The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-09-24
OLD TINE REMEDIES.
CRUDE MEDICAL METHODS OF THE
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

The Rev. John Wesley's "COl1ection
of Receipts" For the Treatment of
the Ills and Aches of Humanity.
Bleeding a COnsumptive.
In these days of hygienic reform and
methods" of treating disease without
medicine at all it is interesting to read
volume printed by Parry Hall, Chestnut
street, Philadelphia, in 1747 and compil-
ed by John Wesley. 1t is a curious mix
ture of material remedies and religious
exhortation. There are a few copies of
the book in existence, but one unearthed
recently was the occasion of much amuse-
ment at a convention of physicians. The
book is substantially bound in leather,
and the few illustrations are as primitive
as the remedies.
The preface deals with the raison
d'etre of the work, incidentally recalling
how "1nan was sent from the hands of
God perfect, needing no physic; but, re-
belling against the sovereign of all, the
seeds of pain and sickness were lodged
in the body and a thousand disorders,
increased by everything around US. The
sun and moon shed unwholesome infiu-
ences from above; the earth exhales poi
sonous damps from below; the air itself
that surrounds US is replete with the
shafts of death; yea, the food we eat
daily saps the foundations of life"
| The preface further states: AS to the
manner of using the remedies here set
down, l should advise, as soon as you
know your disorder (which is easy unless
| in a case of complication of disorders,
~ do xroll 70 cnnlU tn q
/ physician who fears God: First, use the
medicines first advised for that disease;
the second, if that is of none effect; the
third, and so on. To persevere In the
course is often more than half the cure.
Above all, add to the rest flor it is not
labor LOST that old fashioned medicine,
prayer and faith in God"
A postscript to the preface is addressed
to the members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church and signed by Thomas Coke
and Francis Asbury, introducing the
work to American brethren. 1t begins:
Friends and brethren, the great inter
est of your souls will ever be near our
| hearts, but we cannot be unmindful of
your bodies"
The work proper is entitled "a Collec-
ton of Receipts" and recites in alphabet
ical order the disorders" of that time
and their remedies. In the AS are list
of panaceas against ague. To go into
a cold bath just before fit is added the
wholesome advice, Nothing tends more
to prolongue an ague than indulgence in
| a lazy, indolent disposition" Another
remedy for ague is to "apply to the stom-
ach large onion, split" Still another is:
Make six middling pills of cobwebs
Take one before the cold fit, two little
before the next, the other three, if need
be, before the other fit"
Parenthetically are introduced some
gentle hints for 'tender persons" and
''the studious." "Tender persons should
constantly go to bed at 8 and rise at or
5. Studious people should frequently
battle and frequently wash their feet"
! Tar water is a standard remedy in the
great John Wesley's family medicine
book. He gives the formula for making
it: "Put gallon Of water (coldD on a
quart of Norway tar, stir them together
with a fat stick for five minutes. After
it has stood for three days pour the wa
ter off clear; bottle, cork. For st. An
thongs fire take a wineglassful every
hour"
| There is no mention made Of fytime in
| this pungent remedy for badness: Rub
the part night and morning with raw
onion until red; rub afterward with hon.
ey. Tried. Or electrify daily"
How does modern hydropathy compare
with this instance: Miss Bates of Leices-
tershire bathed daily, using the cold bath
for a month and drinking only water.
This cured her of a cancer In the breast,
a consumption and sciatic rheumatism. !"
| There are various remedies for con-
sumption. After recommending the cold
bath Mr.. Wesley says: Take no food
but new buttermilk churned in bottle
and white bread On every morning cut
up a little turf of fresh earth and, lying
down, breathe into the hole for quarter
Of an hour. l have known deep con-
sumptive cured this way"
He further states: "Mr. Mathers of
Evesham was so far gone in consump-
ton that he could not stand alone. DR..
Dover (of the celebrated Dover's pow
DER advised him to lose six ounces of
blood daily for a fortnight-if he lived
that long-and then every other day,
then every third day, and so on. In three
months he was well"
"For dull sight: Drop in two or three
drops of the Juice of rotten apples often"
This one does not sound unreasonable,
as rosemary forms an ingredient in many
hair restoratives: ITO make the hair
grow wash every night in strong decoc-
ton of rosemary"
"For hoarseness: Rub the soles of the
feet before the fire with garlic and lard,
well beaten together"
"For the lilac Passion (colic): Hold
live puppy constantly on the breast; or,
take, ounce by ounce, pound or pound
and a half of quicksilver"
To prevent wrinkles and insure long
life: Take tar water night and morn
ing, or decoction Of nettles (either of
these will renew the youthful strength
for some years., or be electrified daily,
or chew cinnamon daily"
For the sting of bee or a nettle there
is the homeopathic remedy of honey for
one and the juice of the nettle for the
other.
Here is a poultice that should stick;
"For a stitch in the side apply treacle
on toast (hot)."
An extraordinary disease called ''twist-
ing of the CUTS" has an extraordinary
remedy: "Many at the point of death
have been cured by taking, ounce by
ounce, one, two or three pounds of quick
silver"
After again recommending his coIlec-
ton of recipes Mr.. Wesley forcibly adds:
"But still advise, in complicated cases,
let every one apply without delay to
physician that fears God For from one
who does not be his name ever so great,
/ should expect a curse rather than
blessing. "-Kansas City Star.
---
Grants Name.
Not many Americans know that Hiram
q. Grant was the eighteenth president
II.a;4aI Xot L ic A.l1a fnr