUKE STOKOE, near
Charing-Cross;
RICHARD MONTAGUE, in
Sheer-Lane;
and JOHN SACKFIELD, at
Lincoln's-Inn Back-Gate.
MDCCXXI.
TO HIS GRACE THE Duke of
Montague.
MY LORD,
A STRANGER
humbly presents to Your Grace the following Pages; he has very good Reasons to believe, they cannot shelter themselves under the
Protection
of a
Patron
more proper than the Duke of
MONTAGUE.
MY LORD,
I do not address my self now to a
Priest,
or a
Levite,
inured to shedding
Blood;
who, insensible to the
Groans
of a
Wounded Traveller,
pass regardless by: But I have the Honour now to speak, as to a good
Samaritan,
whose Profession is to
Heal;
and yet, as much as possible, to
conceal
from the Eye of the World, his
Charities
and
Benefactions.
Alas! What signify those pompous, mad
Buildings,
erected at vas
Expences, and richly founded, i
their
Poor Inhabitants
pass a ted
ous Life in a
Splendid Poverty
or rather, have the Honour to d
daily in Places fit for
Monarch
while those who ought to have th
Care of them, luxuriously riot, and grow fat, on the very
Blood
and
Vital Marrow
of the
poor Invalids.
Not so, my
Noble Lord,
is our Profession: A
true Believer
will not
reveal
to any one his
good Works,
but to such only to whom it may belong; does Acts of
Charity
in
Silence,
covers all with the profoundest
Secrecy,
and receives from within that
sublime Satisfaction,
which none but good Men know. This is what makes us truly Great, and truly Noble: This elevates us to the highest Degrees of
true Glory,
and makes us equal with Kings. It is the most pretious, and most valuable Jewel in the World; a Jewel of great Price, redder and more sparkling than the finest
Rubies,
more transparent than the purest
Chrystal
of the Rock, brighter than the
Sun,
shining in Darkness, and is the
Light
of the
World,
and the
Salt
and
Fire
of the
Universe.
Your Grace, who is Master of so many illustrious Qualities, which make a Man truly Great, knows the Importance of this Eternal Truth; and as you have hitherto practis'd, as well as speculated, pursue your glorious Enterprize; do good to your poor Brethren, (for we are Children of the
Great One Eternal GOD,
the
Lord
and
Master
of us all) and especially, if we should, (as we richly deserve it) be visited with a
Contagious Distemper,
exert your self;
Remember the Poor,
and take Care to provide them with proper Medicines: The Motto of the good
Samaritan
is,
I Cure and say Nothing.
I speak with the Liberty of a
Lover of Truth,
not as a Mercenary Dedicator, who racks his Brains to flatter his
Patron.
This
Philalethes
never did, nor will; and I know your Grace hates it as much as I do. But while I presume to talk after this Manner, I have not the Vanity to imagine I have said any thing that may inform your Grace, or tell you what you did not know before: Learned Men hear Sermons, not to be instructed in what they knew, as well as, (and sometimes perhaps better than) the Preachers, but they consider them as so many seasonable Remembrancers, or like a
faithful Clock,
that warns his Master of the Hour of the Day.
In this Light, I hope your Grace will consider
Philalethes:
You are the Master, and I the Clock, an
Automaton,
a
Movement,
moved by the first great Spring, and strikes accordingly.
I am, My LORD, With entire Submission, Your Grace's true, Most Obedient, and Most Humble Servant, EUGENIUS PHILALETHES, Jun.
Aug.
8, 1721.
A TREATISE OF THE PLAGUE.
ECCLES. Ch. vii. V. xiv.
In the Day of Prosperity be joyful; but in the Day of Adversity consider.
I F ever
France
had Reason to be
joyful,
she has as much Reason now to
consider
the greatest
Adversity
that ever could befall an unhappy People, now involving some of her richest Cities in the most inexpressive Misery and Woe. When I talk after this Manner, every Body knows I mean the
Plague,
which now rages with such invincible Fury in its extreme Parts; and, in all Probability without a particular Turn of Providence, must rage too in its very Bowels. And thus,
France,
once the Terror of its Neighbours, is now become the Object of their Pity and Commiseration. Alas!
How are the Mighty fallen! How unsearchable,
O Thou One Eternal Being,
are thy Counsels, and thy Ways past finding out!
Indeed, human Life is Nothing but one continued Series of Miseries; and we are born to Trouble, whic his as natural to befall us, as for the Sparks to fly upwards; or to use the Words of a Modern
In the
2d
Vol. of the
Penitential Tables,
a Work printed for
J. Sackfield,
near
Lincoln's Inn.
See Dedication to Lady
Harpur.
Author,
Our Life is checquer'd with Misfortunes, or rather, it is a Piece of Mournful Mosaick, where the Black far exceeds the White.
Well then may we be allowed a little Mirth in our short
Prosperities,
by the Preacher, when our long
Adversities
furnish us with Matter of so much
Consideration.
The Time of
Consideration
is arrived;
Adversities
enough surround us through the unnatural Ruin of our own once flourishing and glorious Country, and how far the dreadful Calamity, raging so furiously among our Neighbours may reach us, Heaven only knows.
Proximus ardet,
when the next House is on Fire, it requires all our serious Consideration, Attention, and Application, to prevent catching hold of our own.
To do this, we ought to make use of all the Helps of Nature and Art; and the rich, who have Means to procure both, will not want all possible Aid and Care: The Poor and the middle Sort, are here, as in all other Cases, to be the greatest Sufferers. It is for the Sake of those I publish this small, but I hope, useful Treatise.
The
Physicians
and
Apothecaries
surely will not take this amiss, it would be cruel to think so; I know there are but two sorts of these, the Good, and the Bad; the Good will not, and as for the Bad, those very few are not worth our Notice.
I am very well satisfied, that there have come into the World a great many ingenious Treatises relating to the
Plague;
but as they have been, for the most Part, very speculative, they have served rather to display the fine Genius of their several Authors, than to be of any real Use to Mankind. Alas! What avails it to know the nice Definitions of a Distemper, its remote and proximate Causes, and a long Jargon of Particles, Effluvias, Insects, and that infinite
Gallimatias
of Pestilential and pestiferous Vehicles, if I know not how to preserve my self from their Contagion, or rid my self of it, when I am so unhappy as to labour under it? What I shall do then, in the following Pages, is in the plainest and most easy Terms, familiar to the meanest Capacity to write what I have learnt in relation to that which may be serviceable to my Reader concerning the Plague, which I am afraid, I have too just Fears, will, in all Probability, without a particular Providence of the most High, visit our already too wretched and undone Country.
But that I may not burthen my Readers Memory and Attention, I shall, as short as the Nature of the Thing will admit of, present them with what are my Sentiments hereupon; and for Order Sake, divide this little Treatise into four Heads or Chapters.
I.
The First relates to Apparel or Lodging.
II.
The Second to Diet.
III.
The Third to Antidotes or Preservatives:
And,
IV.
The Fourth to such Medicines as are necessary to be made Use of, when any one shall be so unhappy, as to be visited with the Distemper.
CHAP. I.
Of Apparel and Diet.
THO' at all Times we ought to abstain from all Manner of Excess, yet chiefly ought we so to do in the Time of Pestilence; especially from Excess of outward and inward Heat, as that of the Sun, Fire, Cloaths, and hot Air, all very pernicious; this I call outward Heat; inward Heat is such as proceeds from too much eating of Salt, and salted Meats, Spices, and all Food of a strong and intense Heat, and all strong Malt Liquors, and strong Wines and Spirits.
Violent Exercises are also to be avoided, such as provoke
Sweatings,
and particularly,
Coition,
and all the Passions of the Mind. One must likewise abstain from all Repletion of Meat and Drink, that is, to rise from Table without loading your
Stomach.
The other Excess too is equally dangerous, I mean too great a Hunger and Thirst; a great deal of Sleep, especially at Day-Time, is also to be carefully avoided, as well as letting the Body be too much bound up or costive: Thus much in General.
As to
Apparel,
what is made of Linnen, is certainly best; thick Woollens are apt to gather Infections; but Silk and Furs, and Stuffs made of Hair, are principally to be shunned, because they very easily admit the contagious Air, and retain it a long while. But above all, let every body be particularly careful in being clean in their Dress, as well as Lodging.
Hangings
are by no Means to be allowed, bare Walls, or plain, unpainted Wainscot, are the best Furniture; these cannot be kept too fresh and clean.
The frequent Washings among the
Jews,
though they had something mystical in them, and were a Part of their Religion, were yet very conducive to Health; and in Reality, there can be no Religion in being a Sloven;
Paupertatem & non Sorditiem Habitus diligit Deus,
God loves the Poverty, not the Slovenliness of a Habit, said St.
Bernard,
of some dirty Religious of his Time. The good old Man thought there was no Religion at all in being dirty or lousy.
The first Thing that is to be done in the Morning by those that wear their Hair, is to comb it with an Ivory Comb Forty Times at least, from the Forehead towards the Pole; after that, let them wash all the Organs of the Senses, that is, the Eyes, Ears, Mouth, Tongue, and Teeth; in short, the whole Face, with pure Water, and they who wear Wigs, are to wash their Head in like Manner. The Eyes are not only to be washed, but dipt, or plunged into cold Water, and all the Foulness removed from the Eye-lids with this cold Water; it is very necessary sometimes to mix Rose-water, or Fennel-water and good strong Whitewine Vinegar; and after the Neck is washed, which must never be omitted, let it be rubbed with a Towel, somewhat coarser than ordinary. All this comforts the Body, makes the Mind more lively and chearful, and preserves the Sight.
The Gums and Mouth ought to be particularly taken Care to be washed and cleansed, and especially the Teeth; to do which, nothing is more proper than the following Dentifrices, or Teeth-Powders,
viz.
A cheap Powder to cleanse the Teeth.
Take three dried Egg-shells, of Red Coral three Drams, a small Quantity of the Threads of white Silk burnt to Ashes in a new earthen Pot or Pipkin; Cinnamon, one Dram; Cloves, two Drams; Pelitory-Root, two Drams.
Reduce all to a very fine Powder, and rub your Teeth every Night and Morning, washing them with cold Water mixed with Vinegar, or Rose-water, or both: you may buy the Red Coral of the Apothecary, ready powdered.
Another.
Take of Red and White Coral, of each one Ounce; Pelitory-Root, Mace, and Mastick, of each an Ounce; of Pumice-stone, and Bole Armoniack, of each an Ounce.
Reduce all to a very fine Powder, searsing the same through a Tiffany Searse, as you should the former.
Purify your Chamber and your Cloaths with clear Fires made of Juniper, Cypress, Pine, or Ash-wood; as also with frequent Sprinklings of Rose-water and Vinegar. It is also very good to strew about your Rooms, sweet Herbs, and Flowers, as Roses, Violets, Vine-leaves, Pennyroyal, Thyme, Lavender, and the like, and frequently to make use of several Kinds of odoriferous Fumes to purge and purify the Air, and perfume your self and Cloaths, and very often to wash your Hands and Face every Day with Water mixed with Vinegar and Rosewater, and never go abroad without a Piece of the Root of Dittany, or Zedoary, or some candid Spice, in your Mouth, and a Nosegay, or some refreshing Persume in your Hand; among which, I recommend a little Box of
Warham
's
Apoplectick Balsam,
made only at the
Golden Ball
in
Fisher-Street,
near
Red-Lyon-Square;
which is of wonderful Efficacy, and with which it is good to anoint or smear a little the Temples; Eye-brows, and Nostrils: and always just before you go out, take a Piece of Bay-leaf, or Orange-peel, or Juniper Berries, which being bruised and soaked in a little Vinegar, pour upon a red hot Iron, hold your Head over the Fumes, receiving them into your Mouth, Nostrils, and every Part of your Body and Cloaths. Some will not go out without a little Bunch of Hyssop, or Rue, which is very good.
Those who can take Tobacco, would do well to smoke a Pipe in the Morning the first thing they do. Dr.
Evans,
of St.
John
's College in
Oxford,
told me not long since, that he designed Tobacco should be his chief Medicine whenever it should please God to visit us, and that he would fume his Chambers and Cloaths with nothing else; which may be very good for those who are used to Tobacco; and I have been told, that during the last Sickness in
London,
the
Tobacconists
escaped the Contagion.
Having mentioned several Fumes and sweet Waters, I shall here give a Receipt how to make those most useful, which because they are cheap, and easily made, may probably be not much esteemed by some, who love Nothing but what is costly; but I write for the general Good.
A Receipt for an Useful Odoriferous Sweet-Water.
Take of Rose-water, and strong White-Wine, that is, good
Mountain,
or
Lisbon, (Madera,
if you can conveniently have it) of each an equal Quantity; of Vinegar of Roses, a Fourth Part; Loaf Sugar, a third Part; which dissolve therein; some add a little Saffron, which is certainly better.
With this wash your Hands, Face, and Joynts, as also your Eyes, and rince your Teeth, and sprinkle with it your Linnen; and if you swallow down a little, it would not be amiss. But that you may not mistake the Quantities of each, I shall here give a particular Receipt or Recipe.
Take of the best Vinegar of Roses, four Ounces; of Rose-water, and the strongest and best flavour'd White-wine, of each one Pound, that is, of each a
Winchester
Pint; of the best Saffron, one Scruple; of Loaf-Sugar, to be dissolved in the Liquor,
3
or
4
Ounces.
Another.
Take a Pint and a half of Rose-water, in which half an Ounce of Cinnamon has steeped two Days; of Mace, one Dram; Violet Roots, two Drams; of Cloves, half a Dram; Nutmeg, one Dram; all which having distilled, add five Grains of Saffron.
Another more costly.
Take of Rose-water, three Pints; fresh Lavender Flowers well picked, three Handfulls; fresh Cloves and Cinnamon, of each half an Ounce; White Violet Roots, two Drams; Mace, two Drams; dry'd Rose Leaves, one Handful; Gum Benzoin, vulgarly call'd Benjamin, two Drams; Storax Calamita, two Drams; Musk and Amber, two Grains. Add to these an Ounce of strong Mountain Wine, set all, being well mixed in a Glass Vessel well stopt, in the Sun for one Month.
Sweet Candles, good against the Plague, and all Pestilential Distempers.
Take of Labdanum, three Ounces; Storax, ten Drams; Benzoin, six Drams; Frankincense, half an Ounce; Staechas, two Ounces; Damask Roses, three Ounces; Cloves three Ounces; Lemon Peel, and Sandalum Citrinum, of each two Drams; Juniper Berries, half an Ounce; Musk and Amber, a sixth Part of a Dram; Charcoal, half a Pound, finely powdered.
Let all these be mixed up with Rose-water, and Gum Tragacanth, and put over a Fire, till they are reduced into a Paste, of which make small Candles, and let them dry gently.
How to make little sweet Balls, good also against Infection.
Take of Storax, and Benzoin, of each an Ounce; Labdanum and Mastick, of each half an Ounce; Cloves, Xyloaloes, and Sandalum Citrinum, of each one Dram;
Guinea
Pepper, two Drams; with a little Turpentine, of which make little Balls.
These may be perfumed with six Grains of Musk and Amber, dissolved in Oyl of Cloves.
How to make sweet Pastills.
Take of Gum Benzoin, two Ounces; Cinnamon, and Xyloaloes, or Lignum Aloes, of each half an Ounce; Storax, one Ounce; fine Sugar, eight Ounces; Musk, sixteen Grains, dissolved in Rose-water.
All which mix up with an Infusion of Gum Tragacanth in Rose-water.
A rare curious Receipt how to make other Odoriferous Pastills more rich and costly, particularly made use of by the Countess of
Arnsburg,
which I here insert as a very valuable Rarity.
Take four Ounces of White Roses, pull off the Leaves, to which, after they have been well pounded in a Mortar, add two Ounces of Gum Benzoin, that has lain twenty four Hours disselv'd in Rose-water; to these add, of Amber, two Grains; Musk, one Grain; and the fourth Part of a Grain of Civet.
Mix these last well on a Marble Stone, and then incorporate them with the Roses.
Add to all half an Ounce of the finest Sugar, let the whole, being well ground together, stay eight and forty Hours stopt close up in a Mortar, out of which make your Pastills; but you must not forget to mix with it some Gum Tragacanth dissolved in Rosewater, and roll up every Pastill in a little Dragon's Blood, that they may dry the sooner, then wrap up every Pastill in two Rose Leaves.
But because burning of these Candles, Balls, and Pastills, must necessarily occasion Smoke in the Rooms where they are so burnt, which may in some measure affect the Head and Lungs, I would advise you to cast them into a silver Dish, or (those who cannot have Silver, may make use of what they can get, an earthen Pipkin well glaz'd will do, or a Tin or Pewter Dish, but by no Means use Brass or Copper) which set over a Lamp or Candle, and the Fumes will be more agreeable.
This manner of Fuming is frequent among the
Italians,
especially among Persons of Distinction, who have generally one of these Sweet Pots fuming in a Corner of their Rooms.
You may use any of the Sweet Waters above-mentioned, after this manner.
I have been the longer on this Head, and have described the greater Variety of Receipts, according to the Variety of the Season, and my Readers Purses; but for the poorer Sort of all, I shall give them a Receipt which they may almost always make use of, which is as follows:
Take a little White Wine Vinegar, if you add Rose-water, 'twill be the better; which set over a Lamp or Candle, when it begins to fume, put in two or three Bay Leaves, a few Cloves, a little Cinnamon and Mace, all bruised, and let all fume together; a little
Seville
Orange Peel, or Lemon Peel, makes it yet more agreeable.
These Fumes are excellent against all manner of
Pestilential Infection,
and purify the Air.
And besides all these, you must often wash your Mouth with Vinegar, boiled up with Rue and Hyssop, and especially when you cannot get any of these Fumes, tho' I think it will be almost an Impossibility not to compass what I have last described; but never be without a Piece of Zedoary, which now and then you must chew, especially when you go abroad.
CHAP. II.
Of Diet.
IT is very easy to describe what Kind of Diet should be used in such Times of Sickness, but it is not so easy for all People to observe it. I shall only say in general, that such Food as the Appetite most delights in, is the best: and of Consequence, that which it does not care for, ought to be avoided. I do not speak here of a depraved Appetite, which has been ruined and debauched by Luxury, for there can be no Rules prescribed for such, at least what it will observe.
The simpler, and the more plain the Diet is, the better. And here I could wish Man had kept up to Nature, and followed what the great Creator of all Things had prescribed to the Infant World, and had still fed on that innocent Food, the Fruits and Herbs of the Earth, and Milk, and the Golden Productions of the Industrious
Bee:
Then would his Blood have flowed free from those noxious Juices engendred from such a Heterogeneous Commixture of the Spirits of so many Thousand Animals which an unbounded cruel Luxury continually sacrifices and delights.
Before the Flood, Men did not eat the Flesh of Animals, and yet they lived much longer.
The
Jewish
Law, indeed, in some measure indulged its Followers in this Respect; but it must be remembred, the Bill of Divorce was in like manner tolerated, for the Hardness of their Hearts. The Flesh Pots of
Egypt,
(the
French
Ragous of that Time) ran in their Minds; but a Toleration is a quite different Thing from an Approbation; and how many Restrictions this Toleration was attended with, every one knows that looks into the Bible; the most delicious Food was absolutely forbidden, as Swines Flesh, and all Shell Fish; and the manner of dressing was such, as required the utmost Scrutiny in Relation to the Health of the Animal; and the Blood, as the Life or Soul, was particularly prohibited.
But the Christian, who has a better Religion, who professes to follow a suffering Lord, and Self-denying Saviour, tyrannizes over the whole Creation, flies at all, and without the least Remorse or Scruple, devours Things strangled, and swallows Blood, though expresly forbidden in the same Place with Fornication, in that which he owns to be written by Inspiration, and a Law decreed by the Holy Ghost.
The poor Cow, to instance no more, after having fed Families with her own Dugs, must by cruel, ungrateful Man, be knock'd on the Head, for all her good Offices, and at last devoured; and the tender Lamb, just dropt from its Mother, (true Emblem of sweetest Innocence) be snatched, kneeling at the Teat, and sacrificed to satisfy the Appetite, perhaps of a lewd Harlot.
It is true,
Man
is the Lord of the Creation; so is a Master of his Family: But what Lord devours his own Subjects? Or, what Father feasts upon his own Children and Servants?
I could answer all the vain, idle, frivolous Objections, that have been raised against this unlawful Practice of destroying the Creation; but my Business is not to write of Controversy, but Health; and however novel this may seem to some, I am sure, its opposite is only an ancient inveterate Error.
And I am satisfied, that Men, if they would or could abstain from eating the Flesh of Animals, wou'd find themselves much better in Health; for it is that dreadful mixture of the Souls, if I may say so, of so many thousand Animals, destroy'd to pamper one, that raises that terrible War in the Blood, which has made it a Prey to such Distempers, as have baffled the Skill of the most learned Physicians.
Let us cast our Eyes towards
India,
and we shall see the
Brachmans,
or
Bramins,
who never eat the Flesh of
Animals;
and yet they live frequently to an Hundred Years of Age.
In
Italy,
there is a Religious Order called the
Camaldolese,
or Monks of St.
Romuald,
who look healthy, and live long, and by their Profession they neither eat Flesh nor Fish.
The Monks of
La Trappe
in
France,
do the same. This Regimen of Life renders the Passions calm and quiet; while your Flesh-Devourers are soon irritated, immediately take Fire, and even, in some Sense, participate of the Nature of the Brutes they feed on.
And then how many Delicacies may be made without the Death of Animals? how many Ways of dressing Herbs and Fruits, with Milk and Cream, Sugar and Honey, and
Aromatick
Spices? all the innocent Luxury of
Pastry
and Confectionary, may here be introduced.
But because this Evil came in by Degrees, so by Degrees it must be extirpated; and since it is impossible quite to forsake it at once, we having derived from our Parents, a Blood made up of these Spirits, I shall only advise my Readers to make Use of Flesh Diet as sparingly as possible, especially in Time of
Pestilence;
let them chuse that Sort, that they know they can best digest, and dress it thoroughly, and that too after the plainest and most simple manner, avoiding all rich Soupes, Ragous, Fricasies,
A la Royalles, a la Daubes,
or
a la Diables,
and all those
Heterogeneous, Gallican,
or rather
Aegyptian Slipslops,
which are poysonous, and create such malignant Juices in the Blood, which easily unite with the pestilential
Effluvia,
and become a proper Fewel for the
Plague.
Broyling
is undoubtedly the best Way of Dressing, over a clear Fire, the Meat being thoroughly first cleansed from all Blood, and moderately seasoned with Salt; for Salt savours all Things, and the Fire purifies all Things.
The next is
Roasting,
for the same Reasons.
Boyling
comes next, which must be done with a large Quantity of Water, that the Meat may have Room enough; and as soon as the Pot boils, take off the Cover, that the Steam may go up.
Frying
and
Stewing
are the worst of all, unless the Stew-pan be uncovered; and
Frying
is not very wholsome, because of the Fat the Meat must necessarily swim in, which hinders the Fire from passing through the Meat. And
Stewing,
unless there be a great deal of Liquor, is only a genteel Name for
Frying.
As to
Sauces,
or
Seasoning,
I recommend, especially with fresh Fish, (tho' indeed I do not approve of any Fish in the Time of Contagion: I say, for
Sauces
or
Seasonings,
I recommend) Tormentil, Dittany, Fennel, Dill, Gentian, Zedoary, Sanders, never forgetting Roses; and also Vinegar, and Vinegar of Roses; especially, Citron,
Seville
Orange, and Lemon Juices; as also Juice of Sorrel, Verjuice, Juice of Pomegranates and Barberries, for all Acids or Sours resist the pestilential Poyson, for they are refreshing, drying, comfort and preserve; however, if they offend the Breast, qualify them with Sugar; if the Stomach, with a small Quantity of Pepper; for Pepper resists the Putrefaction of the Humours, strengthens Digestion; and, provided it be not ground too small, but powdered a little, that is, just broken, it helps the Liver.
Besides these Kinds of Seasonings, you should also use Onions, Garlick, Saffron, Radishes, Succory, Capers, pickled Cucumbers, Samphire, Mangoes, and all sorts of four Pickles, especially where there is Garlick in the Pickle.
As for Drink, chuse the best of its Kind, not too strong Wine, and Malt Liquor clear and well brewed, now and then a Cordial of
Epidemick Water,
vulgarly called
Plague-Water,
and for Variety-sake,
Treacle-Water;
but all Things in Moderation.
CHAP. III.
Of Antidotes, or Preservatives.
THE next Thing in Order to be considered, are
Antidotes,
or Preservatives against
Pestilential Infections.
In the first Place, I shall give a Description of two
Amulets,
which being hung about the Neck, have an extraordinary Virtue; after that, I shall give Receipts, how to make such Medicines, as inwardly taken, have had also very good Effects.
Take of White Chrystalline Arsenick, two Ounces; of Red, one Ounce.
Make of these two a little Cake about an Inch broad, mixed up with the White of an Egg, or a Mucilage of Gum Tragacanth, that is, with Gum Tragacanth dissolved in Rose-water, till it be of the Thickness of a Jelly.
Let this Cake be sewed up in a Piece of clean Linnen Cloth, enclosed with Silk, and hung about the Neck, towards the Heart.
You need not put your Shirt between; for though Arsenick taken inwardly be mortal, not on Account of any occult Quality, but its corrosive Nature; and so, properly speaking, is no Poyson; yet being outwardly applied, it resists every thing that is so.
Another.
Take of Sapphires, Emeralds, Hyacinths, Rubies, Red and White Coral, of each one Dram; of Saffron, a Scruple; of Pearls, half a Dram; White Arsenick, two Drams; Ambergrease, six Grains; dry'd Iris Roots, half an Ounce; burnt Hartshorn, a Dram; Orpiment, half an Ounce.
Grind all together, and make a little Bag, to be sewed up in purple Silk, and hung about the Neck, as the former.
An Antidote to be taken inwardly.
Take of dry'd Wallnuts, six Ounces; dry'd Figs, four Ounces; half an Ounce of dry'd Rue-Leaves; of Salt, two Drams.
Let all these be bruised, and steeped in Rosewater, with an equal Quantity of Whitewine Vinegar, or Juice of Sorrel, to which you may add, half an Ounce of Juniper Berries. Take the Quantity of a Chesnut of this Preparation, fasting. It is an excellent Preservative.
Another.
Take of the best Cinnamon, half a Dram; Zedoary, one Dram; Bole Armoniack prepared, three Drams; Camphire, seven Grains; Seeds of Lemons huskt, that is, the Husks taken off; of Sorrel, and Lemon Juice, of each an Ounce and a half; Roots of Dittany, Tormentill, and Pimpernell, half a Dram; Ivory Shavings, and the Bone of a Deer's Heart, of each a Dram; of Elks Hoof, Hart's Horn, and Amber, of each half a Dram.
Take of this, mixed up with half an Ounce of Sorrel Juice, or any other eager Juice, the Quantity of two Beans, fasting.
This
Preservative Electuary
was used with good Success by Don
Priscian
of
Corduba,
Physician to Pope
Leo
X. and recommended by the famous
Rantzovius.
And these Antidotes which follow have also been known to have great Success.
Take of Rose-water, Vinegar of Roses, Sorrelwater, and Mountain Wine, of each an equal Quantity; in which infuse of the Powder of Zedoary Root, Lemon-Peel, and Bole Armoniack, of each an equal Quantity; to which add a little Saffron, and, if you will, some old Conserve of Roses; put all into a Glass Bottle well stopt, and keep it for your Use; of which take every Morning, and oftentimes a Day, a little Quantity.
This Antidote is admirable, for it hinders the Putrefaction of the Blood and Humours, and powerfully resists the pestilential Poyson.
Another.
Take of the Paste of Pill Ruffi, which having dissolved in seven times its quantity of Celadine-water, or Honey Water, which is better; distill in the Bath, after having been steep'd three Days: This is of wonderful Efficacy, being drank in a moderate Quantity, like the former.
Another Excellent Antidote.
Take of the best
Venice
Treacle, two Ounces; of the best Myrrh, three Drams; of the purest Camphire, two Drams.
Mix all in a Pint of Rose-water, of which after having steeped it three Days in Glass Vessels well sealed; drink a little every Morning.
The Electuary of Nuts.
Take of Fat Cartacs, half a Pound; of Rue, half an Ounce; of green Walnuts, a Quarter of a Pound; of Sea Salt, a Dram and a half.
Let all these be incorporated in a Mortar with clarified Honey, or Syrup of Lemons; of which take every Morning fasting the Quantity of a Hazle Nut, with a small Quantity of Vinegar and Rose-water.
I shall now give you another Receipt of great Virtue, which is,
The Electuary of Eggs.
Take a new laid Egg, which, after having taken out the White, and Cock's Tread, fill with the best powdered Saffron, then close the whole, and burn it over a slow Fire till it turn black, then grind it in a Mortar; to which add its Weight of Seed of Eruca, or white Mustard; incorporate the whole very well.
Of this Electuary take the Quantity of a Pea, every Morning, with a little Wine and Rose-water; you may add to this, if you will, (for it makes the Composition much better) White Dittany, and Tormentill, of each two Drams; Nux Vomica, one Dram, separately powdered before you add them to the rest. Add also of the Roots of Pimpernell, Zedoary, Angelica, and Camphire, and as much Treacle as the Weight of the whole.
This Electuary is not only an excellent Antidote or Preservative, but is good when one is actually infected, in order to cure the Distemper; to be given one Dram with Whitewine, if the Sickness begins with Cold; or with Rose-water, or Scabious Water, if with Heat; but it ought to be taken in Twelve Hours Time after the Beginning of the Distemper
These are the best Antidotes or Preservatives against the
Plague,
which may be used with good Success; but by no means omit taking Pill Ruffi once or twice a Week, about the Weight of a Scruple in the Morning, without any other Medicine.
But if the Season be very hot, then let the Aloes and Myrrh, which are in the Composition of that Pill, be well washed in Rose-water; and you may add of the best Camphire, a third Part of the Quantity of Myrrh; but in cold Weather, and in cold Complexions, the Pill must be taken without these Prepations of Washing and Camphire.
Besides, as these Pills are somewhat too opening, it would be good in such Cases, to add to them a small quantity of Bole Armoniack, or to roll them up in its Powder; and as sometimes they hurt the Stomach, this Evil is to be corrected with a little Mixture of the best Mastick, and a little
Venice
-Treacle, or Mithridate, that is, two or three Scruples. This is to be taken every ten Days, with a Draught of Rose-water, or Sorrelwater.
CHAP. IV.
Medicines to be made use of when any one is so unhappy as to be visited with the Distemper.
WHEN any one finds himself infected, if Age or Strength permit, let him be let Blood as soon as possible; then let the following Medicine be immediately applied, and the sooner the better, because this Distemper admits no Delays. After that let the following Draught be immediately administred, and repeated according to the Strength of the Patient.
Take of white Onions, six in Number, which open at the Top, and take out the Heart, or Inside, fill them with Venice Treacle, mixed with a little Powder of Dittany Root and Tormentill; put them into wet Paper, and roast them in the Embers till they are soft, then p
Part of them to the Part affected; for this being applied like a Pultise to the Boyl, is a sovereign Medicine for drawing out the Poyson.
Take the remaining Part of these Onions so prepared, and let them be bruised, and mixed with Syrup of Lemons about an Ounce, and a little Vinegar, which squeeze through a straining Cloth, and give of this Liquor lukewarm, three Ounces, and let the Patient be laid in a warm Bed, abstaining from Meat and Drink six Hours, and by all Means take Care of sleeping, which is ever dangerous in this Distemper.
This Medicine is very efficacious, expelling by Sweat the poysonous Infection. But if you add to this a small Quantity of the abovementioned Electuary of Eggs, it will be admirable.
But if the Patient be full of ill Humours, and not let Blood, or that it is not convenient to diminish the Blood, add a little opening Medicine to this Potion; that is, for the weaker Sort, half an Ounce of
Trifera Persica,
with one Dram of the Electuary of
Hamech;
for those of stronger Constitutions, instead of
Trifera,
add to the Confection of
Hamech,
an equal quantity of the of Conserve Roses, and the like of Electuary of
India,
and two Drams of
Diafericon;
but in both Cases, give the Potion hot or warm, with Scabious Water, Rose-water, or Vinegar.
There are a great many other Medicines, which I purposely omit, these being the soonest prepared, the cheapest, and most efficacious. But the last and most excellent Remedy for this Evil, is
Adam
's Earth, that is, the first matter of our Creation; for this is the One and Only
Medicine,
and greater than which cannot be; nor will it be a little, when purged by the Artifice of Fire, and reduced to its Simplicity by a congruous Lotion. But of this enough.
He that has Ʋ nderstanding to understand, let him understand.
FINIS.
POSTSCRIPT.
Here follow some Receipts, that have been omitted in their proper Places.
A rare Preservative against the
Plague.
TAKE Wood-Sorrel, and pick it from the Stalk, and pound it well in a Stone Mortar; to every Pound of beaten Sorrel, add a Pound of fine beaten Sugar, and two Ounces of Mithridate, or
Venice
Treacle; which being well beaten up together, keep it in Pots for your Use. The Dose is the Quantity of a small Wallnut.
This is the famous Dr.
Butler
's Receipt, made use of afterwards by Sir
Kenelm Digby,
and his Family, who all of them escaped the
Plague.
An Excellent Perfume against the
Plague.
Take Angelica Roots, and dry them a little in an Oven, or by the Fire, then bruise them very soft, and lay them in Wine Vinegar to steep three or four Days; then heat a Brick hot, and lay some of it on every Morning.
This is excellent to air the House and Cloaths, or to hold one's Head over every Morning Fasting.
A most admirable Receipt against the
Plague.
Take three Pints of the best Canary, and boyl in it Sage and Rue, of each one Handful, till it come to about a Quart, then strain it, and putting it over the Fire again, add to it a Dram of Long Pepper, and half an Ounce of Nutmegs, all beaten together; which having boyled about a Quarter of an Hour, take it off, and dissolve in it
Venice-
Treacle, and Mithridate, of each three Quarters of an Ounce, and put to it a Quarter of a Pint of the best Angelica Water.
Take of this always warm, both Morning and Evening, a Spoonful or two, if infected; if not, one Spoonful in the Morning, and half a Spoonful in the Evening Keep this, as your Life, above all worldly Treasure; and trust to this (under GOD), for it has been observed, that this never failed Man, Woman, or Child.
ERRATA.
Page 4. Line 15. for
or,
read
and.
Chap. 1. for
Apparel and Diet,
read
Apparel and Lodging.