The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-10-21
JOHN WESLEY'S REMEDIES.

Treatment of Human Ills One Hundred
 and Fifty Years ago.
 In these days of hygienic reform and methods of treating disease without medicine at all, it is interesting to read of the heroic treatment of l50 years ago A volume printed by Parry Hall, Chestnut street, Philadelphia, in 1747, and compiled by John Wesley, is a cu- rlous mixture of material remedies and religious exhortation. There are few copies of the book in existence, but one unearthed recently was the occasion of much amusement at convention of physicians. The book is substantially bound in leather, and the few illuslra- tons are as primitive as the remedies The preface deals with the raison d'etre of the work, incidentally recall ing how:
 Man was sent from the hands of God perfect, needing no physic, but rebelling against the Sovereign of all the seeds of pain and sickness were lodged in the body, and thousand dis orders. increased by everything around us. The sun and moon shed unwhole- some influences from above; the earth exhales poisonous damps from below; the air itself that surrounds us is re- plete with the shafts of death; yea, the food we eat daily saps the foundations of life" ta
 The preface further states: at
 'As to the manner of using the reme- dies here set down l should advise as soon as you know your disorder (which is easy unless in case of complication of disorders, and then you will do well to apply to physician who fears God: First. use the medicines first advised for that disease; tbe second if that Is of none ecect; the third. and son on. To persevere in the course Is often more than half the cure. Above all add to the rest (for 1t is not labor lost that old fashioned medicine prayer and faith in God
 A postscript to the preface is ad- dressed to the members of the Method- ist Episcopal church and signed by Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury in- troducing the work to American breth- ren. It begins: Friends and Brethren -The great interest of your souls will be ever near our hearts. but we cannot be unmindful of your bodies
 The work proper is entitled "A Col lection of Receipts" and recites in al- phabetical order the disorders or 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: "Nothinr tends more to prolng ague than an indulgence in a lazy indolent disposition." Another remedy for ague is to apply to the stomach a large onion. split" Still another is. Make six mddline pills of cobwebs Take one before the cold fit, two little be- fore the next. the other three, if need be, before the other fit
 Parenthetically are introduced some gentle hints for tender persons and "tbe studious." "Tender persons should constantly go to bed at and rise at or E. Studious people should frequently bathe and frequently wash their feet.
 Tar water is standard remedy in the Great John Wesley's family medi- cine book. He gives the formula for making It.
 "Put a gallon of water (cold) on a ouart of Norway tar, stir them togeth- ar with flat stick for five minutes. After it has stood for three days pour the water off clear bottle, cork. For St Anthony's fire take a. wineglassful every hour"
 There is no mention made of fly time in this pungent remedy for badness: Rub the part night and morning with raw onion until red; rub afterward with honey. Tried. Or, electrify daily.
 How does modern hydropathy com mare with this instance: Miss Bates of Ieicestershire bathed daily, using the cold bath for am onth. and drink ing only water. This cured her of can cer in the breast, a consumption and sciatic rheumatism,
 "Children." says the wise book should go bareheaded and barefooted until they are three years old at least child should be weaned at seven months and should lie in a cradle at least a year.
 The various beauty doctors who set the women crazy trying to follow their directions, should include the fol- lowing heroic recipe in their collection: Wash the hands "ltA hout oA uasIaAu u for chopt hands.
 There are various remedies for con- sumption. After recommending the cold bath MT Wesley says:
 Take no food but new buttermilk. churned in a bottle, and white bread On every morning cut up little turf of fresh earth. and lying down breathe into the hole for quarter of an hour. have known a deep consumptive cured this way"
 He further states: "Mr. Mathers of Evesham was so far gone with con- sumption that he could not stand alone. Dr. Dover (of the celebrated Dover's powder) advised him to lose six ounces of blood daily for a fortnight-if he liv-