Leechdoms, wortcunning, and starcraft of early England. Being a ...

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LEECH UOOK. II. 229
easily procured, beet, and mallow, and brassica or cab- l^ook ir.
»-'^^flesh
of swine ; let the, man swallow the broth :
h'Jbge, and the like to these, sodden together with young
and
also nettle sodden in water and salted is good to
swallow ;
and also leaves of elder and the broth in
the same wise. Some give leaves of aloe, when a man
willeth to go to sleep, as much as three beans, every
day to be swallowed ; and drinks like these, and more
powerful ones, if need be, are to be administered
especially in early spring, before the evil humour,
which is collected in winter, spread itself through the
other limbs. Many men have not attended to this, no,
nor do yet ; then there cometh of the evil humours, either
hemiplegia, or epilepsy, or tlie Avhite roughness, which
in the south bight lejDrosy, or tetter, or headroughness,
or erysipelas. Hence one nuist cleanse away the evil
humours before the mischiefs come and wax in the
winter, and run through the limbs. For wamb sickness
and sore ; a bowl full of linseed, rubbed or beaten,
and two bowls of sharp vinegar ; boil together, give
to the sick man to drink after his nights fast.
Again, lay chewed pennyroyal on the navel, soon the
pain will be still. Again, rub a small (juantity of the
seed of dill into water, give it to be drunk. For
wamb sickness and sore of the bowels ; when from
much cold the wamb is not under control, do to it
the things which we wrote above ; then if there be a
subversion or irritation of the stomach, take three
bunches of laurel flowers, and separate spoons full of
cummin and of parsley seed (), and twenty peppercorns,
rUb all together, and dry three membranes which
are in the wambs of young birds ; after that take water,
rub dill into it, and heat these things ;
give the man
this to drink till the sore is stilled. For the same,
take bread and seethe it in goats milk, sop it in a
southern drink, such as Jtydroinel, 'p'^rhaps, or uxijmcl.