THe decay of natural heat in aged persons and in many others, by sicknesse, ill accidents, and their continuall sitting, makes them to need the helps of Artificiall warmth; and my selfe through the blessing of God have ther­by often received ease of my griefes, and I verily beleeve the preservation of my life in many grievous extremities. Once (I remember) when I was dangerously oppressed with often and very strong vomiting, and did rise out of my bed and go into the cold so many times, and so speedily one after an­other, that I could neither give heate to my bed, nor receive any from it: Another time also when by a hurt in my foot my griefe was so exceedingly encreased, that both my foot & leg were grown full of blacke spots, and white between, from the sole of the foot to the knee, and most which saw it tooke it to be a Gangrene, which they thought to be uncurable without cutting off my leg, which also was so mortified with cold that I could give it no heate from my body; I then by the blessing of God (as I have many other times done) maintained heat in it by the help of a kinde of stone, which I find to be apt to re­ceive heate much sooner, and likewise to retain it much lon­ger than any other thing which I could finde upon any reason or triall. For I found cloaths heated by the fire would quick­ly lose their warmth, and likewise boords could not retaine their heate long, and that bricke and freestone required much time to heat them, and held it but a little while; & that other stones were not able to endure strong heating, but would sud­denly fly in pieces; whereas this stone being well seasoned at the first with a moderat heat, will both receive it quickly, and keep it very long, and impart it very kindly and agreeable unto nature. When my feet have bin cold, warming the same stone [Page 2]by the sire, and putting the soles of my feet thereon, it hath in one quarter of an houre recovered me more heat unto them, then scorching them by a violent fire, could have done in an whole houre; When I have beene likewise grievously pained and tortured with the Colicke, and winde in my Guts, the strength of the heate of this stone hath (by applying it unto my belly) suddenly eased and cured me. My Wife being delivered of our eldest childe, I came to visite her, to know how shee did after that great danger; shee told mee that shee was laid on a Trundle-bed to make her sweat, after her weakning with paine and travell in childbirth; but the bed being somewhat too short for her (shee being tall of person) and her feete reaching beyond the frame of the bed, shee could get no sufficient heat unto them to procure sweat; which as soone as I heard, I promised I would make her a medicine for it quickly, and did so, by warming a stone, which did bring her to so kindly a sweate, as that shee recovered the danger of that Child­birth, and by the Blessing of God brought me many more Children afterwards This Warming Stone also hath holpen a Woman great with Child, who had a great ache in her thigh, and thought she could not be cured, till shee were freed of her burthen by Childbirth, yet by the helpe of the warmth of this Stone, found perfect remedy above two months before the time of her delivery came: And as it is a thing certainly knowne, that the least cold in Childbed, (which cannot be recovered by the sole strength of their then weakened naturall heat) brings certain death; so I know no o­ther remedy so likely to recover heate, sweate and strength in any such accident, as by the helpe of these warming Stones, in their cases, either one or more of them (as need shall require) being applyed unto any part of the Body that wants it. This hath beene tryed by a woman whose strength failing her to free the after burthen; those which were a­bout her not knowing what other helpe to give her, they [Page 3]applyed this warming Stone, and by the helpe of the heate thereof, and the Blessing of God, nature wrought so well, that within one houre, shee escaped that danger and reco­vered her health and strength againe. Another also who was growne so pale and cold after long travell, that the mid­wife who was sent for to helpe her, finding and feeling her feete and her face to bee cold, supposed shee had beene dead, and said unto those who had sent for her, she marvelld why they had sent for her, to come to a dead body: they answe­red her she was not dead, though very weake: whereupon rub­bing her face, and finding some warmth therein, shee caused them presently to send to her house with all speed for a Cou­ple of these warming Stones, by the help of the heat whereof applyed to her feet and her Belly, God blessed her indeavors so well, that both the woman and the child were preserved.

One of my Neighbours also, who had been long weake and sickly, and newly had her old griefe and weaknesse much in­creased by the losse of her eldest sonne, when with all the help that she could get by Physicke, in a long night she could take little rest; by the warmth of these Stones (the one being applied to her feet, and the other to the bottome of her belly) shee found more ease and sounder sleepe, then she could doe at any time in a quarter of a year before: And she told me that when her maid had forgotten (after an eight or ten dayes u­sing thereof) to provide this help for her, she slept as ill, as she was wont to doe before; but now (God be praised) is very well amended both in health and strength: The same party also be­ing so extreamly weakned, with such a greivous paine in her back as she was neither able to goe nor stand, and told her hus­band, that if it should continue with her but three dayes, she thought verely it would cost her life, by applying these war­ming stones to the place grieved, within 3 houres was able to walke about her chamber; at which her husband told me hee wondred exceedingly, how so great an alteration could bee wrought in so short a time.

The help hereof also hath recovered those who were so indan­gered by taking cold in their ruptures, that both themselves & their friends dispaired of their lives, because the fat of their guts being fallen down into their cods, and there grown hard & stiffe by the cold, could not possibly be replaced, till strong heate had resolved it into softnesse againe: and so there was means found to returne them into their due place; by which (God be praised) some who desired to be praied for publikely in the church, being out of hope of life, have recovered health and strength again, though one of them was neer three score & ten when by this means he was holpen. It hath likewise done exceeding much good to many that have had very violent flu­xes (whereof some of them have bin bloudy) who by the help of these stones applied to their belly and their hinder parts both at one time, and the help of heating their drinke by the fire as hot as they could take it, have recovered. The same re­medy likewise helpes much to abate the violent cold fits of agues, & being applied to the stomack, strengthens the weak­nes thereof very much, against the cough or any disease which comes of a cold cause: for it exceedingly helpes the weaknes of the stomacke, because all good digestion being made by heate, as extream outward colds weaken it by abating that heat, so this outward heate strengthneth it much by adding more warmth unto it: as we find, that boyled, baked, or rosted meat being eaten hot, that heat helps us much to concoct the same meat. And wheras we seek help by artificial liquors that have an extraordinary heat, to help the cold weaknes of nature by their strength, if too little bee taken it doth little good, if too much, much harme; wheras the heate of these stones may be duly tempered to our use, being continued, encreased, aba­ted, or removed suddenly, as the diseased party shall think fit. The same stones also put into the bed, do not onely supply the need of a warming pan, but being put into a case lined two fin­gers thick every where, with wooll between, frise on the out­side, and canvas on the inside, will retain a comfortable heate [Page 5]in the bed for ten houres together, and a sencible heate for fourteen, if it be throughly warmed; which must be done as hot as may be, without burning the case, which is tried by spitting on the stone, or sprinkling water on it, for if it hisse not it is never too hot. I make the case of canvas on the inside, because it is not so apt to burne as woollen cloath; and have wooll between, because it sorts better with any part of the bo­dy than cloath doth, and by reason of the thicknesse thereof brings not an over-violent heate in the beginning, yet conti­nues it much longer than cloath or linnen could doe: and the frise on the outside is softer and warmer than other stuffe. And a stone in a case thus made, may be applied to the head, feet, belly, or any other part of the body that hath need of it, and may be as soon put away if the heat be too great.

It is also exceeding usefull for all schollars to heate their hands and feet, when they must attend their studies in cold weather. And for al persons which by their trades in such sea­sons must keep their shops, or for the service of God continue in the Church. And such as travel by sea, who may have these stones warmed by the fire, though they cannot warme them­selves in that place where the fire is. The small cost which belongs to it is mostly in providing the stone and case at first; for the stone will be heated by the same fire which is made for any other purpose, either to bake, boile, brew, or rost, or by any other fire, either layd upon it, or set against it, by convenient turnings, that all parts of the stone may heat alike: Which may be done without any hinderance of any of the aforesayd uses. And by triall I find, that two about nine or ten inches long, and six or seven inches broad, will doe more service, and are more easie to bee found than a single one of double the length and bredth, because they will be lesse subject to brea­king with falling, and are the more easily put to the fire and taken from it, and moved to and fro in the bed with more speed and ease than a great single one can be, yet may, beeing put together, fill a greater room than the single one could do, [Page 8]by adding warmth, on each side, to any part of the body that shall lie betweene them, and likewise at one time bee applyed to severall places. And such poore people as have no fire of their owne, they may heat it at their neighbours fire, which will damnifie them no more, then lighting one candle by an­other; and whereas no fire can be maintained without con­suming the fewell which makes it, and that cannot be pro­vided without continuall charge, according to the wasting thereof, this stone being so heated will keep his heat without cost for divers hours, in other places, but in the bed for a whol night, and that without renewing the heat, or troubling the rest of the party, who needeth the warmth of it. These uses and experiments will be verified, by the witnesse of many per­sons who have very often, and doe dayly make use thereof, some of which have not bin more averse, from being perswa­ded to try it in the beginning, then afterwards they have been loath to leave the benefits they have found thereby; and I am very confident that by due observation of the quality of these [...] many other uses of them will be found out, be­sides these here mentioned.

This same stone being laid under the head of a childe that was much stopt in his breath by a cold, did in one night clear and free the passage of his breath: and likewise being laid under the head of an old man that was very deafe, did in such sort helpe him, that his neighbours wondered to see the change that was wrought in him.

An ancient Doctor of Physick of London testifies it gave a Patient of his more ease in the cure of the Sciatica, then any outvvard Medicine that he could apply.

Septemb. 1. 1640.