SAFFRON. 197 



breath, and by breathing upon the face 

 of a female whom they suspected to have 

 been painted, it would immediately make her 

 become pale, and betray her counterfeit 

 beauty. Scaliger, in his Exercitationes, in- 

 forms us, that in Iceland, as well as in Ire- 

 land, the lower classes tinge their shirts with 

 saffron, with an intention to keep off vermin ; 

 but Lord Bacon says, that in Ireland, linen 

 shirts tinged with saffron were originally 

 intended for preventing putrefaction; and he 

 was of opinion that the practice contributed 

 to the prolongation of life. The same author, 

 in his Treatise De retardandis Senectutis ac- 

 cident ibus, advises saffron to be mixed with 

 medicine intended to prevent the effects of 

 old age ; for, says he, " Saffron conveys me- 

 dicine to the heart, cures its palpitation, re- 

 moves melancholy and uneasiness, revives 

 the brain, renders the mind cheerful, and 

 generates boldness. Boerhaave, in the se- 

 cond volume of his Chemistry, calls it a true 

 and genuine rouser of the animal spirits, be- 

 cause it is possessed of aromatic, stimulating, 

 and heating qualities. Caspar Hoffman says, 

 it may be justly doubted whether it does 

 not surpass all other simples. 



Saffron has often been called Anima PuU 

 monum, the soul of the lungs, from its excel- 



