Mouth and in case thou perceivest any such thing take Wood-sorrel and the abovesaid rind of Hawthorn make a Decoction of it and put in it a little Allom and often gargarise with it Clean thy Teeth from the slime with Water well sharpened with Vitriol The common Inflammation of the Mouth may be cured with frequent washing of the Mouth taking a gargarism made of House-leek Lettice Night-shade or Self-heal Water mixing a little Honey of Roses and Mul-berry-juyce with it Of this gargarism the Patient is also to swallow a little thereby to moisten the Throat Some take House-leek and beat it and put to a pound of it half an ounce of Sal-armoniack mixing it well together And so they put it for some days in an earthen pot glased under ground then they distill of it a Water in Balneo or in Sand Which is excellent both to drink and to gargarise though the Sal-armoniack make it a little unpleasant But there is nothing better to allay this Inflammation than Niter which is so well known amongst Souldiers that they are wont to give one another Gunpowder to drink which Powder performs this effect not upon the account of the Coals or Brimstone but the Saltpeter For this cause Experienced Physitians and Chirurgions endeavour to purifie Niter for this use that it may have the greater effect and this they do in manner following They take of the purest Niter they can get as much as they think fit they beat it to a fine powder and melt it in a large Crucible and whilst it boils up and foameth they pour into it a little powdered Sulphur and so let it boil together till the blew Sulphur-flame ceaseth then they cast in more fresh Sulphur Which they repeat often and then pour out the Niter into an earthen vessel glased making Lozenges of it of which they put one pulverised into a quart of limpid water and so give the Patient to drink of it as much as he needs to quench his thirst Or they give of this purified Niter to their Patients labouring under this Inflammation the quantity of a ducat or half a ducat weight in Broath or in Ptisan till they find the Tongue cleared of its slime The use of Salt-peter thus prepared removeth also the Inflammation of the Heart especially if it be melted upon Lead and then proceeded with as before For Lead is a considerable cooler of which cooling quality the Niter whilst it is melting upon it taketh in not a little Let then your Lead melt and when 't is melted dissolve the Niter upon it and then to purifie it cast some Brimstone into it as was said above till it be cleansed from all impurity and then give of it to thy Patient two or three times a day according as need shall require Otherwise take live Crafishes and fresh House-leek beat them together in a mortar squeeze out the Juyce with it mix a little Sal-armoniack or a pretty deal of thy prepared Niter make a Potion of it and give of it even cold to thy Patient repeating this several times every eight or ten hours once according as you shall see occasion Or take fresh Lard if it be salted draw it through hot water to unsalt it and cut a slice of it two fingers large and of the thickness of a knives back put this into the Mouth of thy Patient it is an excellent remedy against this Inflammation of which I shall give the reason hereafter I have seen wonders done with it But if thy Patient do rave then fasten this slice of Lard with a thred and needle to his shirt or doublet lest he swallow it Or take fresh Butter and put it in cold water and of it give thy Patient at a time the quantity of a hasel-nut to hold it upon his Tongue and let it melt there which will keep the Tongue always moist And if thou work among this Butter some of thy prepared Niter it hath a wonderful effect though the taste be not pleasant I promised above to explain the Reason of the Cure of these Inflammations When you take a gargarism of the Waters of Night-shade Wood-sorrel Knot-grass Endive House-leek and the like mingled with Vinegar you do well but this is not enough the reason is If you wet a piece of Leather you make it indeed limber but when it comes to be dry it grows hard and shrinks except you grease it over with some fatty matter and then it will remain smooth So it is with the Tongue though it be made clean with gargarisms yet will it become again rough and untoward unless some fatness be used For which cause I have directed to use Lard or Butter mixt with Niter If the Almonds be swelled thou must abstain from all sowr things and prepare a gargarism of Figgs St. Johns Bread Mallows-flowers Liquorice Elder-canes mixing with it some Rose-honey or Juyce of Walnuts or the Rob Diamorom gargling often with it seeing that this symptom is a dangerous thing for when the Throat swells of it few Patients do escape death especially if it be a Pestilential Squinancy And in case there appear any Tumour outwardly take fine Flower Milk and Saffron making a Pulse of it and to keep it from growing hard mix with it Althea-salve or Houndstongue-salve the Oyl of blew Violets Mullein white Lillies Camomile or the like adding a little Oyl of Scorpions to it and applying this outwardly Make also a Scraper of Alder-wood if it may be had if not other wood will serve though Alder be best Throw it into cold water and let it lye there using it as often as there is need yet take heed of making thy Tongue sore or raw CHAP. VI. Of Fevers Belly-aches Tumors of the Belly Yellow Jaundise and Distempers of the Liver IN Camps there is nothing more frequent than Fevers of the Stomach arising from ill dyet which Souldiers are often put to for want of better eating what they can get Cheese Herbs Flesh half boiled stale and musty Bread and the like Hence is gather'd a morbifick matter in the Stomack which causeth putrefaction and consequently Stomack-feavers In this case thou art first to purge And for that purpose make use of the Pulvis solutivus de tribus recommended above taking the weight of a ducat or a ducat and an half in warm broath and fasting two or three hours after it Or fetch from the Apothecary of the Tabulatum Diaturbith cum Rhubarbaro or the Diaphoenicon in tabulis taking half an ounce at a time and keeping thy Chamber Or infuse Sena-leaves in Wormwood-wine and drink a small glass-full of it an hour before thy break-fast This will also serve very well especially if some Carduus benedictus have also been fermented in the Wormwood-wine If thou art troubled with Gripings or Inflation of the Belly take of Zedoar or Angelica-roots or Orange-peels cut them small and take at a time the weight of a ducat in hot broath If the Inflation be much
small pellets called by the Germans Quellmaisseln dipt in a Salve made for this purpose out of fresh Butter Yolks of Eggs and Turpentine well mixt together cold But it happens sometimes that such Bubo's by reason of the venomous matter do eat in or grow fistulous or make matter-baggs in which the matter settles In this case you must use the Unguentum fuscum Apostolicum or the Aegyptiacum Or make the following water to be squirted into such Sores namely of Celondine Scordium or Water-germander Carduus-benedictus Centory or the like Herbs together with Tormentil and Whitlow-grass all boiled in wine If the Sores be very ill you may boil with it some quick Brimstone and Myrrh and if need be mix with it a little fine Verdigrease Or take Honey four ounces and an half a quarter of an ounce of Aloes Epatica a drachm of Salt an ounce and a half of Scordium mix all well together and keep it for use and when you have occasion for any of it then dissolve it in wine and spirt it in Mean time enlarge the opening of the Boyls with the aforesaid pellets that so the matter may have vent enough and come away without any impediment The Unguent of Ulysses Aldrovandus is also very good for the clearing of such Sores and 't is made of Oyl of Roses the Juyce of broad Plantain sharp-pointed Dock Centory and Night-shade with a little Litharge burnt Lead and prepared Camphir Instead of the Juyce of Night-shade you may take that of Cumfry As for the Sores call'd Anthraces and those they call Carbuncles great care must be taken to break them soon and to heal them slowly that so the poisonous matter may all come away They ripen and break soonest by fatty but not hot Plaisters and Unguents especially such as are made of butter leaven yolks of Eggs and Honey or if you mix together Turpentine Unguentum Populeum or Rose-salve mixt with yolks of Eggs or the Unguentum Anodynum mixt with the Ointment of Hounds-tongue and laid on it It must be often refreshed because such hot Sores and Ulcers before they break do so draw waste and as 't were lick up those fatnesses that sometimes of the plaisters that have lain on them there remains nothing but the bare ragg The Emplastrum Basilicon or the common yellow drawing plaister is here the most useful You must also surround the Anthrax with good defensives for if it invade the neighbouring part never so little it will soon make a large halo or circle which will at length separate from the sound and fall away like an escarre For such defensives make use of Album Camphoratum or the Unguentum de Liquiritia known by our people under the name of Dr. Mindererus his Licorish-ointment Item the Unguentum de Lithargyro or the Unguentum Jovis prepared of fresh Butter with Thlaspiminus or Bowyers Mustard otherwise Narrow-leaved wild Cresses Cranes-bill Elder Poppy Vervain and some shaved Licorish Some take nothing but Vervain and the fresh leaves of Henbane beaten together and the Juyce strained and so used Of this Ointment you may make much with confidence for it will do you very good service in Inflammations especially in the case of the swelling of the groins Amongst the approved Medicines for this purpose may deservedly be reckoned the plaister made of Soot which is thus to be prepared Take of the finest Chimney-soot one ounce and a quarter of Leaven Turpentine and fresh Butter ana one ounce of Venetian Soap an ounce and a half two yolks of Eggs of Treacle and Mithridate ana a quarter of an ounce Beat all these together in a mortar and so reduce it to a paste and then use it plaister-wise When the Anthrax or the Carbuncle is broken you must then handle it very gently and discreetly using only the above described Egg-salve putting it into the opening and covering the Sore only with the common yellow drawing plaister or the plaister prepared of Oyl Wax and Rosin or Turpentine Let the matter work out well and when you are sure that 't is very clean and have a mind to consolidate it make only use of Triapharmâ—con iâ— vulgarly call'd the brown Diachylon you may besides put into it some of the Unguentum de Tutia and that of the Diapompholox and one of the plaisters of them upon it The Ulme-plaister also made of Oyl and Ceruse heals also very well But be very careful lest any of the matter remain lurking in the Ulcer If here and there any should be found yet remaining as often happens then make use of the Emplastrum Apostolorum But if you can prepare the Diapalma otherwise called Diacalcithros make use of that I am wont to call it the Fistula-plaister because it doth not easily suffer Fistula's to stink but keeps them clean and sweet Such a plaister is also that which is called Isis to be found in Galen and performing the same thing They are both to be found in the Augustan Dispensatory together with the way of preparing them Now what concerns Old Sores which many are troubled with in their Leggs especially because the humors of the body usually settle there you must above all things be careful to keep them clean and to that end wash them at least once a day with your own urine Or boil Carduus-benedictus Egrimony Plantain and roots of Tormentil in half small meath and half wine and wash the Ulcer with it as often as you dress it Among the common plaisters for such evils is the brawn Diachylum one of the best Else you may prepare this Ointment which follows Take the middle rind of Elder and St. Johns-wort boil them in oyl putting a little wine to it and so let it boil up till the wine be boiled away then take it off from the fire and let it cool this done stir a little Turpentine amongst it and a yolk or two of Eggs according as you make a greater or lesser quantity mixing with it a little Allum and Vitriol the white is the best stir all well together and apply it to the Ulcer and make a bandage and cover it as usually For a good Drawing-plaister take Rosin Bee-wax and Oyl-olive the quantity of the Rosin must be but the half of the Wax Let them melt together and stir amongst it some Tartar exquisitly powder'd Use not much of fatty things to such Ulcers I have had under my care such Ulcers that were to be healed with only dry things as with strewing in of Crocus Martis and the red Earth of Vitriol of which hereafter For this reason the antient Physitians and Chirurgions invented a dry Stone which they kept so secret that they called it Lapis Philosophorum which is easily made as followeth Take Allum Hungarian Vitriol of each one pound beat them to powder and mix them well together then put all into a glased earthen pot and pour upon it two quarts of water boil them together and stir them continually with a Spatula taking
march and often cannot put off their cloaths for many nights together yet let them use such sudorifique means for though they cannot sweat outright yet they may fall into a dampish moisture which if it strike not in again may prove as good as a sweat Yet in this case he must turn his shirt Quod non facit sudor praestat id tenuis udor But here is to be noted that 't is not enough once only to give a sudorifique Medicine to an infected Body considering that the venom like a raging Sea is tossed to and fro every way And though it should seem to thee as if by thy approved Antidote thou hadst overcome the Disease the Symptoms of it excepted yet thou art not to trust in this case for I my self have been sometimes deceived and hard put to it to make good what by confidence I had omitted Wherefore you must not trust to the once taking a sudorifique potion or powder because such malign and lurking Diseases that keep no stitch do indeed fly the first time from thy Medicament and hide themselves under it but they are wont suddenly to re-appear Wherefore you must repeat the Antidotes that were first administred to you for the time of 16 18 20 or 24 hours according to circumstances and so long and often till you judge your sick Brothers or Friends Heart secured from the infectious Venom When the sweating is over thou must then refresh thy Patient first by drying him well and next by giving him a little Vinegar to taste in a spoon The Rich may afford some slices of Citron of which Theopompus Chius writeth that the Tyrant Clearchus Heracleota who lived in Pontus having poisoned many People the vertue of Citron was at length found out of which a slice being eaten proved an effectual Antidote against it The same vertue may be found in a slice of a common Apple and the Syrupus de Pomis is one of the Cordials of our shops But the thirst that uses to follow upon sweating will not be quenched with so small a matter wherefore take three parts of water one part of Vinegar and if the Patient be not too hot one part of Wine mixing some Sugar therewith and of this let him drink a good draught and it will cool and refresh him Besides take some of the guts of Hens and some slices of Radish sprinkle them with Vinegar and Salt and bind them to the soles of his feet this will draw away the heat But let not the Radish lye too long upon them because it will give a stink that may increase the head-ach wherewith the People that have the Plague are commonly troubled enough without provoking it Moreover you will do well to tye about his wrists some Rue beaten with Vinegar Anoint his Loyns and Back-bone with the Unguent of Roses or with fresh Butter but if there appear any Spots forbear to anoint him lest they should be driven in You will do well to have Epithemata of good things about you as of Rose-water and Elder-vinegar to lay over the Heart with which mix some Camphir But if you find any thing of Specks c. broke out you must use no wet thing Anoint his Heart with Oyl of Scorpions take the Oyl of Sea-blossoms and of those Earth-worms that appear after rain of each six ounces of St Johns-wort Oyl two ounces of fresh Elder-blossoms and Rue each a handful and an half of the Acetum of Marigold-flowers and Roses each about three ounces of live Spiders forty five Boil all these together till the Vinegar be so qualified that when 't is thrown into the fire it cause no cracking there Then strain it and in this strained Oyl put a matter of five and twenty Spiders more of the biggest sort and add to it of Camphir dissolved in the Spirit of Roses half a drachm let it stand in Balneo Mariae or upon hot embers for twelve hours and then put to it of Treacle and Mithridate of each half an ounce and let them work together With this Oyl anoint the eight Pulses viz. both Temples behind both Ears both Hands and both Knees as also the Heart And this is an excellent Succedaneum to Scorpion-oyl much used by the Germans Besides you must refresh and strengthen the Patient with convenient Meat and Drink I mean with good Flesh or Barley-broath with a little Vinegar in it to make it savoury to him who will have appetite too little else till he have shaken off this venomous Distemper which when he hath done his stomach will be so keen that you will find work enough to keep him from surfetting Be also careful to keep thy Patients Body open if he be obstructed use a Clister or take Butter or Hogs-grease mixing a little Salt with it or if it be to be gotten a little Mice-trickles and put it into his bowels Physick at the mouth for this purpose is not always safe When the Patient is discharged of the venom a little liquor of stew'd Prunes with some Senna-leaves in it will do well for opening the body Some fresh Butter eaten in the morning or melted in warm Broath and taken down is wont also to keep the body soluble The Drink of these Patients may be Water with some Bread soaked in it or take of such Water wherein Bread hath been soaked one quart and a little Vinegar with two or three spoonfuls of kitchin-Kitchin-sugar mingling it well together If you have no Sugar use such Water with Vinegar alone This affords good Drink in malignant Feavers Among the Romans it was drunk by the Souldiers under the name of Posca You may also take a handful of well cleaned Plantain-roots and boil them up in three quarts of Water and then decant the Water which though it be somewhat bitter yet 't is very good in Fevers and a good Drink in hot Distempers If you have Oyl of Vitriol let a few drops of it fall into clear Water mingling it well and you will have a factitious Sawer-brun or Acidulae But use no Metalline Vessel for this purpose With this kind of Water many People have been served in all sorts of Fevers the Oyl of Vitriol in such Distempers if rightly used being very beneficial But if a Man should have with it any Pulmonick Disease in that case he must forbear acid things and use Liquorice and content himself with Ptisane Nor is it at all good to use acids in Pestilential Pleurisies And since on this occasion we mention this case and we having above given warning not easily to blood in Pestilential Diseases yet may Venae-section be sometimes upon good consideration used in that Pleurisie provided it be done in the very beginning and the Patient be strong and full of blood Yet this is not to lessen the blood but only to give it vent but before bleeding the Patient is to sweat by taking some of the above specified Antidotes If the Patient have violent Head-ach lay on his head
Vine-leaves or fresh Cabbage-leaves and if you have no Alablaster-salve take two parts of Vinegar and one part of Oyl of Olives the Sea-blossoms Oyl and Elder-Vinegar were better dip long rags of linnen therein and having well squeez'd them again lay them luke-warm over the face and temples Even Vinegar alone is good Of such Applications you may make many of Acetum of Roses Elder-blossoms and the like with a little Camphir The expressed Milk of Peaches is also very effectual in this case If at the going off of this Distemper a hot defluxion should fall into the Eyes take Camphir and infuse it in water and often moisten the Eyes therewith and if it should be cold and windy weather you will do well to keep your self out of the open Air and not to let this water dry up in your Eyes in the cold wind In case of having lost thy hearing take of thy own Urine and with it wash thy Ears within but withall dry them very well because that moisture is very noxious to the Ears And it often happens that after the Hungarian Sickness People grow deaf or hard of hearing Others put the water of Carduus-benedictus distilled with Wine into the Ears or the Oyl of bitter Almonds If thy Throat swell or the Palate of thy Mouth be fallen down gargarize thy Throat with warm Milk wherein Figgs have been boil'd or sweetned with Sugar The Flowers of Phyllirea or Mock-privet which grows in the hedges boiled and used for a gargarism heals also a sore Throat The same doth the middle rind of Oxyacantha or Haw-thorn if boiled with a little Allom dissolved in the Decoction If you have the juyce of Mulberries mix a little honey of Roses with it and often take a little thereof The roots of Sloes boiled in red Wine and the Mouth often washed therewith is also very good If thou hast the Squinancy boil Scabious in Meath and drink thereof warm when strain'd Beat Turnips and fry them in Butter or Oyl and clap them in a cloth round about thy Neck If thou cast up blood take Mouse-ear Ground-ivy Cumfrey boil them in half Wine and half Water or in Meath and drink often of it But if the Plague reign not open first a Vein For a violent Cough boil white Turnips well cleansed in common water throw away this first water pour on other water and in it let the Turnips boil till they grow soft Strain this water sweeten it with Sugar or infuse in it Liquorice cut small and drink of it mornings and evenings warm Or make a Decoction of St Johns bread and drink it abstaining from all sour and salt things The bleeding at the Nose is also incident to persons infected which is no good sign though in sound persons it often frees from the Head-ach and cools the Liver If this bleeding be too violent clap Ice-cold water about the Patients Neck or let him put his Pudenda in cold Vinegar CHAP. V. Of the Inflammation of the Tongue its rise and concomitants together with the Remedies VVHen the Tongue is inflamed the whole Oesophagus or Weasand is inflamed also and this from beneath upward because the inward fire sends up its smoak all along as it were that chimney which like soot sticks to it drying and blackning the same But there is another Inflammation much more dangerous which taketh its rise about the Heart and therefore is call'd the Inflammation of the Heart which proceeds from the great inflammation of the orifice of the Stomach situate near the Heart in which is inserted the sixth pair of Nerves which maketh the said orifice very sensible of any pain This part being seized by so great an inflammation which is venomous withall it must in a manner harden and shrink and this heat is of that extent that the inner Membrane of the Stomach and that of the Tongue being one and the same what befalls the Stomach the Tongue must needs be sensible of it Whence it comes to pass that if the Gall overflows and passeth into the Stomach the Tongue presently finds the bitterness of it or if the Stomach be full of slime or foul or the like the Tongue is soon affected therewith There is another kind of Inflammation by the Latins called Prunella alba This is of the same kind with the rest but not of the same degree for 't is not of so dry a nature as the others are but commonly is moist yet overlays all the Gums the Throat and the Weasand with such a tough white slime like a kind of leather and so covers the Almonds with the same that sometimes it can hardly be removed even with Instruments The Tongue is as if it were crusted over with dough the Gums like an Oven that by the heat of fire is burnt white the Almonds cover'd as 't were with white leather and the Palate of the Mouth likewise And in this case if the Patient will speak he lalls and stutters his Tongue being burthen'd with a load of slime or if he make his Tongue wagg the slime spins out like a thred and so invades the Teeth as if they were laid over with varnish And when this varnish on the Teeth grows black as I have often observ'd it to do and drieth on them 't is a mortal sign of which Hippocrates saith Quibus in febribus livores circum dentes nascuntur his fortes fiunt febres 4. Aph. 53. These are the three sorts of Inflammation for which let us now seek out the Remedies beginning from the last the White This is not to be master'd by gargarisms alone but the hand must be employed also Take therefore Cotton-wool or Flax and wind it about a stick or rod and dip this in Vinegar and rake his Throat and Gums therewith yet taking care not to make it raw let him gargarise between and wash well his Mouth with Water and Vinegar or Mul-berry-juyce Privet that grows in the hedges or the middle rind of Hawthorn boiled in Water and a little Vinegar then strained with a little Sal-armoniack put into it is in this case an excellent gargarism but if there be blisters upon the Tongue or elsewhere then take instead of Sal-armoniack a little un-burnt Allom and mix it therewith If you can have the Juyce of Turnips or the Juyce of fresh House-leek dissolve therein also a little Sal-armoniack and use it to wet the stick wherewith thou cleansest the Throat of the Patient dipping it often therein and carrying it about the Uvula or Palate of the Mouth and you will see lumps come away as big as Pease The skin is under this Prunella alba fair and red but tender Whilst thou art cleansing the Patients Mouth let him often gargarise with the Waters above-specified and he will clear his Mouth of the loosen'd lumps If thou canst get Mulberry-juyce mixt with Honey of Roses the Mouth will heal the better for upon this sort of Inflammation there usually follows a Putrefaction of the
the broader kind of Plantain or in a Pulse of red Beans or Rice-broath the dose is half a dram But when the pain is very great you may then add to it some opiat Medicine as of the Trochisques de Garabe or one onely grain of Laudanum Opiatum And give the Patient now and then a little new-made Treacle or mix with it a few grains of the Confection of Archigenes for of such Medicaments a Field-Apotheque is not wont to be destitute For the Patients ordinary drink boil water and in it Coriander dried Sloes dried slices of Quinces burnt Hartshorn Mastic Nutmeg or any one of these putting to it some of the roots of Snake-weed Tormentil or such like adstringent roots Of this water the Patient may drink according as his necessity shall require The red Juyce of Quinces boiled up without Sugar is also much to be commended in this case for strengthening the bowels two or three spoonfuls of it being taken at a time and that twice a day In many places a drink is made of Sloes Pilosella or Mouse-ear and Juniper-berries infusing them all in common water and letting them ferment together This yields a pleasant acid drink allaying the violence of the Flux and quenching thirst withall The Rich may make Granat or Quince-wine But I have here undertaken to deliver such things as are parable and cheap for the poor common Souldier I am sorry that in the Field there is no conveniency of administring Clysters For though I prescribe none without great necessity yet Clysters being of great benefit in Diseases of the bowels they being to them like Plaisters I cannot but recommend in this Distemper Clysters of Milk wherein Pebble-stones have been several times quenched mixing a little of the melted suet of a Stag or Hind without any oyl or other fat I remember I had once a Patient of quality that had about an hundred stools within twenty four hours who by the use of such Clysters once or twice applied was fully restored The cause whereof is that the Milk washes the bowels and clears them of the sharp humors that annoy them moreover it is healing and repairing by reason of the Pebbles quenched therein The Sugar is abstersive and helps to clean the injured places The Far sticks to the parts annoyed to defend them from being further hurt by the subsequent humors which running down over it can find no stay there and consequently cause no more hurt to those parts Yet must you not put in any greasie Fat or any Oyl of Olives because they hinder healing and all Oyl except that of Linseed Poppies Hemp and Almonds is very sharp and you will find that if any drop of Oyl of Olives should chance to fall into your eye no Juyce of Orenges or Limons is so strong as to exceed the acrimony of that Oyl But of this Oyl more will be said in the next Chapter to which I therefore refer you If you would have your Clyster yet milder and more sanative you may beat a yolk or two of new-laid Eggs and mix them with it though I have contented my self with the Ingredients before mention'd and found great benefit thereby Else you may in this case use for a Clyster the Cremor hordei mixt with yolks of Eggs beaten in it which is also very good to wash out the bowels Here is no conveniency of making much use of Apothecary-shops else many things might be prescribed to lay upon the belly and the navil as also divers fermentations and stomachical unguents You may therefore content your self with those plain and easily parable means already deliver'd and be thankful to God for them But then you are also to think upon means to obviate Symptoms of this Distemper and particularly Drought which is wont very much to torment people in this Disease 'T is true Acid things do quench thirst but they cannot be used boldly and therefore you must use them with great discretion and wariness And as for sweet things they usually increase thirst and do easily corrupt and turn into gall Wherefore give to the Patient preserved Currans or if fresh ones be in season mix a quantity of them with Honey or Sugar and give him of it to eat upon white-Bread and Butter Or plump dried Black-cherries or dried Damascene-prunes in half Wine and half Water and let him hold and squeeze them in his mouth Or if you can mingle some Almond-milk with Chalybeat-water and let him drink thereof and this is both meat and drink Or let him drink water wherein Coriander and roots of Tormentil have been boiled Or boil in water dried slices of Quinces roots of Bistorta or Snake-weed and burnt Harts-horn put into it a tosted crust of Rye-bread rubb'd with Nutmeg but let it not lye in it above a quarter of an hour lest the water should thicken and become viscous Marmelat also of Quinces Black-cherries and Sloes is proper in this case giving the Patient a slice of it to hold upon his tongue and so to swallow it down Further you must learn how to remedy a Tenasmus which is more irksome to the Patient and occasions more trouble to the Physitian than the Bloody-flux it self since it night and day painfully provokes the poor Patient to go to stool and yet to no purpose For this I have used many remedies but found almost nothing more beneficial than Fomentations of this nature following Take Potentilla wild Tansie Silver-weed Knot-grass Mullein and Oak-leaves of each as much as you please put them into two linnen bags and let them boil in Smiths-water wherein much Iron hath been quenched Squeeze out these bags between two boards and let them be held alternately to the anus as hot as can be endured Black Pitch such as is found on Larch and Fir-trees put upon a heated fire-shovel and the fundament held over it is also a good remedy and so is Turpentine used after the same manner Again take a black well-burnt Brick out of the hearth heat it thoroughly and wet it with sharp Vinegar and wrap it about with a linnen cloth and let the Patient sit on it as hot as he can endure it This was the Experiment and Remedy of old Aetius but he reduced the Brick to powder and by boiling it in Vinegar reduced it to a pulse and so put it into a linnen rag and applied it to the fundament You may chuse which you please of the two Milk-Clysters such as above prescribed would also be good but that 't is not safe with Clyster-pipes to vex the anus which is already sore enough Yet you may give a Suppository of Deers-suet mixt with some Oyl of Mullein And the grey Diapompholox or the white Camphire-unguent or the like mixt with it would not be improper in this case If there be a Falling down of the fundament then let it often take in the fumes of the above-mention'd Herbs adding to them the beaten stalks of Sloe-shrubs and those of red Roses as
off the scurn When 't is boiled in put to it an ounce of Bolus Armenus an ounce and a half of Ceruse a quarter of an ounce of Camphir all finely powder'd stirring it well about lastly put it to a quart of sharp Vineger and boil all together to a stony consistence which reduce to powder and of it strew a little into the Ulcer or let some of it dissolve in a convenient liquor and wash the Ulcer therewith or dip some linnen raggs in it and lay it over the place 'T is also prepared this way Take green and white Vitriol of each a drachm of Lapis calaminaris Ceruse Bol Armeniac of each two ounces and a half of Sal Armoniac an ounce Beat them all to powder put them in an earthen pot mingle and stir them together in Vineger to be a thick pulse then put your pot upon a hot charcoal-fire to let it grow red hot so as that the matter be reduced to a stony consistence of which dissolve about half an ounce in half a pint of water dip linnen raggs into it and put it twice a day upon the Ulcer 'T is also very good for purulent Breasts I was speaking above of Lavements These you may prepare of all sorts of Wound-herbs by boiling Consound Bugle Fluellin Ground-ivy Yarrow Snake-weed Avens Arsmare you may also against putrefaction and the settling of purulent matter mix sometimes a little Myrrh or Aloes Epatica Frankincense Mastick quick Brimstone Camphir Niter Allum Vitriol or the like Nor is it need to bind your self to this or that precisely but you may take such of them as you can get I have a peculiar Ulcer-salve which I call Unguentum Decameron being made of ten sorts of Juices Of these the principal is the Juice of Persicaria Arsmart to which are added the Juices of Groundsel Tobacco Yarrow sharp-pointed Dock Cranes-bill broad and pointed Plantain Centory St. Johns-wort and Celondine These Juices must be well strained and then kept for some days in glasses or glased vessels to settle and then very gently pour off the clear from the sediment Which done boil them with fresh butter and some good Licorish newly scraped as also some Tormentil and Cumfrey adding a little red Hounds-tongue salve and Oyl of Myrrh and Deer-suet Let all be boiled together till the cracking cease and the Juice be boiled in Then strain it through a linnen cloth and add to it some Venice-Turpentine Gum Elemi and a little Bees-wax both the latter melted each a part Of the Wax there needs no more than to bring the Salve to a due consistence Then is this Unguent prepared to which may be added a little refined Verdigrease which will make it perfect It is of great efficacy in foul wounds for both cleansing and healing as experience will shew A Chirurgion in meeting with Ulcers is to observe well the purulent matter that issues since he may from thence learn the condition of the evil whether it proceed from foul blood gall corrupt phlegm or adust melancholy If the evil grow worse and the humors of the body force their way copiously thorow then beware and withall exhort the Patient to purge or to sweat with taking some Sassafrass or the like The Sanies or matter that is thick white and well digested is the best but when there runs but a sharp water out of the Ulcer this is not good and is withall painful Which to obviate you must use Litharge Cerusse and the like putting also beaten Lead upon the place and cleansing the fistulat holes with Lead-oyl qualifying its sharpness with Oyl of Eggs. This Lead-oyl is made two ways the one out of Cerusse which is green the other out of Litharge which is yellow or reddish Both are prepared with Vineger Boil Celondine in wine and with this wine you may also cleanse the Ulcer with good effect Mix afterwards a drachm of Verdigrease with about four ounces of the Juyce of Ground-Ivy use it with wiecks or raggs dipt therein for the foul Ulcer-holes Burn Oyster-shells to powder and use it for old Ulcers that need cleansing which this powder will well perform by reason of the Salt that is in those shells You may sometimes have occasion also of the Mercurius praecipitatus or the Mercurius dulcis Cosmeticus If you can prepare this you have a good Remedy As for hard Knobs and Boyls they commonly owing their rise to the Venereal Disease are not so proper for this place However you may make a plaister against such Knobs of the phlegm of Althaea or Marsh-mallows Gummi Ammoniac Galbanum Turpentine Myrrh Missel-toe of the oak mixing a little Bee-wax therewith and some Oyl of Earth-worms If you will have it stronger mix with it Gumm Elemi Tacamahaca or Carana But this can only be compassed by the rich men the poor must be content with the Melilot-plaister mixt with Saffron and the Oyl of Mullain or Dill. You may also prepare for such Patients a Salve of Fox-oyl Dill-oyl Turpentine Man-grease and the like mixing therewith some Oyl of Earth-worms and the Oyl of Mullain-flowers Camomil and white Lillies CHAP. IX Of the Chirurgical means of staunching blood of Wound-balsoms and plaisters of Wound-drinks and remedies for Burnings THis is the most necessary Chapter of this whole Tract For although in every Camp yea in every Regiment and even in every Company there ought to be one or more Chirurgions yet because in a battle or the storming of a strong-hold there may be wounded a very great number of men who by reason of the multitude cannot all be dressed by the Chirurgions every common Souldier that is found and un-hurt is obliged to assist his fellow considering it may soon be his own case In the first place then refresh thy fellow that is wounded with wine cold water vineger or the like then place him in a right posture For if the wounds be in the head or about the breast you ought to lay him high with his head and shoulders that so the blood may sink down from the places wounded If his legg be hurt put it so that it may not hang downwards and thereby the afflux from the body be prevented which otherwise might cause a tumour If the wounds be in the middle of the body then place him so that if possible he may lye somewhat hollow with his back This done wash the wound very gently so as not to anger it with meer wine or even with pure common water only with a very little salt cast into it or with the Patients own urine and then dry it with lint of long-worn linnen without much stirring in the wound for fear of making the veins bleed again If any one do bleed so copiously that it is not easily stopp'd and the Patient is in danger then receive of his blood in an Iron pan and letting it run about therein hold it over the fire till it be dry and between your fingers friable to powder of which strew