JOURNEYS IN DIVERSE PLACES 57 



with a decoction of nerval herbs in wine and vinegar, and 

 wrap them in napkins ; and to his feet, an earthenware bottle 

 filled with the decoction, corked, and wrapped in cloths. 

 Then the thigh, and the whole of the leg, must be fomented 

 with a decoction made of sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, 

 flowers of chamomile and melilot, red roses boiled in white 

 wine, with a drying powder made of oak-ashes and a little 

 vinegar and half a handful of salt. . . . Thirdly, we 

 must apply to the bedsore a large plaster made of the desic- 

 cative red ointment and of Unguentum Comitissa?, equal 

 parts, mixed together, to ease his pain and dry the ulcer; 

 and he must have a little pillow of down, to keep all pres- 

 sure off it. ... And for the strengthening of his 

 heart, we must apply over it a refrigerant of oil of water- 

 lilies, ointment of roses, and a little saffron, dissolved in 

 rose-vinegar and treacle, spread on a piece of red cloth. 

 For the syncope, from exhaustion of the natural forces, 

 troubling the brain, he must have good nourishment full of 

 juices, as raw eggs, plums stewed in wine and sugar, broth 

 of the meat of the great pot, whereof I have already spoken ; 

 the white meat of fowls, partridges' wings minced small, and 

 other roast meats easy to digest, as veal, kid, pigeons, 

 partridges, thrushes, and the like, with sauce of orange, 

 verjuice, sorrel, sharp pomegranates; or he may have them 

 boiled with good herbs, as lettuce, purslain, chicory, bugloss, 

 marigold, and the like. At night he can take barley-water, 

 with juice of sorrel and of water-lilies, of each two ounces, 

 with four or five grains of opium, and the four cold seeds 

 crushed, of each half an ounce ; which is a good nourishing 

 remedy and will make him sleep. His bread to be farm- 

 house bread, neither too stale nor too fresh. For the great 

 pain in his head, his hair must be cut, and his head rubbed 

 with rose-vinegar just warm, and a double cloth steeped in 

 it and put there; also a forehead-cloth, of oil of roses and 

 water-lilies and poppies, and a little opium and rose-vinegar, 

 with a little camphor, and changed from time to time. 

 Moreover, we must allow him to smell flowers of henbane 

 and water-lilies, bruised with vinegar and rose-water, with a 

 little camphor, all wrapped in a handkerchief, to he held some 

 time to his nose. . . . And we must make artificial rain, 



