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
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
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
Lotion to fortifie and settle those parts which have been much relaxed as well by the great extension they received as by the Humours wherewith they have been so long time soak'd this Remedy may be composed with an Ounce and an half of Pomgranat Peel an Ounce of Cypress Nuts half an Ounce of Accorns an Ounce of seal'd Earth an Handful of Provence Roses and two Drachms of Roch-allom all which being infused in a Quart and half a Pint of strong Red-wine or that it may not be too sharp some Smiths water may be mixed with the Wine afterwards boil it to a Quart then strain it squeezing it strongly and with this Decoction Foment the inferior parts Night and Morning to strengthen and confirm them But they will never be reduced to the same state they were in before the Woman had Children A small Plaister of Galbanum with a little Civit in the middle may be also applyed to the Womans Navel As for Swaiths they need not be used the first Day or at least very loosly especially if there has been hard Labour because the least compression of the Womans Belly which is then very sore as the Womb also is proves a great inconvenience to her wherefore let her not be swaithed until the second Day and that very gently at the beginning The use of Swaiths and of a good large square Bolster over the whole Belly may be continued the first seven or eight Days to keep it a little steady but they must be taken off and removed often to anoint the Womans Belly all over if it be sore and if she has After-Pains with Oils of sweet Almonds and St. Johns-wort mixed together which may be done every Day But after that time they may be degrees begin to swaith her straiter to contract and gather together the parts which are greatly extended during her going with Child which may be then safely done because the Womb by these former cleansings is so diminished that it cannot be too much compressed by the Swaiths Proper Remedies may be applied to the Breasts to drive back the Milk if the Woman will not be a Nurse but if she intends to be a Nurse it will be sufficient to keep her Breasts very close and well covered with gentle and soft Cloaths to keep them warm and to prevent the curdling of the Milk and if there be danger of too much Milk being carried thither anoint the Breasts with Oyl of Roses and a little Vinegar beat together and put upon them some fine Linnen dipt in it observing that if the Woman do Suckle the Child she give not the Breast the same day she is brought to Bed because then all her Humours are extreamly moved with the pains and agitation of the Labour therefore let her defer it at least till the next day and it would be yet better to stay four or five days or longer to the end the fury of the Milk and the abundance of the Humours which flow to the Breast at the beginning may be spent in which time another Woman may give it Suck Although a Woman be naturally Delivered yet notwithstanding she must observe a good Diet to prevent many ill accidents which may happen to her during her Child-bed at the beginning whereof she must be directed in her Meat and Drink almost in the same manner as if she had a Fever that so it may be prevented in as much as she is then very subject to it for this reason she must be regular in her Diet especially the three or four first Days in which time she must be nourished only with good Broaths new-laid Eggs and Gellies without using at the beginning more solid Meats but when the great abundance of her Milk is a little past she may with more safety eat a little Broath at Dinner or a small piece of boyl'd Chicken or Mutton afterwards if no accident happens she may be degrees be nourished more plentifully provided that it be a third part less than she was accustomed to take in her perfect health and that her Food be of good and easie Digestion as for her Drink let it be a Ptisan made of Liquorish Figs and Anniseeds boyled in Water She may also if she be not Feverish drink a little white Wine well mixed with Water but not till after the fifth or sixth Day But it is to be noted that laborious Women of a strong Constitution require a more plentiful feeding yet notwithstanding if they do not change the quality they must at least retrench the quantity of their ordinary Food The Child-bed Woman must likewise keep her self very quiet in her Bed lying on her Back with her Head raised and not turning often from side to side that so the Womb may be the better settled in its first Situation She must free her self at that time from all care of Business let her talk as little as may be and that with a low Voice and let no ill News be brought to her which may affect her because all these things do cause so great a commotion of the Humours that Nature not being able to overcome them cannot make the necessary Evacuation of them which has been the Death of many The Woman ought always to keep her Body open with Glisters taking one once in two Days which not only evacuate the gross Excrements but also by drawing downwards cause her to Cleanse the better When she has observed this Rule a Fortnight or three Weeks which is very near the time of having Cleansed sufficiently that those Parts may be throughly cleansed before she goes abroad and begin upon a new Score let her take a gentle Purge of Senna Cassia and Syrup of Cichory with Rubarb which is good to Purge the Stomach and Bowels of those ill Humours Nature could not evacuate by the Womb This Purge may be repeated upon occasion Women in their first Labours have many times bruises and rents of the outward parts of the Womb and they must never be neglected lest they degenerate into malignant Ulcers for the heat and moisture of these Parts besides the filth which continually flows thence easily contributes to it if convenient Remedies be not timely applied wherefore as soon as the Woman is laid if there be only simple contusions and excoriations apply a Pultiss made of yolks and whites of new-laid Eggs and Oil of Roses seethed a little over warm Embers continually stirring till it be mixed and then spread it upon a fine Cloath and apply it very warm for five or six Hours when being taken away lay some fine Rags dipt in Oil of St. Johns-wort on each side the bearing place and renew them twice or thrice a Day Foment these parts with Barly-water and Honey of Roses to cleanse them from the Excrements which pass and when the VVoman makes water let them be defended with fine Rags to hinder the Urine from causing pain and smarting Sometimes the bruises are so great that the Bearing-place is inflamed
the first is common to the whole Body namely because a Woman is fleshy laborious and her parts are so disposed that every Member takes up and expels what is convenient for it so that there is no room for a menstruous purgation these are of a hot Constitution and such as are termed Virago's they are of a brown Colour of a compact Body and their Loins and Buttocks are large so are the Breasts and Shoulders they have a great voice are strong and hairy and this Constitution tho' it be the reason that Women are in health yet it is contrary to their Sex and the Course of Nature and therefore to be accounted vitious But other Women are sickly upon this account If this Disease proceed from an hot Intemperies of the Womb it may be known by a great pain in the part and by the heat of the whole Belly a dry Imtemperies may be known by long Fevers going before and a thin habit of Body but in time they grow Gross and Cachectical by reason of the want of this evacuation If it proceed from an ill Formation there are swellings of the Belly pain and a weight If it arise from a hot Intemperies as it doth most commonly it must be Cured by four kinds of Remedies first by cooling Diet they must eat Chicken Veal or the Broth wherein hath been boiled cooling Herbs as Endive Sorrel Lettice Spinage and the like Oranges are also good and roasted Apples and stewed Prunes their Drink must be small Beer their Sleep and Exercise must be moderate for violent Exercise and frequent walking are plainly injurious and so are disturbances of the Mind Secondly they must Bleed twice or thrice a Year in the Foot and for some days they must take such things as are proper to qualifie the hot and bilious Humours as the waters and syrups of Purslain Succory Endive Violets and the like and let them be Purged with the following Medicines Take of the best Rhubarb two Scruples infuse it a whole night in four ounces of Endive water strain it in the morning and add to it an ounce of Manna or of the pulp of Cassia and an ounce of syrup of Roses solutive Thirdly let them use such things as leisurely attemperate the heat of the Humours and Part as Conserve of Roses or of Violets with Endive-water or a Ptisan before Meals or Goats-milk in the morning with the flowers of Violets and Borrage But the use of Cooling Apozems is much praised in this Case Take of cleansed Barly three pugils of the Roots of Borrage and Succory each Ounce of the leaves of Burrage Succory Endive Fumitory and Sorrel each one Handfull of the Cordial Flowers and of the Cold Seeds each one Pugil of Anniseeds one Dram of Prunes Twelve of Raisons one Ounce Boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to one Pint and an Half to the strained Liquor add a sufficient quantity of Sugar make a clear Apozem aromatize it with a Drachm of the Species of the three Sanders But if you intend to have it Purge a little add towards the latter end the Leaves of Senna and of the Pulp of Tamarinds each one Ounce and after it is boyled three Ounces of Syrup of Roses solutive or of Succory with Rhubarb Fourthly Topicks must be applied to the lower part of the Belly Take of Oyl of sweet Almonds washed with the Waters of Barly Gourds and Roses each a like quantity one Drachm of Hens-fat Butter and Goats-milk each half an Ounce of the Juice of Gourds Endive or Violets each six Drachms with Wax make a Liniment Oyntment or Plaister as the Woman likes best But it will do most good if the Part be Fomented before with a Decoction of Lettice Violets Marsh-mallows Fumitory Mallows and the like and to open the Passages add the Leaves of Maiden-hair Mercury and Mugwort a Bath may be also made of these Night Glisters also wonderfully Cool the Womb and the whole Body Take of Chicken-broath altered with the foresaid Herbs six Ounces of the Oyl of Sweet-almonds and Violets each two Ounces of Suggar one Ounce Yolks of Eggs two mingle them let it be retained if she can all the Night and when the Heat is very much stuff the Chicken for this Decoction with Conserve of Roses If the Disease proceed from Dryness it must be Cured with moistning Meats of good Nourishment and with Drinks and the Woman must walk often but not so much as to tire her self and Frictions must be used above the region of the Womb that the parts may be dilated so that the menstruous Blood may be allured to the Womb. Baths are also proper and Oyntments made of mucilages of the Seeds of Psyllium and Quinces and the like and Glysters also do good Take of the Decoction of Marsh-mallows Mallows and Violets six Ounces of fresh Butter three Ounces mingle them make a Glyster But all Evacuations must be avoided for they increase the Dryness If the Disease proceeds from an ill Formation Medicines are most commonly unprofitable and therefore you must endeavour to lessen the Blood if it abound or to divert it another way therefore you must Bleed three or four times a Year in the Arm or in the Foot if Blood seem to abound in the Womb. But if the strength of the Woman cannot bear Bleeding then she must use a thin Diet and frequent Exercise and Frictions all over the Body especially early in the Morning for so the Blood may be turned from the Inner Parts to the Outward and part of it discussed Baths moderately hot are also good and these things may be sufficient for Married Women which by conversation with their Husbands are somewhat discharged but they will not be sufficient for Maids and Widows and therefore it will be necessary to provoke the Hemorrhoids or to open Issues But if the Disease proceed from obstinate Obstructions it must be treated as is proposed in the Chapter of the Suppression of the Courses CHAP. IV. Of the Courses breaking out by places not Natural THE Menstruous Flux happens to break out by contrary wayes upon two accounts for either Nature providing for the safety of the Womans Body when she knows there is any Impediment in the Womb and the Veins of it that hinder the Blood from passing seeks another passage whereby she may be unburthened and the health of the Woman preserved or forgetting the Natural passages she either accustoms her self to another or wandring about she sometimes uses this passage sometimes that for in some the menstruous Blood is discharged by the Mouth in others through the Nostrils by the Eyes and Bloody Tears by the Dugs and Piles also by the Fingers and Urine and sometimes by a Redness in one of the Cheeks and if there be an Impediment in the Womb that hinders the passage of the Blood that way it is better it should flow these ways than not at all for so says Hippocrates Menstruis deficientibus sanguinem e
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
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
fall together but it being opened they are like the utmost Orifice of a Brass Trumpet These Tubes according to Dr. Harvey are the same in VVomen that the horns of the VVomb are in other creatures for they answer to those both in situation connexion amplitude perforation likeness and also Office The capacity of these Ducts varies very much for in the beginning as it goes out of the VVomb it only admits a Bristle but in its progress where it is largest it will receive ones little finger but in the outmost extremity where it is divided into jaggs it is but about a quarter so wide They are very uncertain also in their length for from four or five they sometimes increase to eight or nine fingers breadth long Their use is in a fruitful Copulation to grant a passage to a more subtile part of the Masculine Seed or to a Seminal Air towards the Testes to bedew the Eggs contained in them which Eggs one or more being by that means fecundated and dropping off from the Testes are received by the extremity of the Tubes and carried along the inner Cavity to the Womb. But it may be objected that the narrowness of the Tubes are not fit for such a use yet â—e that considers the straitness of the inner Orifice of the Womb both in Maids and in Women with Child and yet observes it to dilate so much upon occasion as to make way for the Birth of a Child cannot wonder that to serve a necessary end of Nature the small duct of the Tubes should be so far widened as to allow passage to an Egg seeing its proportion to their duct is many times less than of the Child to the usual largness of the said Orifice CHAP. XV. Of Conception COnception is nothing else but an action of the Womb whereby the prolifie Seeds of the Man and Woman are there received and retained that an Infant may be engendered and formed out of it There are two sorts of Conception the one true according to Nature to which succeeds the Generation of the Infant in the Womb the other false as a false Conception Mole or any other strange Matter It is not absolutely necessary that the Mans Seed should be received and retained entire for a small quantity of it may be sufficient nay a meer steam of it to impregnat Conception may be known by the more than ordinary delight in the act and some few Months after the Woman perceives a small pain about her Navel and some little Commotions in the bottom of her belly The inward Orifice of the Womb is exactly closed she longs for strange things she is often troubled with Nauseating and Vomiting her Courses are stopt the Navel starts her Nipples are very obscure or dark coloured with a yellowish circle round about her eyes are dejected and hollow the Whites of them dull and troubled her Blood when she has Conceived some time is always bad the Belly is flat Yet it must be acknowledged that some of these signs are also to be found upon an Obstruction of the Courses in Virgins wherefore judgment upon Conception must not be too positive especially when the Woman is upon tryal for her life for some upon having their Courses have been judged not with Child and yet after Execution have been found to be so The Infant moves it self manifestly about the forth Month sooner or later as the Woman is strong or weak Some Women feel it from the second others about the third Month and some before that time At the beginning the first motions are very small but grow greater proportionably as the Infant grows bigger and stronger CHAP. XVI Of a Mole A Mole is deformed and useless Flesh contained in the Womb and is occasioned by the corrupted Seed of the Man and Woman for it is never generated without the use of Copulation it is covered with a Membrane and sticks to the Womb the longer it is retained in the Womb the harder it grows and is more difficultly expelled Most commonly there is but one yet sometimes more when it is ejected in the second Month it 's called a false Conception It 's difficult to distinguish a Mole from being with Child for the Courses are stopt the Belly grows big by degrees and the Breasts are increased But the first sign of it is a leaden colour in the Face the Belly is harder and sorer than when a Woman is with Child and it is very troublesome and painful to go with and it falls on whatsoever side she turns there is a great weariness in her Legs and Thighs she finds a great heaviness at the bottom of her Belly and her Urin is obstructed but it may be certainly known if no motion be felt after four or five Months or when her Reckoning is out Some have a Mole two or three Years and sometimes much longer As to the Cure I shall speak only of that part of it which may be performed by Medicines for if it stick much to the bottom of the Womb or is very large it will scarce be expelled unless a Chyrurgeon extract it Give the Woman a Spoonful of Syrup of Mugwort Morning and Evening for three days following either by it self or mixt with an Ounce of Penny-royal-water afterwards Purge her every other day or every third day with the fetid Pill two Scruples or a Dram may be taken at a time early in the Morning and let her sleep if she can till they begin to work let her be purged in this manner five times Things that loosen must be also applied frequently to the Womb to open the passages likewise to the Belly Groins Loins and Hips with Spunges and Flannels the following Fomentation is of excellent use Take of the leaves of Marsh-mallows and Mallows each one handful of the roots of round and long Birthwort each one handful of the leaves of Mugwort Mercury Feverfew Sage Hysop and Calaminth each half an handful of the Seeds of Flax Marshmallows Fenugreek Anise Lovage each half an Ounce of the Flowers of Camomile Melilote Rosemary Broom Mugwort each one Pugil of Bran one Pugil hoyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to five quarts add of Oyl of Olives half a pint of the Oyls of Camomile and sweet Almonds each four Ounces of the Oyl of Lillies two Ounces foment the parts as above directed and afterwards anoint them with Ointment of Marshmallows CHAP. XVII Of Superfoetation THere is a great dispute whether a Woman who hath two or more Children at once conceived of them at one or several coitions Some will have this to be superfoetation but there are signs whereby we may know the difference whether both Children were begotten at once or successively one after another Supefoetation according to Hippocrates is a reiterated Conception when a Woman being already with Child conceives again the second time That which makes many believe that there can be no Superfoetation is because as soon as a Woman has Conceived
for God never gave them Breasts full of Milk to no purpose But if they have not Milk enough which is the only real excuse a Nurse must be chosen who ought to be of an age betwixt twenty and thirty she ought to be of a strong Constitution well Coloured not too Fat nor too Lean she must not have rotten Teeth nor a stinking Breath nor be affected with Scabs Ulcers the French-Pox Gout Consumption or any other Disease Thirdly Her Manners are to be considered for the Child sucks them in with the Milk whereof the Nurse ought to be good tempered she must not be subject to violent Passions nor wholly without Passion nor of a weak Judgment she must not be squint eyed lest the Child should be so she must be Chast and not have Conversation with her Husband lest her Courses should flow or the Blood be disturbed and consequently the Milk or be with Child whereby the Milk would be lessened and become vitious but some think that the Courses flowing moderately does not vitiate the Milk but rather cleanses the rest of the Blood Fourthly we must consider the time from Delivery for she must not give suck too near Delivery nor too long from the time of it She must not give suck until she be free of the Child-bed Purgations the time most approved of is from the Second Month to the Sixth and she should have Nursed a Child before Fifthly The Breasts are to be considered which ought to be moderately full not loose and hanging down but solid and firm of a moderate bigness and hardness and the Veins of them should look blew and dispersed into many streams moderately elevated that they may contain the more Milk for if they are dense and the Milk is bound up in them and as it were suffocated the Child can scarce draw it and so either takes a distaste or if it suck on the Nose is flattened by the pressure Sixthly The Paps must not be so short as that the Child cannot take hold of them with his Lips nor so long and thick as to fill the Infants Mouth so that it cannot readily use its Tongue to suck or swallow Seventhly The nature of the Milk must be considered which besides the clearness and sweetness of it which are the first requisits must be also sweet-sented not too thick nor too thin which may be tried by dipping a hair in the Milk hanging it up if the Milk slide off it is naught but if it compass the whole hair it is good Eightly chuse a Nurse which was last delivered of a Male child Ninethly Such an one as is not wont to miscarry Tenthly She must not be with Child The Nurse so described on the first days she begins to suckle must use a simple Diet lest too much Milk should overwhelm the tender Infant Afterwards let her have good Meats She must not Drink excessively she must abstain from Wine and from salt sharp and a stringent Meats and Leeks Onions Garlick Rocket and Spices She must avoid all perturbations of Mind and Copulation let her moderately exercise her Arms and upper Parts Lastly Her Diet must be such as the Nature and Constitution of the Infant requires if the Child be of a hot Constitution she must use a cooling Diet but if the Infant be of a cold Constitution a little Wine and Spices must be allowed and stronger exercise and if the Nurse be not well she must be purged and Diet must be ordered according to the faults of the Milk and the disorders of the Child The Nurse must be always chearful and laughing and singing with the Child She must keep it clean She must speak distinctly She must assist the Child in sucking by pressing gently her Breasts but she must not let the Child suck too much at once CHAP. XXXIII Of Wrinkles in the Belly and Breasts after Delivery WHen the Child in the Womb grows big it stretches the Belly or maks it chap so that after Delivery Wrinkles remain in the Belly and her Breasts grow small after the Milk goes away for the same reason The Chaps may be prevented if after the fourth Month of being with Child a Linnen cloath dipt in the Oyl of sweet Almonds be applied to the Belly The Wrinkles left after Delivery may be taken off by two sorts of Remedies First therefore If the Womans Month be not out apply to the Belly the following Oyntment Take of Sperma Ceti two Drams of Oyl of Sweet Almonds and St. Johns Wort each one Ounce and an half of Goats Suet one Ounce of new Wax a sufficient quantity make an Oyntment Secondly After the Womans lying in such things may be used as gently bind and render the Belly solid and firm Take of the distilled Water of Mallows and Marsh-mallow each one Quart of Rose-Water a Pint and half two Lemons peeled and sliced of unripe Sloes one Pound infuse them together two days and then distil them in a Glass Alembick with a gentle fire and bath the Womans Belly with it But the following makes the Belly more solid Take of Figs one Pound of the Meal of Barley and Beans each half an Ounce of the Meal of Rice two Ounces of Galls and Cypress Nuts each one Dram of Mastich and Myrrh each one Dram and half of the Seeds of Fennel one Dram boyl them all in Smiths Water till they are a little thick then apply them to the Belly or after bathing with a Decoction of the foresaid things apply the following Pultiss to the Belly Take of the Meal of Beans Rice Acorns and Almonds each two Ounces of Bricks powdered one Ounce of Bole-armenick two Drams of Dragons Blood one Dram of Cypress Nuts half an Ounce of Kermes three Drams of Galls half an Ounce of Oyl of Myrtles six Ounces of the Waters of Medlars and Sloes each one Pint of Rose-water one Pint and an half boyl them to the consistence of a Pultiss apply it to the Belly It also makes the Breasts solid But lest the Breast and Bowels should be offended by its frigidity and binding quality add of Mastick two Drams of Nutmegs three Drams of Florentine Orris half an Ounce Myrrh mixed with these the Decoction of it or used any other way renders the Belly smooth and firm and the Breasts hard compact and small and narrows the Privities and is accounted a great secret in this case CHAP. XXXIV Of straitning the Privities after Delivery AFter Delivery the Privities are lax and hence Barreness and a falling of the Womb are sometimes occasioned The Cure is performed by two sorts of Remedies First if the Privities are too moist such things must be used as dry the following Uterine Glister is very proper Take of Galls number four of Spodium two Spoonfuls powder them very fine and add Six Ounces of Stiptic-wine afterwards put up the following Pessary Take of the Bark of the Pine two Drams Allom one Dram of Cyprus one Pugil boyl them in Wine
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