12 BOOKS OF SECKEl'S. 



lived at Rotherhithe. There was Owen Wood's "An Alphabetical Book 

 of Physicall Secrets," of which five editions appeared between 1632 and 

 1656, when it was issued under the name of the Duchess of Lenox. This 

 book has caused me trouble, for Owen Wood has never got credit for his 

 labour, such as it was. 



A representative book of Secrets is that by Thomas Lupton, "A 

 thousand notable things of sundry sorts," which was published in London 

 in 1596 and was often reprinted, the last issue I know of being dated 

 1815 ! What was the secret, or receipt, to which this book owed its 

 longevity, does not appear, but one would like to know it. It cannot 

 be owing to its intrinsic merit, for the book is a rifacimento of the 

 extravagancies of the old marvel-mongers. 



Towards the close of the century a good many of the books of Secrets 

 were published by G. Conyers at the Ring in Little Britain, but with the 

 unpardonable omission of the date. Other publishers were John Starkey, 

 Edward Brewster, N. Boddington, T. Salusbury, T. Sowle, Andrew Sowle, 

 T. Passenger, W. Whitwood, N. Crouch, Gartrude Dawson, E. Tracy, 

 Charles Tyus, J. Blare, and many others. Among the chap-books were 

 "The way to save Wealth," attributed to Thomas Tryon, the author of 

 several curious essays, who in some of his ideas was far ahead of his time, 

 "The Complete Husbandman," "A New Book of Knowledge" full of 

 curious information and actually with a date, 1697. There were also more 

 receipt books for ladies, such as John Shirley's "AccompHshed Ladies 

 Rich Closet of Rarities," which enjoyed some popularity, "The Ladies 

 Companion, or Modern Secrets and Curiosities, never before made 

 Publick " concerned mainly with toilet secrets, " The Accomplished 

 Female Instructor," dated 1704, and "Arts Compleat Master-Piece," 

 containing receipts for all sorts of purposes, and sold by James Hodges 

 at the Looking-glass on London Bridge. 



On passing into the eighteenth century one encounters books different 

 in style and to some extent different in theme. Collections of medical 



