forty-nine ingredients, some of which were complex in them- 

 selves. 



A liniment used in sciatica affords a good example of the 

 prescriptions sent in to the City Pharmacy: "Take three 

 little new-born dogs and three living moles, one pound of 

 earthworms, leaves of laurel, rosemary, mint, sweet mar- 

 jorem, lavender, thyme, St. John's wort, of each a handful; 

 boil these ingredients in three pounds of oil mixed with com- 

 mon wine until the latter is consumed; then pour out and 

 express the liquid from the solids, add to the liquid yellow 

 wax and goose-fat each ten ounces. Good for rheumatism 

 and sciatica; apply it to the skin heated before a fire, and 

 repeat as often as required." 



Such nostrums were not peculiar to Central Europe, the 

 English poet Chaucer wrote two centuries before Rudolph 

 began to reign; 



"A day or two ye shall have digestives 



Of wormes, 'ere ye take your laxatives 



Ot laurel, centaury and fumete're, 



Or else of elderberry that groweth there. 



Of catapuce, or of the gaitre berries, 



Or herb ivy growing in our yard that merry is." 



Some of the prescriptions sent in to Christian Horcicky 

 called for ingredients that required time and trouble to 

 secure ; as for example the oil of frog's spawn (used for chil- 

 blains), and the liver of a mad dog (or of a wolf) washed 

 with wine and dried in an oven, a specific for hydrophobia. 

 Perhaps the delay in supplying such concoctions permitted 

 the patients to gain enough strength to withstand the nau- 

 seous doses. 



A full supply of hair-dyes, hair-invigorators, insect- 

 powders, eye-washes and cosmetics were constantly on hand ; 

 among the substances used to beautify complexions was an 

 unguent made of white wax, spermaceti, borax, alum and 



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