HEMLOCK REMEDIES 243 



half as much baysalt, beaten together and applied 

 to the contrary wrist of the hand for twenty-four 

 hours doth remove it in twice dressing. The " it," 

 of course, is not the other hand ; one rarely feels 

 the need of parting with that! It is the membrane's 

 growth on the eye that has to go. " If the root of 

 hemlock be roasted under the embers, wrapped in 

 double wet paper until it be soft and tender, and 

 then applied to the gout in the hands or fingers, it 

 will quickly help this evil." A quaint remedy " for 

 the Head Ach " is "to take green Hemloc that is 

 tender and put it in your Socks so that it may lie 

 thinly between them and the Soles of your Feet." 

 This is to be changed every twenty-four hours, 

 though we should ourselves hope that the aching 

 head would be a thing of the past long before even 

 one of these somewhat lengthy periods had passed. 

 In the Middle Ages an anaesthetic, centuries before 

 the days of chloroform, was highly commended. 

 A mixture was compounded of black nightshade, 

 henbane, hemlock, and some other ingredients, 

 by no means forgetting the gall of a swine and a 

 goodly quantity of vinegar. Then, the surgeon 

 being ready, " let him that shall be cut sit near a 

 good fire and make him drink thereof till he will 

 fall on sleep, and then men may safely cut him, and 

 when he hath been served fully, and thou wilt have 

 him to awake, take vinegar and salts and wash well 

 his temples and cheeks, and he shall soon awake." 



