may be found out by the hand of a Skilful Midwife As to the prognostick if the Closure be in the Orifice of the Privities it is easily Cured by a small Section But if it be in the inner Parts the Cure is much more difficult When a Membrane shuts the passage it is easily Cured but when the Closure is from fleshy Matter as it happens after Ulcers then the Cure is much more difficult The Closure of the inner Orifice of the Womb is Incurable for Chirurgcial Instruments cannot work upon it If the Closure of the Womb be contracted from the Birth it must be opened by simple Section but if it takes its rise from an Ulcer as it often happens in the French-Pox we must consider whether it be an Excrescence of Flesh that does not wholly stop the passage and whether it quite stops For if it be only an Excrescence we must endeavour convenient Evacuations going before first to hinder the increase of the Flesh by drying and discussing Medicines and afterwards we must lessen the Flesh by Medicines made of Frankincense Birthwort the Bark of Frankincense Roses Balaustins Mastick Myrrh Aloes and the like and if these things are not sufficient we must use burnt Allom Unguentum Aegyptiacum and the like or the Flesh may be cut off by that Instrument that is used for extirpating a Polipus But if the Neck of the Womb be wholly shut we must endeavour to renew the Ulcer and to take off the superfluous Flesh by the foresaid Medicines or it must be cut If a Tumour shut the passage of the Womb it must be removed by proper Remedies If it be occasioned by a Compression of the Neck of the Womb that which causes the Compression must be removed namely a Stone in the Bladder a Tumour of the right Gut or the like When the passage is too narrow it most commonly proceeds from hardness and dryness and therefore you must use moistning emollient and relaxing things as half Baths Fomentations Liniments and Pessaries and so the part being relaxed you must put a leaden Pipe or white Wax fitted for the purpose moistened with Butter or some emollient Oyl and she must always wear it or at least a-nights and a-days let a Pessary made of Cotten be used anointed with Oyntment Marsh-mallows or the like CHAP. X. Of Suppression of the Courses THere is said to be a Suppression of the Courses when in Women of a mature Age that neither give suck nor are with Child the Evacuation of Blood by the Womb which is Naturally wont to be Monthly flows seldom or sparingly or is wholly stopt Because this Suppression proceeds from Natural and Preternatural Causes the signs of both shall be distinctly proposed lest the Practitioner should be deceived by Women being with Child by Illegitimate Coition and so rashly prescribe Medicines to provoke the Courses First therefore Women with Child most commonly retain their Natural Colour and others do not Secondly the Symptoms which do happen to Women with Child at the beginning abate Daily but on the contrary in Suppression of the Courses the longer they are stop'd so much the more the Symptoms are increased Thirdly In Women with Child after the third Month the motion and situation of the Child may be sensibly perceived by laying the hand on the Belly But in others the Swelling is not at all hard nor is it always contained within the Limits of the Womb. Fourthly If the inward Mouth of the Womb be touched by a Skilful Midwife she will find it not exactly closed as it is in Women with Child but rather hard contracted and somewhat painful Fifthly Women with Child are most commonly cheerful but on the contrary in a Suppression they are most commonly sorrowful and sad A Suppression of the Courses is very dangerous and many desperate Diseases arise from it The Cure of this Disease must be varied according to the variety of the Causes and first if it proceed from too great a quantity of Blood bleeding must be ordered in the Arm and a large quantity of Blood must be taken away afterwards it must be drawn downwards by opening the lower Veins about the time the Woman used to have her Courses before she was ill If by reason of want of Blood the Courses stop as after long Fevers after great Evacuations and when the Body is much wasted you must not endeavour to provoke the Courses till the Body is replenish'd and a sufficient quantity of Blood is bred which being done they generally flow of their own accord but if it happens that Nature forforgets her Office she must be rous'd up by opening the lower Veins and by Medicines proposed in the Chapter of Hysterick Diseases But the quantity of Blood must be moderate lest the strength should be dejected and the Sick should fall into a Consumption yet it must be carefully noted that every wasting of the Body does not shew a want of Blood but only that which succeeds great Evacuations and the like For sometimes it happens that the Courses being suppressed and detained in the Veins occasion an ill quality whereby the Blood is rendred unfit to nourish the Parts upon which account the Body wasts tho the Veins are full of Blood in which Case large bleeding is required As to the suppression of the Courses which happens by a preposterous motion of the Blood when it is evacuated by bleeding at Nose by Vomiting Spitting or Hemorrhoids and other parts the Cure of it is perform'd by repelling the Blood from the parts through which it flows contrary to Nature and by drawing it back to the passage of the Womb. The first is performed when the Blood rushes out of the upper parts by washing the Arms Head and Face with cold Water and by forbearing the exercise of those parts especially singing and speaking aloud The second is perform'd by opening the lower Veins three or Four days before the Blood breaks out and by Cuping-Glasses applied to the Thighs and Legs sometimes with sometimes without Scarification by provoking the Hemorrhoids by Running by Walking Fomentations and Baths made of opening Herbs but the Bath water is especially commended and the Sick must bath in them often a good while after Meals but the water must not rise above the Navel and at the same time the upper parts be cool'd by fanning them If the Blood flow by the Hemorrhoids the Cure is very difficult for if you use things to draw downwards they bring them also to the Fundament and if you use astringent things to it they by nearness of the parts repell what should be brought to the Womb so that the only way of Cure is to apply such things to the Womb as may allure the Blood thither after you have used such things as draw the Blood downwards CHAP. XI Of an Immoderate Flux of the Courses AN immoderate Flux of the Courses comes either in Child-bed or at other times as to the first that afflicts Women most on
the first day after a difficult Labour and is accompanied with a long train of Hysteric Symptoms and as it happens only on the first days so usually does not last long for if a thickning diet be order'd it soon abates The following Drink may be also used Take of Plantain water and Red wine each one Pint boil them till a third part be consumed sweeten it with a sufficient quantity of white Sugar and let her take half a pint twice or thrice a day and in the mean while the following Medicine tyed up in a rag may be often held to her Nose Take of Galbanum and Assa foetida each two Drams of Castor one Dram and half of Volatile Salt of Amber half a Dram mingle them Or instead of it Spirit of Sal armoniac may be used But as to the Flux which happens out of Child-bed you must bleed in the Arm and eight Ounces of Blood must be taken away the next Morning the following Purge must be given Take of Tamarinds half an Ounce of Sena two Drams of Rubarb one Dram and an half infuse them in a sufficient quantity of Fountain water in three Ounces of the strain'd Liquor disolve of Manna and Syrup of Roses solutive each an Ounce make a Purging Potion which is to be repeated every third day for twice Every Night at bedtime through the whole course of the Disease give an Ounce of Diacodium mixt with two Ounces of Black Cherry water Take of the Conserve of dried Roses two Ounces of the Troches of Lemnian Earth a Dram and an half of Pomgranate peel and of red Coral prepared each two Scruples of Blood Stone Dragons Blood and Bole-armenic each two Scruples with a sufficient quantity of Simple Syrup of Coral make an Electuary whereof let her take the quantity of a large Nutmeg in the Morning and at five in the Afternoon drinking upon it six Spoonfuls of the following Julip Take of the waters of Oakbuds and of Plantain each three Ounces of Cinnamon water hordeated and of Syrup of dried Roses each one Ounce of Spirit of Vitriol a sufficient quantity to make it pleasantly acid Take of the Leaves of Plantain and Nettles each a sufficient quantity beat them together in a Marble Mortar and press out the juice clarifie it and give six Spoonfuls of it cold three or four times in a day after the first Purge apply the following Plaister to the region of the Loins Take of the Plasters of Diapalma and ad herniam each equal parts mix them and spread them on Leather A cooling and thickening Diet must be order'd only it may be proper to allow once or twice a day a small glass of Claret to recover the strength CHAP. XII Of the Whites THis obstinate and lasting Disease may be cured by bleeding once and by Purging with two Scruples of Pill Coch-Major four times and by the following strengthening Medicines Take of Venice Treacle one Ounce and an half of the Conserve of the Yellow Peel of Oranges one Ounce of Diascordium half an Ounce of Ginger candied and Nutmegs candied each three Drams of compound Powder of Crabs eyes one Dram and an half of the outward Peel of Pomgranats of the roots of Spanish Angelica and of the troches of Lemnian Earth each one Dram of Bole-Armenic two Scruples of Gun-arabic half a Dram with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of dried Roses make an Electuary whereof let her take the quantity of a large Nutmeg in the Morning and at five in the Afternoon and at Night drinking upon it six Spoonfuls of the following infusion Take of the roots of Elecampane Masterwort Angelica and Gentian each half an Ounce of the Leaves of Roman Wormwood white Horehound the lesser Centory and Calaminth each one handful of Juniper-berries one Ounce cut them small and infuse them in five pints of Canary Wine let them stand in infusion and strain them only as you use them CHAP. XIII Of Barrenness BArrenness proceeds from many causes but they may be reduced to four Heads according to the four Natural Operations which are required to perfect Conception The first is that the Woman in Copulation receive the Mans seed Secondly that it 's retain'd a due time Thirdly that it is nourished in the Womb Fourthly that the Woman afford due Matter for the forming and necessary increase of the Embroy and hence four impediments of Conception arise First The Reception of the Seed is hindered by many causes as immature Age when by reason of the narrowness of the Genital passages the Woman cannot admit the Mans Yard or at least not without great pain which makes her dislike Copulation and Old Age has the same effect for in elderly Virgins the Genital parts for want of use are rendr'd so strait that they can't easily receive the virile Member and such as are lame or have their Limbs distorted or their Hips depressed can scarce lye in such a posture as is necessary for a fit Reception of the Seed too much fat also stops the passages and makes the Copulation incommodious And lastly a cold intemperies of the Womb makes the Woman dull so that she scarce injoys any pleasure in Copulation or is so flowly moved that the inward Orifice of the Womb does not open seasonably to receive the Mans Seed The Passions of the Mind also are a great hinderance especially hatred between Man and Wife whereby the Woman having an aversion for such pleasure does not supply Spirits sufficient to make the Genital parts turgent at the time of Copulation nor does the Womb kindly meet the Seed and draw it into its Cavity from whence and from mixture of both the Seeds Conception arises The Reception of the Seed may be also hinder'd by Swellings Ulcers Obstructions Narrowness or Distorsions of the Genital parts or of the Neighbouring parts or by a stone in the Bladder or the like Conception may be also hindred by reason the Seed is not retained upon the account of too great moisture of the Womb namely when it s fill'd with many excrementitious humours whereby being render'd too laxe it cannot be contracted as it ought to retain the Seed received but this chiefly happens by reason of miscarriage or hard labour whereby the Fibres of the Womb and its inner Orifice are torn but the Whites are the most common cause of Barrenness Conception is also hindred when the Seed is not sufficiently nourished in the Womb as when the Intemperies of the Womb is so very cold that it extinguishes the Seed or so hot as that it dissipates it or over-moist or dry The Age fit for Conception is from fourteen to fifty and therefore those Women that are younger or older do not conceive by reason of a defect of Seed and menstruous Blood yet it must be confessed that some Women have conceived who never had their Courses A disproportion betwixt the Mans and Womans Seed is also the occasion of Barrenness tho there is no sensible defect in
her Food being rather roasted than boyl'd and must refrain from Copulation and must not be strait Laced If the lips of the Privities are much swelled by reason of watery humours falling upon them you must scarifie with a Lancet all along the Lips that the humours may distil out and you must foment the Parts with the following Decoction Take of the leaves of Bays Sage Rosemary and of the Flowers of Camomile each one handful boyl them in a Sufficient quantity of Fountain water to a pint and half of the strain'd Liquor add a quarter of a pint of Brandy and bath the parts affected often with a Spunge dipt in the hot Liquor CHAP. XX. Of Miscarriage TO prevent Miscarriage all indispositions of the Body which are wont to occasion it must be removed as fulness of Blood ill humours and peculiar Diseases of the VVomb as Swellings Ulcers and the like Fulness of Blood opens the Veins of the VVomb or Strangles the Infant and therefore the VVoman must be Blooded and so much Blood must be taken away as will sufficiently discharge nature If an ill habit of body and ill humours are the cause of Miscarriage the VVoman must be frequently purged and a small quantity of Blood may be taken away and betwixt the Purges such things must be used as correct the indisposition of the Bowels and the sharpness of the humours and the humours must be thickened if they are too thin And if Flegmatick humours abound they must be carried off by Sweats and such things as force Urin Issues in the Arms and Thighs are also very proper to prevent Miscarriage whatever ill humours abound in the body The peculiar Diseases of the VVomb as over great Moisture Swellings Ulcers and such like must be cured by their proper Remedies And first if Moisture abound let the Woman be purged with two Scruples of the Pill Coch-major twice a week and when she does not Purge let her drink Morning and Evening of the following Decoction Take of the roots of Sarsaparilla four Ounces of China two Ounces of white and red Sanders each half an Ounce of the rasping of Harts-horn and Ivory each three Drams infuse them and boyl them in eight pints of Fountain water till half is consumed add a quarter of pound of Raisins of the Sun and if the Woman be of a Flegmatick constitution instead of China add two Ounces of Guiacum rasped Let her drink half a pint Morning and Evening Take of Franckincense Myrrh Mastich Storax Calamite Gum of Juniper Ladanum each one Ounce with a sufficient quantity of Turpentine make Troches and let one or more of them be cast on live Coals and let the fume be received into the Privities through a Funnel If a Swelling be the cause you must make application according to the nature of the humour and the time and other Circumstances of the swelling if it be hot and made by fluxion which may be known by the pain and suddenness of the swelling as also by the Tension and Pulsation and by being accompanied with a Fever Bleeding must be used in the first place and the Woman must be frequently purged with the purging Potion mention'd in the foregoing Chapter made of Tamarinds Sena Manna and the like and after Evacuations you must apply cooling and repelling things to the Reins and the lower part of the Belly as Oyl of Roses washed in Vinegar and the like and the following Decoction may be injected into the Womb. Take of the leaves of Plantain Water Lillies Night-shade and Endive each one handful of red Roses two Pugils boyl them in three pints of Fountain water till a pint is consumed add to it of Oyl of Myrtles one Ounce of Vinegar half an Ounce But note you must not use cooling and repelling things too long lest the Tumour be hardened thereby and turn to a Scirrhus and therefore soon after the beginning of the Swelling emollient and resolving things must be mixt with Repellents Mallows Marshmallows Mugwort Fenugreek Camomile and Melilote and if the pain be violent you must inject into the Womb Goat or Sheeps milk with Opium and Saffron each three or four Grains to which may be added a little Rose Water But if the swelling cannot be resolved and tends to Suppuration it must be furthered by the application of the following Pultis Take of the roots of Marshmallows of the Flowers of Camomile and Melilote of the Seeds of Flax and Fenugreek each one Ounce of fat Figs number eight boyl them to the consistence of a Pultis then add the yolks of four Eggs of Saffron half a Scruple of Oyl of Lillies and fresh butter each one Ounce make a Cataplasm If the Swelling be made by congestion it is slow and without pain and generally cold and the matter of it is either thin and serous or thick and flegmatick and apt to grow hard In this case Steel Medicines used as directed in the Chapter of Hysteric Diseases do good but purging must go before Issues in the Legs are also proper and emollient and resolving Medicines must be apply'd outwardly in the following manner Take of the Roots of Marshmallows and Lillies each two Ounces of the leaves of Mallows Violets Marshmallows and Bears-breech each one handful of the Seeds of Flax and Fenugreek each one Ounce of the leaves of Mugwort and Calamint half a handful of the Flowers of Camomile and Melilote each one Pugil boyl them in three pints of Fountain water till a third be consumed and foment the region of the Pubes and Groin with a Spunge dipt in it and pressed out Of the same Decoction the dose of the Simples being increased a bath may be made which is very effectual in this case and more powerful than the Fomentation Glisters also and Injections may be made of the same Decoction and frequently used whereunto may be added the Oyls of Lillies Camomile and sweet Almonds But these Medicines must be used with great caution lest the swelling shou'd degenerate into a Cancer and indeed 't is to no purpose to use Medicines when the Swelling is without pain and of a stony nature But if an Ulcer be the cause the cure of it must be performed by stopping the Fluxion of the humours and by cleansing and conglutinating the Ulcer and first if the Body abound with Blood or if the Ulcer be accompanied with an Inflammation a Vein must be opened in the Arm and Bleeding must be repeated as often as there is danger of a new Fluxion especially at the times of the Courses to lessen them for they are wont to increase the matter of the Ulcer and to promote the Flux of other humours to the Womb. Purging is also very necessary to cleanse the Body from ill humours but it ought to consist of gentle Catharticks as of Sena Rhubarb Tamarinds Myrobolans and the like or the Purging Potion of Tamarinds may be used but if the Woman Vomits easily she may take the following Vomit or the like
Womans Belly And the Plaister above mentioned may be used It is believed that the two following Medicines will certainly retain the Child in the Womb if they be used before it is torn from the Vessels of the Womb. Take of leaves of Gold Number twelve of Spodium one Dram the Cocks treading of three Eggs not addle mix all very well till the Gold be broken into small peeces afterwards dissolve them in a draught of White Wine and give it three Mornings following At the same time let the following Cataplasm be applied Take of Male Frankincense powdred two Ounces the whites of five Eggs let them be stirred together over hot Coals add Turpentine to make them stick then spread them upon Tow and lay them upon her Navel as hot as she can possibly endure them twice a day Morning and Evening on the three days afore-said CHAP. XXI The Signs that precede a Natural and Vnnatural Delivery THE signs preceding a natural Labour a few days before are sinking down of the Belly which hinders a Woman at that time in walking as easie as she used to do and thence flows from the Womb slimy humours appointed by nature to moisten and smoothen the passage that its inward Orifice may the more easily be dilated when it is necessary which beginning to open a little at that time suffers that slime to flow away The signs accompanying present Labour are great pains about the Region of the Reins and Loins which coming and redoubling by intervals answer in the bottom of the Belly with reiterated Throws the Face is red and inflamed because the Blood is much heated by the continual endeavours of the Woman to bring forth the Child as also because that during these strong Throws her respiration is ever intercepted for which reason much Blood hath recourse to the Face her Privy Parts are swelled because the Infants head often thrusts and causes the Neighbouring Parts to distend outwards upon which account they appear swell'd in this manner she is often subject to vomiting which makes many believe who know not the cause of it that the Women are for this reason in danger But it is generally the sign of a speedy delivery because the good pains are then excited and redoubled every moment until the business is finished When the Birth is very near Women are troubled with an universal trembling and chiefly of the Legs and Thighs with the heat of the whole Body and Humours which then flow from the Womb and they are often discoloured with Blood which with the signs above mentioned is an infallible sign of the nearness of the Birth This the Women usually call shows and if one then puts up their Finger into the Neck of the Womb they will find the inner Orifice dilated at the opening whereof the Membranes of the Infant containing the Waters present themselves and are strongly forc'd downwards with every pain the Woman has at which time one may perceive them to resist the Finger more or less as the pains are stronger or weaker These Membranes with the Waters in them when gathered that is when they are advanced before the head of the Child which makes the Midwives call it the gathering of the Waters presenting themselves at this inward Orifice do then resemble very well to the touch of the Finger abortive Eggs which have yet no shell but are only covered with a simple Membrane After this the pains redoubling continually the Membranes are broken by the strong impulse of the Waters which incontinently flow away and then the head of the Child is easily felt naked and presented at the opening of the inward Orifice of the Womb now all these or the greatest part of them meeting together at what time soever of a VVomans going with Child it be whether at the full time or no one may be assured she will soon be delivered But great care must be taken not to hasten her Labour before the necessity of it be known by these signs for that would but torment the VVoman and Child in vain and put them both in danger of their lives Labour contrary to nature is when the Child comes in an ill Figure and Situation as when it presents any otherwise than the Head first as also when the Waters flow away a long time before it is born also when the After-burthen comes first The Labour is also grievous when accompanied with a Fever or any other considerable Disease which may destroy the Child in the Womb also when pains are small and come slow with long intervals and little profit upon which account the Woman is extreamly tired but the wrong posture of the Infant is most commonly the cause of difficult Labour As soon as it is known that the Woman is certainly in labour by the signs above mentioned then must all things necessary to comfort the Woman in her Labour be got ready and the better to help her care must be taken that she be not strait laced a pretty strong Glister may be given her or more than one if there be occasion which must be done at the beginning before the Child be too forwards for afterwards it is very difficult for her to receive them in the mean while all things necessary for her Labour should be put in order as well for the Woman as the Child her Midwifes Stool or rather a Pallet-bed girted placed close by the Fire if the Season require it the Pallet ought to be so placed as to be turned round about when there is occasion the better to help the Woman If the Woman be full of Blood it may be convenient to Bleed her a little for by this means her Breasts being disingaged and her Respiration free she will have more strength to bear down her pains which may be done without danger because the Child being about that time ready to be born hath no more need of the Mothers Blood for its nourishment which has been often practised with good success Besides this Evacuation often hinders her having a Fever after delivery and to preserve her strength it will be convenient to give her some good Gelly Broaths new laid Eggs or some Spoonfuls of burnt Wine from time to time or a Toast dipt in Wine avoiding solid Food Above all she must be perswaded to hold out her pains bearing them down as much as she can at the instant when they take her The Midwife must from time to time touch the inward Orifice with her Finger to know whether the Waters are ready to break and whether the Birth will follow soon after she must also anoint all the bearing place with emollient Oyls Hogs grease or fresh Butter if she perceive it can hardly be dilated and all the while she must be near her Woman to observe her gestures diligently her complaints and pains for so she may guess pretty well how the Labour advances without being obliged to touch her Body so often The Woman may by intervals rest her self on
and an ill and strong smell exhales from the Womans Body and her Breath stinks If the Secundine be excluded first it is a certain sign that the Child is dead The whole cure consists in the exclusion or extraction of the Child Take of the Leaves of Savine dryed of the roots of round Birthwort of the Troches of Myrrh and of Castor each one Dram of Cinnamon half a Dram of Saffron one Scruple mingle them make a Powder whereof let her take one Dram in Savine Water Foment the Pubes Privities and Perineum with an Emollient Decoction made of the Leaves of Mallows and Marsh-mallows and the like and let a Pessary be put up the Privities Take of the Roots of round Birthwort Orris Black Hellebore of Coloquintida and Myrrh each one Dram of Galbanum and Opopanax each half a Dram with Ox Gall make a Pessary If after having tried Medicines a long while the Child cannot be ejected it must be extracted by a Surgeon either with Instruments or with the Hand alone CHAP. XXIV Of the Caesarian Delivery THE Caesarian Delivery is a dextrous extraction of a Living or Dead Child from the Mothers Womb which cannot be other ways excluded and that without endangering the Life of both or of either and without spoiling the Faculty of conceiving and by this Art the first Scipio Africanus of the Romans was cut out of his Mothers Womb and therefore was called Caesar This Caesarian Section is thought to be necessary when the Mother and the Child are so weak that they cannot be preserved any other way The use of it is twofold one that a living Child may be extracted the other that the Mother may be preserved alive and tho' it is very hazardous yet in a desperate case it is better to do something than nothing especially when a confederacy is like to be broken by the death of a Wife or when a Family is like to be extinguished or some Kingdom or Principality is like to be lost In this manner we find in the Annals of Spain the King of Navar was preserved for his Mother being wounded in the Belly by the Saracens as she was Hunting a Noble Man coming to her help saw the Child put its hand out of the Wound and drew it forth and educated it privately and afterwards when the Nobility was contending about the Election of a Prince he brought out the young King and so the Controversie ended The causes which require this operation are a too great Child or Twins or more that endeavour to be born together or if a fleshy Mole join to the Child the ill posture of it and if it cannot be reduced to a better either by its own help or the help of others or because it is dead or so much swell'd by a Disease that the Naturall passage is too narrow But in this case it is best to take it away peece-meal The causes on the Mothers part are the narrowness of the passages either naturally by reason she is too young or too old or because the VVomb is shut either by a Cicatrix or a Callous Moreover many tumours in the Womb or the Mouth of it may be the cause In these cases tho it be very dangerous yet it is very necessary to use Section and the operation may be happily performed as may appear by several Experiments to him that reads Rousel But before you enter upon this Operation you must consider whether the Child can be Extracted any other way that is safer and easier You must moreover consider whether there are Signs of Death and if so you must not enter upon the Operation lest the Womans Death be laid upon the Section and your rashness But when you have througly weighed all things if the Woman be of a strong Nature tho by reason of the Labour she is weak you may venture upon the Operation Most Authors would have it made on the left side of the Belly because it is more free from the Liver but I says Mauriceau think it will be better and more skilfully made just in the middle of the Belly between the two right Muscles because in this place there is only the coverings and the white line to cut To dispatch then with more ease and speed the Chyrugeon having placed the Woman so that the Belly may be a little raised let him take a good sharp incision Knife very sharp on one side with which he must quickly make an Incision just in the middle of the Belly between the two right Muscles unto the Peritoneum of the length and extent of the Womb or thereabouts after that he must only peirce the Peritoneum with the point of his Knife to make an Orifice for one or two of the Fingers of his left hand into which he must immediately thrust them to cut it lifting it up with them and conducting the Instrument for fear of pricking the Guts in proportion to the first incision of the coverings which having done the Womb will soon appear into which he must make an Incision in the same manner as he did in the Peritoneum being careful not to thrust his Instrument at once too far in having then so opened the VVomb he must likewise make an incision in the Infants Membranes taking care not to wound it with the Instrument and then he will soon see it and must immediatly take it out of the burthen which he must nimbly separate from the bottom of the VVomb and finding it to be yet living let him praise God for having so blessed and prospered his Operation But the Children so delivered are usually so weak if not quite dead as it often happens that it is hard to know whether it is alive or dead yet one may be confident the Child is living if by touching the Navel-string the Umbilical Arteries are perceived to move as also the Heart by laying the Hand on the Breast and if it prove so means must be used to fetch it to it self by spouting some VVine into the Nose and Mouth and by warming it until it begins to stir of it self But it is to be noted that Mauriceau much disapproves this cruel Operation and says it ought not to be performed until the VVoman is dead for that the VVoman always dies in the operation or presently after CHAP. XXV Of the Secundine retained IN a natural Birth the Secundine is usually excluded presently after the Child and when it is not the Life of the Woman is much indangered It is retained by the too great thickness of the Coats the swelling of them and by an afflux of Humours occasion'd by hard Labour also by the strutting of the Mouth of the Womb after the exclusion of the Child The External Causes are Coldness of the Air whereby the Secundine is repelled and the Orifice of the Womb shut Certain perfumes whereby the Womb is allured upwards violent passions of the Mind as Fear and sudden Frights the perverseness of the Woman who will not
to the consistence of a Pultiss apply them often with a rag Or infuse Galls in Rain-water eight days and with soft Wool sprinkled with Sulphur and dipt in this Water and dried without pressing make a Pessary But Secondly And chiefly you must use Astringents Foment the Genitals with the Water or Decoction of Acorns unripe Sloes and of Horse-tail or Foment the Parts with Allom-water or with Stiptic-Wine that is red and rough Wine boyl'd with Galls Leaves of Myrtles Red Roses Pomgranet-peel Balaustines and Cypress Nuts Or Take of Cypress Nuts and Galls each one Pound of Roch-allom and the filings of Iron prepared in Vinegar each half a Pound boyl them in a sufficient quantity of the Waters of Galls which Tanners use and Foment the Parts often with it The following Water is counted excellent Take of Galls and of Cypress Nuts each half a Pound of Allom six Drams Bole-armonick half a Pound of the Meal of Acorns and of old Beans each half a Pound the Whites of twelve Eggs of Powder of Brick one Pound let them be all finely powdered and infuse them three Days in Smiths Water or in a decoction of Sloes Medlars or Horse-tail with half a Pint of Rose Vinegar then Distill them in a cold Still with a gentle Fire add to the Water that comes off of the Powders of Mastick Myrrh and Dragons Blood each two Drams Set the water in the Sun in the Summer for ten days this straitens the Privities smoothens the Belly and makes the Breasts solid CHAP. XXXV Of Abscesses and Corrosive Vlcers arising from Distempers of the Womb in Childbed THE Womb is sometimes terribly affected in Child-bed and produces Fevers of very Malignant and Venomous Natures which soon cause Phlegmons and worse Tumours in the Womb it self and sometimes in other parts of the Body there being none of them on which the Uterine Ferment has not an influence The Exhorbitances or Degenerations of that whether from an hurt in Labour from part of the After-birth left behind from cold taken or the Lochia stopt soon produce such Virulent Distempers in the Blood as make it cast out a Tumor either upon the part it self or else outwardly upon the Muscles of the Body where when they light they prove corrosive sometimes eating out the Flesh in which they lodge which falls off in whole pieces without that change of colour in the Skin which is in Gangreens so that sometimes the Bone it self is laid bare by them The Causes are hard Labour the Womb hurt or part of the Secundine left behind Cold taken in Child-bed and a predisposition in the Humours by reason of their peccancy in quantity or quality The Prognostick may be taken from the largness or other qualifications of the Abscess and the Symptoms that happen to the Body thereupon If the Tumor happens only from some little disturbance in the Womb of a Person otherwise of a good habit of Body the cure is hopeful If part of the After-birth be retained there is no hope 's of Cure till that be removed nay if it stay so long as to induce Putrefaction of the part it will be too late then to remove it If the Body be of an ill Habit the Tumours are apt to Degenerate into very Venomous and Malignant Abscesses which if they do not suddenly kill do at least produce ill conditoned Ulcers hard of Cure and for the most part mortal in the long course of the Disease In the Cure of these Abscesses you are to inform your self how the Womb is disturbed and appease that and if any part of the After-birth be left behind to endeavour the bringing that away and by good Sudorificks Cordials and the like to expel the Venom and fortifie the Spirits against the Malignity that is thereby contracted and to attemperate the heat and the Acrimony by Julips and Emulsions The Swellings arising from these require to be treated in their beginning with moderate Repellents and Discutients afterward according as the Matter prepredominates make way for its discharge A young Woman after Child-bed was seized with a great Pain and Swelling in her Groin with a Fever Bleeding and Lenient Purgatives to Evacuate the Humours were prescribed also Cordial Juleps and the like to attemperate the Heat and fortifie the Spirits and Moderate Repellents mixed with Discutients in Fomentations and Plasters with Bandage were used which dispersed the Humor in the Thigh and restored that part to its former temper But in the mean time the Tumor increased in the Groin and was suppurated after the manner of a Bubo it was opened and a detersion was endeavoured but the Sinus reaching down the Twist the Matter could not be discharged without laying it more open as in Sinous Ulcers by which method it was cured A Gentlewoman in Child-bed was seized with a Fever and the Ninth Day complained of a pain in her Foot Discutients were prescribed together with things proper for the Fever to breath out the impacted Matter in her Foot but the pain increasing the upper part of the Foot from the Instep to the Toes were Oedematous but from the inside of the Ancle to the middle of the Sole of her Foot inflamed and seeming to apostumate The ill consequences of an Apostumation in that part amongst the Tendons and Bones and where the Skin is usually so hard and tough that our strongest Causticks could difficultly penetrate being feared It was resolved to endeavour the restraint of the Influx and so to dry up the Humour affecting the part to which purpose was applied the following Plaster Take of Barley Meal Six Ounces of Flax Seeds powdered Six Drams of the Flowers of Camomile and Elder each three Drams of the Flowers of Red Roses and Balaustins each one Ounce these with the addition of Honey of Roses and Oyl of Myrtles were boyled to the consistence of a Plaster in red Wine and at Bed-time an Anodyne Draught was given to cause rest The next Morning the Patient was somewhat relieved and when the Dressings were taken off the Tumor and Inflammation seemed less This way of dressing was continued with Compress and Bandage and the Humour was in few Days dried up and the Foot seemed well but there appeared again a Swelling on the Foot and Apostumated in the Sole of the Foot in three several places which were opened with a Caustick to prevent the increase of the Matter and the Eschars were divided to give a vent and they were dressed with Basilicon and the Plaster as before and the flowing of the Matter was indeavoured to be hindred dayly by Compress and Bandage but the Position of the Foot gave way and it sunk lower so that there was a necessity of applying another Caustick which proved effectual to the Discharge of it so that the upper Orifices healed but this last Eschar separated slowly and left the great Tendon bare the Separation was furthered by the use of Oyl of Turpentine with Basilicon applied warm and the
A General TREATISE OF THE DISEASES OF Maids Bigbellied Women Child-bed-Women and Widows TOGETHER With the best Methods of Preventing or Curing the same By J. PECHEY of the College of Physicians in London LONDON Printed for Henry Bonwick at the Red-Lyon in St. Paul 's Church-Yard 1696. THE PREFACE WOMAN of all the Creatures is the Fairest and most Beautiful kind Nature having bestow'd on her a delicate and fine habit of Body and design'd her only for an easie Life and to perform the tender Offices of Love whereas she compos'd Man of more robust Principles that he might be able to protect the Woman to delve and manure the Earth and to undergo the other Toils of Life But by reason of this Curious Frame the Fair Sex as other fine things are is subject to many Injuries for besides the common Calamities there are many great and dangerous Diseases peculiar to Women arising from their Constitutions monthly Purgations Pregnancy Labours and Lying in Their Constitution disposes them to Hysteric Diseases which resemble almost all the Diseases Mankind is subject to viz. An Apoplexy Epilepsie Palpitation of the Heart Coughs Violent Vomiting Colick Stone in the Kidnies and many other Pains and sometimes Swellings in the Jaws Shoulder Hands Thighs and Legs accompany these Diseases Nor can the Teeth free themselves from this Disease but the most cmomon Pain is the Pain of the Back A dejection of Mind also accompanies this Disease continually A Suppression or Immoderate Flux of the Courses causes many disorders in the Body so also does their Flowing before their due time or their staying longer than they should and their complication with other Diseases renders the Cure difficult All the time their being with Child which is a nine Months Sickness they are inclined to Nauseousness Vomiting to Pains of the Back Reins and Hips violent Coughs Swellings of the Legs and Thighs Piles and many other Diseases and upon some Indispositions of the Body to Miscarriage which is the worst and most dangerous of all When they are in Labour and when they lie in they are encompassed with many difficulties and dangers viz. an ill position of the Child suppression of the Lochia Floodings Fevers after Pains Apostemations of the Breasts and many other Diseases So that if Nature had not wisely tacked an Appetite to things necessary we must conclude the Preservation of Individuals and of Species too would not have been near so well provided for as now it is The following Treatise is a Collection from Rodericus a Castro and others that have wrote well of Womens Diseases and I judge it may be serviceable to Ladies and Gentlewomen who charitably dispence Physick and give advice to their poor Neighbours in the Country where there is no Physician near and it may be also of use to Physicians Chyrugeons and Midwives it being a general Treatise of Womens Diseases and the Methods and Medicines contained in it being approved and frequently practised by the most Renowned Authors of each Physical Province From the Angel and Crown in Basing-Lane London June the 16th 1696. John Pechey THE INDEX Page ABscesses 194 Acrocordo 233 Acute Diseases of Women in Child-bed 165 After-pains 161 Allantois 84 Amnios 82 Back pains 98 Barrenness 53 Bath-waters 8 Belly-bound 96 Bloody-Flux 103 Breasts Cancerated 214 Caesarian Delivery 150 Chaps in the Nipples 173 Child-bed Purgations 161 Child dead 148 Choice of a Nurse 182 Clefts of the Privities 233 Clitoris 61 Conception 73 Condyloma 233 Corion 82 Cough 100 Courses 14 19 22 28 30 37 45 46 104 Decoction 99 Delirium 170 Dropsie of the Womb 203 Eggs 69 Emulsion 99 Epilepsie 170 Fallopian Tubes 71 Ficus 233 Flooding 105 158 Green-sickness 13 Hermophrodites 61 Hill of Venus 59 Hip-Pains 98 Hymen 63 Hysteric Diseases 1 Infant nourished 88 Inflation of the Womb 203 Labour hard 143 Labour contrary to Nature 122 Legs swell'd 100 Liquid Laudanum 12 Loosness 102 Lozenges 115 Madness 170 Melancholy ibid 245 Milk 173 179 Miscarriage 107 Mole 75 Myrtle berry Caruncles 64 Navel-string 86 Nymphs 60 Piles 101 Privities 59 106 191 Reins pain'd 98 Scabs of the Privities 233 Secundine retain'd 155 Sphincter 64 Stone of the Womb 226 Suckling of a Child 182 Superfaetation 78 Testicles 68 Thymus 233 Tumours from Milk 173 Vlcers corrosive 194 Vomiting 97 Vrachus 87 Vrine difficult 100 Warts 233 Water breaking 121 Whites 52 Womb closed 42 Womb 65 Womb-Cake 80 Woman with Child managed 95 Womb bearing down 106 Womb falling 201 Womb Cancerated 214 Womb Worms 226 Wrinkles in the Belly 188 A General TREATISE OF Womens Diseases CHAP. I. Of the Hysteric Disease THIS Disease proceeds from a weakness and confusion of the Spirits and is not only very frequent but also so wonderfully various that it resembles almost all Diseases Mankind is subject to For after hard Labour or some great disturbance of the Mind it occasions an Apoplexy which ends in a Palsie of half the Body Sometimes it produces violent Convulsions very like the Falling-Sickness and these are commonly call'd Mother-fits Sometimes it possesses the outward part of the head causing violent pain continually fixt in one part which may be cover'd with the top of the Thumb and violent Vomiting accompanies this pain It also occasions sometimes a great Palpitation of the Heart and sometimes the Woman coughs without intermission but spits up nothing Sometimes rushing violently upon the region under the Heart it causes violent pain much like the twisting of the Guts and the Woman Vomits exceedingly and casts up a green Matter and sometimes Matter of an unusual Colour and often after the Sick have been almost destroy'd by the said pain and the reachings to Vomit it is at length carried off by the Jaundice tincturing the surface of the Body like Saffron The Sick is much dejected and Despair as certainly accompanies this kind of Hysteric Disease as the Pain and Vomiting above mention'd When this Disease falls upon one of the Kidnies it plainly represents by the pain it causes there a fit of the Stone and it is difficult to distinguish it from the Stone unless perchance some unlucky accident disturbing the Womans mind a little before she was taken ill shews that it was an Hysteric Disease Nor is the Bladder free from this false Symptom for it does not only cause pain there but it also stops the Urin. Sometimes falling upon the Stomach it causes continual Vomiting and sometimes a Loosness when it is settled upon the Guts but no pain accompanies either of these Symptoms And as this Disease afflicts almost all the inward parts so sometimes it seizes all the outward parts occasioning pain and sometimes a Swelling in the Jaws Shoulders Hands Thighs Legs but the Swelling of the Legs is plainer seen than the rest and contrary to Swellings in the Dropsie is most in the Morning nor being pressed does it leave a pit and most commonly it swells only one of the Legs Nor can the Teeth free themselves from
the assaults of this Disease tho they are not hollow and tho there is no apparent Defluction that may occasion the pain yet it is no whit gentler nor shorter nor easier Cured But the pain of the Back is most common which most certainly all feel how little soever they are afflicted with this Disease Moreover this is common to the foresaid pains that the place whereon they were is tender and akes as if it were soundly beaten but this tenderness goes off by degrees And this is worth observing that often a notable coldness of the outward parts makes way for these Symptoms which for the most part does not go off till the fit ends which coldness is almost like that wherewith a Carcass grows stiff yet the Pulse is good Moreover all Hysteric Women complain of a dejection and sinking of the Spirits and sometimes laugh excessively and at other times cry as much without any real cause for either But the most proper and almost inseparable Symptom is a Urin as clear as Rock-water Sometimes ill fumes are belched up and sometimes the Wind that comes from the Stomach is sower just like Vinegar But their Minds are more affected than their Bodies for an incurable Desperation is mixt with the very nature of the Disease A day would scarce be sufficient to reckon up all the Symptoms belonging to this Disease and I think Demetrius reckn'd pretty right tho he mistook the cause of the Disease when he said in an Epistle to Hippocrates that the Womb was the cause of Six hundred Miseries and of innumerable Calamities The external causes of this Disease are either violent motions of the Body or which is much oftner vehement disturbances of the Mind to these disorders of the Mind which are usually the occasion of this Disease is to be added emptiness of the Stomach by reason of long fasting inmmoderate Bleeding a Vomit or Purge that works too much In order to the cure I order that eight Ounces of Blood be taken from the right Arm and that the following Plaister be apply'd to the Navel Take of Galbanum dissolved in Tincture of Castor and strain'd three Drachms of Tacamahaca two Drams mix them make a Plaister The next Morning let her use the following Pills Take of the Pill Coch-major two Scruples of Castor powder'd two Grains of Peruvian Balsam four drops make four Pills let her take them at five in the Morning and sleep after repeat them twice or thrice every Morning or every other Morning according to the Womans strength and as they work Take of the Waters of Black-Cherries Rhue and Compound Briony each three Ounces of Castor ty'd up in a rag and hanged in the Viol half a Dram of Fine Sugar a Sufficient quantity make a Julep whereof let her take four or five Spoonfulls when she is faint dropping into the first dose if the fit is violent twenty drops of the Spirit of Harts-horn After the Purging Pills just described are taken let her use the following Take of the filings of Steel eight Grains with a sufficient quantity of extract of Wormwood make two Pills let her take them early in the Morning and at five in the Afternoon for Thirty days drinking upon them a draught of Wormwood Wine Or if she like a Bolus better Take of the Conserves of Roman Wormwood and of the yellow peel of Oranges each one Ounce of Angelica and Nutmegs candied and of Venice Treacle each half an Ounce of candied Ginger two Drachms make an electuary with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of Oranges Take of this electuary one Drachm and an half of the filings of Steel well rub'd eight Grains make a Bolus with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of Oranges to be taken in the Morning and at five in the Evening drinking upon it a Glass of Wormwood-wine Take of choice Myrrh and Galbanum each one Drachm and an half of Castor fifteen Grains with a sufficient quantity of Balsam Peru make twelve Pills of every Drachm let her take three every Night and drink upon them three or four Spoonfuls of Compound Briony Water through the whole course of this process But if these Pills move the Body which sometimes they do in Bodies that are very easily purged the following may be used instead of them Take of Castor one Drachm of Volatile Salt of Amber half a Drachm with a sufficient quantity of extract of Rue make twenty-four small Pills let her take three every Night But Steel Medicines which must be noted occasion sometimes in Women great disorders both of Body and Mind and not only on the first days which is usual almost in every body but also all the time they are taken In this case the use of Steel must not presently be interrupted but Laudanum must be given every night for some time in some Hysteric water that they may the better bear it But when the Symptoms are mild and it seems the business may be done without Steel I think it sufficient to Bleed and to Purge three or four times and then to give the altering Hysteric Pills above-mentioned morning and evening for ten days which method seldom fails when the Disease is not violent yea the Pills alone Bleeding and Purging being omitted do often a great deal of good But some Women can't bear Hysteric Medicines and are much injured thereby therefore they must not be given to such If the Blood is so very feeble and the confusion of the Spirits so great that Steel ordered to be used according to the method prescribed is not sufficient to cure the Disease the Sick must drink Tunbridge-waters or the like for they cure Diseases more efectually than any preparation of Iron but if in drinking of them any Sickness happen that belongs to Hysteric Symptoms the Sick must forbear drinking them a day or two till that Symptom that hindred their passage is quite gon And it is to be noted that Purging must be avoided all the time the Woman drinks these waters But if this Disease does not yeild to Steel-waters the Sick must go to the Bath and when she has used the waters of it three mornings following the next day let her go into the Bath and the day following let her drink them again and so let her do by turns for two months for in these and others of what kind soever they are the Patient must persist in the use of them till she is quite well Venice-treacle used often and a long time is a great remedy in this Disease Spanish-wine with Gentian Angelica Worm-wood Centory and other strengthening things infus'd in it does a great deal of good some spoonfuls of it being taken thrice a day if the Woman be not thin and of a cholerick habit of Body And truly a large draught of Spanish-wine taken by it self at bed-time for some nights has been very beneficial to some Women Jesuits-powder also wonderfully comforts and invigorates the Blood and Spirits a Scruple of it being taken morning and
evening for some weeks But if the Remedies above-mentioned don't well agree which often happens in thin and choleric Constitutions then a Milk-dyet may be used for some Women which one would wonder at at first that have been a long while afflicted with Hysteric Diseases and could be relieved no other way have been recovered by Dieting themselves for some time only with Milk and especially those that Labour with an Hysteric Cholick which can't be appeased by any thing but Opiates to which repeated Women are much accustom'd the pains returning as soon as the vertue of the Opiate fades But riding on Horse back or in a Coach every day for a long while is the best remedy This is the general way of Curing this Disease which is apply'd to the original cause namely the weak constitution of the Blood and so is to be used only when the Fit is off therefore as often as the Fit comes join'd with any one of the fore-said Symptoms if the Disease be such or so great an one that it will not bear a Truce till it may be cured by Medicines that strengthen the Blood and Spirits we must presently make use of Hysteric Medicines which by their strong and offensive smell recall the disorderly and deserting Spirits to their proper Stations whether they are taken inwardly or smelt to or outwardly apply'd such are Assa-faetida Galbanum Spirit of Sal Armoniac and lastly whatever has a very ungrateful and offensive smell In the next place you must take notice that if some intollerable pain accompanied the fit or violent Vomiting or a Loosness then besides the Hysterics above-mentioned Laudanum is to be used which is only able to restrain these Symptomes But in quieting the pains which Vomiting occasion we must take great care that they are not mitigated either by Laudanum or any other Opiat before due evacuations have been made unless they exceed almost all humane patience Therefore in lusty Women and such as abound with Blood a Vein must be opened and the Body purged especially if they have been lately seized with the fit But if weak Women and those of a quite contrary Constitution labour with such a fit and pain and have been afflicted with it not long ago it will be sufficient to cleanse their Stomachs with a gallon of Posset drink taken in and ejected by Vomiting and then to give a large Dose of Venice-Treacle and a few spoonfuls of some Spirituous Liquor that is pleasing to the taste with a few drops of Liquid Laudanum to be taken presently after But if the Sick has Vomited a great while and there is danger lest by a further provocation by Vomits the Spirits should be put into a rage and the Sick too much weakened in this case you must give Laudanum without delay and such a Dose that is sufficient to vanquish it But here two things are to be chiefly noted first that when you have once begun to use Laudanum after due and necessary evacuations it must be taken in the same Dose and must be often repeated till the Symptom is quite conquered only such a space must be betwixt each Dose that we may know what the former has done before we give another and then when we treat the Disease with Laudanum we must do nothing else and nothing must be evacuated for the gentlest Glister of milk and sugar is sufficient to spoil whatever has been repaired by the Laudanum and to occasion a return of the Vomiting and pain But though the Pains above mentioned are apt to overcome the vertue of the Laudanum yet violent Vomiting indicats the largest Dose of it and that it should be very often repeated for by reason of the Vomiting the Laudanum is cast up before it can do any good unless it be given afresh after every time the Sick Vomits and chiefly in a solid form and if it be given in a liquor the quantity must be so small that it must but just wet the Stomach so that by reason of the small quantity of the matter it cannot be cast up for instance some drops of Liquid Laudanum in one spoonful of strong Cinnamon-water or the like and the Sick must be admonished to keep her self quiet presently after taking the Laudanum and that she keep her Head as much as is possible immoveable for the smallest motion of the Head provokes Vomiting more than any thing else and when the Vomiting ceases and is as it were tam'd it is expedient to give a Dose of Laudanum morning and evening to prevent a relapse which also ought to be observed after a Loosness or Hysteric pains And because frequent mention has been made of Liquid Laudanum in this Chapter and it is much used in other Diseases Women are subject to I will here set down the best way of making it Take of Spanish-wine one pint of Opium two ounces of Saffron one ounce of the Powders of Cinnamon and Cloves each one Drachm let them be infused together in a Bath for two or three days till the liquor comes to the consistence of a thin Syrup strain it and keep it for use The Dose is sixteen or twenty Drops to be taken in a small draught of Beer or in some distilled-water CHAP. II. Of the Green-Sickness THE Green-sickness is an ill habit of the Body proceeding from Obstructions it is accompanied most commonly with a beating of the Heart difficulty of breathing and a longing for absurd things and an unfitness for motion and other Symtoms the Face and whole Body are pale and sometimes of a leaden and green colour there is an inflation and as it were a swelling upon the Eye-lids the Legs also swell especially about the Ankles there is a heavy and often a lasting pain of the Head the Pulse is quick the Sick are drowsie and have an aversion for wholsome food lastly the Disease increasing and the Obstructions being multiplied a suppression of the Courses at length follows which shews the Disease is confirmed This Disease most commonly is not dangerous but if it be neglected too much it occasions great Diseases as hard Swellings a Dropsie and other grievous Diseases which at length kill the Patient When the Disease is small and chiefly arises from Obstructions of the veins of the Womb it is easily cured by Marriage in young Virgins Those that have had this Disease a long while are either Barren or bring forth Children that are Sickly and short lived The Cure is to be perform'd by the same Method and Medicines proposed in the foregoing Chapter for the cure of the Hysteric Diseases CHAP. III. Of Women that never had their Courses THE flux of the Courses is an undoubted sign that a Woman is mature yet there are some Women that never had them tho' they have had conversation with their Husbands and some of them have had Children and others not some of them have enjoyed good health and others have been sickly the cause of this defect is in general two-fold
naribus erumpere bonum est The cause of this Disease is most commonly some violent Passion of the Mind or some great disturbance happening when the Courses are near flowing it comes also from Obstructions of the Womb or by reason of violent Pains and great Diseases of the upper Parts also from the weakness of them when the VVomb and lower Parts are strong for the weak Parts always receive what the stronger put upon them It also comes from some external Cause as by drinking cold Water unseasonably or by washing the Feet and Legs unseasonably or by the use of Vinegar when the Courses are near The Scope of the Cure is Two-fold the First is the Evacuation of the Blood abounding the other is the Recalling of it to the lower Parts which is chiefly done by Cooling the upper Parts and by Heating Moistning and Opening the lower Parts but both may be well answered by Bleeding in the Foot three or four days before the Blood flows and by applying Cupping-glasses to the Thighs Legs and Hips sometimes Dry but most commonly with Scarification and also by provoking the Hemorrhoids by Frictions by Walking by hot Baths natural or artificial by Fomentations made of opening Herbs by Unctions Pessaries and uterine Glisters But see more of this in the Chapter of Suppression of the Courses The two following Remedies are peculiarly proper for this Disease viz. Bleeding in the Foot for several Months at the times we have mentioned and the Bath-waters wherein the Woman must be Bathed early in the Morning and must continue a while in them but this must be noted that the Waters must not reach above the region of the Liver and in the mean while the upper Parts must be â—anned CHAP. V. Of the Courses coming before their due time and of staying longer than they should IN many Women the Courses flow before their accustomed time and sometimes they stay longer than they should and this anticipation and delay are sometimes orderly and sometimes disorderly The Causes are either the Vice of the Womb as the ill Figure of it or a Solution of the Continuum and sometimes a hurt on some other account as a Vitious humour that irritates before the time by reason of plenty of Blood or the thinness or sharpness of it the quantity of humours occasioning it may be known by the dulness of the Body by the sanguine habit of the Woman by a sedentary and idle Life by excess in eating and drinking or by some other Evacuation stopped or lessened The Acrimony of the Blood may be known by the Heat Erosion and Pain in the Excretion or by the Vitious habit of the Womans Body and the course of her Life foregoing or by the Diet she was wont to use and the like But if it come leasurely and without pain the retentive faculty is weak it may also be occasioned by a blow or fall If it proceed by reason of the Loosness and fault of the retentive faculty it must be strengthened by proper Remedies if it come from a plenitude it must be remedied by a sparing Diet and moderate Exercise and by taking away so much Blood as is agreeable to the strength in the middle of the Month or a little before the Courses flow Frictions also in the Arms and in all the upper parts of the Body are proper the Woman must abstain from Wine and all Strong-waters and instead of them Chalybeats must be used and if these things do not do the business she must be blooded in the Arm but if it proceed from the Acrimony of the Humours she must eat freely Meat of good nourishment and must exercise a little and such Medicines must be used as attemperate the humours and she must be purg'd and Uterine Glisters must be injected made of two Ounces of Oyl of Violets and four Ounces of the Decoction of Mallows but care must be taken that the Courses be not quite stopped because it is dangerous Lastly if a blow a fall or difficult labour occasion this disease the following Cataplasm must be applied to the Womb and Neighbouring parts Take of the Powders of Dragons-blood Frankincense Mastich and of the greater Comfry each two Drams with a sufficient quantity of Turpentine make a Cataplasm If the Woman be of a hot Constitution apply the following Plaister Take of the Powders of Roses Myrtles and Balaustins and Mastich each one Drahom of fine Flour one Ounce with the Whites of Eggs make a Plaister The Courses stay beyond their time by reason of age when they are about to go away or by a vice of the whole Body or of the womb If it proceed on the account of age you must only endeavour to prevent those inconveniences which are wont to follow especially the Gout and a pain in the Hip which may be done by a spare Diet much exercise and by bleeding yearly till Nature has been accustomed to the want of the menstruous Purgation But if it proceed from a Vice of the whole Body it must be treated as a suppression of the Courses If it proceed from a peculiar disorder of the Womb it requires a peculiar Cure and is a Symptom of the kind of the vitiated action of Excretion either because it is hindred by the ill Formation or a gross Humour that Obstructs The Causes therefore are these three which are contrary to the anticipation of the Courses viz. the weakness of the Faculty the fault of the Humours and the dulness of the Sense The impotence of the Faculty is occasioned by the frigidity or moisture of the Temperament or by the depraved Figure of the Instrument the Humour is faulty upon the account of its thickness siccity and clamminess The Sense is rendred dull most commonly by moisture abounding The weak Faculty by reason of Frigidity is known by the Womans perceiving a weight and disturbance after the time of the coming of her Courses is past The fault of the Instrument may be known by what went before as by hard labour a tumour cicatrix leaping or a fall whereby the Womb or a part subservient to it is displaced or the figure of it deformed The fault of the Humour may be known by those things that are evacuated by the Blood as if it be whitish it may be seen if it be gross and clammy a sedentary life and a gross and flegmatic Diet went before the Woman is of a soft pale and leaden habit of body and is fat and by the Bloods flowing slowly and by the long continuance of the Courses sometimes and by their ending in a slime If when they stay a long time before they come the Woman does not perceive any disturbance in the Womb and neighbouring Parts the Sense is dull If the Disease arise from a thick and clammy Humour as it does most commonly it must be cured according to Galen with three sorts of Remedies First by a thin and heating Diet by moderate exercise and frictions of the Legs Secondly by
attenuating and heating Potions made of opening Roots of Calaminth Fennel Saxifrage Burnet Hysop and the like Saffron and Cinnamon being added to them and the Cure must be begun presently after the Purgation of the Courses Let the Woman take every Morning five or six Ounces of the following Apozem Take of the Roots of Smallage Fennel and Parsley each two Ounces of the Leaves of Feverfew Cat-mint Penny-royal Maiden-hair each one Handful and an Half of the Seeds of Anise and Fennel each one Drachm and an Half boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to a Quart in the strained Liquor dissolve of the Syrups of Mugwort and Maiden-hair each three Ounces the Syrup of Hysop or of the Five Opening Roots made without Vinegar is also very good being mixed with the Waters of Fennel Cat-mint Penny-royal and Parsley and other things may be used which are mentioned in the Chapter of the Suppression of the Courses 3dly She must be Purged with Agarick Trochiscated or with the Pill of Mastick Or Take of the Pills of Agarick and Aloephargin each two Scruples with the Syrup of Mugwort make four Pills Fourthly Those things which draw the the Blood downwards must be used as bleeding in the Foot three or four days before the accustomed time of the Courses these things being done the Legs and lower Belly must be fomented with a decoction of Fenugreek Camomile Dill Melilot Fennel Parsly Daucus And while she is bathing let her take one of the Tablets called Diacalaminth afterwards let the Parts be fumed with Spices and use Frictions and Ligatures to the Legs and let Cupping-glasses be applyed to the Claves of the Legs without scarification and if the Courses do not yet flow let the Woman be purged every third day with four or five of the Pills mentioned before Let the lower Belly be anointed with the Oyls of Capers White Lillies Dill Cinnamon and Saffron and let Uterine Glisters be injected made of four Ounces of the Decoction of Penny-royal Horse-mint Thym and Cresses with two Ounces of Oyl of Rue or of Dill which wonderfully rouze the dull sense of the Womb. CHAP. VI. Of the Courses corrupted or suppurated THE Courses may be corrupted four several ways First from drawing a putrid quality from the whole Body Secondly from the mixture of some putrid humour in the passages Thirdly by a long suppression Fourthly from an intemperies in the Womb or from an abundance of putrid humours contained in and about it and are coloured and disordered according to the nature of the humours they are White Pale Livid Green Black Skinny Fibrous Membranous Windy Fetid and they have Sand and Worms in them The Cure is in a manner the same which is proposed for the Cure of the Whites for an exact course of Diet being ordered the Woman must be purged with Agarick trochiscated or with the Pill of Mastich if a Phlegmatic humour abounds if a bilious humour be the cause let her be purged with Rhubarb as Take of the best Rhubarb four Scruples of yellow Myrobalans one Drachm and an Half infuse them a Night in three Ounces of Succory Water to the strained Liquor add of Syrup of Roses Solutive and of Manna each one Ounce If Melancholy Humours abound Take of Senna one Ounce of the Seeds of Annise one Drachm infuse them in four Ounces of Fumitory-water to the strained Liquor add of Pulp of Cassia and of Syrup of Roses Solutive each one Ounce If the Courses are suppurated such things must be used now and then as evacute a dust and Cholerick humours which may be easily prepared with Agarick Rhubarb and Senna and sometimes Glisters must be used and moderate exercise which purge the Body and Womb and if the Stomach abounding with Flegm be the cause a Vomit used by Intervals is proper that what is daily heapt up there may be purged off before it enters the Veins Thirdly Such things must be used as are able to eradicate the Disease and if the Humours are cold and gross sudorifics must be used as a Decoction of Sarsaparilla Guiac China and the like But if Choler or Melancholy be the cause bathing is most proper but gentle Frictions and Pessaries are proper for both and anoint the Belly with the Oyl of Sweet Almonds or with the Oyl of Violets which are also to be put up the Womb. But if these things do no good an Issue must be made in one or both the Arms which is of excellent use CHAP. VII Of the Complication of the Courses with other Diseases THere is scarce any thing that does disturb Physicians more and which makes them err so much as the complication of the Courses with Diseases and this happens chiefly six ways First When a Disease happens just when the Courses are about to come Secondly If by reason of the invasion of a Disease the Courses come before their due time Thirdly If the time of the Courses and of the Disease are complicated so that they come together Fourthly If the Courses being suppressed delayed or lessened a Disease comes upon them upon an other account Fifthly If by reason of a Disease pre-existing a suppression or delay of the Courses is the cause of the increase of the Disease and its Symptoms Sixthly If when there is a Disease the Courses flow If therefore the Courses are just about to flow when the Disease is beginning or in the process of it we must consider whether the Disease be one of those which is occasioned by the Womb in which case if the Disease requires bleeding without any delay we must draw it from the foot that it may be let out by a convenient way that the Womb may be evacuated and the cause expelled But if the Disease arises from the whole Body or from some principal member of it that Vein of the Arm most affirm must be opened which chiefly respects the part affected but this opinion if it be generally received seems to me injurious and we ought rather to distinguish concerning the number of the days the acuteness of the Disease and the plenitude of the Body for if the Disease be not acute Blood ought to be drawn from the Foot and especially if the Woman be within three or four days of her Courses and in this case she ought to be blooded in the Foot although the Disease be acute and this both reason and experience confirms for Nature is to be evacuated that way she tends if it be a convenient place for if the Woman be blooded in the upper parts we often see that she becomes delirious and that watchings sleepy Diseases difficulty of Breathing and at length Death it self follow But if there be eight days or thereabouts before the time of the Courses and there is a great plenitude and the Woman cannot be so sufficiently evacuated by the Foot as the Disease requires then all agree that she must be blooded in the Arm especially if the Disease be acute but purging Medicines
either and it happens sometimes that the same Man has Children by another Woman and the same Woman Children by another Man when together they were Childless It comes to pass sometimes that after a Woman has conversed ten or more Years with her Husband and has not conceived afterwards she has had Children the cause whereof is the change of her Constitution by time Having made frequent mention of Womens Seed I must here acquaint you that many Learned Physicians and Anatomists deny that Women have any Seed for some Women send forth no humour as is called Seed and yet they are Fruitful enough yea some after they have begun to emit such an humour tho indeed they took great pleasure in Copulation yet grew less fruitful than before 'T is also said by some that a seminal Air or Vapour arising from the Mans Seed and not the Seed it self causes Conception but passing by Controversies and nice Speculations I according to my way of Writing set down such Methods and Medicines as are approved of for the Cure of this Disease And First the narrowness of the genital parts by reason of youth in progress of time will grow large enough and therefore there is no need of any other Cure but in the mean while Copulation must be forbid for by the too early use of it the natural constitution of the parts is disordered but if it proceed from small stature or age it is incurable Over-fatness may be corrected by a spare and proper Diet and by convenient evacuations If Barrenness proceeds from a disorderly Diet as from excessive eating or drinking the Woman must be reduced to a regular course of Life Such as are robust and of a manly Constitution must by all means be reduced to a womanly state that they may become fit for generation they must forbear strong Meats and Labour and the Courses must be forced and by Bleeding and Purging and the like the habit of the Body must be rendred cold and moist But the most frequent cause of Barrenness is a cold and moist disposition of the whole Body and of the Womb which the Whites often accompany and for the cure in this case the Whites must be cured by the method prescribed in the Chapter of the Whites and the following things must be ordered which are peculiarly proper And First the flegmatick humours must be evacuated by Medicines that purge Sweat and force Urine and revulsion must be made by Issues in the Arms Neck and Legs and the principal parts must be strengthened by Treacle Mithridate Confection of Alkermes and the like Afterwards such things must be used as are proper by a specific quality to strengthen the Womb and to help Conception Take of the roots of Eringo and Satyrion candied each one Ounce of green Ginger candied half an Ounce of Hazel Nuts Pine Nuts and Pistachies each six Drams one Nutmeg candied of the Seed of Rocket and Cresses each two Drams of the ashes of a Bulls Pisle of the Reins of Scinks and of the raspings of Ivory each one Dram of confection of Alkermes three Drams of Diambra and sweet Diamoch each one Ounce and an half of Ambergriese half a Dram with the Syrup of candied Citrons make an Electuary let her take the quantity of a Nutmeg at bedtime drinking upon it a glass of good Wine Some count the Secundine of a Woman dried and powderd very effectual one Drachm of it being taken The Seeds of Bishops weed are also much commended Many good Authors affirm that if a Woman drink six Ounces of the juice of Garden Sage with a little Salt the fourth day of her Menstruous Purgation and a quarter of an hour after has Conversation with her Husband she will infallibly conceive And by the use of this remedy Aetius says the Egyptian Women became fruitful after a great Plague It 's said many have conceived when their having Children has bin despair'd of by thrusting up far in the Privities Garlic heated with Oyl of Spike and wrapt in a fine rag for it powerfully forces the Courses and cleanses and delights the Womb. CHAP. XIV Of the Parts of Women that serve for Generation THE Parts serving for Generation in Women may be divided into the Privities the Womb the Testicles and the Vessels that prepare and carry That part is called the Privities which appears at first sight without dissection it reaches from the lower part of the Os Pubis within an Inch of the Fundament it is less and closer in Maids than in those that have born Children It hath two Lips which toward the Pubes grows thicker and meeting upon the middle of the Os Pubis makes that rising that is called the Hill of Venus its outward substance is Skin covered with Hair as the Lips are which begin to grow in this place about the age of Fourteen the inner substance of the Hill of Venus chiefly consists of Fat which makes it bunch up which in Copulation hinders the bones of the Pubes of the Man and Woman to hit one against another which would by causing pain abate the Venereal pleasure A Muscle springing from the sphincter of the Fundament lies under this Fat Its Office is to straighten the Orifice of the Sheath The Nymphs and the Clitoris appear when the Lips are drawn a little aside The Nymphs stand next the Urine as it spouts out from the Bladder and keeps the Lips from being wet they are placed on each side just within the Lips they are two fleshy and soft Productions beginning at the upper part of the Privities where they make that wrinkled membranous Production which cloaths the Clitoris like a Fore-skin They are in shape and colour like the Thrils that hang under a Cocks Throat they have a red substance partly Fleshy partly Membranous within Soft and Spongy composed loosly of small Membranes and Vessels so that they are very easily distended by the influx of the Animal Spirits and Arterial Blood They are larger in grown Maids than in Young and grow larger upon the use of Venery and after the Bearing of Children their use is to defend the inner Parts and to cover the passage of the Urine and a good part of the Orifice of the Sheath in the upper part of the Privity Betwixt the Nymphs is placed the Clitoris it answers to a Man's Yard in shape situation substance erection and differs from it only in length and bigness Those that are called Hermophrodites have it so long and big as to be able to Converse with Women in the manner of Men. They are not of two Sexs as is commonly reported only their Stones are placed in the Lips of the Privities and their Clitoris is preternaturally extended But in most it does not appear unless the Lips are drawn aside It is a little long and round Body it lies under the fat of the hill of Venus and puffs up in Venery and straightening the Orifice of the Sheath makes it embrace the Virile
Take of Vinum benedictum six Drams of the Water of Carduus Benedictus one Ounce of Oxymel of squills half an Ounce mingle them make a Vomit let it be taken about four in the afternoon and she must drink a large draught of Posset Drink after every time she Vomits The days the Sick does not Purge a Vulnerary Decoction must be used a long while in the following manner Take of the leaves of Agrimony Knot-grass Burnet and Plantine each one handful of the roots of China three Drams of Coriander one Dram of Raisins half an Ounce of red Sanders one Scruple boyl them in Chicken broth strain it let the Sick drink it Morning and Evening If there be a Fever and if a great quantity of matter be evacuated Whey is very proper half a pint or more being taken in a Morning with a little Honey of Roses and if there is an Hectick Fever and the Body begins to wast Asses milk must be taken with Sugar of Roses for a whole Month. Turpentine washed in some proper water for the Womb as in Mugwort or Feverfew water or in some water proper for the Ulcer as Plantain or Rose water and taken with Sugar of Roses cleanses and heals the Ulcer To cleanse dry and heal the Ulcer various injections are proposed but they must not be used till the Inflammation is taken off and till the pain is quieted and therefore upon account of the Inflammation an Emulsion of the cold Seeds or the Whey of Goats Milk or Milk it self may be injected first and if necessity requires a Decoction of Poppy heads and tops of Mallows may be injected Some Practitioners say the Sick may be much relieved by injecting frequently warm water and when the heat and pain is quieted we may use such things as cleanse beginning with the gentle and proceeding gradually to the stronger The gentle are Whey with Sugar a Decoction of Barly with Sugar or Honey of Roses but Simple Hydromel cleanses most But if the Ulcer be very sordid the following Decoction may be used Take of the roots of Gentian Rhaponticum Zedoary and round Birthwort each one Ounce of White-wine three pints boyl them to the consumption of a third part in the strain'd Liquor dissolve half a pound of Sugar and keep it for use a little Vnguentum Aegyptiacum may be added to it if there be occasion to cleanse more If the Ulcer be deep the fume mention'd above may be used when the Ulcer is very obstinate Cinnabar must be added which is of excellent use If these Diseases happen when a Woman is with Child the difficulty is greater because bigbellied Women cannot so easily bear all kind of remedies yet lest being destitute of all help they shou'd remain in extream danger of Miscarriage and Death some kind of Remedies are to be used therefore if she be too full of Blood she must have a Vein opened tho she be with Child especially in the first Month and so twice or thrice if need be but much Blood must not be taken away at a time And when there is abundanee of ill humours gentle purging must be used and repeated especially in the middle Months and in the mean while those astringent and strengthening Medicines must be used all the time the Woman is with Child that are proper to hinder Miscarriage Take of Kermes Berries and Tormentil roots each three Ounces of Mastich one Dram and an half make a Powder whereof give now and then half a Dram or as much as will lie on the point of a knife or let her take every Morning some grains of Mastich Or Take of conserve of Roses two Ounces of Citron Peel Candied six Drams of Myrobolans candied of the Pulp of Dates each half an Ounce of Coral prepared Pearl prepared and shavings of Harts-horn each one Dram with Syrup of Quinces make an Electuary of which let the Woman take often the quantity of a Nutmeg The following Lozenges are very good for they strengthen and by little and little free the Body from Excrements tho they do not sensibly purge sometimes Take of Mace of the three Sorts of Sanders Rubarb Sena Coral Pearl each one Scruple of Sugar dissolved in Rose-water four Ounces make all into Lozenges weighing three Drams apeece let her take one twice a Week by it self or dissolved in a little Broth. The following Plaster may be apply'd to the Reins Take of the Plaster ad Herniam and de Minio each equal parts spread it on Leather and apply it to the small of the Back But Plasters must not be worn long together lest they should cause an heat of Urin and the Stone in the Kidnies In the use of these things the Woman must keep her self as quiet as possibly she can both in Body and Mind and must abstain from Copulation But if notwithstanding the Medicines aforesaid by reason of the Vehemence of the cause whether it be outward or inward the Sick be ready to miscarry we must do the best we can with the following remedies and in the first place so soon as Pains and Throws shall be perceived in the lower part of the Belly and in the Loins we must endeavour to allay them both by Medicines taken inwardly and outwardly apply'd according to the variety of the Causes and if Crudities and Wind are the cause as they are most usually when the cause is within a Powder must be given made of Aromaticum Rosatum and Coriander Seeds and we may give of the Imperial Water if Flegm and Wind abound At the same time let Carminative Medicines be apply'd below the Navel of the Patient such are Bags of Anise Seeds Fennel Seeds Fenugreek Seeds Flowers of Camomile Elder Rosemary and Stechas mixt together or a Rose Cake fryed in a Pan with rich Canary and sprinkled with Powder of Nutmegs and Coriander Seeds or the Gaul of a Wether new kill'd or his Lungs lay'd on warm If by these means the pains cease not let a Glister be injected made of Wine and Oyl wherein two Drams of Philonium Romanum may be dissolved or Narcoticks may be given inwardly in a small quantity to allay the Violence of the humours and wind as we are wont to do in pains of the Colick But if Blood begins to come away Frictions and painful Ligatures of the upper parts must be used to turn the course of the Blood and if the Woman be full of Blood it will not be amiss to take some Blood from her especially before it begins to low but it must be taken away at several times a little at once And if the Flux of Blood continues we must proceed to an astringent and thickening Diet and Medicines as mentioned above Astringent Fomentations may be also used outwardly made of Pomgranate-peels Cypress Nuts Acorn Cups Balaustines and the like boyl'd in Smiths water and Red wine Or a little bag full of Red Roses and Balaustines may be boyl'd in Red Wine and apply'd hot to the
and a very considerable abscess follows in which Case it must be opened just below the Swelling in the most convenient place and after the Matter is evacuated a detersive Decoction must be injected into the Cavity made of Barly-water and Oyl of Roses to which Spirit of Wine may be added if there be any danger of Corruption and afterwards the Ulcer must be Dressed according to Art Sometimes it happens that the Perineum is so rent that the Privities and the Fundament is all in one in this case having cleansed the Womb from such Excrements as may be there with Red-wine let the Rent be strongly stitched together with three or four stiches or more according to the length of the separation taking at each stich good hold of the Flesh that so it may not break out and then dress it with Linimentum Arcaei or the like claping a Plaister on and some Linnen above to prevent as much as may be the falling of the Urine and other Excrements upon it because the acrimony of them would make it smart and cause Pain and that these parts may close together with more ease let the Woman keep her Thighs close together without the least spreading until the Cure be perfected but if afterwards she happens to be with Child she will be obliged to prevent the like mischief to anoint those parts with Emollient Oyls and Oyntments and when she is in Labour she must forbear helping her Throws too strongly at once but leave Nature to perform it by degrees together with the help of a Midwife well Instructed in her Art for usually when these parts have been once rent it is very difficult to prevent the like in the following Travail because the Scar there made does straighten the parts yet more wherefore it were to be wished for greater security against the like accidents that the Woman should have no more Children CHAP. XXII Of hard Labour MAny Causes may be assigned that occasion hard Labour as the natural weakness of the Mothers Body or her Age she being too Young or too Old or it may be occasioned by Diseases that she had with her big Belly leanness or too much dryness of the Body or Fat compressing the passages of the Womb the ill conformation of the Bones encompassing the Womb as in those that are Lame may also occasion it Wind swelling the Bowels a Stone or Preternatural Tumour in the Bladder that presses the Womb may be the occasion so may the ill constitution of the Lungs or of the parts serving respiration for the holding of the Breath conduceth much to the Exclusion of the Child Various Diseases of the VVomb may also render the Delivery difficult as swellings Ulcers Obstructions and the like The hard Labour is occasioned by the Child when by reason it is Dead or Putrified or any way Diseased it cannot confer any thing to its own exclusion also when the Body or Head is too large or when there are more than one so Twins most commonly cause hard Labour or the ill situation of the Child is the cause or when the Hands or the Feet offer first or when one Hand or one Foot comes out first or when it is doubled or when the Membranes break too soon so that the VVater flows out and leaves the Orifice of the VVomb dry at the time of Exclusion or when the Membranes are too thick so that they cannot be easily broken by the Child Cold and dry Air and a North-wind are very injurious to VVomen in Labour because they bind the Body and drive the Blood and Spirits to the inner parts and they are very injurious to the Child coming from so warm a place And hot Weather dissipates the Spirits and weakens the Child Crude Nourishment and such as is difficultly concocted and binds taken in a great quantity before Labours renders it difficult the Stomach being weakned and the common passages contracted which ought to be open in this Case Drowsiness hinders the action of the Mother The unseasonable motion of the VVoman much retards the Delivery as when she refuses upon occasion to stand walk lie or sit or slings her self about unadvisedly so that the Child cannot be Born the right way being turned preposterously by the restlesness of the Mother Urine in the Bladder or Excrements in the right Gut or the Piles when they are much swell'd hinder Natures endeavours by narrowing the Neck of the VVomb Fear Sorrow Anger make the Labour difficult A Blow a Fall or a Wound may also much obstruct the Labour Want of good assistance to lift the Woman up just at the time of Delivery and an Ignorant Midwife who orders the Woman to endeavour an expulsion and to stop her breath when the ligaments of the Fetus stick firmly to the Womb so that the Woman is tired before the time of her Delivery In hard Labour Women commonly give a Spoonful or two of Cinamon-water or Cinnamon powder'd with a little Saffron or half a Dram of Confection of Alkermes in Broth or half a Scruple of Saffron alone in some Broth or every hour a lit-VVine If these things are not sufficient the following may be used which have been frequently found very effectual Take of Dittany of Creet and both the Birthworts and of Troaches of Mirrh each half a Scruple of Saffron and Cinnamon each Twelve Grains of confection of Alkermes half a Dram of Cinnamon-water half an Ounce of Orange-flower-water and of Mugwort-water each one Ounce make a Potion Oyl of Amber and of Cinnamon and extract of Saffron are very effectual in a small quantity namely five Grains of extract of Saffron four or five drops of Oyl of Cinnamon twelve or fifteen drops of Oyl of Amber in Wine Broth or some other Liquor and let the Woman take Sneesing Powder for it hastens delivery The Midwife must frequently anoint the Womb with the Oyls of Lilies or of Sweet Almonds and the Belly must be fomented with a Decoction of the Roots of Marshmallows and Lilies of the Leaves of Mallows Violets Mugwort of the Seeds of Fenugreek and Flax of the Flowers of Camomile and Melilote Sharp Glisters must be also injected to stimulate the Womb and to carry off the Excrements Anoint the Navel with Oyl of Amber If the Child begins to come forth preposterously as with one Arm or Foot the Midwife must thrust them back and turn the Child right which may be done by placing the Woman on her Back upon a Bed with her Head low and Feet high CHAP. XXIII Of a dead Child WHEN the Child is dead the motion of it ceases which either the Woman felt before in the Womb or the Midwife with her Hand a sense of weight with pain afflicts the Belly and the Child falls like a Stone from side to side the Belly feels cold the Eyes are Hollow the Face and Lips pale the extream parts cold and livid the Breasts flaccid and at length the Child putrifying stinking matter Flows from the Womb
and then she will be able to bear such a method as is proper and effectual enough to force the Lochia If the After-pains are more than usual you must Swath the Womans Belly gently that it may subside and not move hither and thither as it often happens after delivery upon so sudden an evacuation and then give three Ounces of Oyl of Almonds fresh drawn mixt with one Ounce and an half of Syrup of Violets And Glisters may be injected made of Milk and Sugar and yolks of Eggs and the Belly must be anointed with the Oyl of Dill or of Rue or of Jasmine A Fomentation may be also made of a Decoction of Mugwort Feverfew Baulm of the Leaves of Bays and Calaminth of the Seeds of Daucus Cummin and Carraways of the Flowers of Camomile and Wall-flower made in Water and White-wine or in Milk It is also proper to cover the Belly with a Sheeps-skin fresh flead off and appli'd hot The following Powder taken presently after delivery preserves the Woman from Pain in a wonderful manner and some think if the Woman takes it in her first lying in she will never be troubled with these Pains Take of Comfry dryed one Dram of the Kirnels of Peach stones and of Nutmegs each two Scruples of Amber half a Dram of Ambergrise half a Scruple make a Powder whereof let her take a Dram with White-wine and if there be a Fever with Broth. If the Woman after delivery be troubled with a pain in the Groin it may be taken off by applying a Plaster of Galbanum and Assafetida to the Navel in the middle whereof some Grains of Musk must be placed CHAP. XXVIII Of acute Diseases of Women in Child-Bed A Putrid Fever seises Child-bed Women at various Seasons and upon several occasions sometimes presently after delivery especially if it has been difficult and hard sometimes on the first sometimes on the second third or fourth day but the later it begins the better it goes off It begins and proceeds most commonly in the following manner after a previous indisposition the Fever begins most commonly with a shaking and shivering which Heat presently follows and after that Sweat the first or second day fits of Heat and Cold succeed one another and then all the Blood being inflamed the Lochia if they were not suppressed before flow but little or quite stop if the Disease be acute and of quick motion it comes to its height the third or fourth day the Heat is violent and the Thirst very much the Pulse vehement and quick watchings obstinate there is a great restlessness that the sick tumble from one side of the Bed to the other continually the Urin is thick and red and there are many other grievous Symptoms when the Fever is in its state no Crisis is to be expected for I never saw this Disease go off by a critical Sweat The acute Diseases of Women in Child-bed are sometimes accompanied with a Quinsie Plurisie Peripneumonia Bloody-flux Small-pox and the like of these a Quinsie Plurisie and Peripneumonia by reason of the great Smilitude of the Cause and Analogy of the Cure may be considered together presently at their first beginning we must endeavour that the Blood fixed any where and beginning to be extravasated be restor'd to Circulation lest an Imposthume should be occasioned wherefore internal remedies which free the Blood from Coagulation must be used of which sort are Diaphoreticks abounding with Volatile Salt as Spirit of Harts-horn of Soot and Urine also Testaceous and Bezoartick Powders Lapis Prunella Decoctions and a Julep made of Vegetables that force Urine and the Courses with all which must be mixt such things as have been found by experience to be proper for Uterine Diseases Moreover discutient Medicines which disperse the matter impacted such are Liniments Fomentations and Cataplasms must be carefully applyed to the parts affected in the mean while the violent Motion and immoderate effervescence must be driven far from thence and the filth must be driven as much as is possible downwards to this end Frictions Ligatures Epispasticks and if there be occasion Cupping Glasses must be applied about the Legs and Feet If the Disease be very violent Bleeding is indicated and unless there be a Plethora in the whole Body and the Inflammation be very acute in the part affected it were be best to open a Vein in the Foot or to apply Leeches to the Hemorrhoidal Veins but if necessity urge we may bleed in the Arm and afterwards if it can be admitted in the Foot but you must take notice that Bleeding must be cautiously used in these Cases for unless it does good which I have seldom found the Sick is in a worse condition being render'd weaker thereby The Bloody-flux is very often deadly and so much the rather because such things as qualifie the Blood and that moderately bind are indicated but the Flux of the Lochia forbids them wherefore in this case till she has been well Purged by a long Flux of the Lochia the fierceness of the Symptoms must at present be only appeased The Indications in the Small-pox are not only contrary to those above described but also to one another for the Flux of the Lochia must be moderately restrain'd but in the mean while the efflorescence of the Blood and gentle Sweating must be continued wherefore such things as are of an Alexipharmic and Astringent Nature must be boyl'd in their Broths as the Roots of Tormentil and Bistort and in this case the Woman must not eat Flesh or the Broths of it nor must she rise but be kept as quiet as is possible and the whole business must be left in a manner to God and Nature All Women in Child-bed have an inbred Venom and they ought to be careful of it and to avoid it as much as the greatest Malignity wherefore they ought to use an exact course of Diet whereby the impurities of the Blood and Humours may be purged in Child-bed without the danger of a Fever and that the disorders of the Womb may be healed and their strength weakned by delivery may be restored to which end three things are to be minded first an exact course of Diet must be ordered viz. That they be fed for a Week at least with Water-gruel sometimes made with Beer sometimes made with Water mixt with White-wine or with Panada and other things of easie Digestion Secondly They must take great care that they do not catch cold whereby the Pores and the Lochia may be stopt wherefore let them continue in Bed at least till the tenth day Thirdly The Lochia must be gently provoked to this end Midwives when after hard Labour there is danger of the stoppage of the Lochia give Sperma Ceti Irish Slates powdered or White-wine Tinctured with Saffron and they make the Gruel with Water and White-wine wherein as also in Posset-Drink they boyl Marygold Flowers the Leaves of Penny-royal or Mugwort CHAP. XXIX Of the Melancholy Madness
three Ounces of Oyntment of Marsh-mallows two Ounces of Ducks Fat and Goose Grease each one Ounce of Deers Suet two Ounces of Liquid Storax half an Ounce with a sufficient quantity of Wax make a Cerat Hemlock boyled in Wine and beaten up with Hogs Lard resolves the hardness of the Breasts Green Mints or Chickweed are common applications and of good use either alone or mixed with other Medicines in all the hard Swellings of the Breast occasioned by Milk All Plasters applied to the Breasts must have a hole sniped in them for the Nipples lest they be fretted by them especially that the Milk may be drawn forth whilst the Medicines lye on But it is best to prevent such Swellings at the beginning by procuring an ample and large Evacuation of the Lochia For the Chaps and Excoriations of the Niples Rags dipt in Plantain-water may be applied or the Oyntment called Diapompholigos may be used But great care must be taken that nothing be applied to disgust the Child wherefore some only use Honey of Roses But if the Excoriation and Pain be much the Woman must forbear giving the Child suck If the Child has wholly sucked off the Nipples the Milk then must be quite dried away that so the Ulcers which remain may be the sooner healed CHAP. XXXI Of want of Milk THE cause of want of Milk is a Vice of the Blood the weakness of the Body or of the Child the smallness of the Breasts the narrowness of the Vessels any immoderate Evacuation by another part as by the Mouth by the Courses by the Nostrils or by the Hemorrhoids by immoderate Cold ill Diet Fasting great Labour or Sorrow The whole Cure in a manner consists in Diet. If therefore it be occasioned for want of Blood or by a dry Intemperies from whence it chiefly proceeds it must be cured by a hot and moist Diet and the Air must be moist and moderately warm Sleep is better than immoderate Watching The Bread must be Wheaten and well fermented Goats or Sheeps Milk boil'd with Yolks of Eggs and sweetned is good so is Rice boild with Milk and Honey Potched Eggs Chicken Broath Mutton or Veal Broath or Broath of Phesants or the Flesh of them with a Sauce made of Rocket and Honey the Udders of Animals are also good Of Fishes a Trout Mullet a Salmon Soles Place Pikes and the like are good and for the second Course Sweet Almonds Raisins of the Sun Pistaches Pine Nuts Rocket Parsnips roasted under the Embers or prepared with Honey Diascorides and Avicenna commend Fennel and Smalage Lettice is also good so are Cabbage Wild Thime Leeks Rocket Fennel Let her drink be sweet Wine or White-wine or Barley water with the Seeds of Fennel or Ale wherein if you boyl Butter Sugar and Bread you 'll Scarce find a better Diet for this purpose The German Women use this for their Meat and Drink almost all the time they give suck All things that are acid acrid bitter and very hot must be avoided But if this defect proceed from heat or choler you must use cooling things and the Body must be purged according to the Nature of the Humour But if the Blood be Flegmatick and the Vessels obstructed you must open the Obstructions and attenuate the Blood therefore you must give hot things as Smallage Dill Penny-royal with Wine But you must be careful not to give things that are too hot for they dry up the Milk And as those things which Moderately provoke the Courses breed Milk so those that violently force them lessen it Blood is never to be drawn nor are strong Purges to be used But if it be necessary to use Purging by reason of the fault of the Humours the Nurse must take four days before such things as increase the Milk and such Medicines must be given as increase the Milk As Take of thee Seeds of Fennel of Leeks and Rocket each two Drams of Mace one Dram of the Leaves of Mallows half a handful boyl them in Chicken Broath and let her take six Ounces of the Broath and wash the Breasts with the Broath But if the want of Milk proceeds from the smallness of the Breasts foment them with a Decoction of Fenugreek and Camomile made in Wine or with hot Beer and Butter But if these things do not good you must chuse another Nurse but you must try all things first for change of Milk is very injurious to the Child CHAP. XXXII Of a Woman suckling her own Children and of chusing a Nurse THE Mothers Milk is fittest for the Child because it is most agreeable to it Nature Besides the Mother will be more vigilant and careful than a hired Nurse for none can love the Child so well as the own Mother who upon the account of her affection is unwearied in the attending of the Child and thinks she never does enough for it and is presently awaked by its crying whereas mercenary Nurses often overlay Children and suffocate them Moreover the Body and the disposition of the Mind are more framed by the Milk and Nourishment than by the nature of the Seed and as you often observe that the Child is purged when the Nurse is Purged so the Body and Humours are in a manner the same with hers as Trees partake of the nature of the Soil they are planted in Besides it is the duty of a Mother to nurse her own Child for those that do not are but half Mothers and to be sure cannot love them so well as those that do Upon this account a Roman Youth of the Family of the Gracchi returning Rich and Victorious from the Wars being met by his Mother and his Nurse gave his Mother a Silver Ring and his Nurse a Gold Chain whereat his Mother being offended You said he nourished me only Nine Months in the Womb and then rejected me this Woman received me into her Arms and suckled me two Years and taught me to be orderly The Water nourishes what is bred in the Water and the Earth nourishes what is bred in the Earth Nor is there any Beast so cruel as not to nourish its young ones Tygers Lions and Vipers take care of their young ones and only Man makes Foundlings of his Oh! incredible and execrable Villany what can be more cruel than to expose a tender Infant that implores his Mothers help as soon as possibly she can get rid of it But God in his Providence often punishes their Inhumanity for their Milk often curdles in their Breast and occasions dreadful pains so that those Breasts which were denied their Children are forced to be suckt by Puppies nor is this all for their Breasts are often Inflamed and Suppurated and must be cut with Knives or burnt with red hot Irons or becoming Cancerous the rotten Flesh drops from them piece-meal But some will object in their excuse that they are either too young or too weak yet without doubt if they are able to Conceive they may Suckle too
Privities The First are Acrocordones which hang as by a Thred Secondly Thymus which is a rough and oblong Tumour and without pain if it be gentle and white or redish but if it be Malignant it is livid and painful Thirdly Ficus or Mariscae which differ from a Thymus only in bigness The Fourth is Clavus which is a hard white and round prominence like the Heads of Corns These Tumours in general are of a Scirrhous nature and come by immoderate Copulation and are sometimes Malignant by reason of the French-Pox The gentle are known by their white or redish colour and by the absence of pain the Malignant by their hardness leaden colour and pain They are Cured by four sorts of Remedies First By a Diet that is not apt to breed gross Humours and by Catharticks to Purge such Humours off and by Sweats if they are obstinate Secondly By discussing Medicines which are most proper for the Thymus and Clavus as by dried Sage with fat Figs or Old-shoes burnt and powdered and mixed with Wine and applyed But the Soles of Shoes and a dried Gourd powdered by themselves and afterwards mixed and applied with Wine to Warts do very well or you may take of Rue and Pennyroyal each equal parts let them be burnt and powdered the Bark of Frankincense the Leaves of Basil Wine and Vinegar Shoomakers Ink boyl them in the VVater that drops out of a Vine cut moisten the part with this Decoction this is reckoned an excellent Medicine Prick with a Needle the Eye of a Goat newly killed and anoint daily the part with the Liquor that flows from it and within Six Days as Aetius writes Myrmecies will be extirpated which consist of broad Roots and they itch Thirdly Things that burn and eat are proper for Myrmecies and Acrocordos as the juice of wild Cucumber with Salt or the like But corroding things must not continue long upon the part for when they have been applied an hour or thereabout the part must be washed twice or thrice with Astringent Wine and the Neighbouring parts must be defended by an Oyntment made with Bolearmenick sealed Earth Rose-water and Vinegar Fourthly If they may be cut off they ought to be so but some bind the root of these with a Horse-hair and straighten it daily till they fall off In the Privities and Mouth of the Womb especially in such Women as have the French-Pox Pustles arise they often itch they are occasioned by the abundance and grossness of a bilious and adust Humour or by the French-Pox they may be easily seen by a Speculum Matricis They are to be cured by four sorts of Remedies First By Meats of good juice and by abstaining from all acrid acid and salt things Secondly By Universal Evacuations as by Bleeding and Purging and such things as attemperate the Humour must be used as Syrup of Borrage Violets Fumitory and Succory and the like Decoctions of Sarsa or of Guiacum with Sweating are also very proper and Purges and Sudorificks must be often repeated Thirdly Topicks must be applyed and if the Pustles are gentle bathing is proper and afterwards wash the part with hot Wine and Nitre For Pustles and Scabs the following Oyntment of has bin found very successful Take of the Roots Elecampane Burnet and sharp pointed Dock each three Ounces of Fumitory Water Six Ounces of the sharpest Vinegar or of the best Wine for Diseases of the Womb two Ounces having bruised the roots well infuse them a day and a night then boyl them and press them strongly to the strained Liquor add half a pound of Turpentine of Oyl of Roses three Ounces of Wax half an Ounce boyl them again to the Consumption of half and add of Sulphur one Ounce and an half of Cerus five Ounces of Roch-allom half an Ounce of Sal Gemma two drams of Oyl of Eggs six Drams mix them by beating of them well together then wash the whole Composition in Fumitory Water But if the Pustles are Malignant and Obstinate you must use stronger Desiccatives which correct the Venom of the Pustles and at the same time you must use sudorific decoctions Take of Plantain and Rose Water each four Ounces of Sal Gemma Nitre and Allom each two Drams of Sublimate one Dram and an half boyl them till a third part is consumed to the strained Liquor add of Verde-greese one Scruple after you have used this two or three dayes you must forbear a while and use gentler things and return again to the use of it till the Pustles are quite taken off This moreover must be added which is of excellent use having first bathed with a decoction of Fumitory Lupins Beans and a little Salt Take of the Roots of Elecampane cut small four Ounces boyl them well in a sufficient quantity of Water with a little Vinegar or Wine then beat them in a Mortar and Pulp them through a Sieve and add of fresh Lard three Ounces of Juice of ground Elder and of Fumitory each one Ounce and an half of Quick-Silver extinguished in fasting Spittle or in the Yolk of an Egg half an Ounce of Ceruss and Lytharge each one Ounce of Brimstone one Dram and an half stir them about for an hour and mix the Powders by degrees But because Pustles continue sometimes a long while you must make an Issue in the Leg before they are quite dryed up Clefts and Chaps are sometimes in the Mouth of the Womb as in the Anus Hands Lips and Nipples by reason of violent Cold a North Wind and the like they are small long and narrow Ulcers sometimes deep and sometimes only superficial they are also ocasioned by hard labour by Acrid and Corroding Humours or by a great dryness in the Womb. They are to be cured by five sorts of Remedies by a moistening and smoothening Diet avoiding such things as are acrid and stop the Belly therefore let the Woman eat Chicken Mutton Veal and Broaths made of Succory Bugloss Burrage Spinage and the like let her Drink be rather Beer than Wine she must avoid Cheese and Spices Violent Exercise and Copulation And if Acrid humours be the cause she must be blooded if there be a plenitude afterwards she must be Purged with Cassia Manna and the like and the Humours must be attemperated with the Syrups of Succory Roses Violets Borrage Fumitory and with the Waters of the same Herbs If they are occasioned by hard labour and Bleed the Blood must be stop'd by the following Uterine Glister Take of the leaves of Plantain one handfull of Roses four Pugils boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water till half is consumed To six Ounces of the strained Liquor add of the Powders of Dragons Blood Bole armenick Myrrh Frankincense Birthwort each half a Dram. If the Chaps are dry hot and itch the part must be Fomented with things that moisten as the following Decoction Take of the flesh of Frogs Snails and River Crabs each two Drams of Barley two Pugils
of Mallows and Ducks meat each one handful of Flax Seeds one Ounce boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water and let six Ounces be injected in the manner of a Vterine Glister and anoint the part affected with the Oyntment of Ceruse with Camphor and if the pain and heat be much anoint it with the following Oyntment Take of the Populeon Oyntment one Ounce of Camphor two Scruples of Ceruss washed in Rose Water one Scruple and the white of one Egg mingle them Oyl of Flax hot is also good for Chaps of the Anus and Womb so is Pomatum Oyl of the Yolks of Eggs or of Flax Seeds stir'd about in a Leaden Mortar is also proper and if they are occasioned by driness Barly boyled in Water in Linnen Baggs and applyed for nine days are very beneficial But if the Chaps are malignant apply the following Take of good Aqua vitae one point of Sublimate powdered one Scruple of Verdegrease half a Scruple the Whites of three Eggs stir them well together and anoint the part every other day and apply over a Plaster of Diachylon CHAP. XLI Of the Melancholy of Virgins and Widows MElancholy befalls Virgins Widdows and Barren VVomen oftner than other VVomen there are two Causes of it First the Nature of a Woman which is tender and the Mind easily dejected Secondly Gross Blood The signs of it are a Pulsation about the Back which is a Symptom almost perpetual in VVomen so affected the Skin is sometime squalid wrinkley and rough especially in the Arms Knees and joints of the Fingers much Cogitation Suspicion Shame-facedness Dejection of Mind disturbed Sleep frightful Dreams a preposterous Judgment the Breast is often very Hot and hath a Pulsation in it and when the Vapour rises upwards there is a Palpitation of the Heart or Fainting there is a rising in the Throat as in Mother-fits the Belly is most commonly Bound they are Thirsty and subject to VVatchings to Despair and to VVeeping and Sorrow and sometimes the Melancholy is so high as that they grow almost Distracted and are ready to make away with themselves There are three Degrees of this Disease according to which the Danger is more or less and the Cure is to be varied accordingly The First Is when the Signs are small The Second when the Disease has lasted a long while and has disordered the VVomans Mind so as that she is continually Sorrowful and Sad. The Third Is when the VVoman is so overcome with it that she will not speak nor give any answers and this is near to Madness The First Degree of this may be removed by a sparing Diet by Exercise and by variety of pleasant Company and if she be not Married she must be Blooded in the Arm every third or fourth Month in the middle of the Month But if she be most Melancholy at the time of her Courses she must be Blooded in the Foot two or three days before or after them But if the Disease be in the Second Degree the Curative Indications are principally four The First to hinder the Congestion of the Blood in the VVomb by such things as force the Courses The Second is to expel the Melancholy that is heapt up The Third Is to discuss the VVind The Fourth To provide for the Head Heart Womb and the whole Body It is to be Cured therefore by five sorts of Remedies First By a moistning Diet as let the Dinner be of a boyl'd Chicken with the Roots of Fennel Parsley red Vetches and Saffron And the Supper of new-laid Eggs roasted and stewed Prunes or Borrage prepared with Almond-milk by reason of Watchings wherewith they are much troubled or a Ptisan with a little Anniseeds and Cinnamon to expel the Wind. Let the Drink be Rhenish or VVhite-wine with Borrage flowers in it midling Beer medicated with Elecampane or Balm or water boyled with the Herb Maiden-hair with the Roots of Scorzonera Lemon-peel and Citron-seeds If the Belly be bound use the following Glister Take of the Roots of Fennel and Parsley each one Ounce of the Leaves of Mallows one Handful of Polypody of the Oak one Ounce of the Seeds of Bastard Saffron Flax and Fenugreek each one Dram boyl them to a Pint to the strained Liquor add of the Oyls of Dill Camomile Violets and of Brown-Sugar each one Ounce of Diacatholicon half an Ounce Secondly Evacuations must be used and if there be a plenitude Bleeding must be ordered and purging Medicines frequently but the Humour must be first prepared by the following Medicines or the like Take of Syrups of Borrage of Apples and of Epithymum each one Ounce of the waters of Borrage and Balm each two Ounces mingle them and when the Woman has used this six or eight Days let her take every other Week one Dram of the Pills of Aloes of Mastick or of Agarick or rather because the Pills dry and heat let her take three or four times in a Year a Bolus made with an Ounce of the pulp of Cassia and two Drams of the Powder of Sena The following Syrup is much commended Take of the waters of Borrage Succory and Hops each ten Ounces of the juice of Borrage clarified eight Ounces of the juice of fragrant Apples six Ounces of the Leaves of Sena three Ounces of the Cordial Flowers each one Pugil of the Roots of Scorzonera cut small or of Angelica two Ounces boyl them over a gentle Fire till the twentieth part is consumed to the strained Liquor add of choice Rubarb and of Agarick trothiscated each four Drams and an half after it has boyled gently strain it out and add of the powder of the Stone called Lazulus prepared and tied up in a rag two Drams of Sugar a sufficient quantity make a Syrup of a moderate consistence The Dose is three or four Ounces The following Medicine is much commended Take of the Leaves of Spleen-wort Penny-royal Maiden-hair Thym Fumitory Borrage Mugwort and Agrimony each half an Handful of the Roots of Succory Endive Smallage Angelica Fennel Asparagus and Eringo each one Ounce of the flowers of Borrage Stechas Rosemary Violets each one Pugil and an half of Epithymum and of the leaves of Sena each half an Ounce of Doronicum of the Seeds of Anise Fenel Basil and Citron each two Drams and an half of Cinnamon half an Ounce of all the Sanders each half a Dram boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to a Quart at the end add of the Bark of the Root of black Hellibore and of choice Rubarb each four Scruples of the stone called Lazulus tied up in a rag one Dram of sweet smelling Flag of Zedoary and of the Seeds of Peony decortiated each half a Scruple strain it and with a sufficient quantity of white Sugar make a clear Potion aromatize it with one Dram of Diamosh The Dose is five or six Ounces But if these things do no good four Grains of Stybium prepared may be safely given but it is best to