CHAPTER I. Of Water in generall.

ALbeit my maine scope in this following dis­course, be concerning Tunbridg water, yet will it not be altoge­ther fruitlesse, or vnpleasant, I hope, to the Reader, if I say something, as it were by way of Preface, touch­ing water in generall. Water is a substance so absolutely necessary, that no living creature can subsist without the benefit of it, nor no [Page 2] tree bring forth its leaues and fruit, nor any plant its seede, if they be de­prived of that vivificall moisture, which maketh them all to grow and prosper. That this is true, you may obserue it in Summer, for if Raine be wanting but a few weekes, how hinderly be all things? How doe all plants wither in that seasō, when they should chiefly flourish? For this cause perhaps it was, that Hesi­odus thought water to be the most ancient of all the elements. Of this opinion also was Thales Milesius one of the seaven wise Grecians, who made water the sole principle of all things. Empedocles likewise jumping with them, sayd that all things were made of water; and Hippon inLib. 1. c 2. de anima. Aristotle termes the soule water. Hippocrates goeth not so farre, but yet he calleth water and fire the two principles of life. True it is, that by water Hippon doth vnderstand our seede, and Hippocrates our ra­dicall [Page 3] moisture. The Latins vpon the Etymologie of the word Aqua, water, doe derive it from à et qua, quasi à qua vivimus, vel à qua omnia fiunt, by which we liue, or out of which all things are made. Others will haue it quasi aequa, because there is nothing more equall and smooth then water, when it is not tossed with the winde. ButExercit. 745. Iulius Caesar Scaliger disliketh these Etymolo­gies, and will deriue aqua from the obsolete Greeke word [...], which anciently did signifie water. This E­lement seemeth to challenge a kinde of rule and dominion over the rest, for it easily transmuteth ayre into it selfe, extinguisheth fire, and devou­reth earth. And to goe no higher, then our grand-fathers memory, nor farther then our neighbours, the Ocean Sea swallowed vp aboue one hundred thousand Acres of ground at one clap in Holland. Nay it aspi­reth even vnto the heavens, and [Page 4] which is strange, it doth not onely get vp thither in it selfe alone, but carrieth with it whole sholes of fi­shes, heapes of stones, and divers o­ther heavy substances, which after­wards fall down with it. Most crea­tures liue without fire, without wa­ter none; & with water onely, with­out any other sustenance, aCael. Rhod. Lib. 13. c. 23 Spanish mayden is reported to haue lived a long time; and Albertus writeth of a Melancholy man, who by the space of seven weekes lived with water onely, one draught of which he tooke but every other day. The d. Lord Verulam also hath produced his opinion of late, and holdeth that Trees and Plants liue and are nouri­shed meerely by water, and that the earth is as it were, but a Stabilimen­tum vnto them, to keepe them stea­die, and from being beaten downe by the winde. Hee proveth it by Rose bushes, which being put into water, without any earth, & kept vp­right [Page 5] in the same, not onely brought forth leaues, but faire Roses also, And thePsal. 1. royall Prophet sayth, that a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringeth forth his fruit in due season. Much more might be sayd concer­ning water, but because I intend to be briefe, let this suffice.

CHAPTER II. Of the differences of water.

IN the Creation God sayd,Gen. 1.4, 5. let there be a firmament in the middest of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And GOD made the firmament, and divided the waters, which were vnder the firma­ment, from the waters, which were a­boue the firmamēt. Psal. 29.10. And David saith, that the Lord sitteth vpon the flood, that is vpon the Orbe of the waters; and where he exciteth the creatures [Page 6] to laude the Lord, he speaketh thus, Psal. 148. v. 4 Praise him ye heavens of heavens, and the waters that be aboue the heavens. Those waters are likened in another place to aEzech. 1.24. terrible chrystall, and sayd to be, as it were,Exod. 24.10. a paved worke of Saphir stone. Rabbi Levi Ben Iarehij in Gen. c. 1. And some go so farre, as to define the place and seate of those waters, and say, that they are as much aboue the primum mobile, as the primum mobile is aboue the elementary waters, but whether they ever were there to take the iust distance, I doe not know. That there should be water aboue the firma­ment, many men thinke it strange, and yet the deluge, besides the ex­presse word of God, proved it to be true. For if all the water of all the Seas, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, & Foun­taines in the world, had been drawn vp into the heavens, in like manner, as we doe in distillations, yet would not their quantitie haue increased, but there would haue returned back [Page 7] againe, by raine, no more, then was ascended vp, nor so much neither perhaps, because though you be ne­ver so carefull in your distillations, and vse Glasse vessels neuer so well luted, yet will you still receiue some losse; and so the flood had not gone fifteene cubits aboue the highest mountaines. But why this should be stranger, then all the rest of the wonderfull works of God, there is no reason. The massie and heavy Globe of the earth and water stand­eth, as it were, in aequilibrio in the center of the world, suspended by the omnipotencie of God. Nay all his workes are vniversally so admi­rable, that there is no lesse wonder in the smalest Gnat, then in the big­gest Elephant, in the least weede, that creepeth vpon the ground, then in the tallest Cedar. But of those waters, which are aboue the firma­ment, and of those, which were ga­thered together vnder the firma­ment, [Page 8] namely the Seas, wee speake here but by the way, though con­cerning the Seas divers curious and pleasant questions might bee hand­led, as touching the saltnesse of it, the ebbing and flowing of the same, why it can endure no impure things, and the like. These things I say, might bring some delight to the Reader, but they are beyond our scope, and therefore I will onely speake briefly of those waters, which are potable, and in common vse a­mongst vs, either for dyet or Phy­sicke.

They are commonly divided in­to Fountaine-water, River-water, Well-water, raine-water and pond-water. The preheminence thereof is commonly given to Spring-water, but in generall that water is accoun­ted best and wholesomest for dyet, which is pure, and without any tast, but such as water should haue. For most water retaineth some savour of [Page 9] the ground through which it run­neth, and albeit to those, who doe not vse to drinke water, it be imper­ceptible, yet divers of those, who drink nothing but water, will as easi­ly perceiue a difference betwixt wa­ter and water, as wee doe betwixt beere and beere, or wine and wine. The best water also is lightest, but that lightnesse is not to be conside­red by waight (for snow-water is most light, and yet vnwholesome) but by the thinnesse of the parts thereof, and by the speedy heating and cooling of the same, as Hippo­crates well observeth. Let this suf­fice to haue beene briefly touched concerning the differences of waters in generall, and let vs now say some­thing with like brevitie concerning the originall of Springs and Rivers.

CHAPTER III. Of the originall of Springs and Rivers.

IT is a common received opinion, derived from Aristotle, that the generation of water proceedeth from ayre condensated into the same, in the bowels of the earth, and distilling, as water doth with vs from a Limbicke. But it is hard to imagine how the nature of ayre should bee so speedily corrupted, and turned into water, and in that quantitie too, that should maintaine the continuall course of so many Springs, and so great a number of Rivers as are in the world, divers of which are of such vastnesse, and of so swift a course, that a man might justly thinke, that the whole element of ayre, which in its owne nature is [Page 11] but very thinne, should scarcely suf­fice to maintaine the course of that aboundance of water one only day. And as for the reason they alledge, that ayre is retained within the con­cavities and porosities of the earth, ad vitandum vacuum, which nature doth abhorre, and afterwards is converted into water, it is but a very weake one; For those concavities are still full of ayre, as well else-where, as where Springs and Rivers doe flow. But if the transmutation of ayre into water, were the only cause of the flowing of all Springs and Ri­vers, surely their streams must needs be but narrow, & their course slow, and of small continuance. Besides, if this were true, how could the Sea, thinke you, containe that excessiue aboundance of water, which perpe­tually runneth into the same? The ancient opinion then is the truer, that all fountaines and rivers come from the Sea, and are transcolated [Page 12] through the veines and porosities of the earth, where in their passage they leaue their saltnesse. Plato Aristotles Master was of this opinion, and be­fore him Thales Milesius; as also In Libro de mundi opificio. Philo, Lib. 3. c. 9. Nat. quaest. Seneca, andLib. 1. de ortu subter­ran. Georgius Agricola, which without question they had learned from the He­brewes. For thus speaketh the Prea­cher,Eccles. 1. All the Rivers runne into the Sea, yet the Sea is not full, vnto the place from whence the Rivers come, thither they returne againe. This is a most cleare and expresse text, and which alone shall suffice to proue this point, especially seeing the rule and law of Nature doth suffragate vnto the same; For wheresoever there is a repletion, there must needs an e­vacuation bee. But some perhaps may say, wee see indeed all Rivers runne into the Sea, but we doe not see how they come from it. True, but when wee see that for all the a­bundance of water, which runneth [Page 13] continually into the Seas, the same are not increased thereby, but re­maine still the same, we must needs imagine that they disburthen them­selues some where. For otherwise, the waters had long agoe over­whelmed the world, and reached vp even vnto heaven, seeing that theGen. 7. Flood, caused bin by raine of for­ty dayes, ascended fifteene cubits a­boue the highest mountaines. Be­sides our very senses may perswade vs, that the originall of Springs and Rivers is from the Sea; for divers Springs of fresh water are in sundry places, which seeme to sympathize with the Sea, and to imitate the mo­tion thereof by a kind of ebullition. And which is strange, and yet a thing avouched by divers good Au­thors, those things which were cast into the River of Alpheus in Gre­cia, were afterwards found in the fountaine called Arethusa, neere Sy­racusa in Sicilie, though there bee a [Page 14] great distance of Sea and land be­twixt them, which gaue occasion to the ancient Poets (who did vse to involue all the secrets of nature in their fables) to faine that Alpheus and Arethusa were a couple of lo­vers, which were transformed, the one into a River, and the other in­to a fountaine, and of them speakethLib. 5. Me­tam. Ovid, saying

But whereas I said before, that for all the water, which runneth in­to the Seas, they remaine still the same, I would not be mistaken, for I know that the Seas haue somtimes gone beyond their ordinary bounds and limits, but it hath beene when [Page 15] they were, as it were commanded so to doe by their Creator for the pu­nishment of mens wickednesse, or whensoever men haue gone about to alter the naturall seate and state of the same, and the ordinary course of Rivers.

Of Gods judgements there are di­verse examples, asLib 2. Of Polybius that excel­lent Greeke Authour, whose works I lately fini­shed to trā ­slate into English, my translation being rea­die for the Presse, if it can finde any roome there. And as for Polybius, I dare boldly say here by the way, that there is not any better or more ne­cessary Author extant in his kinde, especially for three sorts of men, Princes, Statesmen, and Souldiers. And whereas the Emperour Charles the fift was wont to say, that there were but three Bookes necessary for a Prince, Polybius for Warres, Machiavell for State-matters and policie, and Castiglio for be­haviour, if he aymed at a compendium he might very well haue left out the second, seeing for State-matters and honest policy, enough of it may be found in Polybius, who for judgement, sufficiencie, vertue, and honestie (though but an Heathen) went farre beyond Ma­ch [...]vell; [...]nd f [...] more [...] [...]loy­ [...]t & ex [...]ce, ha­ [...]ing beene in great pla­ [...]s [...]f au [...]hori [...]ie, both in c [...]vill and marshall af­fa [...]res, and fam [...]l [...]rly acqua [...]nted wi [...]h that great Ro­mane Sci­pio [...]frica­nus. & with Caius Laelius. Whereas Machiavell was but a pettie Secretarie or Towne-Clarke o [...] th [...] Citie of Florence, growne famous onely through the wicked Maximes and Positions contained in his writings, and especially in his Prince, where he setteth forth that Mon­ster [...]f Men, Caesar Borgia, bastard-sonne to the like father, A­lexander the sixt Pope of Rome, as a patterne to be imitated by such, as desir [...] to get rule and dominion to themselues. And it seemeth by a passage of the seventh Chapter of his Prince, that he was acquainted with him, and perhaps a Counsellor of his in his murders, po [...]son [...]ngs, and other devilish exploits. But Po­lybi [...] [...] farre from doing the like, that there are infinite di­gr [...]s [...]ion [...] in his workes, in which he reprehendeth the vicious act [...]ons of men more sharply, then some other Authors, which profe [...] themselues Christians. Olenus & Helice, two of the 12. Cities which made the Common-wealth of the Achae­ans, which a little before the battell of Leuctra were drowned by the sea. Antissa, Tindaric, Burrha had the like fortune also, being swallowed vp by the Sea, together with all their Inhabitants. And that it might the [Page 16] better appeare that the finger of God was in it, all such, as thought to haue escaped by shipping, peri­shed as well as the rest, being drow­ned & overwhelmed by the waues. And of those who haue endevoured to contract and pin vp the Sea into narrower limits, by wrlls, dikes, and other workes, diverse of them haue often sustained great dammage by the same; as for example, the Hol­landers, who, as we said before, lost aboue 100000. acres of ground by such meanes, which the Sea, after the overthrow of all their dikes and [Page 17] strong workes, tooke away from them, as it were by Letters of repri­salls. This were enough to teach men that it is but in vaine to goe a­gainst the order established by God, and the ordinary course of Nature; yet it is worth the noting also, and a thing not to be considered without admiration, that all those Princes, who purposed to cut the Isthmus of Peloponesus, which is a necke of land betwixt two Seas, containing accor­ding to Mercator in his Atlas Ma­jor, some fiue miles in breadth, dyed all before the worke was begun, as Caligula, C. Caesar, Demetrius, Nero, and Domitianus.

CHAPTER IIII. Of waters of strange nature and effects.

ALL Springs of Waters are actually, either hot or cold. Of those hot Springs some [Page 18] are of so excessiue heate, that a man would thinke it were water boyling vpon the fire; and amongst other there is a veine of it running vnder a streete in a village called Porcet neere the City of Akin in Germanie. In the middle of this streete there is a hole, which they call Hell, with three or foure barres of yrō over it, in which the neighbours round about, in the Sommer time, when they haue no fire, doe vse to seeth their egges, letting them downe with a Net into the water, and in a small space of time they may be boyled hard; of which I was twice an eye-witnesse, being there first in the yeare 1610. after the siege of Gulick, and the yeel­ding of the Towne to the States, with that braue Souldier, Sir Horace Vere, now Lord of Tilbury, & the se­cond time with that worthy Knight, Sir Henry Palmer, now Controller of the Navie. The cause of those hot Waters is commonly ascribed to [Page 19] Mines of Sulphur or brimstone in­flamed within the bowells of the earth. But few of those hot waters, as at Akin, Porcet, in the Pyrenean Mountaines, at Bathe in Sommerset­shire, and elsewhere, haue any great or extraordinary taste of brimstone, as they should of necessitie haue, if brimstone melted and burning were the cause of their heate, that minerall being of so piercing a nature, and of so entensiue a facultie, that never so little of it burning vpō a few coales, when our women dry their tiffanies, filleth a whole room with the strong sent of it. Besides, such a great quan­titie of water running continually, and so many yeares and ages toge­ther, had long since extinguished those fires; or if there were such flames within the bowells of the earth, the same would long agoe dryed vp the water, and reduced the earth into ashes. Another reason there is, that you shall finde no hot [Page 20] Springs where fires doe breake our, and albeit the hill Vesuvius & Mount Aetna burne continually, yet are there no hot Springs about them, though they be environed by the Sea. And for all the late wonderfull and extraordinary eruption of fire out of the said hill Vesuvius, or Monte de Soma, as they call it now; which hath beene so violent, that the hou­ses of Naples, which are eight or as others say twelue miles from the same, were all covered very thicke with the ashes thereof, yet doe they not write that the water which gu­shed out at the foote of the said hill was hot.

Besides, albeit there be many hot waters in Italie (for those that haue written of them, reckon few lesse than threescore) yet shall you see no where a mixture of fire and water in those parts. Which makes me thinke with some, that the cause of the heate of those waters proceedeth [Page 21] from their motion and agitation in the bowels of the earth, falling from Cataracts and broken Concavities in the same.

That this may be true, it may be proved by the Sea, for though it be actually cold, yet if it be tos­sed by a Tempest but of three or foure dayes (and it is seldome that a storme lasteth longer) the wa­ter thereof will sometimes become very hot. Besides, we haue many very sulphurous Springs, which are never but cold; as for example, one of the foure Springs vsed at the Spa called Geronster, which tasteth so strong of the brimstone (as my selfe can speake by experience) that di­verse of those, who drinke of it, are constrained to hold their noses whi­lest they are a drinking, and the Sul­phurous fumes of it are so piercing, that they doe speedily intoxicate the braine, and cause drunkennesse, though it be but for a little time, [Page 22] being soone discussed away.Since the writing of this Trea­tise, & when I was come to London about the Printing of it, I lighted by chance vpon D^r. Iordans lear­ned & ela­borate Dis­corse of Naturall Bathes and Minerall wa­ters; where­in he hath a peculiar o­pinion con­cerning the actuall heat of Minerall Water, w^ch he ascribeth to the fer­mentation of Mineralls, and illustrateth the same with reasons and examples. I am so farre from disliking it, that I applaud it, and leaue both his and mine opinion to the choice of the Rea­der, for in those abstruse things we haue no certaine knowledge, but onely probable conjectures. Howsoever, the least proba­ble of these two opinions is farre more likely, then those imagi­nary actuall fires, which the vulgar opinion holdeth.

Now for the other Springs, which are actually cold, there are sundry differences of them, according to the severall substances they doe run through, and the nature and effects of some of them are very admirable. Some doe turne into stone whatsoe­ver is cast into them, especially if the things cast in be or a loose and porous substance, as leather, balls, gloues, and such like; and Plinie and others describe diverse Springs of that na­ture.

But not to goe out of this Island for examples, there is a Spring of that nature in Wales in a peece of ground belonging to Sir Thomas Middleton. And the quicke activi­tie of some of those Springs is won­derfull, [Page 23] and almost incredible; for Bodinus dothLib. 2. The. at. Nat. affirme, that, he hath seene stickes of wood, strawes, and such like small things converted in­to stone in Lacu Piceno et Alliensi fon­te Avernorum, within the space of two or three houres. So that Plinies assertion, whoLib. 35. c. 13. saith, that earth is turned into stone in a fountaine of Gnidus within the space of eight moneths, is no more to be wondred at. The same Author, namely, Pli­nie, Li. 31. c 2. maketh mention of two foun­taines, the one called Cerone, which maketh the sheepe, that drinke of it, to beare blacke wooll, and the other Melan, which maketh the wooll of the sheepe, which drinke of it white, and if they drinke of both, their wooll will become of two colours; And of another called Crathis, which procureth whitnesse, and of a fourth called Sibaris, which causeth black­nesse in the sheepe and Oxen, which drinke of the same. Nay, the same [Page 24] effect is seene also in men, which drinke of them, for those that drinke of Sibaris, become blacker, harder, and of a curled haire, and such as drinke of Crathis waxe whiter, sof­ter, and of a smooth haire. He brin­geth in also other Waters, which haue the like effect in changing the colour of such as vse them. He saith likewise, that there are two Springs in Baeotia, neere the river of Orchome­nus, whereof the one strengtheneth memorie, and the other causes ob­livion. A fountaine in Arcadia cal­led Linus preserveth conception and hindreth aborsement, and on the o­ther side, the river called Amphrisus maketh women barren. Cydnus, a ri­ver of Cilicia helpeth the Gowt in the feete, as appeareth by the Epistle of Cassius Parmensis to Marcus Antho­nius; and contrariwise by the vse of the Water, which is in Traezenen, all men get the Gowt in their feete. All such as drinke of a lake called [Page 25] Clitorius, beginne thereby to hate wine. Polyclytus relateth, that the water of a fountaine in Cilicia ser­veth in steade of Oyle; And Theo­phrastus, that the like is done by the water of a Spring in Aethiopia; and Lycus, that the water of a fountaine in India burneth in a Lampe. The like is also at Ecbatana. Iuba speaketh of a Lake amongst the Troglodytes, which for the hurt it doth, is called the mad-lake, and saith that it is bit­ter and salt thrice in a day, and then fresh, and so againe at night. The same Author also maketh mention of a Spring in Arabia, which bub­bleth vp with such force, that it ca­steth forth whatsoever is throwne into it, though it be never so waigh­tie. There are two fountaines in Phrigia, the one called Claeon, and the other Gelon, having those Greeke names from their effects, for the first maketh men cry, and the second makes them laugh. There is an hot [Page 26] Spring at Cranon, and yet without excessiue hear, which being mingled with Wine, and kept in a vessell, keepeth the same hot by the space of three dayes. There is a river in Bi­thynia called Olachas, into which if perjured persons be throwne, they feele as much heate, as if they were in a flaming fire. In Cantabria there are three Springs but eight foote a­sunder, which running together make a goodly river, and every one of them by turnes becommeth dry twelue times, and sometimes twen­tie times a day, so that a man would thinke there were no more water in it, whilest in the meane time his next neighbours be full, and flow conti­nually. There is a brooke in Iudea, which is dryed vp every Sabbath. In Macedonia, not farre from the se­pulcher of Euripides, there are two brookes running together, the one having very wholesome water, and the other poisonous and deadly. [Page 27] Quod si quis, saithLib. 31 c. 2. Plinie, fide carere ex his aliqua arbitratur, discat in nulla parte naturae majora esse miracula. If any man thinke, that some of these things are past beliefe, let him learne that there are no greater miracles in any other part of nature, than in Wa­ters. But if any man desire to know more concerning the various nature and effects of Springs and Rivers, let him reade the thirteenth dialogue of Simon Majolus, Bishop of Vultua­ria, in that Tome of his Workes, which he intitleth Dies Caniculares, and there he will finde wherewith to satisfie his curiositie. I passe now to mineral and medicinable springs, which vse to be drunke.

CHAPTER V. Of Minerall and Medicinable Springs.

MInerall waters, by their ma­nifold turnings and wind­ings vnder the ground, are [Page 28] as it were impregnated with diverse vertues and faculties of the severall mineralls, through which they run, and draw with them, either the fa­culties, or substa [...]e of the same, and sometimes both. And therefore as meere purenesse commendeth ordi­nary Springs and Wells, so doth the various mixture of severall things, though somtimes of a contrary and repugnant nature, procure commen­dation to medicinable waters. Some of them are beholding for whatsoe­ver they haue to the severall kinds of earth, which they passe through, and licke, as it were, by the way, as Bole, Ocre, Rubricke, Chalke, and the like; Others to liquors or congea­led juyces, as, Allum, Bitumen, Brim­stone, Nitrum, Coperose; And others againe to Mettalls, as gold, silver, I­ron, Copper, Tinne, Lead. There are some also, which owe their ver­tues to stone, as Crystall, Marble, Pumice stone, Lapis Haematites, and [Page 29] the like; and others to the roots of trees & plants, though these be rare, either because trees doe not roote so deepe, or by reason that medicina­ble springs are commonly in barren soyles, as on the contrary whereso­ever there is a fruitfull soyle, there are no minerall or medicinable springs to be found. Out of all these subterraneall substances di­verse springs draw sometimes con­trary faculties, or at least such as haue but small affinitie one with an­other, and from hence it happeneth that oftentimes one & the same me­dicinable spring cureth diverse dis­eases, which are either contrary one to another, or at least haue but small affinitie together. It is of this as it is of Theriake or Mithridate, which are compositions cōsisting of a great number of simples of contrary and repugnant natures, as it were hudled together by chance; and yet when those compositions haue had their [Page 30] due fermentation, and that those se­verall simples haue wrought one vpon another, and become to be in­corporated together, there resulteth afterwards an vniversal forme in the composition, which maketh it excel­lent for most diseases, and as it were a generall Panpharmacon. And in that regard some doe merrily call Mithridate the father, and Treacle the mother of all medicines. But that we may the more accurately di­stinguish betwixt minerall Springs, we must consider the nature of the mineralls, and looke which of them haue affinitie together, & which not. Bitumen, Salt, Sulphur, Coperose Cop­per, are hot, and therefore they haue a facultie to cut, cleanse, open, dry, extenuate, and disperse.Lib. 5. de Metallici [...]. Albertus Magnus, and after him Andernacus and others, doe reckon Sal nitrum with these, and hold it to be hot, which might be granted them, if by nitrum they vnderstood that nitrum, [Page 31] whereofLib. de aere locis et aquis. Hippocrates, Lib. 5. c. 89. Dioscorides, Lib. 31. c. 10. Plinie, Lib. 9. Simp. Medicam. Galen doe speake; But I doe not thinke that either Albertus or An­dernacus ever saw it, because it be­gan to be scantie & hard to be found in the time of those ancient Authors before cited after Hippocrates. But our Saltpeter, which is now called Nitrum amongst vs, is as farre from that ancient Nitrum,

For if gunpowder were not enough to proue the coldnesse of Nitrum, in which its opposition and contrarie­tie to Brimstone is so manifest, yet were the Sal prunellae of the Chymists (which is nothing but Nitrum puri­fied from its dregs with Flores sul­phuris) sufficient to evince it, a very little of it put into a glasse of Wine, making it so cold, that one is scarce able to drinke it. And to this pur­pose [Page 32] I remember that when I was in Holland, the Prince of Orenge, Mau­rice, was wont alwayes in the Sum­mer time to haue some of it throwne into the water, where his Wine lay a cooling. That Sal prunellae also is the best remedie against the heate, drinesse, & roughnesse of the tongue in all feavers, and especially in that Hungarian-feaver called Prunella, from that symptome, which gaue likewise the name of Sal prunellae to that purified Nitrum, by reason of the excellency of it in asswaging the same. And the more to confirme this, one of the foure springs of the Spa called Tounelet, and consisting chiefly of Nitrum, is so very cold, both in the mouth, and in the sto­macke, that few can endure it, and in that regard it is very little fre­quented; and during my stay there I doe not remember that I ever saw at it more then a Capuchin friar, and another Clergie man, who vsed it [Page 33] for the heate of their livers; in which case it may doe good, if the stomack be not too weake.

Silver, Iron, Tinne, Lead, are ac­counted cold, and by reason of their astringencie, to be at least in the se­cond degree. Gold is likewise pla­ced amongst these, though a man might perhaps with better right ac­count it temperate. Now in regard of this varietie, some springs are cal­led Nitrous, Sulphurous, Bituminous, Aluminous, &c. according to the one­ly or predomināt minerall, of which they doe participate. But yet some there are, in which it is a very diffi­cult matter to know the same. So the Vberlingunians in Suevia doe dispute to this day, whether their minerall Spring proceed of Lead or Copper. In like manner, the Italians are not well agreed whether the vertue of the mineral water about Lucca com­meth from Iron or from Allum. And a great man, that was one of the [Page 34] chiefest Chymists of this age, doub­ted whether he should call the Emp­senses Aquae Aluminous or Nitrous; so hard a thing it is exactly to distin­guish in things, that are compoun­ded and permixt. But it is now time we should goe to Tunbridge water.

CHAPTER VII. The chiefest diseases, against which Tunbridge water may be v­sed with good successe.

BEing now to reckon vp the chiefest diseases, which Tun­bridge water is good for, wee will not goe a capite ad calcem, from the head to the heele, but beginne at that, which it is most generally good for, and that is obstructions, which [Page 40] are the causes of infinite diseases. This water then doth effectually o­pen all manner of obstructions, wheresoever they be lurking, and especially the obstructions of the mesaraicall veines, of the spleene, and of the liver, and that better, then any Apozemes or other physick whatso­ever. For those obstructions being stubborne, and requiring a great deale of Physick to be removed, and Physicke being both loathsome and chargeable, people grow weary of it, before a Physitian shall haue run a quarter of the course, which is ne­cessary for the remooving of those obstructions; and that is the reason that so many are troubled with chro­nicall lingering diseases, which in their owne nature are not incurable; but onely remaine vncured, either because the Patient is not able or willing to vndergoe such a course of Physicke, as is requisite for his re­covery, or because hee loveth his [Page 41] purse too well. But these Waters bring no charges, and after one hath beene vsed a little while to them, the taking of them is not trouble­some at all, but the longer a man continueth the vse of them, the more he may, and being taken in a large quantitie, they cannot chuse but o­pen effectually. Wherefore they are of excellēt vse for all diseases, which haue their dependencie vpon ob­structions, as all long and tedious a­gues, quartanes, and the like; for a dropsie, the blacke & yeallow jaun­dise, the Schirrhus Lienis, or hard swelling of the spleene, which the common people call an ague cake, the scurvie, the greene sicknesse, the whites in women, and the defect and excesse of their courses. And albeit this last assertion seemeth to haue some repugnancie, in that we ascribe two contrary effects to one and the same agent, yet there is no such mat­ter, for the one is done by opening [Page 42] of obstructions, and the other either by cooling the bloud, when it is too hot and sharpe, and so provoketh nature to expulsion, or by corrobo­rating & strengthning the retentiue facultie. And it is the propertie of all equivocall agents to varie their operations according to the varietie of their objects, and of the matter they worke vpon; so the Sunne mel­teth Waxe, and hardeneth Clay. This water doth also cut and exte­nuate tough, clammy, and (if I may so speake) Tartarean flegme, and in that regard it may be much availa­ble for those, who are vsed to be troubled with the Colicke, when such an humor is contained in their gutts.

It scowreth and cleanseth all the passages of vrine, and therefore is good against the gravell & the stone in the kidneyes, Vreteres or bladder, where also it dissolveth and washeth away a kinde of clammy flegmatick [Page 43] excremēt bred in the bladder, which sometimes stopping the passage of ones water, maketh him beleeue that he is troubled with the stone; as happened to one, that was himselfe a very skilful and famous stone-cut­ter, who being fully perswaded that he had a stone in his bladder, gaue himselfe to another of the same pro­fessiō to be cut at Namurs; But when he was cut, nothing was found in his bladder, but such a tough humour, which might haue beene dissolved and voyded with facilitie by the helpe of the Spa water, which was but a dayes journey from him. It is good also (in regard of the astringent and healing facultie it hath) for all inward vlcers, and especially for those of the kidneyes and bladder, and of the Musculus sphinater, which openeth and shutteth the same. And in confirmation thereof divers haue bin cured of a bloudy vrine, which had long troubled them, & amongst [Page 44] the rest a worthy Kentish Gentle­man, with whom I went thither the last yeare.

It is good also against all invete­rate Dysenteries or bloudy Flixes: as also all other Fluxes of the belly, whether it be Leienteria, Diarrhaea, or Fluxus hepaticus. It doth likewise extinguish all inward inflamations and hot distempers, and yet for all that the stomacke is no whit hurt by the actuall coldnesse thereof, but ra­ther corroborated and strengthned, and appetite provoked, yea in some but too much, as in my selfe for one; For whensoever I dranke either at the Spa or at Tunbridg, I was never a­ble to fast with patience vntill noon, but must needs offam latranti stoma­cho offerre, cast a bit to my barking stomack, before the rest of my com­pany went to dinner. For this cause when I was at the Spa, a Spanish Phy­sition, who was come thither with the yong Prince Doria (who was then [Page 45] but a youth) would not let him take the water aboue two or three dayes, when he saw such an effect in him, fearing that he would receiue more hurt by the excesse of his appetite, than benefit by the water; and so af­ter a long and troublesome journey from Italy thither, he returned home without any profit. The nerues or sinewes, and the originall of them, the braine, are strengthened by the vse of this water, and consequently it is good against the palsie, inclina­tion to an apoplexy, lethargie, and such like diseases of the head.

And some Paralyticks haue beene seene, who sometimes voyded all their water by vrine, and at other times were as effectually purged, as if they had taken a strong potion, and withall sweated aboundantly all their body over. All these eva­cuations, and vomitting also, are sometimes seene in other diseases, as well as in that; Nay besides that in [Page 46] some women you shall haue an eva­cuation by vrine, & per menses simul & haemorrhoidas. The cause of all Rheumes and Distillations is like­wise remooved by the helpe of this water, and all diseases cured, which haue their dependencie vpon the same, for all that verse of Schola Sa­lernitana, ‘Iejunes, vigiles, sitias, sic rheumata cures.’

Convulsions also, Head-ach, Mi­graine, & Vertigo, are driven away by the vse of the same, if the patient be constant and not too soone wea­ry. Against vomitting and the hic­kot, it is vsed with good successe. Those that are troubled with hypo­chondriacall melancholie find a great deale of ease by this water. It hel­peth also the running of the reines, whether it be Gonorrhea simplex or Venerea, and the distemper of the Pa­rastatae [Page 47] arising from thence, as like­wise a certaine carnositie, which groweth sometimes in the conduite of the vrine, nay and the Poxe also, the water having a notable potenti­all drying facultie. It driveth away besides all manner of wormes, whe­ther they be ordinary ones, or asca­rides or taeniae. It may be vsed also for the Gowt, but it must be with some caution, and the body must be extraordinarily well prepared and purged before, because it hath som­times brought the fit vpon some, who were well when they came thi­ther. Outwardly applied it doth helpe sore eyes, red pimples, and o­ther externall infirmities. More dis­eases, which haue affinity with these, it may be vsed for, but I will con­tent my selfe with this enumeration of the aforesaid ones, and passe to the time, manner, and order of ta­king the water. Yet must I not for­get in the behalfe of women, to tell [Page 48] them that there is nothing better a­gainst barrennesse, and to make them fruitfull, if other good and fitting meanes, such as the severall causes shall require, be joyned with the water.

CHAPTER VIII. Of the time, manner, and order of ta­king Tunbridge Water.

SOme that shall reade the next foregoing Chapter, will per­haps say, that I make this wa­ter a direct Panpharmacon, a remedie for all diseases, and therefore wiil giue small credite vnto it. But for all that, daily experience doth, and if it continue to be vsed, will more and more confirme what I haue said to be true. For very few of those, who liue at the Spa (whose Water hath great affinitie with that of Tun­bridge) [Page 49] and in the Country about it, and make that Water their ordinary drinke, as many doe, and my selfe haue seene there very aged people, that did never drinke any thing else; few of them, I say, are troubled with headach, heart-burning, stone, ob­structions of the kidneyes, liver, or spleene, falling sicknesse, & the like, and as for the Iaundise, Dropsie, and Scabbes, they doe not know what they are. My selfe during my stay there being once rid out to take the ayre with a couple of Gentlemen, and a showre of raine comming, we made to a Countrey house neare hand to shelter our selues, and after the taking of a Pipe of Tobacco, I requested the goodman of the house (who was a very old man, and yet fresh and lustie, and with very few gray haires) to giue vs a cup of his beere, but he answered me, that he never had had any beere in his house, if we would drinke good Pouhon, it [Page 50] was at our service, and he had a fresh vessell of it abroach. Pouhon is the name of that Spring of the Spa, which standeth in the middle of the Towne, and by the same name they call also the Water thereof. But to returne to our matter,

and so water. The time then of ta­king those waters, is either the sea­son of the yeare, when to come to them, or the time of the day, when to drinke of the same, Concerning the season of the yeare, Sommer is the fittest, when there is a settled warme and dry weather, as in the dog dayes especially.

[Page 51]And the chiefest moneths be Iune, Iuly, Angust, and September, although the Dutch, who naturally loue good Beere and Wine better than Water, vse to haue this riming verse in their mouthes,

And according as the yeare proo­veth, a man may sometimes come sooner, and continue later. In ge­nerall, whensoever the weather is cleare and dry, the water is then best, as well in Winter, as in Summer, yea in hard frostie weather the Wa­ter is commonly strongest, the anti­peristasis of the ayre hindering that there is not so great an evaporation of the minerall spirits of the Water. For when the weather is rainy or misty, and that Iupiter doth per cri­brum mingere, pisse through a sieue, as Aristophanes merrily speakes, the [Page] water looseth much of its vertue, My selfe haue knowne at the Spa a Friar of the reformed order of Saint Frauncis, a good honest temperate man, who assured me, that having beene there three whole yeares to­gether continually for the stone (of which he shewed me a boxe almost full, of severall formes and bignesse) and taking the Water all the while, both sommer and winter, when the weather was seasonable, he found divers times the water better, stron­ger, and of a more speedy passage in frostie weather, then in the middle of Sommer, without ever percei­ving any inconvenience by the wa­ter, no more at that time, then in Sommer, for all he did alwayes drinke it cold.

For some that vse to take it in cold weather, doe warme it, but sure the water cannot chuse by that meanes but loose a great deale of its vertue, which in the warming evaporateth [Page 53] away, seeing that in the very trans­porting of it, the same doth happen. When the Spa water is bottled to be sent away, albeit those who haue the charge of it, be never so carefull in stopping the Bottles close with boy­led Corke, and pitching them over, yet will the minerall spirits finde way, in so much, as when you come to open them, you shall still finde some want, and sometimes a prettie deale, especially of the water of the Savenier, which is more subtile and spirituall, than that of Pouhon. But to returne to the matter, there is no more to be said, but that in a word the Water is alwayes best when the weather is clearest and driest.

Now concerning the time of the day, the morning, when the Sunne is an houre more or lesse, high, is the fittest time to drinke the water. For when the Sunne beginneth to be of force, it doth attract some of the mi­nerall spirits, and the water looseth [Page 54] some of its strength; and betimes in the morning it is also best walking. And you are so to drinke the water, as you may haue taken the quanti­tie, which you intend to take that day, within as small a space of time, as conveniently you can, without oppressing your stomack too much, as within an houre, or lesse, if you be able. Those that lye not too very farre from the Springs, and are able to vse their legges, shall doe better to come thither afoote, than to ride, because so they shall heate their bo­dies more. Yet doe I not intend they should be so hot, as to sweate, or to be readie to sweate, for that would doe hurt, but I meane onely that their naturall heate should be some­thing awaked and excited, because then the water will be the better at­tracted, and haue the more speedie passage. After every glasse, or every two or three glasses, according as you shall be able to take it, it will be [Page 55] good to take a few Carraway com­fits, or Coriander-seede, some Galin­gall, Zedoar, Elycampane, Angelica-roote, or such like, to helpe the di­gestion and passage of the Water. In some it is necessary, that they should haue some Electuary, Lozen­ges, or the like, appropriated to the griefe, for which they take the Wa­ter.

Diverse doe take Tobacco after their water, which I doe not dislike, especially if they hold it a good while in their mouthes, before they puffe it out. Moderate exercise af­ter it is very available, but I vtterly dislike it, if it be too violent, as run­ning, leaping, jumping, as some in wantonnesse vse to doe. For that kinde of exercise is rather a hinde­rance, than a helpe, to the digesting of their water, and many times all the good it doth, is to bring it vp a­gaine, weakening by that meanes their stomacke, which in vomitting [Page 56] doth alwayes suffer. True it is that if the stomacke be foule, it is not a­misse sometimes so to doe, and I am not against it. After you haue taken your full quantitie, it will doe well to walke and stirre there vp and downe, and to compose your selfe to mirth with the rest of the compa­nie; For those that looke to reape benefit by Tunbridge, must turne a­way all cares and melancholy.

In your returne to your lodging, I hold it better to ride, than to goe afoote, because sitting vpon your horse, the inward parts, as the mus­kles of the belly, the guttes, and the stomacke it selfe are thereby borne vp and contracted, and by the jog­ging of the horse moderately stir­red, and so consequently your wa­ter will be the better digested. The signe of the through-concoction of the same is commonly when your vrine beginneth to haue a tincture and to be coloured, and then may [Page 57] you goe to dinner; But of this wee will speake of purpose when wee come vpon diet. I saide before, that the best time of the day to take the water was betimes in the morning, and I meane also it should be the onely time for that day. For I haue knowne some, who tooke it twice a day, namely, in the afternoone also, but I could never approue of it, and my reasō is, that if they take it soone after dinner, their meate will not be digested, and the water forcing to make way for it selfe, will draw with it the Chylus raw and vncon­cocted, and so cause crudities and obstructions, which will doe a great deale more hurt, than the water can doe them good; And if they take it later after dinner, their water will not bee digested before Supper. Once a day then is enough, least you haue worse speede by making too much haste. Now for the whole quantitie of the water to be taken in [Page 58] one morning, it is a thing, which cannot justly be defined, in regard of the difference of bodies in age, sexe, strength, and other circum­stances; But generally those that are able to drinke most, receiue the most benefit, so that they doe digest and voyde their water well. And here it is, if any where, that the Greeke Proverbe should take place, [...], aut bibe, aut abi, either drinke, or be gone; If you cannot tipple, this is no place for you. Yet must every man ever haue this gene­rall rule in memorie, a juvantibus & laedentibus optima judicatio, the best judication or direction is from those things, which doe good, and from such as doe hurt. You shall see some that arise to a great quantitie, and ‘Invenies illic, qui Nestoris ebibat annos,’

Three hundred ounces, according [Page 59] to Nestors yeares. Yea, and some a greater quantitie. And it is a thing, that will make the very womē there filling the glasses to laugh, to see some patients sent thither by igno­rant Physitians, and appointed to take ten or twelue ounces of water, and arise perhaps to twentie or thir­tie ounces. But this may be a rule for a body of competent yeares and strength to beginne at thirtie, fortie, or fiftie ounces, and to arise by de­grees, increasing their quantitie eve­ry day, to an hundreth, an hundreth and fiftie, or two hundred ounces, more or lesse, as they shall be able, and so againe to decline and decrease by degrees, ending were they be­gan, when they are to leaue the wa­ter.

As for the time of every mans stay there, it is a thing which cannot be defined; for in some diseases some weekes suffice, in others diverse months are not enough, nay in some [Page 60] they haue neede to come thither the next yeare, and the next to that too. This I hope will suffice for the time, manner, and order of taking Tun­bridge water, I will now passe to the preparation of the body of such as are to take it.

CHAPTER IX. Of the preparation of the body of such as are to take the Water.

I Haue set downe before the chie­fest diseases, which may be cu­red by the helpe of this water, but I am not so to be vnderstood, as though I meant that the water alone were sufficient for the same in all of them, without any other helpes. For albeit this be an empiricall reme­die, yet must it not be vsed altoge­ther empirically, but with reason, dis­cretion, [Page 61] and circumspection, other­wise hurt, rather than good, will fol­low the vse of it. Many haue falne into diseases, as feavers and agues, by comming vnadvisedly and vn­prepared to those waters, although, as we said before, there is nothing better for agues, then they are, if they be rightly and advisedly vsed, the body being first prepared and purged. For although bloud by a sole distemper of heate may cause a feaver, yet cannot the other humors doe it, asLib. 2. de diff. febrium. Galen well observeth, vnlesse they putrifie, which they will not doe if the body be free from obstructions, and perspirable, and therefore that body, which is to be taken with an ague, must first be ob­structed. Now these waters being very diureticall, when they meete with a foule body, having a repleti­on of grosse humors, they easily and speedily carry the same with them into the veines, which not being a­ble [Page 62] to giue passage to such a quan­tity of humors, they are thereby ob­structed and stopped, and those hu­mors being there retained and wed­ged in, and not perflated or ventilated, they inflame and putrifie, and so produce a putride feaver or ague. Wherefore those that loue their health and life, must before they vse the water, if they haue not a very pure body, prepare and purge the same to prevent all inconvenien­ces.

Now according as bodies doe differ in sexe, age, temperature, qualitie of the peccant humour, and other circumstances, so must they accordingly diversly be prepared and purged. And in that regard we haue not thought it good to set downe here any formes thereof, but referre those that shall come to the water, to the advise and counsell of learned and skilfull Physitions, and such as are withall well acquainted [Page 63] with those kinde of waters, which is the maine point. And as for those, that come farre off, they may take Physicke at Tunbridge, and it will be best for them so to doe, because if they take Physicke before, and pre­sently travell vpon the same, it may produce some danger.

If the resort to the Water conti­nue, and that there be competent company at the same, I doe purpose by the grace of God to be there e­very Sommer (for it is a place I like) and if any be pleased to conferre with me, I will be readie to afford them my best counsell; and they shall finde there varietie of Physicke appropriated to the severall diseases which the Water is to be vsed for. Neither is it enough to prepare the body and take Physick before com­ming to the Water, but it is requisite also, in some diseases, to take some­thing now and then during the time they vse the Water, to helpe the [Page 64] working of it, and to cause a happie and prosperous effect by the same, and so much the more, because some are not able, either by reason of bu­sinesse, or otherwise, to stay there a competent time, and therefore haue need of some other helpe. For some diseases are so stubborne and diffi­cult to be eradicated, that we must fight at all weapons against the same, and yet all little enough too. Some vnlookt for accidents also happen there sometimes, which haue neede to be redressed and hol­pen by other meanes. But of these things neither my selfe, nor any man else, can speake but in generall termes, and therefore I will con­clude, and passe to the dyet requisite to be observed there.

CHAPTER X. Of the Dyet to be observed by those that vse Tunbridge Water.

DYet amongst Physitians is ta­ken in a larger signification, than it is with the vulgar, for besides meate and drinke, it compre­hendeth ayre, motion, and quiet, things retained and voyded, slee­ping and watching, and the passions of the minde. All these must be rightly ordered, both to preserue, and to restore health. As for ayre, it must be taken such as it is found there, and I thinke there is no great exception to be taken against it, be­ing thereabout pure and wholesome enough. Of motion and quiet wee haue said something before, when we spake of exercise, as also of the passions of the minde, when we wi­shed all such as come to the Water, [Page 66] to compose and frame themselues to mirth, and to leaue all cares and melancholy at home. Concerning sleeping & watching, a moderation must be observed therein, though it be better to sleepe something too much, then to watch too long, and therefore you shall doe well to Sup betimes, and to goe to bed betimes, animo securo, quieto & libero, that the first, second, and third concoction may be ended, before you take the water. And as for things voyded and retained, you must endevour to haue the benefite of nature by all manner of ordinary evacuations, as by stoole and vrine, and the private excrements of the braine, at the mouth and nose. And thus much in briefe concerning those things, wee will now come to meate and drinke. Bread is commonly, and with most men, the chiefest part of foode, and therefore though alwayes, yet here more especially, you must haue a [Page 67] care to haue bread of good pure wheate, well handled and seasoned in the making, and well baked; For the excrements & ill humors, which are heaped by the vse of ill bread, are worse than those, which proceed from meate. Ravell bread generally is wholesomer, than manchet, and not so apt to breede obstructions, having some of the branne left in it, which is detergent, and maketh it passe the better. As for meate, let every one feede vpon that, which he hath beene most vsed to, so it be good meate, yeelding good nourish­ment, and of easie digestion; and let him shunne the vse of sawces, which haue much butter & spices in them. For it was a good admonition of Disarius, a learned Physitian, inSaturn. 7. c. 4. Macrobius, Vitandos esse cibos, qui vltra sitim & famem appetentiam pro­ducerent, that those meates were to be avoyded, which did lengthen appetite beyond hunger and thirst. [Page 68] If you can, be you contented with one dish at a meale, for multa fercula multos morbos ferunt, many dishes bring many diseases, and perniciosa sentina est abdomen insaturabile, an vnsatiable belly is a pernicious sinke. In foule bodies especially, over-fee­ding doth a great deale of hurt, ac­cording to that Aphorisme ofLib. 2. A­phor. 9. Hip­pocrates, [...]. The more you nourish foule bodies, the more you hurt them. In a word, a moderate sober dyet is alwayes best, but especially here. As for the kinds of meate, albeit amongst the flesh of fourefooted beasts, Porke and Veale be chiefly commended in our bookes, yet here in regard of their moisture, I preferre Mutton before them. And if Porke be to be avoyded, much more Pigge, Lambe, and such like flashy meate. As for Beefe, though it be discommended by most Authors, yet good Beefe, [Page 69] well fed, and of an indifferent age, may be vsed without scruple, espe­cially by such as haue beene accu­stomed to it, for those Authors were never acquainted with our English Beefe. If Oxen indeede be killed when they are so olde, that they be past labour, their flesh cannot be wholesome, nor is to be commen­ded. But for our good succulent Beefe here, I verily thinke, that if those Authors were aliue againe, and should taste of it, they would be so farre from forbidding it, that to the contrary they would commend it. For if they doe so much com­mend Veale, I see no reason they can haue to discommend good succu­lent Beefe.

Besides Mutton and Beefe, you may sometimes haue Capons, Hens, Pullets, Chickens, Pigeons, Partridges, Pheasants, black-birds, and other small birds, Rabets, and the like. And because some Hares [Page 70] are sometimes caught about Tun­bridge, it is a question, which some aske, whether those who are there at the waters, may feed vpon them. They are growne infamous and ba­nished from most Tables vndeser­vedly, out of a conceit that they are melancholy meate. But I will now take their cause in hand, and vindi­cate them from that imputation, if I can, saying with Martial,

And least I seeme to giue too easie an assent to the Poet, (though he was not a meere Poet, but well grounded in naturall Philosophie) I will striue to proue, that it is not melancholy meate, but meate for melancholy men.

First, I will bring inLib. 3. de alim. Galen to pa­trocinate [Page 71] vnto him, who preferres the bloud of a Hare, before that of Hens, Pigeons, and all other birds, and saith that it is most sweete and daintie. Now if Hares bloud be so good, how can the flesh thereof be nought, which is made and produ­ced by it, flesh being nothing else but bloud coagulated and converted into the same?

The same AuthorIbidem ini­tio libri. saith also, that Hares flesh breedeth better bloud, than Mutton or Beefe. And if these two come every day to the Tables even of the noblest and richest per­sons, why should the poore Hare, which is better, and yeeldeth better nourishment then they, be banished from the same?

After Galen, learned Heurnius rec­koneth Hares flesh in the first place amongst those meates, which alter melancholy in the kidneyes, but to alter and free from melancholy, and to breede melancholy, cannot both [Page 72] be done by one kinde of meate. For if any man would flie here to simili­tude of substance, or to an hidden propertie, he should deserue to be hissed at. But they say it is a melan­choly fearefull creature. What rea­son they haue to call him so, vnlesse it be because he shunneth & runneth away from the dogs, which pursue him, I doe not know; But if that be all, doe not Wolues, Bulls, Beares, yea and Lyons also, the like? If wee may beleeue those, who haue beene in Africa, an old woman there, or a childe with a sticke in their hands doe driue away Lyons, as wee doe dogs here. And a Hare is not so fearefull, but that you shall see some of them turne about, and looke vp­on the dogs after a daring manner. They doe not lye in holes and bur­rowes, as Conies doe, which in that regard should be more melancholy, and yet they are in most common vse amongst vs, and accounted the [Page 73] best meate. And as for their foode, it is the same with that of Partrid­ges, the excellencie whereof is no where controverted, and with the vse of them onely the Poxe may be cured, as Cardan holdeth, who could speake of it by experience, as having had that disease seven times, as him­selfe witnesseth in that booke of his, which he entitleth De vtilitate ex adversis capienda; and sure his wit­nesse is not to be rejected. Let the Hare then returne in vse, and be re­admitted to his former prehemi­nence, so he be not too old, but of a competent age, as of a yeare or lesse. But as for water-foule, you shall doe well to abstaine from the same.

Concerning fish, though it be for the most part vnwholesome, and apt to breede excrementitious and slimie humors, yet for a change you may sometimes eate some river-fish, that is firme and not slimie, as Trouts, [Page 74] Gudgeons, Pikes, Perches, and the like, either broyled, or boyled in Wine (if you will goe to the char­ges) rather than in Water, and cor­rected with Fenell, Spearemints, Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley or the like. But for Mints in particular, let those women, that come to the wa­ter for fruitfulnesse, refraine the same, because it is thought it hinde­reth conception. At your fruit you may vse some Raisins of the Sunne, a bit of Marmelade, a roasted War­don or Pepin mith Carrowayes, or the like; But in all this you must be sparing.

Now for an end of all, I must re­peat what I haue touched before, namely, that you avoyde varietie of dishes. For the nature of severall meates being diverse, and sometimes cleane opposite and contrary one to another, & some sooner concocted, and other later, from hence those e­vills will arise, against which you [Page 75] come to seeke helpe from the water, as crudities, wind-gripings, paine of the reines, obstructions of the mesa­raicall veines, rawnesse of the Chy­lus, and consequently of the bloud, which shall be made of the same, and such like inconveniences, which by a sober and moderate dyet may be avoyded.

Thus much concerning meate. As for drinke, good ordinary cleare Beere, and of an indifferent strength and age, is best, and it is the ordinary drinke of this Island, and which a­greeth best with the nature of those which are bred in it. Yet if any ha­ving beene vsed to drinke Wine at meales, desire to continue the same, I am not against it, if so be they be not of too hot a constitution, and haue no principall part offended through excesse of heate; For a cup of Wine or two at meales doth but helpe to make the better digestion. And for that purpose Sacke or Cla­ret [Page 76] are better than white Wine, be­cause white Wine, by the diurecti­call faculty it hath, passeth too soone away, and before the Chylus bee throughly perfected, and so it may carrie some of the Chylus rawe and vnconcocted with it, and conse­quently breede crudities and ob­structions. And thus much concer­ning dyet.