strong Drink Wine and Spirits on such People as are Naturally apt to be Fat and subject to Stoppages and Coughs and how pernicious such Drinks will prove to most People All that find themselves naturally subject to Diseases of the Breast proceeding from Fatness or Flegmatick Gross Humors as Coughs Stoppages and Narrowness of the Passages whose Bodies are apt to be Swell'd and puffed up with Phlegm and evil Iuces all such People I say ought to be very moderate in the quantity they take of strong spirituous Drinks for the frequent use thereof does mightily increase the fore-mention Diseases and indeed that Constitution is rare that it does not hurt for these Liquors so highly prepared by Art not by Nature and by the several Artificial Operations the spirituous parts are made Volatile by which means the Stomach and natural Heat or separative Quality hath nothing to do when such Drinks are poured into the Vessels the Work being done to their Hand so that the spirituous parts do with a quick powerful motion penetrate and force their way through all parts of the Body and dry up that fine sweetning cooling moist Liquor or Radical Humidity by which means the pure Spirits become thick and as it were suffocated and hindered in their free Egress and Regress as is also the Circulation of the Blood that Chariot wherein the Life of Nature Rides and if once stopt the whole must needs fall into great Disorders and on the other side the Gross Sharp Keen Astringent Juces and Particles of such strong Drinks do by their weight force their way downwards into the Passages as into Uiriters and Bowels but before they pass away they do for the most part occasion some signal Evil in the Body if they find any matter or quality there capable to be wrought on whence many times proceed Fluxes Griping Pains Gravel Stone and many other Inconveniences according to each Mans Constitution so that it does not only weaken all the Faculties of the Stomach but which is worst of all the common drinking thereof does powerfully contract the Breast and Vessels thereof because they separate so soon and pass away whereby it makes Nature Idle which is an Infirmity not to be removed by Medicines but only by regular Order and proper Meats Drinks and Exercise which are great supports to the Health and good Condition of Nature 2. All gross succulent Foods do deprave Nature and increase Crudities and Obstructions For Flesh and Fish are Foods not only Gross and liable to Corruption but in their own Natures are Moist Cold and Flegmatick and therefore they generate in the Body not only the Diseases and promote the Passions the Creature was subâ—ect unto in its Life but fill the Body with Venemous Juces to the great prejudice of Nature and they do require a stronger sharper and brisker natural Heat to separate and digest them then is necessary for Vegitations for all fat Foods that proceed from Flesh are not only harder of Concoction but they Fur and Obstruct the Passages for Oyly Bodies are not so easily dissolvable as the Bodies of vegitations neither do they afford such a brisk Cordial Spirit as all Skill'd in Chymistry can tell you do not all the Noble Liquors and Excelerating Cordial Juces proceed from Vegitations or from Fruits Corn and Seeds not from the Fat of Flesh or Fish for their juces presently Corrupt Putrifie and Stink nor can Art long preserve them therefore such food does by degrees generate Obstructions dull the edge of the Appetite and help to contract the Vessels For this cause those that make Flesh and Fish their common Food are for the most part dull and of heavy lumpish Dispositions Especially when they grow in Years and are apt to be short Winded or on any little accasion or exercise to fetch their Breath with difficulty Now this Fouling and Contracting the Passages of the Stomach which too high Unnatural Food and Drinks 〈◊〉 the occasion of are far greater Evils then most imagine being the true original of most Griping Windy Distempers both in the Bowels and Stomach for all sorts of Natures and Constitutions do continually generate Airy Windy matter without which Nature cannot subsist nor continue in Health being as necessary as Food and these windy Dispositions of Nature do never injure or distemper any except the Passages are obstructed and contracted which hinders their Circulating and free Egress and Regress not only downwards and upwards but through the whole Body and all parts thereof 'T is also to be noted that Rich Compounded Foods and the common use of strong Drink do not only Generate Compounded Diseases but put nature as it were on a firment as if it were in a Feavor which does mightily Burn up and Consume the sweet moistening Dews which are Natures Balsamick Oyle of Life and this does not only thicken and stagnate the Humours but dull and render the Spirits Heavy and Impure which is the original cause of the generation of Gross Fat Flegmatick Juces and Matter for those Gross Fat Paunches are seldom caused from the quantity of Foods but cheifly from the Quality and the frepuent use of Exhilerating Drinks and want of proper Exercise in agreeable Airs for the narrow Vessels and Passages in a little time do weaken the natural Heat and then a great part of the Food turns to Gross Juces for want of a quick Fire to separate them Hence it is that most Fat People are subject to go to Stool often which is a sign of a weak Heat and if such happen to be bound in their Bodics then their Heads are frequently troubled with Fumes and other Disorders which do also show that the Passages and Vessels of the Stomach are not only narrow but many Crudities and Obstructions that the windy substance that is continually generated are occasioned which does rarely happen to Persons that have strong natural Heats in whom the Passages and Vessels of the Stomach are large enough for all sorts of Humours both Good and Bad to pass in and out and circulate freely from one part to another which renders all such Persons Healthful Active and Lively 'T is also to be known that the Radix or true cause of the Diseases called Vapours and Fainting or Trembling Fits is the forementioned Disorders in Meats Drinks and Exercises which will better appear if we consider what sort of People viz. Women are most subject to such Diseases for we generally find them to be not only naturally of tender weak Spirits small Vessels narrow Passages and but weak Constitutions but such whose Education and bringing up has been Foolishly Nice and Irregular such as Live Easily Fare Deliciously without Labour or proper Exercise such as scarce can get themselves Drest before Dinner and snort out more then half their Life in soft and over-warm Beds which course cannot but contract the Vessels and mightily infeeble all parts of the Body so that then the Blood Natures Balsamick Fountain
thin spiritous parts thereof are drawn or sucked in on all sides as by Spunges which do not only quicken and make the natural Spirits brisk and lively but it helps to dissolve and digest the Meats and Drinks and makes that Food easily digested that would prove burdensome in Summer besides tho spoon-meats viz. Gruels Pottages are not hot in their natures and innate qualities Their heats are accidental viz. received from the fire the continuation thereof is no longer then they become cold for no Foods nor Drinks can be counted hot but what have an innate natural heat the heat received from the fire in preparations is Accidental and forc'd and not natural it being contrary both to the natural heat of the Food and Stomach too and tho these Pottages and Gruels are good in all seasons yet they are most beneficial to Health and Pleasure in Summer for in hot weather most People are apt to Sweat also the Sun which is the Central heat does then by its Influences powerfully attracts and draws forth the natural heat opening the pores by which the Spirits are on all occasions or exercises apt to evaporate from whence proceeds hot droughty fainty Indispositions Small and imperfect Appetites and weak Digestions which evils are very much increased by unproper Meats and Drinks viz. Salt Flesh or Fish much Cheese and too strong Drinks and also by all other Foods that are Fat Succulent or hard of concoction or that which lies long in the Stomach before they digest therefore our sweet moystening mild clean easie simple Gruels and Pottages if frequently eaten will prevent many inconveniences and supply nature with its dewy moystening vertues which will not only dilate the vessels of the Stomach but they will beget Appetite and mightily help concoction moderately cool the Body and gentlely move to Stool open all sorts of Obstructions that lie in the passages and prevent the Generation of Wind in the Stomach besides those that daily accustom themselves to the eating of those Gruels and Pottages will rarely be afflicted either with the Griping Pains of the Bowels or Wind-Collick for those simple Spoon-Meats do not generate any Crudities nor sowr short saltis matter as grosser Foods do especially compounded foods and strong stale sharp drinks but they sweeten the Blood thin the Humours of the Body by which means the Blood and the natural Spirits circulates freely whence proceeds a lively brisk pleasant Harmonious Temperament of Body and Mind a little Physick will serve your turn and as few Guineys for Mr Doctor for the true happiness of Mankind consist chiefly in this that he keeps his Body and Mind as neer the Tempeature as is possible which cannot be done except he make a due choise in the qualities and quantities of his Meats Drinks Imployments Airs and Communications and apply himself to those that are the most simple and Innocent viz. that stands neerest equality because each things do imposs its own property both on the Body and Mind and the Blood and natural Spirits inclinations and dispositions are not only supported by these things we Eat and Drink but also continually made as it were new And if such Meats and Drinks be too highly graduated in any particular property as in Sweetness Bitterness Sourness or Astringency then they do awaken stir up and strengthen their like quality by Simule but if the foods be Flesh or Fish then remember that all Beasts are not only endued with sences equal with Man but also with all kinds of Passions as Love Hate Wrath and the like which their Flesh and Blood is not freed from for in the Blood consists the high Life of every Creature therefore the Illuminated Prophet Moses Commanded that it should not be eaten because the more noble human Nature should not pertake nor be infected with the Beastiality for Killing and Eating the Flesh and Blood of Beasts cannot be accounted human for men have no Example in all the Creation but only the cruel fierce Savage Beast of the Desart in which Creatures fierceness and wrath have the Ascendent Of the Seasons of the Year in which all sorts of Flesh are most Unclean and aptest to contract and breed Diseases as also the danger of Eating much Green-Fruits THe season which most People are most apt to contract Diseases by the frequent Eating of Flesh is from the middle of Iune to the last of October for 1st this season is hot which openeth the Pores causeth Sweating and as it were a continual Evaporation of the Spirits which causeth Fainty Indispositions to possess the whole Body for all heat that exceeds the medium whether it proceeds from Meats Drinks or Exercises doth gradually waste and consume the Spirits and natural heat which does dull the edge of the attractive digestive and retentive faculties of the Stomach for this reason all superfluity and intemperances are tenfold more dangerous and Men are apter to contract Distempers in the one then in the other as experience manifests we see that the Natives in all hot Climates are naturally more temperate in Meats Drinks and Exercises then they are in cold which is one cause why English People and others that Travel into the East and West Indies are so Unhealthy 2dly In this Season most People eat great store of Green Foods as Beans Peases Cabbages Colliflowers and the like all which things do contain great store of gross phlegmy matter especially in cold Countries where the Sun which is the central heat in all things has not the power to prepare such Foods as in hot 3dly It is likewise to be observed that a great part of that Green Food before mentioned does often lie a considerable time before they are eaten especially in great Cities and Townes by which means they lose their pure brisk lively Taste Smell which renders them nothing so quick of Concoction as those that are boyled fresh for they presently lose their fresh lively Spirits and Tinctures whence do proceed the pleasant taste with the most fragrant Smell and natural Colour 4thly All this time of the Year the Air which is the Life of the Spirit in all Cities and great Towns is thick and sulpherous full of gross Humidity which has its source from many uncleannesses such places do plentifully afford more especially in this season which is Inamicable to the pure spirituous vertues of all such Foods for all green food is naturally subject to Putrifaction by reason of their Phlegmatick Body this makes them more unhealthy and dangerous then otherwise they would be if fresh and lively 5thly In this season the Sun also declines in strength and vigour which being the central Power and Life of all things they do proportionably decline as appeares in Herbage also the Earth which is the Mother of all things in this Season is weakand impotent because she hath already put forth her strength and manifested her lively vertues in the first spring or rising of the Sun therefore in the
is thickened their Spirits dull and impure and each part sympathizing in the Mischief on every petty Accident as Love Hate Fear Anger Grief c. the Spirits being so debilitated are I resently Wounded and all the Salliports of Nature Swells or seems to be Closed which hinders Transpiration and Breathing and then in a moments time they fall into wild agonous Fits and all the parts tremble and are disordered which Diseases Country Women of Exercise that live on mean simple Foods and small Drink are very rarely afflicted with but when I consider how Impurdently most People Live what Disorders they commit how Hetrogenious their Foods and Drinks are together with the many other idle Habits and secret Wounds they give Innocent Nature by visiting too frequently the Shades of Venus which quickly makes the strongest Nerves to Bow and is the chief Cause and Original of most Consumptions especially in the Males I say when we consider all this we need not wonder at the multitude of Torturing Diseases abroad in the World but rather admire People are so Well and Healthful as they appear to be What an Hodg-potch do most that have Abilities make in their Stomachs which must wonderfully oppress and distract Nature For if you should take Flesh of various sorts Fish of as many Cabbages Parsnops Turnops Potatoes Mustard Butter Cheese a Pudden that contains more then ten several Ingredents Tarts Sweet-meats Custards and add to these Churries Plums Currans Apples Capers Olives Anchovies Mangoes Caveare c. and jumble them altogether into one Mass what Eye would not loath what Stomach not abhor such a Gallemaufry yet this is done every Day and counted Gallent Entertainment To teach this mischievous Art Books are Written and to practise it French Cooks are Imployed as if we had not natural Folly and Vanity enough at home but must learn it by Art and from forreign Nations in the mean time how is poor Nature Captivated how doth she Groan in a Language severely to be felt tho not heard Therefore if you would avoid those Torturing Diseases and Inconveniences observe the following Rules always remember that most Distempers are contracted through Excess and inordinate Living nor does any thing preserve the Body in Health or the Mind in perfect Freedom so much as Sobriety and Temperance 1. Let not a little Trouble thwarting your unruly Appetites or fond Humours depraved with ill Customs and Wantonness divert you from getting your selves possest of this Jewel Temperance that true Phylosophers-Stone which turns all into the Golden Elixir of Health Content and Serenity since we see none of the little perishing Goods of this World are to be had or obtained without Trouble and Difficulty 2. Neither Meats nor Drinks are to be taken that are too strong for each Mans particular Nature or Constitution which for the most part are such as are compounded of many Ingredients of contrary qualities but let Nature always be stronger then the Food which will be sure to prevent Surfeits and a Thousand other Inconveniences 3. As you are not to accustom your selves to the frequent eating of Foods that are over Fat for the Reasons aforesaid so neither ought you at any time to Eat or Drink of any thing whatsoever to Dulness especially if compounded with rich Ingredients for the same will certainly sow the Seeds of Grievous Diseases Therefore if any healthy Person feel himself oppressed after Meat he ought to consider the reason thereof and thenceforth make abatement in the quantity or alter the quality do not most People find themselves before Eating and Drinking Quick Lightsome and full of Spirits provided they have not fasted too long but after their Meales because they make them Immoderate they are generally sensible of a cloging Heaviness and dull Indisposition which is a certain Index that the necessity and conveniency of Nature is exceeded either in quantity or quality since the true intention of Food is to Refresh and Support Nature and not to Oppress and Incommode her 4. But the greatest Snare in Eating and Drinking and therefore the Psalmist teaches us to pray That our Tables may not be our Snare is when Meats and Drinks are not Simple but Compounded whereby the liquorish pleasures of the Pallate is prolonged many degrees beyond the necessities of Nature and indeed beyond the concoctive ability of the Stomach whence many People over-charge This whilst wantonly they gratifie That and so heap up Crudities Noxious Juces Torturing Diseases and in the end Death it self 5. Moderate Fasting is an excellent means to preserve both the Body and Mind in Health and Serenity for it cleanseth the Stomach by digesting and removing the Obstructions that lie in the Passages and also purifie the Blood and then how sweet how agreeable is every mean wholsome thing to the well prepared Stomach such sober Persons feel and taste the most pleasant opperation of the divine hand in all things their Bodies are delight ed with that which is Natural Clean and Innocent their Minds satisfied their Beds easie their Sleep Sound they are not subject to dull Indispositions nor molested with Feavours nor are their Stomachs or Bowels oppressed with Fainting Fits or Windy Griping Humours they rise as Early and no less Fresh then the Morning Sun Blyth and Merry as the Lark and are fit for all Exercise either of the Body or the Mind their radical moysture flowes freely through every part like a pleasant gale of Wind over the Sun-parcht Mountains which moderate the central Fires that they burn not violently In a word proper Fasting is the best Physician preserves Health far beyond their Evacuations it has an accult quality for the digestive faculty and natural heat is never Idle therefore when the Stomach and Vessels thereof are not filled with superfluity of Food and often Eatings and Drinkings it draws away all the superfluous matter that furs and stops the Passages and which otherwise is apt to cause Coughs and shortness of Breathing and sends troublesome Fumes and Vapours into the Crown 6. Therefore be careful that you do not Eat or Drink between Meals or before the former Foods and Drinks be perfectly Concocted nothing more obstructs Nature and hurts the Blood keeping the Body as it were in a continual Feavour for the fresh Juces of those too frequent supplies of Foods and Drink do obstruct the Passages and dulls the Spirits that they cannot pass freely in their due order and circulation whence Windiness and Crudities are generated which is the principal cause of the common Indispositions many People are troubled with 7. Foods ill dressed destroys Health especially Flesh whilst some will wantonly eat it half Raw and all Bloody which looks Inhumane and others will have it so over-prepared that no good Nourishment can be drawn from it both which doth generate bad Blood and cause a lumpish heaviness to possess the whole Body because the lively brisk aiery fine Spirit in such Foods is destroyed in the Preparation 8.
against griping pains of the Bowels helps Concoction disburthening the Stomoch of superfluous Juces and cleanseth the vessels which are generally stopt and furred by Intemperance either in Meats or Drinks for all Gruels and Pottages do naturally prevent fumes and vapours by carrying the offending windy matter into the Bowels causing it to pass away with case its proper way neither shall those whether Young or Old that often eat this Gruel be subject to shortness of Breath or other ill habits of the Stomach and Breast and if Children do eat frequently of it in quantities it will prevent those evil sharp windy Juces that falls into their Joynts which do cause the Disease called the Rickets it hath also a powerful opperation against the Scurvy and Dropsie by opening the obstructions of the Liver and Spleen begets appetite it cheers and comforts the Spirits it is in every respect friendly to Nature and assists her in all her Opperations for as most distempers are contracted by excess and Inordinate living so on the other side nothing hath so much power not only to prevent Diseases but also to throw them off when they have invaded Nature neither can the best of of Medicines prove Effectual when disorders and the same intemperance in Meats Drinks Beds and Exercises are continued that was the original of the Diseases it is also very profitable to Woman in Child-Bed the frequent use thereof would prevent those feavorish indispositions vapours windy fuming Humors that most are subject to in that conditions which is for the most part occasioned by their ill conduct and by their hot thick compounded Spoon-Meats but I do not call them hâ—â— from the firy heat they are tenged with in their preparation which also is injurious to Nature if not cool before it be taken into the Body it being a contrary heat both to the natural heat of the food and Stomach too but from the innate heat the ingrediences of those Spoon-meats are endued with also those Gruels are very profitable for all Children especially those that suck for many Womens Milk is defective besides Milk naturally furs the passages and stomach and often heats the Blood whence Feavers and indispositions proceeds which generally is attributed to the breeding of Teeth but many are mistaken now this Gruel does cool and cleanse all the passages and refresh the Spirit and thin the Blood. Of moyst Airs WHen the Fountains of water in the upper Chambers of Nature are stirred or awakened by the motions of the Elements and Celestial Configurations all things presently become dewy or fill'd with humidity for heat and moisture naturally opens all Bodies exerting their inward qualities and makes them defusive whether they be Good or Evil and renders them capable to mixt or incorporate with the Air for so great is the power and efficacy of this Element of Water that all or most productions are attributed thereunto as that whereby they are Generated Nourished and increased so that it seems a prime natural cause of all things that grow in the Earth and when it obtains the Goverment or Dominion over the other Elements it opens the Gates of nature then all properties do breathe or send forth their innate qualities intermingling with the Air of that place which if it happens to be low morish fenny Ground near Lakes Ponds Jakes Close Towns or great Citties as London where various sorts of Filth and Uncleanness are heaped up then the Air is fill'd with foul fulsome vapours of pernicious qualities but on the other side when the Air is humid if the Ground be dry or amongst Gardens Corn Fields open Heaths Running Rivers or where Springs trickle down from the Breasts of a rising Plain or Hills where Hedges and Trees do not stand too thick all such places do naturally exhale pleasant and fragrant Smells which Impregnating the Air renders it both delightful and wholsome Hence it appears that Water is the great Menstrum of the World the opener of all bodies and the aawakener of Qualities making all things penetrable whence Motion vegetation doth arise so that when Water and Air are incorporated the latter is rarified and it becomes more penetrating moystening digesting and cooling for when the sweet dews of Heaven are withheld all things are lockt up in the hot harsh astringent Chamber which threatens all things with death the Air becoming Sultry and Sulpherous which consumes the radical moisture in all Creatures and so renders them not only more unfit for Labour or Exercise but also more subject to Diseases then in moyst Seasons making them droughty hot and feavorish by stopping up the pores which frets all the inwards parts both of Men and Beasts and parches up the Earth but where Water and Air do kindly embrace or inbibe each other that place or Climate gains a brisk spiritous refreshing property that it sucks in on all parts of the Body for the pure natural and Animal Spirits in man are not altogether a terrene thing or Body nourrished only by gross Alement received through the Organs by the Concoction of Meats and Drinks only but draw in a more refined nourishment like spunges at every pore of the Body from the thin vapours that encompass and penetrate it on all sides for the Air being plentifully endued with a salnitral vertue does furnish and refresh Nature with a curious brisk Airy Spirit and for that reason Rain Water being Impregnated with a greater quantity of that Good vertue does naturally advance Vegetations beyond all other sorts enriching the Earth and making it hollow or Plumplike a ferment or leven whereas other Waters bind and close-up the Pores thereof but still the moyst Air of Woods are not commendable as to health because such places do naturally attract Humidity and retain it so as it became thick hot and sulpherous because the Sun Wind c. has not free passage to refine it but all Airs by or near Springs or running-Water are more commendable in the Summer then in the Winter and wonderfully refreshes the natural Spirits and therefore Imployments or Exercises near unto or on the Waters are both pleasant and healthful so that its a very vain Apprehension in many People so much to fear the dwelling near Rivers tho possibly the same may not agree with all Constitutions And as moyst Airs are most wholsome and healthful in hot Seasons of the Year The like is to be understood of our Homogenial Water-Gruel and other Pottages tho the contrary is practised by most Gruels and Pottages being mostly eaten in Winter but they are far more agreeable in Summer or hot Seasons for our Winters are for the most part cold and moyst which does naturally drive the heat more central which does strengthen the Stomach and digestive faculty that Nature can the better dispose and digest stronger fatter harder drier Foods and Drinks then in Summer or hot Weather besides Airs then are cold humid and dewy which do powerfully penetrate the Body and the
stiring or lading it on the Fire half a quarter of an hour and so it is done only season it with Salt and let it stand till it be cool and by that time the Oatmeal viz. the bigger parts thereof will be settled to the bottom then drink a pint or a quart as you think convenient either before or after your Food or in a Morning and in such case Fast till Dinner It is also very good to be Drank after Labour Travel Sweating or the like to prevent Surfeits no sort of strong Drink being comparable to it in that respect for whilest People do endeavour by drinking Wine and strong Drink to allay Heat and Drought or Extinguish it frequently encrease it but this Gruel by its friendly Nature quallifies all such disorders and presently brings Nature into a state of Harmony and as it is commendable and beneficial at all seasons of the Year so more especially in Spring and Summer for it allays Heat and Drought far beyond any Beer or Ale and performs it in Natures own way Another very commendable way of making Water Gruel TAke what quantity of Water you please make it just Boyle up then put in your Herbs and let it stand till it begins to boyle again then take it off and let it stand two or three minuits with the Herbs in it then take the Herbs out and having some Oatmeal ready tempered with cold Water put that into it and so brew it too and fro out of one Pot into another as you do Buttered-Ale a dozen or twenty times without putting it any more on the Fire but if you desire to eat Butter in it then let the Butter and Salt be brewed too and fro in the Gruel and the Oatmeal will give forth its vertue and incorporate with the water so as to make it the sweetest best colour and wholsomest of all other Gruels if you would have it plain without Herbs brew only the boyling Water and Oatmeal togather and it is done adding a little Salt thus likewise you may make Milk Pottage by putting your Milk and Water on your fire together and when it boyles up take it off and brew that and your tempered Oatmeal as aforesaid and the like of Flowered-milk Of the best and most Natural way of making Water-Gruel compounded of Various Ingrediences TAke a Quart of good Water into which put half a quarter of a Pound of Currans washed ser it on the Fire till it be ready to boyl then move it to a more moderate heat for three or four Minuits then in another Vessel have a Quart of the like Water made to a boyling then have your tempered Spoonful of Oatmeal ready brew your Oatmeal and Water together as you were taught before very well then take your infused Currans out of the hot Water and put them into your brewed Gruel with some Sugar Butter and Salt throwing your Water the Currans was infused in away then brew it again as you did before the Butter Salt Currans and Crums of Bread altogether very well and if you think convenient to add Spice to it then put it into the water you make your Gruel off when you set it on the fire for it is best to put both the Currans and Spice into the water when cold the water does then draw out the vertue of them best this way of making of it is far before any others that is in practice amongst the Houswives the Currans will be soft and eat much more pleasent then when boyled this Gruel will have a curious white brisk lively colour Fragrant smell and curious Cordial Taste affords a better Nourishment and easier of Concoction then any made the common way for this way is far more Natural and does draw forth the fine spirituous friendly quallity of the Ingrediences and the brewing of it does keep and preserve the brisk lively spirits of the Butter which gives a curious flaver to the whole and makes all incorporate as one Body also the Infusing of the Currans in the water does wash away a foul gross quality which cold water cannot do which renders them more Homogenial and easier of Digestion you are also to take notice by the way that your brewing or mixing of it off the fire in the pleasant sweet Air does not only give Life and a curious Colour but of better Taste and Smell more agreeable to the stomach and easier of digestion not so apt to obstruct the Vessels of the Stomach as that which is done otherwise for the boyling and stiring those fine thin Gruels or Pottages on the fire does give great advantage ro the thick gross smooky poysonous Vapours which the Coles or Wood when stired sends forth which fulsome Vapours are by the Air drawn forth up the Chimny which are so very pernicious that if any Persons should hold their Heads over them it would stifle or destroy them in a little time for the fire is not only the opener of all Bodies but the separating power of Nature and penetrates to the very Root of each thing and manifests the vertues and vices of each thing therefore forthese and many other reasons too tedious for this place the mixing or brewing these Gruels and Pottages off the fire are highly commendable and they do as far exceed the common Preparation as Light does Darkness but Practice is the best Master and Experience the best Doctor Of purging Gruel TAke Water what quantity you please make it boyling hot then put into it a good quantity of any of these Herbs following or others that you shall best like viz. Scurvy-Grass Spinnage Corn-Sallet Parsly Smalage Elder-Buds Take your Water off your Fire cover it and let them infuse one hour then take your Liquor from your Herbs and brew it with some tempered Oatmeal you may drink it with Salt or without from a Quart to three Quarts in a Morning and fast till Dinner this is a brave Cordial Gruel it will move gentily to stool more natural then most sorts of Physick and wash and cleanse the Stomach from all superfluous matter thins the Blood and open all the Passages by which the Humours will freely circulate carrying away all Windy Watery or Flatulent Juces this sort of Gruel is not only good in the Spring but at all Seasons of the Year when the Herbs can be procured if the natural and proper use of Herbs were known and practised there would be but little need of Physick especially if Order and Temperance were observed How Herb-Gruels for the Spring ought to be made and their Respective Vertues and first of Elder-buds in Gruel TAke Water what quantity you have occasion for make it boyling hot then have your Oatmeal ready tempered with cold Watter and your Elder-buds and put both into your boyling Water and keep it stirring letting it be as it were on the boyl but not boyl up a little while then take it off the fire and let it stand two or three minuits more then take
the Herbs out or strain it and add only a little salt and when cold drink a Pint or a Quart as your Stomach serves a little use will make it familiar this Gruel is a great cleanser and opener of all sorts of obstructions that offends the Breast and Passages and moves gentlel to Stole 't is very good for Fat Pussy People especially if they joyn Exercise therewith But probably some may object What good can there be in such poor Watery slip-slop give me Pottage made of Cocks-Combs and Knucles of Veal and Necks of Mutton and Shins of Beef Boyled three or four hours till it becomes thick as a Ielly and then put in Plums Suger Spice and twenty other good things and this is like to be somewhat Nourishing and Comfortable indeed Well let the Objector enjoy his fancy and his Rich chargeable Slop still I will not change my Plain Water Gruel with him for I must tell him were he capable of hearing Reason all such mighty compounded Pottages how much soever they may be cry'd up as Nutritive and Restorative and indeed Destructive for they obstruct Nature stagnate the Blood becloud the Spirits and ruin the Appetite Moreover the much Boyling of Pottages and especially Gruels made of Flowre does in a manner destroy all the wholsome cleansing opening cooling exhilerating Vertues because it too violently opens the Body of the water and sends the fine spirits flying to Iapan or else suffocates them for this Reason Water once boyled and then put into a Vessel and kept will Stink and never be sweet nor good for any use afterwards whereas Water that has never been at the fire being put into a like Vessel will indeed stink as well as the other but then it will recover its self and be sweet again afterwards and as good as ever this shews that in boyling Water loses its fine Spirituous preservative quality nor does the boyling less impair the lively vertues of the Flowre therefore we conclude it not fit nor convenient to boyl Pottages or Gruels after the common manner such being good neither for Food nor Physick whereas one main end of Gruels is to fit and prepare Nature for Food that is to wassi cleanse and free the Passages of gross obstructive matter Others may say How is it possiblh that this infusion or small boyling can draw forth or endue the Gruel with the Vertues of such Herbs as shall be put into it for we they will say have been taught otherwise viz. to boyl them an hour or two at least Now this is as great an error as the former for boyling of Herbs especially in this particular case does as it were totally extinguish and destroy those fine pleasant opening Cordial Vertues which all Men seek to obtain in all preparations either of Food or Physick if your Reason be too weak to apprehend this yet you cannot blind your Nature viz. your Palate and Stomach for will not all Pottages and Gruels wherein various sorts of Herbs are long boyled taste strong and fulsome and do not they lie gross and heavy on the stomach and do not you find that they are hard of Concoction besides you are to know that in all hot infusions the hot or boyling Water does first seize or draw forth the milde sweet cleansing pleasant Vertues and if such Liquors are drawn off from the ingredients in a convenient time they shall be endued with all the good pleasant Vertues of the Vegetation infused but if they lie too long in the hot Liquor then those good properties first extracted becomes suffocated for the boyling Liquor continuing still its opperation on the things Infused after it has suckt out the sweet friendly Properties does awaken the Harsh Bitter Stinking Poysonous Sharp Astingent Qualities and draws forth that too whereby the former becomes spoyled or turned into the foremention'd evil qualities thus Brewers or any good Houswives will tell you that the best vertues of the Mault is first drawn forth by the hot Liquor and the oftner they put up the meaner is their Wort and if they let their first infusion stand too long before they draw it off it will become of a strong sharp keen sowre quality not fit to make either Beer or Ale of for by long standing the hot Liquor continuing its opperation does penetrate even to the Center and stirs up the harsh bitter sowre properties of the Mault which evil Juces does in a moments time swallow up or turn all the sweet pleasant mild friendly Vertues into its own Nature for which Evils there is no cure or bringing of it back again but it will still continue its progress into the harsh bitter Astingency or its original Properties Note also that the better or more Skilful Brewers will not boyl their Liquor or Water at all whatever Custom and Vulgar noise may clamour to the contrary but only heat it to a convenient degree because they are taught by Doctor Experience that boyling does not only fix or harden the Liquor but causeth it to lose its opening soft quality so that it will not so kindly draw forth the good vertues of the Mault but if these Reasons backt by Experience which are truly Natural will not satisfie you you have Liberty to follow your old blind Guide Ignorance and Tradition There still remains an other Objection viz. What Vertue can there be in one simple herb alone we are advised by the Learned that for Spinnage Gruel or Pottages we must put into the same Mess Elder-buds Nettle-tops Clivers Brook-lime Water-cresses and as many more as we can think off that it may cleanse us bravely But let me tell you and I will tell you nothing but naked natural Truths that wherever such a multiplicity of Ingredients are jumbled together you may be sure there are as many various Natures and Qualities and 't is more then probable that some of them at least are contrary to each other so that their distinct Vertues are thereby confounded and you have neither the true Vertue of one nor the other but a meer Gallimaufry which will be irksome for nature to receive and burdensome unto the Stomach to digest being both of an ill Taste and Savour therefore the surest and most natural way is to take such a simple Herb as you conceive most proper for that infirmity you are subject unto and such simple Gruels will prove more pleasant to the pallate Secondly more agreeable to the Stomach Thirdly they do to a better degree Answer the end for which they are taken Of Gruel with that gallant Herb Balm The making of this Gruel as to the manner of preparation is exactly the same with what we taught you of Elder-buds and so it is of all the other Herbs herein after mentioned or any other that you please to make use of and therefore we refer you back thereunto being as unwilling to write unnecessary repetitions as you can be to Read them The Vertues of Balm-Gruel are that it cleanses
first spring and rising of the Sun every thing rejoyeth and becomes very flagrant by vertue of the sweet influences of their celestial Body and the power of the Earth 6thly In this Season viz. from Iune to the last of October most sorts of Cattel breed many Diseases first from the heat and gross humid Air which in this Season is more thick sulpherous the pleasant Influences and Spirits of the Air are dull and thick which causes a fainty Indisposition to possess the Bodies and Spirits of most Creatures Men themselves can witness the Truth of this likewise the foods of most Creatures is Grass which is of a phlegmatick Nature generates not only an unfirm Nourishment but fills the Body full of evil Juces for this cause it will not take Salt as at other times of the Year In this Season the weather being hot the Spirits of most Creatures are quickly evaporated by driving and other accidents which most Beasts are subject to especially such as come from remote Parts to great Cities besides it is the time of their uncleanness therefore it was not without great reason and Wisdom that the Antients commanded that Flesh should be eaten sparingly and that there should be a particular care taken about the good state of the Bodies of such Cattel viz. that they were Sound Healthy free from Uncleannesses and Surfits for whatsoever inconveniences attend the Creature before killed the Flesh does still retain and therefore the Eaters thereof cannot but pertake of the evils for the causes before mentioned Flesh in these Months ought to be eaten sparingly is any at all there being many other sorts of Food that do far exceed Flesh and Fish more especially in this Season as Bread Butter Cheese Gruels Pottages of various sorts Eggs Herbs and many others that are after a little use more pleasant healthier generate firmer Nourishment and greater Strength if Sobriety and Temperance were observed and other Circumstances belonging to Health a little Flesh would serve in this Age a man may speak and write of Temperance and an orderly choise of Food which can never be understood nor believed without practising which makes all notions essential few do or can immagine how little and mean things will every way fully contribute to all Natures wants and necessities There are two or three other things which having the oppertunity tho they may seem not so pertinent to the present Subject I would advertise my Country Men of 1. That Diseases are transferred from one to another several ways but especially by lying in Beds with or after Diseased People which all Persons ought to take notice of there being scarce any sort of Learning more necessary and yet none more neglected for these secret conveyances of Vertue and Venome or the transfering of Distempers from one to another is done after an hidden inpreceptible manner by way of Spirits Gleams Rays and Glances the natural Spirits being so subtle and penetrating as they powerfully search into all things so that a Man cannot touch any thing tho it seem never so impassible or hard as Iron Stone or the like but those nimble Scouts do not only penetrate it but are more or less retained in it if this were not so the Dog could not find the Individual Stone his Master throws amongst a Thousand others nor could he follow him unseen by his Foot-stops nor could the deep mouth'd Hounds trace the light heel'd Hare in all her doubles and winding and tho she runs so fast and swift as she scarce seems to touch the surface of the Earth or bend the topes of the Grass over which she mounts yet she leaves such real Effluviums and impressions enough to betray her to those pursuing Enemies Indeed nothing can hold or withstand the natural Spirits they are so thin quick and piercing no Iron Stone or Wood can resist them and if they will incorporate with those hard substances as is most manifest how much more must they be imbib'd by soft Beds where People lye long Warm and Sweating and where the Air cannot come with its refreshing Influences to cleanse purifie those grosser Excrements the Vehicles or Lodging of malignant Spirits that are continually breathed forth by infirm Persons and of all others Feather-Beds are more dispossed to entertain and welcome such unclean fulsome Vapours therefore it concerns all People especially such as are Young to be careful who they lye with or after all Diseases being catching at one time or other moreover hot soft Feather Beds are for the most part in themselves Unwholsome because they keep the Body too hot and infeeble the Loyns whereas hard clean Beds viz. Quilts or Straw or Flock-Beds but especially Straw are much more commendable as to Health 2. The principal Cause that so many Children especially Young Virgins in London and other parts of this Nation are deformed by crooked and disorderly growing is 1st By reason of their hard Swathing in their Infancy for who ever saw a Black who use no such binding Crooked 2dly This is encreased when they grow up by the tyrany of foolish pernicious Fashons over strait Lacings hard Bodies and stiff Stays invented only for Mischief and the consumption of Whale-Bone all which their weak Bones and tender Nerves cannot endure without great prejudice besides it straitens the Breast and the Vessels of the Stomach and lays Foundations for Asthmas Phtysicks shortness of Breath Green sickness and forty other Malladies 3dly When they come to be about six or seven Years old they are generally put to sowing or working of Samplers as they call it where most of them are kept by an Ignorant Impertinent Mistriss as hard to it as if they were to get their Bread before they eat it five six seven or eight hours in a Day are they there keep sitting in a mopish still Posture with their Heads downwards leaning on their Breasts and all their Limbs crumpled up almost like a Hedge-Hoggs This makes many of them dull Sleepy and Heavy all their Life after by that base early contracted Habit others to ease themselves lolling or leaning on one side hold their Necks awry get a trick of lifting up one Shoulder half a Story higher then the other and a Thousand other ridiculous Postures which by time becomes natural and then the Swing is thought of and the Steel-Bodices sent for which certainly concludes the Work renders their Crookedness yet worse and indeed altogether incurable whereas had these Children been Educated with change of Imployments or Learning viz. one hour or an hour and an half to Sew the next to Read or Write or learn Languages after that to play on the Musick Sing or Paint to go in a handsom Posture their Schooling would not only be much more pleasant and delightsome to them but they would be more Airy Brisk and Healthy and learn more in one hour then they do in several Days by being kept thus dully to one thing so long day after day as it were stupifiing there Sences procuring many other Diseases besides Crookedness which is always accompanied with many other inconveniences which all careful prudent Mothers ought to consider and study to prevent 3. The best Exercises that I have observed against Consumptions shortness of Breath and all kind of Obstructions of the Stomach and Breast are those that most Imploy the Arms and open the Chest therefore for Women to rub Tables for one hour every Morning tell they sweat would not be amiss for Men any sort of Labour on the Water but especially Rowing in Boats with Water men does effectually open and remove all Impediments Diseases of the Brest and Stomach at once it strengthens the Muscles and opens the Passages or if any find themselves inclinable to it the Exercise of Shooting at Butts in a long Bow is very commendable such Exercises have cured many Consumptive Asthmatical People when they have been given over by the Doctors for as the walking in proper Airs gets a good Appetite so the drawing the Bow dilates the Breast and removes Obstructions But I have already exceeded the limits I proposed to my self in this Paper Those that shall observe the Rules herein laid down of Temperance choice of Diet due preparation will I am more then confident find great benefit thereby therefore I shall not Trouble my self to make any Apology to any who having their Eyes blinded by the Dust of Custom and Tradition may be apt to condemn or flight these Advices as useless Chymeras sure I am what I have deliver'd is agreeable to undisguised Nature and whosoever shall Act accordingly will find the benefit but without practice all precepts are vain or at least fruitless unless it be to remain as Monuments to reproach those conceited Fools that dispise and neglect them What I have here candidly and in a simple plain familiar manner delivered I leave to Gods Blessing and the practice of all prudent Lovers of their Health and humble Followers of Nature in her easie and Innocent Methods FINIS