in order. Does the patient (poor victim!) or the mixture of longnamed ingredients "hum"? And why "damnable"?
"A Receipt to make Damnable Hum.—Take spices de Gemmis Aromaticum Rofatum, Diarrhodon Abbatis, Letificans Galeni, of each four drams, Loaf-sugar beaten to a powder half a pound, small Aqua Vitse three pints, strong Angelica water one pint; mix all these together, and when you have drunk it to the Dregs, you may fill it up again with the same quantity of water. The same powders will serve twice, and after using it it must be made new again."
Some of the receipts have been "proved"; for instance:
"The Lady Drury's Medicine for the Colick, Proved.—Take a turf of green grass, and lay it to the Navil, and let it lye till you find ease, the green side must be laid next to the belly."
Another was "Proved by Mrs. Joyce, Widow.".
We must finish our study of this most fascinating, quaint little leather-bound volume; but strange title attracts us here, a stranger ingredient there, and it is hard to stop—for example: "A very good glyster for the Wind." "Syrup of Turnips." "A purging Juleb." "A Vomit for an Ague." "A Cordial Electuary for Stuffing of the Stomach." "For a Noli me tangere." "For pin and web in the eye."
Scraped amber taken in hot broth is a truly "precious" draught for fainting.
For stomach-ache one is told to cut "scarlet" into the shape of a heart, wet it in strongest cinnamon or wormwood water, heat it, and lay very hot to the stomach.
"The Claws of a Goat burned to Powder"; "Unicorns-horn"; "Blue Lilly roots"; "Woodlice, dried, and made into fine powder"—all to be taken internally! Split salt herrings applied to the feet in fever.
Let us be thankful that we live in this nineteenth century, albeit one of multitudinous patent medicines, hypnotism, Christian science, and magnetic and electric remedies. We humbly trust that what little medicine we are forced to take will better bear analyzing than the strange pharmaceutical compositions of animal, vegetable, and mineral matters gleaned from the Wakefield heirloom. We return this treasure with many thanks. It is eagerly seized and quickly locked up in the grandfather's desk almost as ancient as itself. We are assured that it is regarded as a priceless "Pearl," and worth more to its owners (from its antiquity and associations rather than its intrinsic value, we suppose) than its weight many times over in purest gold.
