The Washington times., 1901-07-21
QUAINT MEDICAL RECIPES.
Heroic Treatment for Ills Admin
istered In 1S47.
An Odd Collection of Remedies Corn
piled by John wesley-Honey .
Cure for Baldness-Apple Juice
Snid to BE Good for Weak Eyes.

|
piled by John wesIey-Honey .
Cure for Baldness-Apple juice
Said to BE Good for Weak Eyes.
In these days of hygienic reform, and
methods" of treating disease without
medicine at ALL 1t is interesting to read Of
the heroic treatment of $50 years ago. A
| volume, printed by Parry Hall. Chestnut
Street, Philadelphia. in 1747, and compiled
| by John Wesley Is a curious mixture Of
material remedies and religious exhorta-
| ton. There are few copies of the book In
| existence. but one unearthed recently was
| the occasion of much amusement at a con-
| Vention of physicians. The book Is sub
stantiaily bound in leather and the few
| Illustration are primitive as the rem
| edies
| The preface deals with the reason d'etre
Of the work. incidentally recalling how:
| Man was sent from the hands of God
perfect. needing no physic; but, rebeliing
against the sovereignty of ALL the seeds of
pain and sickness were lodged in the
| body. and thousand disorders, increased
by everything around us. The sun and
moon shed unwholesome influences from
above: the earth exhales poisonous damps
from below; the air itself that surrounds
|
the food we eat daily saps the founda-,
! tions of life"
The preface further states:
As to the manner of using the reme-
dies here set down, / should advise. as
soon as you know your disorder (Which
is easy unless in case of complica tion Of
disorders, and then you would do well to
apply to a physician who fears Cod:
First. use the medicines first advised for
that disease; the second. il that is of none
eHect; the third, and SO on. To perse-
we're in the course is often more than half
the cure. Above all, add to the rest 0or
1t Is not labor losD that old-fashioned
medicine, prayer and faith in Cod
A postscript to the preface is addressed
to the members of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church and signed by Thomas Coke
and Frances Asbury. introducing the
work to American brethren. 1t begins:
Friends and Brethren: The great inter-
est of your souls will be ever near our
hearts, but We cannot be unmindful of
your bodies"
The work proper is entitled. "A Collec-
>tion 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 a fit is added the
wholesome advice. nothing tends more
10 prolong an ague than indulgence in
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 a little
before the next, the other three. IL need
be. before the other fit"
ParputhetiCalIv
gentle hints for tender persons and the
studious." Tender persons should con-
stantiy go to bed at and rise at or 5.
studious people should frequently bathe
and frequently wash their feet"
Tar water Is q standard remedy in the
great John Wesley's family medicine
book He gives the formula for making
it:
Put gallon of water (cold) on a quart
OF Norway tar. stir them together with-a
nat stick for three days. pour the water
on clear, bottle. cork. For ST. Anthony's
fire take wineglassful every hour"
There is no mention made of fly time in
this pungent remedy for badness: Rub
the part night and morning with a raw
onion until red; rub afterward with hon.
ey. Or. electrify daily
Children, says this wise book.
should go bareheaded and barefooted un-
til they are three years old at least. A
child should be weaned at seven months
ana should lie in a cradle at least
year"
The various beauty doctors who oct
the women crazy trying to follow their
should include the following
heroic receipt in their collection: wash
the hands with flour of mustard. for
chopt hands,"
There are various remedies for con-
sumption. After recommending the cold
bath, Mr.. Wesley says:
Take no food but new buttermilk.
churned in a 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 | have
known deep consumptive cured this
way"
He further states: Mr. Mathers. of
Evesham. was so far gone In consumption
that he could not stand alone. Dr. Do
yer (of the celebrated Dover's POWDER,
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
be was we'll"
In these days of the grippe here is one
that might be tried. Il earnestly desire
Every one who has any regard for his
health to chew, Immediately cough ap-
pears, the quantity of a peppercorn of
Peruvian bark. Swallow the juice as long
IS it tastes bitter. then spit out the
wood. 1t seldom fails to cure a dry
;ough.''
For dull sight: Drop in two or three
lrops of the juice of rotten apples often
This does not sound unreasonable as
osemary forms an ingredient in many
lair restoratives: ITO make the hair
,row, wash every night in a strong de-
oction of rosemary"
For hoarseness: Rub the soIes of the
eet before the fire with garlic and lard,
'ell beaten together"
For the sting of q bee a nettle, there
5 the homeopathic remedy of honey for
ne. and the juice of the nettle for the
ther
Here is a poultice that should stick:
For stitch in the side: Apply treacle
n toast (hoO."
After again recommending his collec-
on of recipes, Mr.. Wesley forcibly adds:
But | still advise, in complicated cases,
t every one apply without delay to
hysician that fears God. For from one
no does not. be his fame ever so great
should expect a curse rather than
essing. KANSAS City Star.
American Locomotives Abroad.
(From the Worlds Work.
The English have been severely criti-
sing American locomotives because they
'nsume more fuel and for other reasons