A Generous Discovery Of many Curious and Useful MEDICINES and PREPARATIONS, BOTH IN PHYSIC, CHYMISTRY, COOKERY, and STIFFENRY; AS A
Drink for the Small Pox,
Phosphorus Powder to Light a Pipe with,
Ketchup for Sauce,
Starch from Potatoes.
And many others both Profitable and Delightful, hitherto Secrets; now made Publick for the Benefit of Mankind in General.
To be had at Mrs.
Hey
's near the
Wax-Candle
in St.
Andrew's NORWICH.
LONDON:
Printed for the Author, 1725:
Price 3
d.
GENTLEMEN and LADIES,
W HEN a
Physician
puts out a Book upon any Distemper incident to human Body, he is
hugely
careful to observe the following Method:
First,
in the Presace to his Book, he very cunningly and artf
lly prepares his Bait, and fixes his Trap, by a long Declaration of his good Intentions to serve the Publick; and that the following Treatise is publish'd with that View only, and without any private
Ends
or selfish
Designs
as
Quacks
usually have: In the Body of the Book he affords you most delightful Entertainment, by Reasoning so finely upon the Variety of its Causes, and setting forth in a most ample Manner, both the
Ancient
and
Modern
Methods of Cure; and in the End he is almost sure to catch his
Prey
by a
sly
Insinuation of the wonderful Success he himself has had in the Cure of that Distemper, by a Method entirely
new,
and
unknown
to any but himself; Now 'tis certain this is no more than a lar
e Advertisement, and must be allowed upon due Consideration to amount to only this;
In
Or—d-Street
lives the Great Doctor
M—d,
Who cures the Pl—e indeed and ind—d.
Or,
IS—l M—l born and bred in this Nation,
Can cure the Small-Pox without Inoculation.
THE difference therefore in this Point between the
Regular
and
Quack
Physician consists only in the former's making you pay largely for his Advertisement and Physick too; whilst the latter is obliged to give away his Advertisement, and Perhaps is never half paid for his Physick: But this I must observe to you, That both of them still agree in the Concealment of their Methods, and would by no means discover them, no not for
Five Hundred Pounds.
THAT there are many Physical Druggs and Plants yet undiscovered to the World, whose effects may be very conducive towards the continuation of Health and long Life, I believe is the Opinion of most Men; and that there are many
Secrets
or
Nostrums
now in the Hands of particular Persons which are known to work surprizing Cures is certain and without dou
t and the Reason why they do now, and will still remain
Secrets,
and in private Hands, is for want of a
Public
Reward being offer'd, equal to the Advantage a private Man may make of them.
IN other Countries, I find, the
King
or
Government
is generally the Purchaser of such
Secrets,
and then generously publish them for the Good of all their Subjects; a piece of
Policy,
in my Opinion, in no wise contemptible, and what can never be a dear Purchase or hard Bargain to a
Crown'd Head
or
Government.
BUT our
Countrymen
either having
less Money,
or
more Frugality,
go a cheaper way to work, and oblige their Authors and Inventors either to run the Hazard of having their
Secrets
by some Accident or other discovered to the World, or to purchase a
Patent
under the Great Seal, for the Sole making, using or vending such a Machine, Preparation or Commedity, (of which the Patentee has prov'd himself the Original Author and Inventor) for a certain term of Years, on condition that he then publishes it to the World; a sure way of saving their own Money, whatever the Subjects may suffer in the mean time for want of such a Publication: Besides, all Men are not able to purchase a
Patent,
which will cost no less than Sol. with an infinite deal of trouble to follow it through the various Offices to get it confirmed.
Now for a Man to be a
master
of some
Secrets,
and not to be placed in such a Station as may Capacitate him to make a private Advantage of them, nor able to purchase a Patent, what has he else to do but make an
Honest Publication
of them, and leave the Consequence to the
Generosity
of the World; in compliance wherewith I take this Opportunity of publishing some curious and useful Preparations and Remedies as may be of universal Advantage, nay I may safely say, that there are but sew Families whose common Contingencies will not furnish them with Opportunities of experiencing many, if not most of them, in less than the Space of one Annual Circumvolution; and as a Proof of the Truth of what I have hereafter offered, I will be always ready, not only to perform the Experimental Part of any, but likewise account for the other Preparations herein contained, to Persons of all or any Denominations, that will ordinarily satisfie for such Trouble.
THE
Vomit
herein discovered by far exceeds the Hypecacuana, (which costs the late King of
France
no less than 1500 Pistols) both for the certainty and easiness of its Operation, as well as those other good Effects which it generally produces; and what renders it still more valuable is its readiness to be come at, both in all Places and at all Times, it being a Root growing in most Yards and Gardens, and never, as I have yet seen, mentioned or accounted for by any Author: At Nantwytch in Cheshire lives a Person who has acquired a large Estate by vertue of this incomparable
Vomit
only.
THE
Fryars Vulnerary Ball,
heals almost an
Wound at the first intention, as is demonstrated by striking a Nail through a
Cock's Head,
and nailing him down to your Table: which Wound is cured by the immediate use of this Ball in less than Ten Minutes time, and your Cock appears as well and brisk as ever.
THE famous
Stiptick
with which Sir
William Read
performed so many wonderful Cures, both
outwardly
and
inwardly,
is what I have very often experienc'd, and don't remember it has ever once failed, it is a very easv and very cheap Preparation, and what no Family ought to be without.
THE
Imperial Snuff
is a very valuable Remedy, and will seldome if ever be found to fail in giving Ease in the most violent Pains of the Head, tho' of long standing; great Care must be taken that the Patient does not catch Cold: This grows in many Gardens, and is not very difficult to come at
THE
Receipt
which I have here given you for the
Small-Pox
is what I have often wish'd to have seen publish'd, because of its surprizing good Effects in the worst Symptoms of the most dangerous kind; this I had from a very noted
Nurse
in
London,
who told me it very rarely, if ever, failed of Success. I had a Son about nine Years old seized with the worst sort of the Confluent Kind of the
Small Pox,
intermixt with the
Purples,
for whom I had the Advice of two eminent Physicians in
London,
notwithstanding whose Skill and Care he died on the fourteenth Day; about three Weeks after, another Son of four Years old fell down with the same dangerous Confluent Kind, and very full of the Purples, and then it was I first heard of this notable Receipt, which had just recovered a Neighbour's Child; I was perswaded to use this, and to desist from sending for a Physician, and by God's Blessing it happily recovered my Child, in a Condition perhaps as bad as ever was seen; and I do verily believe it would have had the same Effect upon the other, had I but then known and used it; and tho I believe it impossible to contrive an
universal Remedy
in the Small-Pox, yet I am apt to think this Drink will do more good, and preserve more lives than their
new fangled
and
unjustifiable
way of
Inoculation: Unjustifiable
I call it, because be the Practice never so laudable in some particular and far distant Places, yet no one can justify it in the middle of a large and populous Town, any more than a Man can justify the setting
Fire
to his own House in the middle of a thick and close built Neighbourhood; nay 'tis certain, that by a parity of Reason, both the
Inoculator
and the
Inoculated
are liable to the same Prosecution with
Highwaymen,
who often suffer the Law when they have not actually robb'd a Man, but only for putting him in
Bodily Fear,
and these not only put whole Towns in
Bodily Fears,
but oftentimes prove the occasion of the
Death
of many, which whether to call
Manslaughter
or
Murder
I leave the World to judge.
IF therefore some Men will be so hardy as to venture upon such an uncertain Practice, they ought at their own Cost and Charge to erect a
Lazoretto
or
Bedlam,
at some convenient distance from a
Town,
and not near a
Highway,
and appoint Physicians and Surgeons, who are most zealous for such Practice, constantly to reside there for the Reception and Care of such
Mad
People as would either come themselves, or send their Children; and not infect whole
Towns
and
Countries
as must necessarily be the Consequence of their Publick Practice. I can't understand from the best Information I have been yet able to get, that this have ever been the Practice of any
Christian Countries,
but used only among the
Mahometans,
who hearing of our Ripeness for
Infidelity,
made a Present to us of this Custom by the Hands of a
Scotchman;
and this I believe may be depended on, That the nearer we approach to
Infidelity,
the more will their Customs flow in upon us; and so
vice versa.
MANY other good Receipts and Directions you'll find in this small Book, which I generously publish for the Benefit of Mankind in general, and hope the World will readily accept of, at a Price so small, that it is hardly sufficient to answer the Charge and Trouble of Printing and Publishing, but will be a means to introduce it into a greater number of Families, and prevent the copying out any of the Receipts herein contained.
A Generous Discovery,
&c.
THIS Life is generally begun in
Tears,
continued in
Uneasiness,
and ended in
Groans;
and as Children are subject to various Diseases while they are yet in their Mothers Womb, and frequentl make their first Appearances with them, so I shall begin with them first.
IT was the Practice of the late Sir
David Hamilton,
a famous Man-Midwife in
London,
to Vomit Children soon after they were born; and this was chiefly done to prevent sore Mouths, which otherwise too frequently happen, and grievously torment the poor Infants; But since Nurses are generally capable of managing that Disorder, I need not say any thing more concerning it, nor do I think it an easy matter to perswade People to Vomit their Children, though nothing is more agreeable to their Flegmatic Constitutions, which almost immediately turns every thing sour, and then coagulates, and makes Tough Flegm, which is generally the cause of Stoppages, by which many are thrown into Convulsions, and so die. Two or three Tea Spoonfuls of the incomparable Vomit I have hereafter discovered, sweetned with a little Sugar, will operate as kindly, nay with more ease and as much safety as a larger Proportion for an adult Person.
For the GRIPES.
THE next Disorder which frequently arise in Children is from the Gripes, and these proceed from a violent sharp Humour in the Bowels, for which two or three Tea Spoonfulls of the following Mixture, well shaken, ought to be given two or three times in a Day.
Crabs Eyes half a Drachm, Syrup of Roses solutive one Ounce, Black Cherry Water one Ounce, mix.
This will both absorb the Acidity and carry off the Humours.
For the RICKETS.
THE Rickets claim the next Place among Childrens Diseases, the cause of which is from viscid pituitous Humours lodg'd upon the Joints, occasioning an unequal circulation and distribution of the Fluids to the Parts beyond; therefore such Medicines as will attenuate and thin the Blood, and make it subtle enough to circulate through the smallest Passages, must by a continued use not only break its Sizy State, but dislodge tough Humours already fixed upon the Joints; for this let the Child take Morning and Evening for a Constancy, avoiding all acid or sharp things, 2 or 3 Drops more or less according to the Age, Strength, and Constitution of the Child, in a Spoonfull of
Black Cherry Water,
either of
Sal Volatile,
or
Spirits of Hartshorn,
anointing the Spine or Backbone of the Child with the
Gall of an Ox;
a Secret which the Lady
Moor
for a long while had, and gave away to the Poor, and which alone have cured hundreds of Ricketty Children.
For WORMS.
VARIOUS are the Medicines which will certainly destroy those pernicious Vermin, the only difficulty is to contrive them into Forms as Children may not too soon be tired of taking; these are generally bred from a putrid Slime in their Bowels, which both hardens the Belly, and gives a stinking Scent to the Breath. The following are certain Remedies, if Children can but be perswaded to take them.
Take Tin, Coral, and Wormseed, all in Powder, of each one Ounce, Savin und Saffron Powder, of each one Drachm, mix.
Of this let the Child take in Beer or any other vehicle every Night from ten to twenty Grains.
Or,
Aethiops Mineral,
which is made of equal Parts of
Crude Mercury
and
Sulphur,
rubb'd in a Mortar till they become exceeding black, and may be given from ten to twenty Grains, according to the Age of the Child. These are Infallible, but in all Childrens Medicines the greatest Nicety consists in the closests concealment.
For the SMALL-POX.
Take
2
Ounces of Sheep's Dung tied up in a Rag,
2
or
3
Spriggs of Knotted Marjoram, a few Marigold Flowers, a few Tares,
2
or
3
Leaves of Sage, a Sprig or two of Rosemary, Rue, Mint, and Balm,
6
or
7
Grains of Cochineal in Powder, and a little Saffron, to be boiled in
3
Pints of Water to
2,
and to be the common Drink, both in the beginning, height, and declination of the Small-Pox.
THIS is the Receipt, as delivered to me and several others; and whatever fault some Carping Physicians and Stiff Apothecaries may find with the manner of it, yet Experience tells me, and many besides me, that there is no one now extant to be compared with it; and I defy any of the aforesaid to equal or come near it as a general good Remedy in the Small-Pox.
For the HEAD-ACH, violent, and of long standing.
Take of the Leaves of Azarum or Azarabacca and dry them gently before the Fire till you can reduce them to a fine Powder;
of this take at Night up of each N
stril two Grains, repeat the same the next Morning, and again the Night following, unless you find your Head Purge pretty much through the Nose, and then leave of a Day or two, or till you find a decrease of the Purging, and then repeat again, and let this be continued about the Space of a Fortnight, in which time it will purge, or rather salivate the Head, and discharge the Matter which too frequently occasions those violent Pains. A Woman of about 60 Years of Age took but twice of it, and it purged or salivated her Head for a whole Fortnight, and effectually cured her of the Head-Ach, without which she had not been for seven Years before. I can Instance in many others who have been effectually cured by Vertue of this Herb only, but great Care must be taken that the Patient does not catch Cold.
For the HEMORROIHDS or PILES.
Take of Lucatellus Balsam, Powder of Liquorice and Sulphur, of each equal Parts, make these into common ordinary Pills, and take four every two Hours during the time you find violent Pain;
and in the Blind Piles, rowl up a piece of Brown Paper and dip in
Treacle,
and gently trust up the
Fundament:
These will rarely fail of giving present Ease, and if continued, will almost conquer any degree of that Distemper.
For a VOMIT.
Take one Ounce of the common Daffodill Roots peel'd, and sliced into a Pint of fair Water, and boil to Half a Pint, or you may to a Quarter, and drink it just warm, when it operates drink warm Water.
THIs is the most certain and easy Vomit in the World, and may be given to a
new-born Babe;
or any
Age, Sex,
or
Condition,
where Vomiting is proper, and was never before publickly discovered to the World; I can produce many to attest its Vertues, and will attend any one that has a mind to make Trial. The
Nobility
and
Gentry
in
Cheshire
when they have found their Stomachs disordered have gone directly to
Nantwytch,
taken a Vomit, and laid an Hour after it, and gone home again with a
clean
Stomach,
Hungry,
and free
from Pain.
Sir William Read's STIPTIC.
Take of Roch Allum one Ounce and a half, Aloes one Drachm, Spring Water one Pint, boil and Scum these about a Quarter of an Hour.
WITH this Simple Thing it was, Sir
William
performed so many
wonderful
Cures: It immediately stops all
effusions
of Blood, as is demonstrable by an Experiment with
warm Blood
or
Serum,
and will heal almost any
Ulcer
whatsoever; It is an incomparable Remedy for a
Sore Mouth,
and will put a stop to almost any
inward
Bleeding: I knew a Shoemaker who had vomited and spitted Blood for almost
two
Years, and was reduced to a perfect
Skeleton,
and was cured by the use of this only, in less than one Month's time.
The Fryars VULNERARY BALL.
Take of Round Birthwort Root one Ounce, Rhenish Tartar four Ounces, Filings of Iron four Ounces, well clean'd;
let these be well powder'd, and put into a glaz'd Pot, with a
Pint
of common
Brandy,
which set over a gentle Fire and evaporate; then add two
Pints
of
Brandy
more, and let it evaporate till it comes to a Consistence, which you may form into Balls about the bigness of a Walnut, and gently dry.
THIS will heal almost any
Green Wound;
which is demonstrated by the aforesaid Experiment with the
Cock;
you must scrape a little of it into a Spoon with a little Brandy in it, then put clean Lint in and suck it up and apply it to the Wound. These Balls I know were, and I do believe, are now sold by Mrs.
Raw,
at the
North Entrance
into the
Royal Exchange
at Half a Crown each Ball.
Gordon's new invented PHOSPHORUS, or Powder to light a Pipe with.
Take of Allum three Ounces, powder'd, fine Wheat Flower one Ounce,
rub these in a Mortar set over a gentle Fire till they become very black, then put that Powder into a
Stoughton's Bottle,
which place in a
Crucible
and fill it up with Sand; set the
Crucible
in an open Furnace, and make a gentle Fire, which gradually increase to the third Degree, and so let it stand till the Bottle has done smoaking, then gently take away the Fire and let it cool, then put it into smaller Vials for use.
THIS is a very
curious
and
surprizing
Experiment, and will serve to light a
Pipe
or a
piece
of
Paper
in the Field when Gentlemen are Sporting: This is the true manner of making it, which I will readily shew to any Gentleman; but it is of no use in Physic.
To make STARCH from Potatoes.
Pare your Potatoes and grate them upon a large clean Grater as you do Bread, and let them fall into a fine lawn Sieve, placed in a clean Bason half full of Water, and the Starch will sink down to the bottom; wash it with two or three Waters, and then gently dry it between two Papers.
THIS is the
finest
and
whitest
Starch in the World, and will go further than any other; and any one may make it for
private use.
To make a KETCHUP for Sauce.
Take one Hundred Walnuts just before they begin to be fit for pickling, bruise them well, and put them into a Pot, with a Quart of the best White Wine Vinegar, and a good handful of Salt, let them stand about twenty four Hours, and then press out the Liquor, and Bottle it for use.
LET it stand 3 or 4 Months before it be used, and when you use it shake the Bottle, and one Spoonful or two will not only thicken, but add a most
grateful
Flavour to the Sauce; and is not at all inferior to the
Foreign
Ketchup of seven Shillings a Pint, made of we know not what.
Of Distempers more peculiarly incident to the FEMALE SEX.
How
Wretched
and
Unhappy
(says the Great Dr.
Friend
) are the Circumstances of the Female Sex, who are yet appointed to be the
Storehouses
of Human Kind; for let them choose what State or Condition of Life they will,
Misery
will attend them; If they choose the Married State, then forthwith comes on the Fatigue and Danger of Childbearing; if they choose a
Maiden
Life, they are subject to various Disorders, which a
Married
State would probably have freed them from.
As to the Miseries consequent from the first state, I can offer no
Remedy
but Patience, only with some God is pleased to deal so
favourably
as not to subject them to the great
Hardship
and
Hazard
of Child-bearing, and yet these generally make very
heavy Complaints
for the want of those
Miseries
which they see others undergo. For the Disorders which too frequently atttend the Virgin State, I can recommend a Remedy which is call'd
The VIRGINS TINCTURE,
whose Vertues are well known to great Numbers in this County; and this may
modestly
be said of it, that there is no Degree of the
Green Sickness,
from Girls of Eight, when they first begin to look
pale
and
wan,
to any Age, but this Remedy will absolutely (if possible) and
effectually
Cure, if
regularly
and
constantly
taken: And because the Stubborness of some Cases may require a longer time, and more of the Tincture than will Cure
Children
and young
Virgins,
for that very Reason it is put up in 1
s
and 2
s.
Bottles, and is sold with Directions, with the following Preparations,
viz.
The purging Spirit of Mustard Seed for the Dropsy, 1
s.
a Bottle; Sal Volatile, Bitter Tincture, Daffey's Elixir, Pleasant Sugar Cakes for Children for the Worms, and the true Specific for the Venereal Disease, exactly the same with that sold at Mr.
Laws
's on Tombland for half a Guinea, at 5
s.
all to be had as good and cheaper than any where else in Town at Mrs.
Hey's
near the
Wax-Candle
in St.
Andrew's Parish NORWICH.
N. B.
If any Gentlemen or Ladies have any Family Receipts, or Secrets in Physic, which may be of Service to the Publick, and they desirous of doing Good; if they will be pleased to communicate them to me, they shall be faithfully Experienced, and as faithfully Published, with some other extraordinary Preparations and Medicines, the next Spring; particularly one which cures
Agues
without the Jesuits Bark, and another for the
Rheumatism,
which any Persons under either of those Grievances may, if they please, in the mean time experience, being both very cheap and successful: I shall likewise then publish a Chymical Liquor to steep Corn or Grain in, which will occasion it to grow upon Poor and Barren Land, and produce a large Increase; a Trial of this was made in the
Temple Gardens,
where one single
Grain
of Wheat produced seventy Ears.
FINIS.