OF THE EPILEPSY, OR FALLING SICKNESS. 275

piony being green, for it cures marvellously;—When they fall into thisdisease after they be past child's age, you must open the mouth, put-ting in a wedge between the teeth, or with a feather dipped in oil ofireos," (or the oxymel of squills) " promote vomiting to bring up thefleame. Also it is good to quicken the senses with ordorameuts" (i. e.medicines of a pugnent smell,) " dog-fennel, rew, bitumen, (Jew'spitch,) and put into their mouth castoreum with oxymel. When theyare raised, you must cast in sharp clisters : their strength being re-freshed, purge them with hiera galemi" (i- e. powder of guiacum withcanella). " This is the cure of a new and sharp epilepsy. To helpthat which is old, the patient must drinke water a long time, or verysmall ale, unless any thing forbid it. Let bloud in the veine of thehamme or the ring finger.—It is good to minister preparatives to ex-tenates, as sirupes of wormwood, hysope or oxymel of squills, decoc-tion of hysope, and roots of piony, and other medicines rehearsed be-fore. Afterwards purge with pilulae cochias" (i. e. pill of aloes withcolocynth), " and such as purge fleame. Also I judge stubium" (i. e %stibium or glass of antimony) " to be of great force in this kind of disease, being used as is declared before in the fifteenth chapter, fol. 21,*which doth mightily purge the superfluous humours from the head.Also I have knowne this to help many" (epileptic persons): " Oil ofExitore, and oleum de lateribusf (i. e. oil of bricks). " With it anointthe hinder parts of the head morning and evening warme—for manydays together. And every morning and evening let him take thesethings ; the first day of the powder of the skull of a man burned, onedram at once; and the next day of the miscle of the oke made inpowder, one dram; and the third the powder of piony roots, one dram.After these three days, take these powders each day till the patientbe healed, which will be fortie days."

" If this evil be engendered of melancholy, it is lawful to take thebarke of dry black hellebore, beat it into fine powder, and minister onedram at once with mulsa" (i. e. water and honey sodden together) " anda little pepper to it."—{N. B. Fifteen grains to half a drachm of blackhellebore are to constitutions of the present day strongly purgative).

* In the third edition of this little quarto, printed by Field, 1617, treating " of the Frensie," the chapter to which Dr. Barrough refers, he says," Matthiolus doth greatly commend Stubium—I myself have provedit in this order to be most excellent as followeth: R.—Stubium grainstwelve, made into a very fine powder, and put it into claret wine fourounces ; let it stand thirty hours, and every six hours shake it; at thethirty houres end powre it from the powder, and let him drink it witha little sugar. This docs mightily purge the superfluous humoursfrom the head." Here we have an antimoni-al preparation weaker in-deed, but very similar to the wine of antimony, so highly and justlyextolled by the late Dr. Huxham.

t These oils have long been erased from our dispensatories: theExeter oil consisted of eight and twenty herbs, flowers, seeds, &c.'wiled in wine and oil! Volatile liquor of hartshorn and oil mixed, orthe liniment of ammonia, &c. are better applications in th*>s» cases