her Food being rather roasted than boyl'd and must refrain from Copulation and must not be strait Laced If the lips of the Privities are much swelled by reason of watery humours falling upon them you must scarifie with a Lancet all along the Lips that the humours may distil out and you must foment the Parts with the following Decoction Take of the leaves of Bays Sage Rosemary and of the Flowers of Camomile each one handful boyl them in a Sufficient quantity of Fountain water to a pint and half of the strain'd Liquor add a quarter of a pint of Brandy and bath the parts affected often with a Spunge dipt in the hot Liquor CHAP. XX. Of Miscarriage TO prevent Miscarriage all indispositions of the Body which are wont to occasion it must be removed as fulness of Blood ill humours and peculiar Diseases of the VVomb as Swellings Ulcers and the like Fulness of Blood opens the Veins of the VVomb or Strangles the Infant and therefore the VVoman must be Blooded and so much Blood must be taken away as will sufficiently discharge nature If an ill habit of body and ill humours are the cause of Miscarriage the VVoman must be frequently purged and a small quantity of Blood may be taken away and betwixt the Purges such things must be used as correct the indisposition of the Bowels and the sharpness of the humours and the humours must be thickened if they are too thin And if Flegmatick humours abound they must be carried off by Sweats and such things as force Urin Issues in the Arms and Thighs are also very proper to prevent Miscarriage whatever ill humours abound in the body The peculiar Diseases of the VVomb as over great Moisture Swellings Ulcers and such like must be cured by their proper Remedies And first if Moisture abound let the Woman be purged with two Scruples of the Pill Coch-major twice a week and when she does not Purge let her drink Morning and Evening of the following Decoction Take of the roots of Sarsaparilla four Ounces of China two Ounces of white and red Sanders each half an Ounce of the rasping of Harts-horn and Ivory each three Drams infuse them and boyl them in eight pints of Fountain water till half is consumed add a quarter of pound of Raisins of the Sun and if the Woman be of a Flegmatick constitution instead of China add two Ounces of Guiacum rasped Let her drink half a pint Morning and Evening Take of Franckincense Myrrh Mastich Storax Calamite Gum of Juniper Ladanum each one Ounce with a sufficient quantity of Turpentine make Troches and let one or more of them be cast on live Coals and let the fume be received into the Privities through a Funnel If a Swelling be the cause you must make application according to the nature of the humour and the time and other Circumstances of the swelling if it be hot and made by fluxion which may be known by the pain and suddenness of the swelling as also by the Tension and Pulsation and by being accompanied with a Fever Bleeding must be used in the first place and the Woman must be frequently purged with the purging Potion mention'd in the foregoing Chapter made of Tamarinds Sena Manna and the like and after Evacuations you must apply cooling and repelling things to the Reins and the lower part of the Belly as Oyl of Roses washed in Vinegar and the like and the following Decoction may be injected into the Womb. Take of the leaves of Plantain Water Lillies Night-shade and Endive each one handful of red Roses two Pugils boyl them in three pints of Fountain water till a pint is consumed add to it of Oyl of Myrtles one Ounce of Vinegar half an Ounce But note you must not use cooling and repelling things too long lest the Tumour be hardened thereby and turn to a Scirrhus and therefore soon after the beginning of the Swelling emollient and resolving things must be mixt with Repellents Mallows Marshmallows Mugwort Fenugreek Camomile and Melilote and if the pain be violent you must inject into the Womb Goat or Sheeps milk with Opium and Saffron each three or four Grains to which may be added a little Rose Water But if the swelling cannot be resolved and tends to Suppuration it must be furthered by the application of the following Pultis Take of the roots of Marshmallows of the Flowers of Camomile and Melilote of the Seeds of Flax and Fenugreek each one Ounce of fat Figs number eight boyl them to the consistence of a Pultis then add the yolks of four Eggs of Saffron half a Scruple of Oyl of Lillies and fresh butter each one Ounce make a Cataplasm If the Swelling be made by congestion it is slow and without pain and generally cold and the matter of it is either thin and serous or thick and flegmatick and apt to grow hard In this case Steel Medicines used as directed in the Chapter of Hysteric Diseases do good but purging must go before Issues in the Legs are also proper and emollient and resolving Medicines must be apply'd outwardly in the following manner Take of the Roots of Marshmallows and Lillies each two Ounces of the leaves of Mallows Violets Marshmallows and Bears-breech each one handful of the Seeds of Flax and Fenugreek each one Ounce of the leaves of Mugwort and Calamint half a handful of the Flowers of Camomile and Melilote each one Pugil boyl them in three pints of Fountain water till a third be consumed and foment the region of the Pubes and Groin with a Spunge dipt in it and pressed out Of the same Decoction the dose of the Simples being increased a bath may be made which is very effectual in this case and more powerful than the Fomentation Glisters also and Injections may be made of the same Decoction and frequently used whereunto may be added the Oyls of Lillies Camomile and sweet Almonds But these Medicines must be used with great caution lest the swelling shou'd degenerate into a Cancer and indeed 't is to no purpose to use Medicines when the Swelling is without pain and of a stony nature But if an Ulcer be the cause the cure of it must be performed by stopping the Fluxion of the humours and by cleansing and conglutinating the Ulcer and first if the Body abound with Blood or if the Ulcer be accompanied with an Inflammation a Vein must be opened in the Arm and Bleeding must be repeated as often as there is danger of a new Fluxion especially at the times of the Courses to lessen them for they are wont to increase the matter of the Ulcer and to promote the Flux of other humours to the Womb. Purging is also very necessary to cleanse the Body from ill humours but it ought to consist of gentle Catharticks as of Sena Rhubarb Tamarinds Myrobolans and the like or the Purging Potion of Tamarinds may be used but if the Woman Vomits easily she may take the following Vomit or the like
with Blood she must be blooded in the Arm and if her Body is Costive the emollient Glyster mentioned above must be used and afterwards to ease the Pain they must be anointed often with Populean Ointment mixt with a few Grains of Opium For instance Take of Populean Ointment one Dram of Opium five Grains beat them well together in a Mortar and anoint the Piles with it twice or thrice a day But if the Inflammation and the swelling are much you must apply Leeches to the part affected and let her keep her Bed If the Piles bleed of themselves immoderately for if the Flux be moderate at this time the Woman being full of Blood she may be relieved thereby a cooling and thickening course of Diet must be order'd as three parts of Fountain water and one of Milk boyl'd together and drank cold roasted Apples Barly-broths and the like also thickning and cooling Juleps and Emulsions Take of the Waters of Plantain and Cinnamon hordeated each four Ounces of distilled Vinegar half an Ounce of True-bole and Dragons-blood each half a Dram of the Liquid Laudanum mentioned in the Chapter of Hysteric Fits thirty drops of Syrup of Myrtles one Ounce and an half mix them and make a Julep let her take four or five Spoonfuls every night at Bed-time Take of the four greater cold Seeds each one Dram and an half of sweet Almonds number four of the Seeds of white Poppies two Drams Plantain Water eight Ounces of red Poppy Water four Ounces of Cinnamon Water hordeated one Ounce and an half make an Emulsion to which add three Drams of pearled Sugar and half an Ounce of the Juice of Cevil Orange mingle them let her take four Ounces thrice a day Bleeding in the Arm is also proper in this case to turn the Flux If a loosness comes upon a Woman with Child and continues above five days she must use Food of easie digestion and little at a time and let her Drink be Claret Wine mixt with Water wherein Iron has been quenched and now and then Milk boyl'd with thrice the quantity of Water or the white Decoction made in the following manner Take of Calcined Harts-horn powder'd two Ounces of Fountain water two quarts boyl it till half is consumed strain it gently through a linnen rag and add to it three Ounces of Syrup of Quinces And before Meals she may eat a little Marmalade of Quinces But note that before she uses these astringents it will be convenient to purge off the ill humours with the following Potion Take of Rubarb one Dram and a half of Sena two Drams boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to three Ounces of strain'd Liquor add one Ounce of Syrup of Succory with Rubarb and two Drams of Cinnamon-water Let it be taken in the Morning But if the Loosness turn to the Bloody-flux the case is very dangerous and therefore after the use of the purging Potion above mention'd if the Woman has strength enough to bear it you must immediately give sixteen drops of the Liquid Laudanum so often mentioned in this Treatise in two or three Spoonfuls of Cinnamon-water hordeated or the like which must be repeated every night at bedtime and in the Morning too if the Flux continue violent and to keep up the strength four or five Spoonfuls of the following Julep may be taken often Take of the Waters of Black-cherries and Strawberries each four Ounces of Epidemic water and Compound Scordium-water and of Cinnamon-water hordeated each one Ounce of Pearls prepared one Dram and an half of Chrystaline Sugar a Sufficient quantity make a Julep The VVomans Drink in this case must be the Milk water or the white Decoction above described and when she is very weak she may take for her ordinary Drink a quart of Fountain water boyl'd with half a pint of Sack and she may eat sometimes Panada and sometimes Broth made of lean Mutton and she must be kept in Bed Moreover a Glister made of half a pint of Cows Milk and an Ounce and an half of Venice-treacle must be injected daily If the VVoman has her Courses after the fourth or fifth Month of her being with Child for some VVomen have them till the Fifth Month without any manner of prejudice to themselves or their Children you must endeavour to stop them then and before too if you suppose they slow by reason of the heat and acrimony of the Blood or the weakness of the Vessels and not from an abundance of Blood which may be known by her having her Courses much when she was not with Child To stop this Flux the VVoman must be kept in bed and forbear all things that may heat the Blood especially anger she must use a strengthening and cooling Diet feeding on Meat that breeds good blood and thickens it as Broths made of Poultry Necks of Mutton Knuckles of Veal wherein may be boyl'd cooling Herbs she may eat new lay'd Eggs Gellies Rice-milk Barly-broth and the like and Iron must be quenched in her Beer and she must forbear Copulation and the Belly must be bathed about the region of the VVomb with Tent wherein Pomegranate-peel Provence Roses and Cinnamon has been boyl'd But if the VVoman be taken with Flooding the case is extreamly hazardous and if it continues violent she must be deliver'd without delay for otherwise death will necessarily follow Yet it is to be noted that it must not be done presently as soon as the Flux is perceived because some small Floodings have been sometimes suppressed by keeping quiet in bed by bleeding in the Arm and the use of Remedies above mention'd If therefore the Blood flows but in a small quantity and continues but a little while she must not be delivered but if it flows in so great abundance that she falls into Convulsions and Faintings the Operation must not be deferred whether she has pains and throws or not And because in Floodings weakness and faintings ever follow we must endeavour to preserve that little strength the VVoman has left and to increase it if possible that so she may be able to bear the Operation to which purpose there ought to be given her from time to time good strengthening Broths Gellies and a little good VVine she must always smell to Vinegar and have a warm toast dipt in VVine and Cinnamon appli'd to the region of her heart which do her more good than solid Food and to prevent the Blood from flooding in great abundance before she can be delivered a Vein in her Arm may be open'd to turn the course of it and Napkins dipt in VVater and Vinegar may be apply'd all along her Reins If the Woman be troubled with a bearing down of the Womb her best way is to keep in Bed but if she cannot conveniently do so she must wear a broad Swaith to keep up her Belly but if the bearing down proceeds from humours that relax the Ligaments of the VVomb she must be kept to a drying Diet
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-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
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-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
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
resting the Fore-finger of the same Hand extended and stretched forth along the string towards the entry of the Sheath always observing to draw it from the side where the burthen cleaves least Above all things care must be taken that it be not drawn forth with too much violence lest by breaking the string you are obliged to put the whole Hand into the Womb to deliver the Woman or the Womb be drawn down forth with it also by drawing it out with too much violence a great flooding may thereby happen To facilitate the expulsion the Woman may blow strongly into her Hands shut or she may put her Finger into her Throat as if she would provoke Vomiting or she may strive as if she were going to stool bearing always down and holding her breath When all these circumstances have been observed if you meet with difficulty you may if need be after that you know on which side the After-birth is situated command an experienced Nurse-keeper to press the Belly lightly with the flat of her Hand directing it gently downwards by way of Friction above all being careful not to do it too violently but if all this be in vain then must the Hand be directed into the VVomb to loosen and separate it As soon as the VVoman is delivered of both Child and Burthen it must then be considered whether there be all and care had that not the least part of it remain behind not so much as the skirts or clods of Blood which ought all to be brought away with the first for otherwise being retained they cause great pains When the Woman has two Children you must not fetch the Burthen as was said before till both the Children are born and then it may be done without danger shaking and drawing it always gently sometimes by one string sometimes by the other and sometimes by both together and so by turns till all is come When the Infant comes right and naturally the Woman is brought to Bed and delivered with little help for which the meanest Midwifes are capable and oft-times for want of them a simple Nursekeeper may supply the place But when it is a wrong Labour there is a great Mystery belongs to it for then the skill and prudence of a Surgeon is for the most part requisite Immediately after the Woman is delivered and the Burthen come away care must be taken that the loosening of it be not followed with a Flooding if it be not a soft closure must be immediately applied to the Womb five or six times double to prevent the cold Air entring in and stopping the Vessels whereby the Womb should cleanse by degrees when the VVomb is so closed If the VVoman was not delivered upon her ordinary Bed let her presently be carried into it by some strong Body or more if there be need rather than to let her walk thither which Bed must be ready warmed and prepared as is requisite for the cleansings But if she were delivered on it which is best and safest to prevent the danger and trouble of carrying her to it then all the soul Linnen and other things put there for receiving the Bloud VVaters and other filth which comes away in Labour must be removed and she must be placed conveniently in it for her ease and rest which she much wants to recover her of the Pains and Labour she endured in Travail she must be placed with her Head and Body a little raised for to breath the freer and to cleanse the better especially of that Blood which then comes away that so it may not clod which being retained causes very great pains All this will happen if they have not liberty to come freely by this convenient Situation in which she must put down her Legs and Thighs close together having a small Pillow for her greater ease if she desire it under her Hams upon which they may rest a little Being so put to Bed let her lie neither on one side nor the other but just on the middle of her Back that so the VVomb may repossess its natural and proper place It is an ordinary custom to give the VVoman as soon as she is delivered two Ounces of Oyl of Sweet Almonds and as much Syrup of Maiden-hair which is good to sweeten and temper the inside of the Throat which was heated and hoarse by her continual cryes and holding her breath to bear down her Throws during her Labour it is also good to prevent the Grips but this Potion goes so much against the Stomachs of some VVomen that being forced to take it with an aversion it may do them more hurt than good therefore let none have it but those that desire it and have no aversion for it But good Broath taken after she is a little setled may be more beneficial Having thus accommodated her and provided for her Belly Breasts and lower parts leave her to rest and sleep if she can making no noise the Bed-Curtains being close drawn and the Doors and VVindows of her Chamber shut that so seeing no light she may the sooner fall asleep As soon as the Bed is cleansed from the foul Linnen and other impurities of the Labour and the Woman therein placed let there be outwardly applied all over the bottom of her Belly and Privities the following anodyne Pultiss made of two Ounces of sweet Almonds with two or three new laid Eggs yolks and whites stirring them together in an earthen Pipkin over hot Embers till it comes to the consistence of a Pultiss which being spread upon Cloath must be applyed to those parts indifferently warm having first taken away the Closures which were put to her presently after her Delivery and likewise such clods of Blood as were there left This is a very fit Remedy to appease the Pains which Women commonly suffer in those Parts by reason of the violence then endured by the Infants Birth it must lie on five or six hours and then be renewed a second time if there be occasion Afterwards make a Decoction of Barly Linseed and Chervil or with Marsh-mallows and Violet Leaves adding to a Pint of it an Ounce of Honey of Roses wherewith being luke-warm Foment three or four times a-day for the first five or six days of Child-bed the bearing place cleansing it very well from the Clods of Blood and other Excrements which are there emptied Some Persons only use for this purpose luke-warm Milk and many Women only Barly-water Great care must be taken at the beginning that no stopping thing be given to hinder the cleansings but when ten or twelve Days are past and she has cleansed sufficiently Remedies may then be used to fortifie the Parts for which purpose a Decoction is very proper made of Province Roses Leaves and Roots of Plantain and Smiths water and when she has sufficiently and fully done Cleansing which is usually after the eighteenth or twentieth Day there may be made for those that desire it a very strong astringent
and an ill and strong smell exhales from the Womans Body and her Breath stinks If the Secundine be excluded first it is a certain sign that the Child is dead The whole cure consists in the exclusion or extraction of the Child Take of the Leaves of Savine dryed of the roots of round Birthwort of the Troches of Myrrh and of Castor each one Dram of Cinnamon half a Dram of Saffron one Scruple mingle them make a Powder whereof let her take one Dram in Savine Water Foment the Pubes Privities and Perineum with an Emollient Decoction made of the Leaves of Mallows and Marsh-mallows and the like and let a Pessary be put up the Privities Take of the Roots of round Birthwort Orris Black Hellebore of Coloquintida and Myrrh each one Dram of Galbanum and Opopanax each half a Dram with Ox Gall make a Pessary If after having tried Medicines a long while the Child cannot be ejected it must be extracted by a Surgeon either with Instruments or with the Hand alone CHAP. XXIV Of the Caesarian Delivery THE Caesarian Delivery is a dextrous extraction of a Living or Dead Child from the Mothers Womb which cannot be other ways excluded and that without endangering the Life of both or of either and without spoiling the Faculty of conceiving and by this Art the first Scipio Africanus of the Romans was cut out of his Mothers Womb and therefore was called Caesar This Caesarian Section is thought to be necessary when the Mother and the Child are so weak that they cannot be preserved any other way The use of it is twofold one that a living Child may be extracted the other that the Mother may be preserved alive and tho' it is very hazardous yet in a desperate case it is better to do something than nothing especially when a confederacy is like to be broken by the death of a Wife or when a Family is like to be extinguished or some Kingdom or Principality is like to be lost In this manner we find in the Annals of Spain the King of Navar was preserved for his Mother being wounded in the Belly by the Saracens as she was Hunting a Noble Man coming to her help saw the Child put its hand out of the Wound and drew it forth and educated it privately and afterwards when the Nobility was contending about the Election of a Prince he brought out the young King and so the Controversie ended The causes which require this operation are a too great Child or Twins or more that endeavour to be born together or if a fleshy Mole join to the Child the ill posture of it and if it cannot be reduced to a better either by its own help or the help of others or because it is dead or so much swell'd by a Disease that the Naturall passage is too narrow But in this case it is best to take it away peece-meal The causes on the Mothers part are the narrowness of the passages either naturally by reason she is too young or too old or because the VVomb is shut either by a Cicatrix or a Callous Moreover many tumours in the Womb or the Mouth of it may be the cause In these cases tho it be very dangerous yet it is very necessary to use Section and the operation may be happily performed as may appear by several Experiments to him that reads Rousel But before you enter upon this Operation you must consider whether the Child can be Extracted any other way that is safer and easier You must moreover consider whether there are Signs of Death and if so you must not enter upon the Operation lest the Womans Death be laid upon the Section and your rashness But when you have througly weighed all things if the Woman be of a strong Nature tho by reason of the Labour she is weak you may venture upon the Operation Most Authors would have it made on the left side of the Belly because it is more free from the Liver but I says Mauriceau think it will be better and more skilfully made just in the middle of the Belly between the two right Muscles because in this place there is only the coverings and the white line to cut To dispatch then with more ease and speed the Chyrugeon having placed the Woman so that the Belly may be a little raised let him take a good sharp incision Knife very sharp on one side with which he must quickly make an Incision just in the middle of the Belly between the two right Muscles unto the Peritoneum of the length and extent of the Womb or thereabouts after that he must only peirce the Peritoneum with the point of his Knife to make an Orifice for one or two of the Fingers of his left hand into which he must immediately thrust them to cut it lifting it up with them and conducting the Instrument for fear of pricking the Guts in proportion to the first incision of the coverings which having done the Womb will soon appear into which he must make an Incision in the same manner as he did in the Peritoneum being careful not to thrust his Instrument at once too far in having then so opened the VVomb he must likewise make an incision in the Infants Membranes taking care not to wound it with the Instrument and then he will soon see it and must immediatly take it out of the burthen which he must nimbly separate from the bottom of the VVomb and finding it to be yet living let him praise God for having so blessed and prospered his Operation But the Children so delivered are usually so weak if not quite dead as it often happens that it is hard to know whether it is alive or dead yet one may be confident the Child is living if by touching the Navel-string the Umbilical Arteries are perceived to move as also the Heart by laying the Hand on the Breast and if it prove so means must be used to fetch it to it self by spouting some VVine into the Nose and Mouth and by warming it until it begins to stir of it self But it is to be noted that Mauriceau much disapproves this cruel Operation and says it ought not to be performed until the VVoman is dead for that the VVoman always dies in the operation or presently after CHAP. XXV Of the Secundine retained IN a natural Birth the Secundine is usually excluded presently after the Child and when it is not the Life of the Woman is much indangered It is retained by the too great thickness of the Coats the swelling of them and by an afflux of Humours occasion'd by hard Labour also by the strutting of the Mouth of the Womb after the exclusion of the Child The External Causes are Coldness of the Air whereby the Secundine is repelled and the Orifice of the Womb shut Certain perfumes whereby the Womb is allured upwards violent passions of the Mind as Fear and sudden Frights the perverseness of the Woman who will not
abide in such a posture or use such endeavours as are requisite the weight of the Child whereby the Navel is broken the After-birth remaining within the unskilfulness of the Midwife who cuts the Vessels of the Navel too soon or does not hold them in her Left Hand as she ought for if she let them go they are drawn back into the Womb and are hid there with the Secundine It is easie to know when the Secundine is retained in the VVomb but sometimes a piece of it is separated and remains in the Womb which is not so easily perceived yet it may be known because the Womb after Delivery endeavours to eject something but tho its endeavours are but small a sense of heat and pain is perceived in the Womb and after a few days a cadaverous smell exhales from the Womb. The retention of the Secundine is very dangerous and if it continues some days an acute Fever Nauseousness Faintings difficulty of Breathing Coldness of the extream Parts Convulsive Fits and at length Death follows The Secundine retained is expelled by the same remedies which are proposed for a dead Child to which may be added some Specificks deliver'd by Authors Rulandus says he has given with success thirty drops of Oyl of Juniper Some order the Woman to bite an Onion three or four times and to swallow the Juice and presently after to drink a small draught of Wine The Juice of green Lovage drank in Rhenish-wine is also commended Sneesing is also good but the best way is to have it drawn out by a skilful Chyrurgeon before the Inflammation is increased If the Secundine cannot be ejected by any means but sticks firmly to the Womb and putrifies there Suppuraratives must be injected to this purpose Basilicon may be dissolved in the following Decoction Take of the Leaves of Mallows with the roots three handfuls of the roots of both the Birthworts each six Drams of Flax Seeds and Fenugreek Seeds each half an Ounce of Violets one handful of the Flowers of Camomile and the lesser Centory each half an handful make a Decoction in Water mingled with Oyl if you would have it suppurate much but to cleanse add a little Vngentum Aegyptiacum CHAP. XXVI Of the Flooding of a Woman new laid FLooding is a more dangerous accident than any other which may happen to a Woman newly laid and which dispatches her so soon if it be in a great quantity that there is not often time to prevent it wherefore in this case convenient Remedies must be speedily applied to stop it to which purpose it is fit to consider what causes the Flooding and if it be a false Conception a piece of the burthen or clodded Blood remaining behind all diligence must be used to fetch them away or to cause a speedy expulsion of them But if when nothing remains behind in the Womb the Blood notwithstanding continues to flow you must Blood in the Arm to make diversion and let her Body be laid flat and not raised that so the Blood may not be sent down to the lower Parts Let her keep her self very quiet and not turn from side to side the upper part of her Belly must not be Swathed or Bolstered and her Chamber must be kept a little cool and the Coverings of the Bed must not be many that so the Flooding may not be promoted by the heat But if notwithstanding all this the Blood flows continually the last remedies must be tryed which is to lay the Woman upon fresh Straw with a single Cloath on it and no Quilt that so her Reins may not be heated applying along her Loins Cloaths wet in cold Vinegar and Water unless it be Winter and then it must be a little warmed and to the end her strength may be preserved which is extreamly wasted let her take every half Hour a little good strong Broath with a few Spoonfuls of Gelly and between whiles the Yolk of a new laid Egg but too much Food must not be given at a time because her Stomach cannot digest it Her Drink must be Red Wine with a little Water wherein Iron has been quenched and if there is the least appearance of Excrements contained in the Guts make no Scruple to give a Glister to evacuate them But if notwithstanding the Blood continues Flooding then the Woman will often have Fainting Fits and be in great danger of losing her Life because we cannot apply in those places the Remedies fit to stop the opening of the Vessels as we can in another CHAP. XXVII Of a Suppression of the Child-bed Purgations and After-pains THE Suppression of the Lochia is one of the worst Symptoms that can befall a Woman in Child-bed especially if they happen to be totally and suddenly stopt the first three or four days which is the time they should come down plentifully To bring the Lochia well down let the Woman avoid Passion and all disturbances of the Mind which may stop them let her lie in Bed with her Head and Breast a little raised keeping her self quiet that so the Humours may be carried downwards by their natural tendency Let her observe a good Diet somewhat hot and moist and apply an Hysteric Plaster to her Navel Take of the Conserves of Roman Wormwood and Rue each one Ounce of the Troches of Myrrh two Drams of Castor English Saffron Volatile Salt of Armoniac and of Assa fetida each half a Dram with a sufficient quantity of the Syrup of the five opening Roots make an Electuary Let her take the quantity of a Large Nutmeg every third Hour drinking upon it three or four Spoonfuls of the following mixture Take of the Water of Penny royal and Balm each three Ounces of Compound Briony water two Ounces of Syrup of Mugwort three Ounces and an half of Saffron two Drams of Castor tied up in a rag and hanged in a Glass one Scruple mingle them If these things are used presently upon the Suppression they generally take it off but if they have been used so long that all the quantity is taken and the Lochia are still stopt in this case we may use Laudanum for once but it is best to mix it with Hesterick things For instance take sixteen drops of Liquid Laudanum in a Spoonful of Compound Briony or Water But it must be carfully noted that if after having once taken it the business is not done Opium must not be repeated again but having waited a while to see what it will do we must return again to Emmenagoges mixt with Hystericks and afterwards we must inject a Glister but what was said before of Opium is to be taken notice of in respect of Glisters for unless the first bring down the Lochia nothing is to be hoped for from more These things therefore being done it is safest and the duty of a prudent Physician to wait and see what time will do for if the Woman live over the twentieth day she will be in a manner out of danger
and then she will be able to bear such a method as is proper and effectual enough to force the Lochia If the After-pains are more than usual you must Swath the Womans Belly gently that it may subside and not move hither and thither as it often happens after delivery upon so sudden an evacuation and then give three Ounces of Oyl of Almonds fresh drawn mixt with one Ounce and an half of Syrup of Violets And Glisters may be injected made of Milk and Sugar and yolks of Eggs and the Belly must be anointed with the Oyl of Dill or of Rue or of Jasmine A Fomentation may be also made of a Decoction of Mugwort Feverfew Baulm of the Leaves of Bays and Calaminth of the Seeds of Daucus Cummin and Carraways of the Flowers of Camomile and Wall-flower made in Water and White-wine or in Milk It is also proper to cover the Belly with a Sheeps-skin fresh flead off and appli'd hot The following Powder taken presently after delivery preserves the Woman from Pain in a wonderful manner and some think if the Woman takes it in her first lying in she will never be troubled with these Pains Take of Comfry dryed one Dram of the Kirnels of Peach stones and of Nutmegs each two Scruples of Amber half a Dram of Ambergrise half a Scruple make a Powder whereof let her take a Dram with White-wine and if there be a Fever with Broth. If the Woman after delivery be troubled with a pain in the Groin it may be taken off by applying a Plaster of Galbanum and Assafetida to the Navel in the middle whereof some Grains of Musk must be placed CHAP. XXVIII Of acute Diseases of Women in Child-Bed A Putrid Fever seises Child-bed Women at various Seasons and upon several occasions sometimes presently after delivery especially if it has been difficult and hard sometimes on the first sometimes on the second third or fourth day but the later it begins the better it goes off It begins and proceeds most commonly in the following manner after a previous indisposition the Fever begins most commonly with a shaking and shivering which Heat presently follows and after that Sweat the first or second day fits of Heat and Cold succeed one another and then all the Blood being inflamed the Lochia if they were not suppressed before flow but little or quite stop if the Disease be acute and of quick motion it comes to its height the third or fourth day the Heat is violent and the Thirst very much the Pulse vehement and quick watchings obstinate there is a great restlessness that the sick tumble from one side of the Bed to the other continually the Urin is thick and red and there are many other grievous Symptoms when the Fever is in its state no Crisis is to be expected for I never saw this Disease go off by a critical Sweat The acute Diseases of Women in Child-bed are sometimes accompanied with a Quinsie Plurisie Peripneumonia Bloody-flux Small-pox and the like of these a Quinsie Plurisie and Peripneumonia by reason of the great Smilitude of the Cause and Analogy of the Cure may be considered together presently at their first beginning we must endeavour that the Blood fixed any where and beginning to be extravasated be restor'd to Circulation lest an Imposthume should be occasioned wherefore internal remedies which free the Blood from Coagulation must be used of which sort are Diaphoreticks abounding with Volatile Salt as Spirit of Harts-horn of Soot and Urine also Testaceous and Bezoartick Powders Lapis Prunella Decoctions and a Julep made of Vegetables that force Urine and the Courses with all which must be mixt such things as have been found by experience to be proper for Uterine Diseases Moreover discutient Medicines which disperse the matter impacted such are Liniments Fomentations and Cataplasms must be carefully applyed to the parts affected in the mean while the violent Motion and immoderate effervescence must be driven far from thence and the filth must be driven as much as is possible downwards to this end Frictions Ligatures Epispasticks and if there be occasion Cupping Glasses must be applied about the Legs and Feet If the Disease be very violent Bleeding is indicated and unless there be a Plethora in the whole Body and the Inflammation be very acute in the part affected it were be best to open a Vein in the Foot or to apply Leeches to the Hemorrhoidal Veins but if necessity urge we may bleed in the Arm and afterwards if it can be admitted in the Foot but you must take notice that Bleeding must be cautiously used in these Cases for unless it does good which I have seldom found the Sick is in a worse condition being render'd weaker thereby The Bloody-flux is very often deadly and so much the rather because such things as qualifie the Blood and that moderately bind are indicated but the Flux of the Lochia forbids them wherefore in this case till she has been well Purged by a long Flux of the Lochia the fierceness of the Symptoms must at present be only appeased The Indications in the Small-pox are not only contrary to those above described but also to one another for the Flux of the Lochia must be moderately restrain'd but in the mean while the efflorescence of the Blood and gentle Sweating must be continued wherefore such things as are of an Alexipharmic and Astringent Nature must be boyl'd in their Broths as the Roots of Tormentil and Bistort and in this case the Woman must not eat Flesh or the Broths of it nor must she rise but be kept as quiet as is possible and the whole business must be left in a manner to God and Nature All Women in Child-bed have an inbred Venom and they ought to be careful of it and to avoid it as much as the greatest Malignity wherefore they ought to use an exact course of Diet whereby the impurities of the Blood and Humours may be purged in Child-bed without the danger of a Fever and that the disorders of the Womb may be healed and their strength weakned by delivery may be restored to which end three things are to be minded first an exact course of Diet must be ordered viz. That they be fed for a Week at least with Water-gruel sometimes made with Beer sometimes made with Water mixt with White-wine or with Panada and other things of easie Digestion Secondly They must take great care that they do not catch cold whereby the Pores and the Lochia may be stopt wherefore let them continue in Bed at least till the tenth day Thirdly The Lochia must be gently provoked to this end Midwives when after hard Labour there is danger of the stoppage of the Lochia give Sperma Ceti Irish Slates powdered or White-wine Tinctured with Saffron and they make the Gruel with Water and White-wine wherein as also in Posset-Drink they boyl Marygold Flowers the Leaves of Penny-royal or Mugwort CHAP. XXIX Of the Melancholy Madness
to the consistence of a Pultiss apply them often with a rag Or infuse Galls in Rain-water eight days and with soft Wool sprinkled with Sulphur and dipt in this Water and dried without pressing make a Pessary But Secondly And chiefly you must use Astringents Foment the Genitals with the Water or Decoction of Acorns unripe Sloes and of Horse-tail or Foment the Parts with allom-Allom-water or with Stiptic-Wine that is red and rough Wine boyl'd with Galls Leaves of Myrtles Red Roses Pomgranet-peel Balaustines and Cypress Nuts Or Take of Cypress Nuts and Galls each one Pound of Roch-allom and the filings of Iron prepared in Vinegar each half a Pound boyl them in a sufficient quantity of the Waters of Galls which Tanners use and Foment the Parts often with it The following Water is counted excellent Take of Galls and of Cypress Nuts each half a Pound of Allom six Drams Bole-armonick half a Pound of the Meal of Acorns and of old Beans each half a Pound the Whites of twelve Eggs of Powder of Brick one Pound let them be all finely powdered and infuse them three Days in Smiths Water or in a decoction of Sloes Medlars or Horse-tail with half a Pint of Rose Vinegar then Distill them in a cold Still with a gentle Fire add to the Water that comes off of the Powders of Mastick Myrrh and Dragons Blood each two Drams Set the water in the Sun in the Summer for ten days this straitens the Privities smoothens the Belly and makes the Breasts solid CHAP. XXXV Of Abscesses and Corrosive Vlcers arising from Distempers of the Womb in Childbed THE Womb is sometimes terribly affected in Child-bed and produces Fevers of very Malignant and Venomous Natures which soon cause Phlegmons and worse Tumours in the Womb it self and sometimes in other parts of the Body there being none of them on which the Uterine Ferment has not an influence The Exhorbitances or Degenerations of that whether from an hurt in Labour from part of the After-birth left behind from cold taken or the Lochia stopt soon produce such Virulent Distempers in the Blood as make it cast out a Tumor either upon the part it self or else outwardly upon the Muscles of the Body where when they light they prove corrosive sometimes eating out the Flesh in which they lodge which falls off in whole pieces without that change of colour in the Skin which is in Gangreens so that sometimes the Bone it self is laid bare by them The Causes are hard Labour the Womb hurt or part of the Secundine left behind Cold taken in Child-bed and a predisposition in the Humours by reason of their peccancy in quantity or quality The Prognostick may be taken from the largness or other qualifications of the Abscess and the Symptoms that happen to the Body thereupon If the Tumor happens only from some little disturbance in the Womb of a Person otherwise of a good habit of Body the cure is hopeful If part of the After-birth be retained there is no hope 's of Cure till that be removed nay if it stay so long as to induce Putrefaction of the part it will be too late then to remove it If the Body be of an ill Habit the Tumours are apt to Degenerate into very Venomous and Malignant Abscesses which if they do not suddenly kill do at least produce ill conditoned Ulcers hard of Cure and for the most part mortal in the long course of the Disease In the Cure of these Abscesses you are to inform your self how the Womb is disturbed and appease that and if any part of the After-birth be left behind to endeavour the bringing that away and by good Sudorificks Cordials and the like to expel the Venom and fortifie the Spirits against the Malignity that is thereby contracted and to attemperate the heat and the Acrimony by Julips and Emulsions The Swellings arising from these require to be treated in their beginning with moderate Repellents and Discutients afterward according as the Matter prepredominates make way for its discharge A young Woman after Child-bed was seized with a great Pain and Swelling in her Groin with a Fever Bleeding and Lenient Purgatives to Evacuate the Humours were prescribed also Cordial Juleps and the like to attemperate the Heat and fortifie the Spirits and Moderate Repellents mixed with Discutients in Fomentations and Plasters with Bandage were used which dispersed the Humor in the Thigh and restored that part to its former temper But in the mean time the Tumor increased in the Groin and was suppurated after the manner of a Bubo it was opened and a detersion was endeavoured but the Sinus reaching down the Twist the Matter could not be discharged without laying it more open as in Sinous Ulcers by which method it was cured A Gentlewoman in Child-bed was seized with a Fever and the Ninth Day complained of a pain in her Foot Discutients were prescribed together with things proper for the Fever to breath out the impacted Matter in her Foot but the pain increasing the upper part of the Foot from the Instep to the Toes were Oedematous but from the inside of the Ancle to the middle of the Sole of her Foot inflamed and seeming to apostumate The ill consequences of an Apostumation in that part amongst the Tendons and Bones and where the Skin is usually so hard and tough that our strongest Causticks could difficultly penetrate being feared It was resolved to endeavour the restraint of the Influx and so to dry up the Humour affecting the part to which purpose was applied the following Plaster Take of Barley Meal Six Ounces of Flax Seeds powdered Six Drams of the Flowers of Camomile and Elder each three Drams of the Flowers of Red Roses and Balaustins each one Ounce these with the addition of Honey of Roses and Oyl of Myrtles were boyled to the consistence of a Plaster in red Wine and at Bed-time an Anodyne Draught was given to cause rest The next Morning the Patient was somewhat relieved and when the Dressings were taken off the Tumor and Inflammation seemed less This way of dressing was continued with Compress and Bandage and the Humour was in few Days dried up and the Foot seemed well but there appeared again a Swelling on the Foot and Apostumated in the Sole of the Foot in three several places which were opened with a Caustick to prevent the increase of the Matter and the Eschars were divided to give a vent and they were dressed with Basilicon and the Plaster as before and the flowing of the Matter was indeavoured to be hindred dayly by Compress and Bandage but the Position of the Foot gave way and it sunk lower so that there was a necessity of applying another Caustick which proved effectual to the Discharge of it so that the upper Orifices healed but this last Eschar separated slowly and left the great Tendon bare the Separation was furthered by the use of Oyl of Turpentine with Basilicon applied warm and the
are with Ulceration others not some are loose and moveable and so hard that they have knocked one against another like Peebles some are fixed to the Bones and some lie superficially other differences may be taken from the Humour to which they owe their Original If the Matter be not very Corrosive their growth is slow and they are not very painful These are called the milder sort and some of them affecting the Breast have been palliated a long time with easie remedies A Lady laboured many Years of an ulcerated Cancer it eat deep into the left Breast and was fixed to the Ribs but not with much pain in progress of time the Lips inverted and united as it were and lay covered with a crusty Scab the Humour in the mean while spent it self upon the Nerves and caused a Species of the Palsie in some parts of her Body and the Gout in others She lived long and in her latter Age tolerably healthful this is to be judged a Scirrhous Cancer yet by ill management or by an increase of acrimony this and such like frequently terminate in raging Cancers and torment the Patient with exquisite darting pains an instance or two whereof I shall set down to make the Young Practitioner more cautious in undertaking the Cure of them A VVoman had a painful hard Swelling in one of the Glands of her Breast she was advised to forbear the use of all Cataplasms and Plasters that might heat her Breast and to dress it with Valentia Stramonij but she was otherwise perswaded and thereby increased her Misery About half a Year after she had a stinking sordid Ulcer with lips turned out and the Breasts fixed to the Ribs with a hard unequal Swelling reaching to the Clavicle and side of the Neck Apostumated in some parts and Ulcerated in others from the pectoral Muscle it crept up to the Shoulder and affected the Arm-pits and by the compression of the Vessels the upper part of the Arm Swelled Scirrhous from the Elbow downwards it was Oedematous to the Fingers ends she made use of many Eminent Physicians and Chyrurgeons in the City but dyed miserably There is also a sort of Bleeding Cancers which become such either from the eruption of some Vessel which makes the vent often at the Nipple or some other Pin-hole the Breast remaining whole or else from the spreading of infinite capillary Vessels in a Fungus which in ulcerated Cancers is not rare These do very much spend the Strength of the Patient so that she soon Dyes exhausted and tabid Of all the Diseases which afflict Mankind the Cancer is the most grievous and rebellious and is generally Incureable by reason of its corrosive and malignant venome fermenting in the Humours which so far as we can find yields neither to Purging Bleeding Repellents Discutients Suppuratives nor any other Medicine inward or outward Those which lie superficially under the Skin may be attempted by the Chyrurgeon's Hand or if they rise from an External Cause as a Bruise or the like tho they lie deeper they may be cut off or otherwise extirpated But those that arise from a corrosive quality in the Humours though they may be cut off or otherwise extirpated yet the success is most doubtful The Cure of a Cancer in general consists in these Intentions First in the Generation of good Blood Secondly In Correcting and Evacuaating the Atrabilious Humours in the Body Thirdly In preventing the Growth of the Tumour and disposing it to Discussion We endeavour to perform the First intention by an exact regulation of Diet and way of Living advising to abstain from such sharp salt and gross Meats as may dispose the Blood to acrimony and order such as are Cooling and Moistning of easie Digestion and of good Nourishment The Second intention is to prepare and purge all the acrimonious Humours and if there be a Plethora or a Suppression of the Hemorrhoids or Courses a Vein may be opened and a Glister given and the Humours may be also evacuated by a convenient Purge as Take of the three Cordial Flowers one Handful of Sena three Drams of Dodder of Thym two Drams infuse them in Whey and strain it add an Ounce of the Purging Syrup of Apples and six Drams of Manna mingle them Traumatick Decoction are also usually prescribed Take of the Roots and Leaves of Avens of the greater Celandine of Burnet Groundsel Gentian Plantain each one Handful boyl them in two parts of Water and one of Wine to the quantity of three Pints sweeten it with Sugar and let a Pint be drunk thrice aday The following Electuary is also reckoned very good Take of the Powders of Frogs and Snails prepared each half an Ounce of the Powder of River Crabs one Ounce of the Bone of a Stags Heart one Dram of Citron Peel Candied one Ounce of the Conserve of Borrage and Wood-sorrel each two Ounces of the Syrup of the juice of Citron and of Gilly-flowers a sufficient quantity make an Electuary Take the quantity of a Chesnut Morning and Evening Emulsions Distilled Milks and Opiates are also very proper to attemperate the Acrimony and to ease the Pains The Third intention is to restrain the growth of the Tumour and to discuss it moderately Whilst the Humours are are evacuating we apply Repellents and afterwards we add Discutients the Repellents ought to be of the milder sort lest they render the Humours too gross and unfit for resolution as Lettice Purstain Plantain Navel-wort Night-shade and Housleek Lentils boyl'd in Vinegar also Clay tempered with Vinegar The Medicines ready Compounded are the White Oyntment Nutritum Populeon of Tutty and of burnt Lead and Lead it self All the Oyntments prescribed must be beaten up in a Leaden Mortar Thin milled Lead is usually worn in this Case so are Plates of Gold Oyl of Frogs is commended and is made by Baking them with Butter in their Mouths Frogs Spawn Water is proper to be used in Summer Cloaths being dipt in it and applyed but they must be shifted as often as they dry But in the Winter the following Cerat is better Take of a green Frog three Drams of the Powder of River Crabs burnt half an Ounce of Lytharge of Gold two Ounces of burnt Lead and Tutty prepared each two Drams of Cerus six Drams of the Juice of Night-shade and Plantain each six Ounces of Vinegar two Ounces of Oyl of Frogs and of Populeon Oyntment each three Ounces of the Suet of a Calf four Ounces of Wax a sufficient quantity make a Cerat Or Take of the Seeds of White Poppy one Ounce of the Seeds of Henbane half an Ounce of Opium one Dram of Gum Arabick half an Ounce powder them and with the Oyls of Roses and Myrtles each three Ounces of Wax a sufficient quantity make a Cerat This is proper in case of Pain in the extremity whereof you may double the quantity of Opium or in such Cases you may Foment the Tumour with a Decoction of
Poppy Heads Flowers of Roses and tops of Mellilot and apply the following Oyntment Take of Old Treacle one Ounce of the Juice of River Crabs half an Ounce of the Juice of Lettice and of Oyl of Roses each one Ounce and an half of the Yolks of Eggs roasted under the Embers number two of Camphor half a Dram beat them in a Leaden Mortar The Discutients are Ceterach Agrimony Ducksmeat Scabious Thorn-apple the Juice of Coriander Frogs Snails River Crabs Raisins of the Sun stoned and beaten with Rue and Garden Night-shade made into a Pultits are proper to resolve them Many such Medicines are designed to this purpose Cancers requiring variety of Applications If notwithstanding all your Endeavours the Tumour increases and is like to ulcerate you may do well to forewarn the Patient of the danger and if it be loose propose the extirpation of it propose it to them lest afterwards they desire it when it is too late But to undergo this Operation Successfully the Patient ought to be of a strong Constitution and of a pretty good habit of Body and not in declining Age when the Courses are ceased It were also to be wished that the Cancer took its original from some Accident or Bruise and the like and the Operation ought to be performed in the Spring or Autumn of the Year For a Cancer of the Womb Topicks must be applyed which moderately Bind and Cool Take of Oyl of Myrtles and of Roses each two Ounces of the Juice of Night-shade and of Housleek each one Ounce beat them all in a Leaden Mortar with a Leaden Pestle till they grow black then add of Lytharge and of Ceruss washed in Scabious water each three Ounces of Tutty prepared two Drams of Camphir ten Grains make a Liniment wherewith Anoint the Part three or four times a-day The following is said to be better and with it the Tumours of the Paps which are counted Cancerous may be Cured Take of the Oyl of Yolks of Eggs two Ounces of the Juice of Night-shade and Speedwel or of Housleek each half an Ounce of crude Mercury two Drams stir them about in a Leaden Mortar with a Leaden Pestle till they acquire the consistence of a Liniment The foresaid Liniments are to be applyed to the Womb with a long Tent or with a Wax Candle wrapt round with a Rag But Injections may be much easier used Take of Barley water half a Pint of the waters of Night-shade and Plantain each two Ounces of the water of speedwel one Ounce of the white Troches of Rhasis two Drams of Sacharum Saturni one Dram make an Injection If the Pain be very violent add to four Oounces of the Injection one Ounce of Syrup of Poppies If the Cancer be Ulcerated the Dose of the Mercury to be added to the foresaid Liniment must be increased and the Ashes of River Crabs may be conveniently added But all these things are not sometimes sufficient to appease the violent Pain which sometimes will not suffer the Sick to sleep or rest so that we are forced sometimes to use Narcoticks and indeed they are not injurious in this Disease I knew a Woman that was affected with a Cancer in her Breast who took every Night for four Months two or three Grains of Laudanum and was much relieved thereby If much Blood flow from a Cancer ulcerated as it often happens inject into the Womb the Juice of Plantain with a little Frankincense Lastly Seeing a perfect Cure cannot be expected whether the Cancer be ulcerated or not we must endeavour to hinder the breaking of it and the increase of it when it is broken and in both we must qualifie the violence of the Pain by such things as evacuate the whole Body and by other Remedies which alter and evacuate the melancholy Humour and hinder its growth as by Bleeding in the Arm the Hemorrhodial Veins in the Foot by the use of Potions Apozems Juleps Broath Milk Whey Mineral Waters and the like which are commonly prescribed but Purging must more especially be repeated CHAP. XXXIX Of Worms and of the Stone of the Womb. THough many are of the Opinion that Worms are Generated only in the Intestines yet it is manifest by Experience and the Testimony of Learned Men that they are Bred in many other parts of the Body as in putrid Ulcers in the Teeth in the Ears in the Reins and in the Bladder tho' rarely by reason of the acrimony and saltness of the Urine In the Womb also Worms are sometimes generated tho' it be rare because the passages of it are so open that they will not suffer the Humours tho' they are gross and crude to continue there so long as to generate Worms They are most commonly Ascarides and they are most commonly in the Privities or in the Neck of the Womb they are very like those that are in the right Gut perhaps they creep thither from the Anus The material cause of Worms is a cold phlegmatick and crude Humour which is apt to putrifie When there are Worms in the Womb the whole Body is restless and uneasie the Mouth of the Womb is always moist the Women are thin and weak and sometimes the Worms are expelled with the Courses and sometimes they may be seen the Lips of the Privities being opened Women so afflicted sleep disturbedly and often wake in a fright they have disorderly Fevers and all other Symptoms which appear in Worms of the Intestines As to the Cure we must endeavour to hinder the generation of them and to kill them when they are generated this may be done by three sorts of Remedies First By a thin hot and drying Dyet by acid and bitter Meats yet they must consist of good Nourishment and be easily concocted and that are free from all crudity the flesh of Chickens of Hens of small Mountain Birds and the Broath of them with the juice of a Lemon are good Among Fruits Oranges Cappares Olives with Vinegar Among Herbs Endive Sow-thistle and Groundsel Let her Drink be a Decoction of Cinnamon Rubarb the Seeds of Purslain the Roots of China Scorzonera or Sarsaparilla All Meats of Milk Fish and whatever generates Flegmatick Humours must be avoided and full Feeding and a disorderly course of Dyet Secondly Those things must be used which Concoct and Purge off Phlegmatick Humours as Syrup of Wormwood Succory Succory with Rhubarb of the acid juice of Citron with the waters of the same Herbs or of Grass Purslain and Sorrel and the Flegm must be constantly Purged off with Pills of Mastick of Agarick or the like Thirdly Such things must be used as kill Worms and uterine Glisters to that purpose must be injected made of a Decoction of Wormwood Southernwood and Centaury with Allom. Or Take of Mint Calaminth Penny-royal each one Handful boyl them till the third part of the Water is consumed mingle Honey with it and inject it Or Take of the Decoction of Lupins six Ounces of Aloes three Drams
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