Present Remedies against the plague.

Shewing sundrye preseruatiues for the same, by wholsome Fumes, drinkes, vomits and other inward Receits; as also the perfect cure (by Implaisture) of any that are therewith insected.

Now necessary to be obserued of euery Housholder, to auoide the infection, lately begun in some places of this Cittie.

Written by a learned Physition, for the health of his Countrey.

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Printed for Thomas Pauyer, and are to be sold at his shop at the entrance into the Exchange. 1603

To the Reader.

FOR as much as the force and infection of the or­dinary diseas called the Plague or Pestilence, hath heretofore beene too well knowne and felt in sundrie places of this Realme: and considering that it hath of late begun to increase in many chiefe Citties and po­pulous places; I thought it good to publish to you in time, sundry preseruatiues against the said disease, the better to defende those that are in health, from the infection of the diseased: And also to cure those that are any way infected, grieued, or troubled with the same. And to this I was imboldened, the rather for that it was written by a very learned and approoued Phisition of our time, who desireth more the health of his Country, than by discouering his name seeme vaine glorious to the world. Accept the same I pray you in good part, and thanke God for the Phisitions paines, who hath his desire if it may doe but that which he wisheth: namely expel sickenes, and increase health to this Land. Which God for his mercie sake, prosper and preserue from all plagues and dangers for euermore, Amen.

These things ought duely to be looked vnto. (Viz.)

RIght necessary and conuenient it were, that you kéep your houses, streets, yardes, backesides, sinks, and kennels, swéet and cleane from all standing puddles, dung­hils, and corrupt maystures which ingen­der stincking sauours that may be noysome, or bréede infection: nor suffer no dogs to come running into your houses, neither kéep any (except it be backeward, in some place of open ayre, for they are verie dange­rous, & not sufferable in time of sickenesse, by reason they runne from place to place, and from one house to another, féeding vpon the vncleanest thinges that are cast forth into the streetes, and are a most apt cattell to take infection of any sickenes, & then to bring it into the house.

For ayring your Roomes.

Ayre your seueral taimes with Charcōle fiers, made in stone pans or Chasingdishes, and not in Chimneys: set your pans in the middle of the Roomes: ayre eue­ry roome once a wéeke (at the least) and put into your fire a little quantity of Frankinsence, Iuniper, dryed Rosemary, or of Bay-leaues.

A Fume of great experience.

Take Rosemary, and put it into strong Vineger, steepe it in a Bason or bowle heat foure or fiue Fl [...]nt­stones red hot and cast them into the Vineger and so let the Fume ascend into the middle of euery roome.

Another.

Ayre your apparrell in the same sort, and with the same fume: & beare in your hands some handkercher, Spunge, or Cloth, wetted in the iuyce of Wormwood, Hearbegrace, and red Rose-vineger, mixt together.

To smell to.

The roote of Enula Campna stéeped in vineger & lapped in a handkercher, is a speciall thing to smel vn­to, if you come where the sickenes is.

Another.

Hearbgrace, and wormewood stéeped in vineger, in some powter péece close slopt, is to be vsed in like sort.

To tast or chewe in the mouth.

The roote of Angelica, Setwall, Gencian, Valeri­an, or Sinamond, is aspeciall preseruatiue against the plague, being chewed in the mouth.

To eate.

Eate Sorrell steeped in vineger, in the morning fa­sting, with a litle bread and butter, Sorrell sauce is al­so very holsome against the same.

Another.

Take the kernell of a walnut, mince it with thrée or foure leaues of Hearbgrace, and a corne or two of Salt: then put it into a Figge, warme it and eate it fa­sting: fast thrée houres after, and take it twice a wéek. [Page] A speciall thing to eate, found very comfortable.

Take strong red Rose-Vineger, sprinkle it vpon a tost of white bread, spreade Butter thereon, and then cast ye powder of Cinamond vpon it, & eate it fasting: or eate bread and butter with Hearbgrace.

Another.

Giue to the diseased for their ordinary foode, some broth made with a neck of Mutton: boyled with a good quantity of Burridge, Sorrell, and Buglosse.

To comfort the stomacke.

Aleberries are very comfortable, made with Cloues, Mace, Nutmegs, Saunders, Ginney grains, and such like.

To drinke.

Take Rue, Wormewood, and Scabias, stéepe it in Ale a whole night, & drinke it fasting euery morning.

Another.

Take the water of Carduns Benedictus, or Angeli­ca, and mixe it with Methridatum,

Another.

The roote of Enula Campana, beaten to powder, is a speciall remedy against the plague, being drunke fa­sting.

Another.

Drinke the powder of Turmentill, in Sorrell or Scabias water.

Another.

If any féele themseules already infected, take Ange­lica-water mixt with Methridatum, drinke it off, then goe to bed and sweat thereon.

Another to drinke.

Take a spooneful of Bayberries, and huske them be­fore [Page] they be dry, heat them to powder, and drinke it in good stale Ale or Béere, or in white wine: then sweat vpon it, and forbeare to sleepe.

to procure Sweat.

Take Posset-Ale sodden with Sorrell, and Bur­ridge, mixt with Triacle of Diatesseron and get you to your naked bed.

A speciall preseruatiue against the Plague.

Take of the roote of great Valerian, a quarter of an ounce: of Sorrell a handfull: an ounce of the roote of Butter-bur: boyle them in running water, frō a quart to a pint, two spoonefulls of Vineger to it, and let the patient drinke it so hot as hee may, and then sweat vpon it.

An other speciall Preseruatiue.

Take an Egge, make a hole in the top of it, take out the white and the yolke, and fill the shell onelye with Saffron, rost the shel and Saffron togither, in embers of Charcoales, vntil the shell waxe yeallow: then beat shell and altogether in a marter, with halfe a spooneful of Mustard-séed: Now so soone as any suspition is had of infection, dissolue the weight of a French crown in ten spoonefuls of posset-Ale, drinke it luke warme, and sweat vpon it in your naked bed.

An other Preseruatiue to be distilled.

Take halfe a hundred gréene Walnuts beeing new taken off as they hang gréene on the trée, and a pound of the inner Barke of an Ash-trée: then take Petimor­tell, Housleeke, Scabias, & Veruin, of each a handfull Saffron halfe an ounce, and mince al these smal toge­ther: then put a pottle of the strongest Vineger on thē boile them ouer a soft fire in a close pot, and after distill [Page] them in a limbecke: keep the distilled water, and giue the Patient two ounces to drinke therof, foure times in four & twenty-houres, when he is in his naked bed, & let him be prouoked to sweat, and he shall finde great ease thereby.

If the Patient be bound in the body.

Take a suppositor made with a little boiled Hunny, & a litle powder of Salt: let this be put vp at the funda­ment with a litle butter vntill it moue him to ye stoole.

Drinke for ordinary Dyet.

So néere as you can let the patients ordinary drinke be good finall ale of eight daies olde.

For Vomitting.

Vomitting is better then bleeding in this case and therefore prouoke to vomit so neere as you can.

To prouoke Vomit.

Take thrée leaues of Castrabecca, stampe it, and drinke it in Rennish wine, ale, or posset ale.

Another.

A litle quantity of [...] Helibor, grated and drunke in the like fort procureth vomit.

A speciall Vomit.

Take two ounces of Oyle of Walunts, a spoonefull of the iuyce of Celandine, and halfe a spoonefull of the iuyce of Reddish rootes: Let not the party sleep for two houres after, and in so dooing it is better then any pur­ging.

For purging.

If the party be full of grosse humors, let him blood, immediately vpon the right arme, on the Liuer vein or on the median veyn, in the same arm: so as no sore appeare the first day.

A very wholsome purge.

Put into the pap of an apple, a sixepennie weight of Aloes, and so take it: or the pils of Rufus.

A wholsome water to be distilled.

Steep sorrell in vineger, foure and twentie houres, then take it out and drie it with a linen doth, then still it in a Limbecke, drinke foure spoonfuls with a little sugar, then walke vpon it till you sweat if you may: if not, keep your bed and sweat vpon it. Vse this before supper on anie euening.

If the patient happen to be troubled with any swel­lings, Botches, Carbuncles, or Gods tokens: let him sweat moderatelie now and then.

Outward medicines to ripen the sore.

Take the roote of a white Lillie, roast it in a good handfull of sorrell, stampe it and applie it thereto very hot, let it lie four and twentie houres, and it wil break the sore,

Another.

Take of old swines-grease salted, two ounces, with the yolke of an egge, and two handfulles of Scabias, stampe them togither, and laie it warme to the sore.

Another.

Take a small quantitie of leauen, a handful of mal­lowes, a little quantitie of Scabias, cut a white Onion into pieces, with halfe a dozen heads of garlicke, boile these together in running water, make a poullus of it and then lay it hot to the sore.

Another.

The like may be made of two handfuls of Valerian, three rootes of Danwort, and a handfull of smalledge, seeth them in shéepes suet and Rose water, with a few [Page] crums of bread, and apply it hot to the sore.

Another.

Take a hot Loafe, new taken forth of the Ouen, ap­ply it to the sore, and it will doubtlesse breake the same but afterward bury the same loafe déep inough in the ground, for feare of any infection: for if either dog or a­my other thing do féede thereon it, will infect a great many.

Other Obseruations.

Let the sicke and infected persons bee seperated and kept from the whole, vntill the sore be healed: but ge­nerally let them be kept within the space of a month.

For a Fume.

Take a new burnt Bricke, & heate it red hote, then put it into a Bason of Vineger, and let the fume ther­of ascend into your houses.

For Ayring Apparrell.

Let the apparrel of the diseased persons, be wel and often washed, be it linnen or wollen: or let it be ayred in the Sunne, or ouer pans of fire, or ouer a Chasing­dish of Coales, & fume the same with Frankensence Iuniper, or dryed Rose-mary.

A perfect good Plaister for the Cure of the sore after it is broken.

Take vnwróght Waxe, white Turpentine, the yolke of an Egge, a little fresh butter, & a quantity of English honny, boile all these together to a salue, and apply it to the sore, béeing thin spread vpon a cloth, in manner of an ordinarie Playster.

Additions.
To preserue from the Infection of the Plague.

Take Garlicke péele it and mince it small, put it into new milke and eate it fasting.

To take the infection from a house infected.

Take large Oynions, péele them, and lay thrée or foure of them vpon the ground, let them lie ten daies, & those pieled Oynions will gather all the infection into them that is one of those Roomes: but burie these Oynions afterward déepe in the ground.

Another.

Take new milke and set it in a Bason in the middle of the infected Roomes, and the milke will draw the infectious vapour into it, letting it stand two daies in the saide Roome,

Against the new burning Feuer.

If the Patient be in a great heat as most commonly they wil, take of faire running water a prety quantity put it on a Chasingdish of Coles, then put thereinto a good quantity of Saunders beaten to powder: and let it boyle halfe an houre betwene two dishes: that done put a couple of soft linnen clothes into the dish, wet the clothes well in water and Saunders, and apply the same so hote as you can suffer it to your bely.

To drinke for the whot Feuer.

Take two handfull of Sorrell, and a handfull of Violet leaues with a bunch of sowre Graps, beat them together stalkes and all: then straine it into Butter-milke, then make a posset of the same Butter-milke, and let the Patient drinke thereof so much as he will.

To procuresleepe to the sicke Persons that are diseased either with the Plague or the hote Feuer.

Take of a womans Breast-milke a good quantiti, put therunto of the like quantity of Aqua-vite, stir them well together, and moysten therewith the Temples of the Patient and his Nosthrils, lay it on with some fea­ther, or some fine thin ragge.

Butter-milke in this contagious time is generally holsome to be eaten, and is a good Preseruatiue against either the Plague or the pestilent Feuer.

Finis.

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