HEALTH AND WEALTH.
_How to Preserve Health--Bathing,
etc.--Medicine--Ointments--Blisters--Poultices,
etc.--Cholera--Domestic Surgery, etc.--Riches--Temperance--Dr.
Franklin's Way to Wealth._
THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH.
2908. In another place (see "Health and Beauty," p. 89, etc.), I have
given many useful hints on this subject.
2909. Still more may be told; and new suggestions, cautions, and
remedies will be found in the following pages.
2910. _These Rules_ are given to persuade people to take care and
preserve their health; not to induce them needlessly to doctor
themselves.
2911. _The First Rule_ for those in health is--take no medicine.
2912. _The Second Rule._--In sickness, send for the best physicians;
viz., those who give least medicine.
2913. Pure atmospheric air is composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and a
_very_ small proportion of carbonic acid gas. Air once breathed has
lost the chief part of its oxygen, and acquired a proportionate
increase of carbonic acid gas.
2914. Therefore, health requires that we breathe the same air once
only.
2915. The solid part of our bodies is continually wasting, and
requires to be repaired by fresh substances.
2916. Therefore, food, which is to repair the loss, should be taken
with due regard to the exercise and waste of the body.
2917. The fluid part of our bodies also wastes constantly; there is
but one fluid in animals, which is water.
2918. Therefore, water only is necessary, and no artifice can produce
a better drink.
2919. The fluid of our bodies is to the solid in proportion as nine
to one.
2920. Therefore, a like proportion should prevail in the total amount
of food taken.
2921. Light exercises an important influence upon the growth and
vigor of animals and plants.
2922. Therefore, our dwellings should freely admit the solar rays.
2923. Decomposing animal and vegetable substances yield various
noxious gases, which enter the lungs and corrupt the blood.
2924. Therefore, all impurities should be kept away from our abodes,
and every precaution be observed to secure a pure atmosphere.
2925. Warmth is essential to all the bodily functions.
2926. Therefore, an equal bodily temperature should be maintained by
exercise, by clothing, or by fire.
2927. Exercise warms, invigorates, and purifies the body; clothing
preserves the warmth the body generates; fire imparts warmth
externally.
2928. Therefore, to obtain and preserve warmth, exercise and clothing
are preferable to fire.
2929. Fire consumes the oxygen of the air, and produces noxious gases.
2930. Therefore, the air is less pure in the presence of candles,
gas, or coal fire, than otherwise; and the deterioration should be
repaired by increased ventilation.
2931. The skin is a highly-organized membrane, full of minute pores,
cells, blood-vessels, and nerves; it imbibes moisture or throws it
off, according to the state of the atmosphere and the temperature of
the body. It also "breathes," as do the lungs (though less actively).
All the internal organs sympathize with the skin.
2932. Therefore, it should be repeatedly cleansed.
2933. Late hours and anxious pursuits exhaust the nervous system, and
produce disease and premature death.
2934. Therefore, the hours of labor and study should be short.
2935. Mental and bodily exercise are equally essential to the general
health and happiness.
2936. Therefore labor and study should succeed each other.
2937. Man will live most healthily upon simple solids and fluids, of
which a sufficient but temperate quantity should be taken.
2938. Therefore, strong drinks, tobacco, snuff, opium, and all mere
indulgences should be avoided.
2939. Sudden alternations of heat and cold are dangerous, especially
to the young and the aged.
2940. Therefore, clothing, in quantity and quality, should be adapted
to the alterations of night and day, and of the seasons.
2941. And therefore, also, drinking cold water when the body is hot,
and hot tea and soups when cold, are productive of many evils.
2942. Moderation in eating and drinking, short hours of labor and
study, regularity in exercise, recreation, and rest, cleanliness,
equanimity of temper and equality of temperature, these are the great
essentials to that which surpasses all wealth, _health of mind and
body_.
2943. _Bed Clothes._--The perfection of dress, for day or night,
where warmth is the purpose, is that which confines around the
body sufficient of its own warmth, while it allows escape to the
exhalations of the skin.
2944. Where the body is allowed to bathe protractedly in its own
vapors, we must expect an unhealthy effect upon the skin.
2945. Where there is too little ventilating escape, insensible
perspiration is checked, and something analogous to fever supervenes;
foul tongue, ill taste, and lack of morning appetite betray the evil.
2946. _Early Rising._--Dr. Wilson Philip, in his "Treatise on
Indigestion," says: "Although it is of consequence to the debilitated
to go early to bed, there are few things more hurtful to them than
remaining in it too long."
2947. Getting up an hour or two earlier, often gives a degree of
vigor which nothing else can procure.
2948. For those who are not much debilitated, and sleep well, the
best rule is to get out of bed soon after waking in the morning.
2949. This at first may appear too early, for the debilitated require
more sleep than the healthy; but rising early will gradually prolong
the sleep on the succeeding night, till the quantity the patient
enjoys is equal to his demand for it.
2950. Lying late is not only hurtful, by the relaxation it occasions,
but also by occupying that part of the day at which exercise is most
beneficial.
2951. The difference between rising every morning at six and at
eight, in the course of forty years, amounts to 29,200 hours, or
three years one hundred and twenty-one days and sixteen hours, which
are equal to eight hours a day for exactly ten years.
2952. Thus, rising at six will be the same as if ten years of life
(a weighty consideration) were added, wherein we may command eight
hours every day for the cultivation of our minds and the dispatch of
business.
2953. _Development of the Lungs._--Much has been said and written
upon diet, eating and drinking, but I do not recollect ever noticing
a remark in any writer upon breathing, or the manner of breathing.
Multitudes, and especially ladies in easy circumstances, contract a
vicious and destructive mode of breathing.
2954. They suppress their breathing, and contract the habit of short,
quick breathing, not carrying the breath half way down the chest, and
scarcely expanding the lower portions of the chest at all.
2955. Lacing the bottom of the chest also greatly increases this
evil, and confirms a bad habit of breathing. Children that move about
a great deal in the open air, and in no way laced, breathe deep and
full to the bottom of the chest, and every part of it.
2956. So also with most out-door laborers, and persons who take much
exercise in the open air, because the lungs give us the power of
action; and the more exercise we take, especially out of doors, the
larger the lungs become, and are the less liable to disease.
2957. In all occupations that require standing, keep the person
straight.
2958. If at table, let it be high; raised up nearly to the armpits,
so as not to require you to stoop; you will find the employment much
easier--not one half so fatiguing; whilst the form of the chest and
symmetry of the figure will remain perfect.
BATHS, &C.
(SEE PAGES 124 AND 125.)
2959. Water is the means of personal purification. Use it freely.
2960. _Bathing._--If to preserve health be to save medical expenses,
without even reckoning upon time and comfort, there is no part of the
household arrangement so important to the domestic economist as cheap
convenience for personal ablution.
2961. Whoever fits up a bath in a house already built, must be guided
by circumstances; but it will always be proper to place it as near
the kitchen fire-place as possible.
2962. From thence it may be heated, or at least have its temperature
preserved by means of hot air through tubes, or by steam prepared by
the culinary fire-place, without interfering with its ordinary uses.
2963. A small boiler may be erected at a very small expense, in the
bath-room, where circumstances do not permit these arrangements.
2964. Whenever a bath is wanted at a short warning, to boil the
water necessary will always be the shortest mode; but where it is in
general daily use, the heating the water by steam will be found the
cheapest and most convenient method.
2965. _Bathing tubs_ should never be left with water in them that has
been used. Let off the water, and keep them dry as possible.
2966. _A hand-bath_ is always to be had when regular bathing is not
convenient. With a piece of sponge or an extra towel to wash with,
your ablutions may be well performed every day.
2967. _Tepid water_, or even quite warm water, will greatly refresh
the system after violent fatigue; but if a warm bath is taken, do not
stay in it over ten minutes--indeed _five minutes_ is long enough.
2968. _In cold bathing_ it should never be forgotten that every thing
depends upon the general power of the individual, the state of the
system, especially of the skin, at the moment of immersion, and the
season of the year.
2969. If the reaction does not speedily take place, means must be
employed to insure its so doing, or the use of the cold bath must be
abandoned.
2970. Delicate and feeble persons of all ages require a higher
temperature of the bath, and a shorter stay in it than others.
2971. No person should bathe immediately after a full meal,
particularly if there be an apoplectic tendency.
2972. For a person in good health, early in the morning is the best
time to bathe; for one more delicate, from two to three hours after
breakfast is preferable.
2973. Never think of undressing and going into the water when greatly
fatigued, or when the skin is covered with perspiration.
2974. In most cases moderate exercise is advantageous before bathing,
but not exercise of a violent kind.
2975. _Hints about Children._--The attempt to harden children by
exposure to too great a degree of cold, is of the most injurious
nature.
2976. For infants and young children, it is clear that water of a
lower temperature than what feels cool to the hand of the nurse
should be used; but not _cold_ water.
2977. _Cold bathing_ either produces acute diseases of the lungs,
which are then very sensible to external impressions, or disease of
the digestive organs, leading to disease of the mesenteric glands,
scrofula, water in the brain, or, if they survive a few years, to
early consumption.
2978. _Wet the Head._--It is a good rule to wet the head before
taking a plunge or a bath.
2979. "_Cleanliness_ is next to godliness," is a maxim of Christian
philosophy.
2980. _Exercise._--Exercise in the open air is of the first
importance to the human frame, yet how many are in a manner deprived
of it by their own want of management of their time!
2981. Women with slender means are for the most part destined to
in-door occupations, and have but little time allotted them for
taking the air, and that little time is generally sadly encroached
upon by the ceremony of dressing to go out.
2982. Whereas, if all were in readiness, the preparations might
be accomplished in a few minutes, the walk not being curtailed by
unnecessary delays.
2983. It may appear a simple suggestion, but experience only will
show how much time might be redeemed by habits of regularity; such as
putting the shawls, cloaks, gloves, shoes, &c., &c., or whatever is
intended to be worn, in readiness, instead of having to search one
drawer, then another, for possibly a glove or collar--wait for shoes
being cleaned, &c.--and this when (probably) the out-going persons
have to return to their employment at a given time.
2984. Three principal points in the manner of taking exercise are
necessary to be attended to:--1. The kind of exercise. 2. The proper
time for exercise. 3. The duration of it.
2985. With respect to the kinds of exercise, the various species of
it may be divided into active and passive. Among the first, which
admits of being considerably diversified, may be enumerated, walking,
running, leaping, swimming, riding, fencing, the military exercise,
different sorts of athletic games, &c.
2986. Among the latter, or passive kinds of exercise, may be
comprised riding in a carriage, sailing, friction, swinging, &c.
2987. The first, or active exercises, are more beneficial to youth,
to the middle-aged, to the robust in general, and particularly to the
corpulent and the plethoric.
2988. The second or passive kinds of exercise, on the contrary, are
better calculated for children; old, dry, and emaciated persons of
a delicate and debilitated constitution; and particularly to the
asthmatic and consumptive.
2989. The time at which exercise is most proper, depends on such a
variety of concurrent circumstances, that it does not admit of being
regulated by any general rules, and must therefore be collected from
the observations made on the effects of air, food, drink, &c.
2990. With respect to the duration of exercise, there are other
particulars, relative to a greater or less degree of fatigue
attending the different species and utility of it in certain states
of the mind and body, which must determine this consideration as well
as the preceding.
2991. That exercise is to be preferred which, with a view to brace
and strengthen the body, we are most accustomed to, as any unusual
one may be attended with a contrary effect.
2992. Exercise should be begun and finished gradually, never abruptly.
2993. Exercise in the open air has many advantages over that used
within doors.
2994. To continue exercise until a profuse perspiration or a great
degree of weariness takes place, is far from being wholesome.
2995. In the forenoon, when the stomach is not too much distended,
muscular motion is both agreeable and healthful; it strengthens
digestion, and heats the body less than with a full stomach; and a
good appetite after it is a proof that it has not been carried to
excess.
2996. But, at the same time, it should be understood, that it is not
advisable to take violent exercise immediately before a meal, as
digestion might thereby be retarded.
2997. Neither should we sit down to a substantial dinner or supper
immediately on returning from a fatiguing walk, at a time when
the blood is heated, and the body in a state of perspiration from
previous exertion, as the worst consequences may arise, especially
where cooling dishes, salad, or a glass of cold drink is begun with.
2998. Exercise is always hurtful after meals, from its impeding
digestion, by propelling those fluids too much toward the surface
of the body which are designed for the solution of the food in the
stomach.
2999. _Climate._--The action of medicines is modified by climate
and seasons. In summer, certain medicines act more powerfully than
in winter, and the same person cannot bear the dose in July that he
could in December.
3000. _General Health._--Persons whose general health is good, bear
stronger doses than the debilitated and those who have suffered for a
time.
3001. _Idiosyncrasy._--Walker will inform you that this long term
means a peculiar temperament or disposition not common to people
generally.
3002. For example, some persons cannot take calomel in the smallest
dose without being salivated, or rhubarb without having convulsions;
others cannot take squills, opium, senna, &c., therefore it is wrong
to _insist_ upon their taking these medicines.
3003. _Forms best suited for Administration._--Fluids act quicker
than solids, and powders sooner than pills.
3004. _Best method of Preventing the Nauseous Taste of
Medicine._--Castor oil may be taken in milk, coffee, or spirits such
as brandy; but the best method of covering the nauseous flavor, is to
put a table-spoonful of strained orange-juice in a wine-glass, pour
the castor oil into the centre of the juice, and then squeeze a few
drops of lemon-juice upon the top of the oil.
3005. Cod-liver oil may be taken, like castor oil, in orange-juice.
3006. Peppermint water almost prevents the nauseous taste of
Epsom salts; a strong solution of extract of liquorice covers the
disagreeable taste of aloes; milk, that of cinchona bark; and cloves
that of senna.
3007. An excellent way to prevent the taste of medicines is to have
the medicine in a glass, as usual, and a tumbler of water by the
side of it, then take the medicine and retain it in the mouth, which
should be kept closed, and if you then commence drinking the water,
the taste of the medicine is washed away.
3008. Even the bitterness of quinine and aloes may be prevented by
this means.
3009. _Giving Medicine to Persons._--Medicines should be given in
such a manner that the effect of the first dose should not have
ceased when the next dose is given, therefore the intervals between
the doses should be regulated accordingly.
3010. _Doses of Medicine for different Ages._--It must be plain to
every one that children do not require such powerful medicine as
adults or old people.
3011. Be careful to give the least possible dose that will have
effect. The less medicine swallowed, the better for the patient.
TERMS EXPRESSING THE PROPERTIES OF MEDICINES.
3012. These _terms_ or names should be carefully remembered, and
their explanations.
3013. Absorbents are medicines which destroy acidities in the stomach
and bowels, such as magnesia, prepared chalk, &c.
3014. Alteratives are medicines which restore health to the
constitution, without producing any sensible effect, such as
sarsaparilla, sulphur, &c.
3015. Analeptics are medicines that restore the strength which has
been lost by sickness, such as gentian, bark, &c.
3016. Anodynes are medicines which relieve pain, and they are divided
into three kinds, _paregorics_, _hypnotics_, and _narcotics_ (see
these terms); camphor is anodyne as well as narcotic.
3017. Antacids are medicines which destroy acidity, such as lime,
magnesia, soda, &c.
3018. Antalkalies are medicines given to neutralize alkalies in the
system, such as citric, nitric, or sulphuric acids, &c.
3019. Anthelmintics are medicines used to expel and destroy worms
from the stomach and intestines, such as turpentine, cowhage, male
fern, &c.
3020. Antibilious are medicines which are useful in bilious
affections, such as calomel, &c.
3021. Antirheumatics are medicines used for the cure of rheumatism,
such as colchicum, iodide of potassium, &c.
3022. Antiscorbutics are medicines against scurvy, such as citric
acid, &c.
3023. Antiseptics are substances used to correct putrefaction, such
as bark, camphor, &c.
3024. Antispasmodics are medicines which possess the power of
overcoming spasms of the muscles, or allaying severe pain from any
cause unconnected with inflammation, such as valerian, ammonia, &c.
3025. Aperients are medicines which move the bowels gently, such as
dandelion root, &c.
3026. Aromatics are cordial, spicy, and agreeably-flavored medicines,
such as cardamoms, cinnamon, &c.
3027. Astringents are medicines which contract the fibres of the
body, diminish excessive discharges, and act indirectly as tonics,
such as oak-bark, galls, &c.
3028. Attenuants are medicines which are supposed to thin the blood,
such as ammoniated iron, &c.
3029. Balsamics are medicines of a soothing kind, such as Tolu,
Peruvian balsam, &c.
3030. Carminatives are medicines which allay pain in the stomach and
bowels, and expel flatulence, such as aniseed-water, &c.
3031. Cathartics are strong purgative medicines, such as jalap, &c.
3032. Cordials are exhilarating and warming medicines, such as
aromatic confections, &c.
3033. Corroborants are medicines and food which increase the
strength, such as iron, gentian, sago, &c.
3034. Demulcents correct acrimony, diminish irritation, and soften
parts by covering their surfaces with a mild and viscid matter, such
as linseed tea, &c.
3035. Deobstruents are medicines which remove obstructions, such as
iodide of potash, &c.
3036. Detergents clean the surfaces over which they pass, such as
soap.
3037. Diaphoretics produce perspiration, such as tartrate of
antimony, &c.
3038. Digestives are remedies applied to ulcers or wounds, to promote
the formation of matter, such as resin ointments, warm poultices, &c.
3039. Discutients possess the power of repelling or resolving tumors,
such as galbanum, &c.
3040. Diuretics act upon the kidneys and bladder, and increase the
flow of urine, such as nitre, squills, &c.
3041. Drastics are violent purgatives, such as gamboge, &c.
3042. Emetics produce vomiting, or the discharge of the contents of
the stomach, such as mustard, tartar emetic, warm water, bloodroot,
&c.
3043. Emollients are remedies used externally to soften the parts
they are applied to, such as spermaceti, palm oil, &c.
3044. Epispastics are medicines which blister or cause effusion of
serum under the cuticle, such as Spanish flies, &c.
3045. Errhines are medicines which produce sneezing, such as tobacco,
&c.
3046. Escharotics are medicines which corrode or destroy the
vitality of the part to which they are applied, such as lunar
caustic, &c.
3047. Expectorants are medicines which increase expectoration, or the
discharge from the bronchial tubes, such as ipecacuanha, &c.
3048. Febrifuges are remedies used in fevers, such as antimonial
wines, &c.
3049. Hydragogues are medicines which have the effect of removing the
fluid of dropsy, by producing water evacuations, such as gamboge,
calomel, &c.
3050. Hypnotics are medicines that relieve pain by procuring sleep,
such as hops, &c.
3051. Laxatives are medicines which cause the bowels to act rather
more than natural, such as manna, &c.
3052. Narcotics are medicines which cause sleep or stupor, and allay
pain, such as opium, &c.
3053. Nutrients are remedies that nourish the body, such as sugar,
sago, &c.
3054. Paregorics are medicines which actually assuage pain, such as
compound tincture of camphor, &c.
3055. Prophylactics are remedies employed to prevent the attack of
any particular disease, such as quinine, &c.
3056. Purgatives are medicines that promote the evacuation of the
bowels, such as senna, &c.
3057. Refrigerants are medicines which suppress an unusual heat of
the body, such as wood-sorrel, tamarinds.
3058. Rubefacients are medicaments which cause redness of the skin,
such as mustard, &c.
3059. Sedatives are medicines which depress the nervous energy, and
destroy sensation, so as to compose, such as fox-glove, &c.
3060. Sialagogues are medicines which promote the flow of saliva or
spittle, such as salt, calomel, &c.
3061. Soporifics are medicines which induce sleep, such as hops, &c.
3062. Stimulants are remedies which increase the action of the heart
and arteries, or the energy of the part to which they are applied,
such as sassafras, which is an internal stimulant, and savine, which
is an external one.
3063. Stomachics restore the tone of the stomach, such as gentian, &c.
3064. Styptics are medicines which constrict the surface of a part,
and prevent the effusion of blood, such as kino, &c.
3065. Sudorifics promote profuse perspiration or sweating, such as
ipecacuanha, &c.
3066. Tonics give general strength to the constitution, restore
the natural energies, and improve the tone of the system, such as
chamomile, &c.
3067. Vesicants are medicines which blister, such as strong liquid
ammonia, &c.
3068. _Lotions, &c._--Lotions are usually applied to the parts
required, by means of a piece of linen rag wetted with them, or by
wetting the bandage itself.
3069. _Emollient._--Use decoction of marsh-mallow or linseed.
3070. _Elder-flowers._--Add two drachms and a half of elder-flowers
to one quart of boiling water, infuse for one hour, and strain. _Use_
as a discutient.
3071. _Sedative._--Dissolve one drachm of extract of henbane in
twenty-four drachms of water.
3072. _Opium._--Mix two drachms of bruised opium with half a pint of
boiling water, allow it to grow cold, and _use_ for painful ulcers,
bruises, &c.
3073. _Decoctions._--These preparations soon spoil, and therefore
should only be made in small quantities, particularly in summer.
3074. _Of Chimaphila._--Take one ounce of pyrola, (chimaphila or
winter-green) and boil it in a pint and a half of water until it is
only one pint; then strain.
3075. _Dose_, from one to two ounces, four times a day. Use in
dropsies, as a diuretic.
3076. _Of Logwood._--Boil one ounce and a half of bruised logwood in
two pints of water until it comes to one pint; then add one drachm of
bruised cassia, and strain.
3077. _Dose_, from one to two ounces. Use as an astringent.
3078. _Of Dandelion._--Take two ounces of the freshly-sliced root,
and boil in two pints of water until it comes to one pint; then add
one ounce of compound tincture of horse-radish.
3079. _Dose_, from two to four ounces. Use in a sluggish state of the
liver.
OINTMENTS AND CERATES.
3080. These remedies are used as topical applications to parts,
generally ulcers, and are usually spread upon linen or other
materials.
3081. _Camphorated._--Mix half an ounce of camphor with one ounce of
lard, having, of course, previously powdered the camphor.
3082. Used as a discutient and stimulant in indolent tumors.
3083. _Chalk._--Mix as much prepared chalk as you can into some lard,
so as to form a thick ointment.
3084. Use as an application to burns and scalds.
3085. _For Itch._--Mix four drachms of sublimed sulphur, two ounces
of lard, and two drachms of sulphuric acid together. This is to be
rubbed into the body.
3086. _For Scrofulous Ulcerations._--Mix one drachm of ioduret of
zinc and one ounce of lard together.
3087. Use twice a day in the ulcerations.
EMBROCATIONS AND LINIMENTS.
3088. These remedies are used externally as local stimulants,
to relieve deep-seated inflammations when other means cannot be
employed, as they are more easily applied locally.
3089. _Liniments_ are to be rubbed on the skin as the patient can
bear.
3090. _Anodyne and Discutient._--Take two drachms of scraped white
soap, half a drachm of extract of henbane, and dissolve them by a
gentle heat in six ounces of olive oil.
3091. Used in doses of two or three drachms at a time, for glandular
enlargements which are painful and stubborn.
3092. _Strong Ammoniated._--Add one ounce of strong liquid ammonia
(_Liquoris ammoniæ fortis_) to two ounces of olive oil; shake them
well together until they are properly mixed.
3093. Use--employed as a stimulant in rheumatic pains, paralytic
numbness, chronic glandular enlargements, lumbago, sciatica, &c.
3094. _Compound Ammoniated._--Add six teaspoonsful of oil of
turpentine to the strong ammoniated liniment above.
3095. Use for the diseases mentioned under the head of strong
ammoniated liniment, and chronic affections of the knee and
ankle-joints.
3096. _Lime and Oil._--Take equal parts of common linseed oil and
lime-water (_Liquor calcis_), and shake well.
3097. Use, applied to burns, scalds, sun-peelings, &c.
3098. _Camphorated._--Take half an ounce of camphor, and dissolve it
in two ounces of olive oil.
3099. Use as a stimulant, soothing application in stubborn breasts,
glandular enlargements, dropsy of the belly, and rheumatic pains.
3100. _Soap Liniment with Spanish Flies._--Take three ounces and
a half of soap-liniment, and half an ounce of tincture of Spanish
flies: mix and shake well.
3101. Use as a stimulant to chronic bruises, sprains, rheumatic
pains, and indolent swellings.
3102. _Turpentine._--Take two ounces and a half of resin cerate
(_ceratum resinæ_), and melt it by standing the vessel in hot water;
then add one ounce and a half of oil of turpentine, and mix.
3103. Use as a stimulant application to ulcers, burns, scalds, &c.
ENEMAS
3104. Are a peculiar kind of medicine, administered by injecting them
into the rectum or outlet of the body.
3105. The intention is either to empty the bowels, kill worms,
protect the lining membrane of the intestines from injury, restrain
copious discharges, allay spasms in the bowels, or nourish the body.
These clysters, or glysters, are administered by means of bladders
and pipes, or a proper apparatus.
3106. _Laxative._--Take two ounces of Epsom salts, and dissolve in
three-quarters of a pint of gruel, or thin broth, with an ounce of
olive oil. Use as all enemas are used.
3107. _Nutritive._--Take twelve ounces of strong beef tea, and
thicken with hartshorn shavings or arrow-root.
3108. _Turpentine._--Take half an ounce of oil of turpentine, the
yolk of one egg, and half a pint of gruel.
3109. Mix the turpentine and egg, and then add the gruel. Use as an
anthelmintic.
3110. _Common._--Dissolve one ounce of salt in twelve ounces of gruel.
3111. _Castor Oil._--Mix two ounces of castor oil with one drachm of
starch; then rub them together, and add fourteen ounces of thin gruel.
3112. Use--purgative.
3113. _Opium._--Rub two grains of opium with two ounces of starch,
then add two ounces of warm water.
3114. Use as an anodyne, in colic, spasms, &c.
3115. _Oil._--Mix four ounces of olive oil with half an ounce of
mucilage and half a pint of warm water.
3116. Use as a demulcent.
3117. _Assafœtida._--Dissolve two drachms of the gum in a pint of
barley-water.
3118. Used in convulsions from teething.
3119. _Gargles._--See pages 107, 245, and 246.
3120. _Extracts_ are made by evaporating the liquors obtained by
infusion or decoction, but these can be bought much cheaper and
better of chemists and druggists, and so can tinctures, confections,
cerates, plasters, and syrups.
3121. _Method of Ascertaining the State of the Lungs._--Persons
desirous of ascertaining the true state of their lungs, are directed
to draw in as much breath as they conveniently can; they are then to
count as far as they are able, in a slow and audible voice, without
drawing in more breath.
3122. The number of seconds they can continue counting must be
carefully observed; in a consumption the time does not exceed ten,
and is frequently less than six seconds; in pleurisy and pneumonia
it ranges from nine to four seconds. When the lungs are in a sound
condition, the time will range as high as from twenty to thirty-five
seconds.
3123. _Appetite._--Appetite is frequently lost through excessive use
of stimulants, food taken too hot, sedentary occupation, costiveness,
liver disorder, and want of change of air. The first endeavor should
be to ascertain and remove the cause.
3124. Change of diet, and change of air, will frequently be found
more beneficial than medicines.
3125. _Bile, Bilious or Liver Complaints._--Abstinence from malt
liquors, cool homœopathic cocoa for drink, no tea or coffee, few
vegetables, and little bread; bacon in a morning, and well-cooked
fresh animal food once a day.
3126. One common cause of putrid and malignant fevers is the want of
cleanliness.
POULTICES.
[SEE PAGES 112, 113, AND 230, 231.]
3127. Poultices should be applied as hot as the patient can bear.
Cold poultices do no good; remove them.
3128. _Apple Poultice._--Apples pared, cored and well boiled, then
well washed into a pulp, form a very good poultice.
3129. _Starch Poultice._--Starch, any quantity; thicken with boiling
water. When a little cool, stir in a little lard or oil.
3130. _Slippery Elm Poultice._--Take slippery elm in powder, and mix
with water until somewhat thick, then boil it a few minutes. It is to
be applied warm.
3131. _Yeast Poultice._--Wheat flour, one pound; yeast, half a pint.
Mix them together over a gentle heat until the mixture begins to
rise, then apply warm.
3132. _Mustard Poultice._--Flour of mustard, one part; flax-seed
meal, one part. Make into a paste with water. A little oil or lard
should be added to prevent its sticking.
3133. _Poultice made of Hops._--Boil a handful of hops for a few
minutes in a pint of water, in a covered vessel, squeeze out the
juice and strain. This liquor is now to be put again on the fire and
thickened with Indian meal, and a little lard added as it becomes
cool.
3134. _Spice Poultice._---Cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and ginger, of
each equal quantities; honey or molasses to mix.
3135. _Alum Poultice._--Put the white of a couple of eggs into a
plate, and then with a piece of alum between the thumb and finger
stir it into a curd.
3136. _Ginger Poultice._--Wet flannel in hot vinegar and sprinkle on
ground ginger--good for toothache.
3137. _Hot Water._--In bruises, hot water is most efficacious, both
by means of insertion and fomentation, in removing pain, and totally
preventing discoloration and stiffness. It has the same effect after
a blow. It should be applied as quickly as possible, and as hot as it
can be borne.
3138. Insertion in hot water will cure that troublesome and fearful
thing called a whitlow.
3139. The efficacy of hot water in preventing the ill effects of
fatigue is too well known to require notice.
3140. _Blisters._--See pages 113 and 374.
3141. _Plasters, Cerates, etc._--See page 238.
3142. _Food for the Sick._--See page 230, &c.
3143. _Fevers and Remedies._--See pages 111, 112.
3144. _Mucilage of Gum Arabic._--Rub one ounce of gum arabic in a
mortar, with four ounces of warm water. Use for coughs, &c.
3145. _Mucilage of Starch._--Rub one drachm of starch with a little
water, and gradually add five ounces of water, then boil until it
forms a mucilage.
3146. Use for enemas, topical application and demulcent.
3147. _Cutaneous Eruptions._--The following mixture is very useful in
all cutaneous eruptions:
3148. Ipecacuanha wine, four drachms; flowers of sulphur, two
drachms; tincture of cardamoms, one ounce. Mix.
3149. Dose--one teaspoonful to be taken three times a day, in a
wine-glassful of water. (See page 232.)
3150. _Small Pox Marks._--Long observation has convinced me that
nothing so effectually removes these disfigurements as gently rubbing
the face with a soft towel immediately after washing. This practice,
which is free from the objections which may be made against external
applications (which are usually violent irritants), quickens the
circulation of the blood, producing exfoliation and the formation of
new tissues, and at the same time restoring to the cheek its healthy
color, which is generally lost by confluent small-pox.--_Dr. Cox._
3151. Mental and bodily exercise are equally essential to the general
health and happiness.
3152. Therefore, labor and study should succeed each other.
3153. Man will live most healthily upon simple solids and fluids, of
which a sufficient but temperate quantity should be taken.
3154. Therefore, strong drinks, tobacco, snuff, opium, and all mere
indulgences should be avoided.
SPECIAL RULES FOR THE PREVENTION OF CHOLERA.
3155. We urge the necessity, in all cases of cholera, of an instant
recourse to medical aid.
3156. Also under every form and variety of indisposition: for all
disorders are found to merge in the dominant disease.
3157. Let immediate relief be sought under disorder of the bowels
especially, however slight. The invasion of cholera may thus be
readily prevented.
3158. Let every impurity, animal and vegetable, be quickly removed to
a distance from the habitations, such as slaughter-houses, pig-sties,
cesspools, necessaries, and all other domestic nuisances.
3159. Let all uncovered drains be carefully and frequently cleansed.
3160. Let the grounds in and around the habitations be drained, so as
effectually to carry off moisture of every kind.
3161. Let all partitions be removed from within and without
habitations, which unnecessarily impede ventilation.
3162. Let every room be daily thrown open for the admission of fresh
air; this should be done about noon, when the atmosphere is most
likely to be dry.
3163. Let dry scrubbing be used in domestic cleansing in place of
water cleansing.
3164. Let excessive fatigue, and exposure to damp and cold,
especially during the night, be avoided.
3165. Let the use of cold drinks and acid liquors, especially under
fatigue, be avoided, or when the body is heated.
3166. Let the use of cold acid fruits and vegetables be avoided.
3167. Let excess in the use of ardent and fermented liquors and
tobacco be avoided.
3168. Let a poor diet, and the use of impure water in cooking, or for
drinking, be avoided.
3169. Let the wearing of wet and insufficient clothes be avoided.
3170. Let a flannel or woolen belt be worn round the person.
3171. Let personal cleanliness be carefully observed.
3172. Let every cause tending to depress the moral and physical
energies be carefully avoided. Let exposure to extremes of heat and
cold be avoided.
3173. Let crowding of persons within houses and apartments be avoided.
3174. Let sleeping in low or damp rooms be avoided.
3175. Let fires be kept up during the night in sleeping or adjoining
apartments, the night being the period of most danger from attack,
especially under exposure to cold or damp.
3176. Let all bedding and clothing be daily exposed during winter and
spring to the fire, and in summer to the heat of the sun.
3177. Let the dead be buried in places remote from the habitation of
the living.
3178. By the timely adoption of simple means such as these, cholera
or other epidemics will be made to lose its venom.
RULES FOR A SICK ROOM.
3179. See pages 236 and 237.
3180. Keep the patient, and all about him, perfectly clean; and
secure, as far as possible, pure air.
3181. The chamber should be ventilated at least once a day, or twice
if it can be borne.
3182. The bed clothes should be carried out into the open air, if it
is dry, if not, into the next room; and if the patient is unable to
sit up meanwhile, let them be supplied by others.
3183. Keep the room quiet, and in perfect order.
3184. Let the sick be addressed in a gentle voice, and the
conversation, if any is admitted, be pleasant and cheering.
3185. The nurse and friends should express sympathy with the
sufferer, but at the same time seek to inspire courage, and patience
to endure.
3186. All vials and powders should be labeled, to prevent fatal
mistakes.
3187. The beds should be made at least once a day, and if the patient
can bear it, twice. Carry the beds out into the open air, or if damp,
into another room.
3188. Keep the skin clean by daily ablutions: change the garments
frequently, and rinse the mouth often.
3189. A nurse should be of a pleasant, agreeable, persuasive,
and even temper, with great patience to bear with the whims and
unreasonable fretfulness that often appear in the sick.
3190. Never dispute with a very sick person, nor reprove him for any
seeming inconsistency. Remember that he is scarcely a responsible
being.
3191. _To prevent Pitting after Small-Pox._--Spread a sheet of thin
leather with the ointment of ammoniacum with mercury, and cut out a
place for the mouth, eyes, and nostrils.
3192. This forms what is called a mask, and after anointing the
eye-lids with a little blue ointment (_unguentum hydrargyri_), it
should be applied to the face, and allowed to remain for three days
for the distinct kind, and four days for the running variety. _Period
to apply it_:
3193. _Before_ the spots fill with matter, although it will answer
sometimes even after they have become pustulous. It may be applied to
any part in the same way.
3194. _Precautions to be Observed in giving
Medicines.--Sex._--Medicines for females should not be so strong as
those for males, therefore it is advisable to reduce the doses about
one-eighth.
3195. _Temperament._--Persons of a phlegmatic temperament bear
stimulants and purgatives better than those of a sanguine
temperament; therefore the latter require smaller doses.
3196. _Habits._--Purgatives never act so well upon persons accustomed
to take them, as upon those who are not; therefore it is better to
change the form of purgative from pill to potion, powder to draught,
or aromatic to saline. Purgatives should never be given when there is
an irritable state of the bowels.
3197. Stimulants and narcotics never act so quickly upon persons
accustomed to use spirits freely as upon those who live abstemiously.
DOMESTIC SURGERY.
3198. This will comprise such hints and advice as will enable any one
to act on an emergency, or in ordinary trivial accidents requiring
simple treatment; and also to distinguish between serious and simple
accidents, and the best means to adopt in all cases that are likely
to fall under a person's notice.
3199. These hints will be of the utmost value to the heads of
families, to emigrants, and to persons who are frequently called upon
to attend upon the sick.
3200. We strongly recommend the parent, emigrant or nurse to read
over these directions occasionally, to regard it as a duty, to do
so at least three or four times a year, so as to be prepared for
emergencies whenever they may arise.
3201. When accidents occur, people are too excited to acquire
immediately a knowledge of what they should do; and many lives have
been lost for want of this knowledge.
3202. Study, therefore, at moderate intervals, the domestic surgery,
treatment of poisons, rules for the prevention of accidents, how to
escape from fires, &c., which will be found in various pages of this
book.
3203. Let it be impressed upon your mind that the _Index_ will enable
you to refer to any thing you may require in a moment.
3204. _Dressings_ are substances usually applied to parts for the
purpose of soothing, promoting their reunion when divided, protecting
them from external injuries, as a means of applying various
medicines, to absorb discharges, protect the surrounding parts, and
securing cleanliness.
3205. Certain instruments are required for the application of
dressings in domestic surgery, viz.--Scissors, a pair of tweezers,
or simple forceps, a knife, needles and thread, a razor, a lancet, a
piece of lunar caustic in a quill, and a sponge.
3206. The materials required for dressings, consist of lint, scraped
linen, carded cotton, tow, ointment spread on calico, adhesive
plaster, compresses, pads, poultices, old rags of linen or calico,
and water.
3207. The following rules should be attended to in applying
dressings. Always prepare the new dressings before removing the old
ones.
3208. Always have hot and cold water at hand, and a vessel to place
the foul dressings in.
3209. Have one or more persons at hand ready to assist, and tell
each person what they are to do before you commence, it prevents
confusion; thus, one is to wash out and hand the sponges, another to
heat the adhesive plaster, or hand the bandages and dressings, and,
if requisite, a third to support the limb, &c.
3210. Always stand on the outside of a limb to dress it. Place the
patient in as easy a position as possible, so as not to fatigue him.
Arrange the bed _after_ changing the dressings, but in some cases you
will have to do so before the patient is placed on it.
3211. Never be in a hurry when applying dressings, do it quietly.
When a patient requires moving from one bed to another, the best way
is for one person to stand on each side of the patient, and each to
place an arm behind his back, while he passes his arms over their
necks; then let their other arms be passed under his thighs, and by
holding each other's hands, the patient can be raised with ease, and
removed to another bed.
3212. If the leg is injured, a third person should steady it, and if
the arm, the same precaution should be adopted.
3213. Sometimes a stout sheet is passed under the patient, and by
several people holding the sides, the patient is lifted without any
fatigue or much disturbance.
3214. _Lint_ may be made in a hurry, by nailing the corners of a
piece of old linen to a board, and scraping its surface with a knife.
It is used either alone or spread with ointment.
3215. Scraped lint is the fine filaments from ordinary lint, and is
used to stimulate ulcers and absorb discharges; it is what the French
call _charpie_.
3216. Scraped lint is made into various shapes, for particular
purposes.
3217. For example, when it is screwed up into a conical or wedge-like
shape, it is called _a tent_, and is used to dilate fistulous
openings, so as to allow the matter to escape freely, to plug wounds,
so as to promote the formation of a clot of blood, and thus arrest
bleeding.
3218. When it is rolled into little balls they are called
_boulettes_, and are used for absorbing matter in cavities, or blood
in wounds.
3219. Carded cotton is used as a dressing for superficial burns, and
care should be taken to free it from specks, as flies are apt to lay
their eggs there, and generate maggots.
3220. Tow is chiefly employed as a padding for splints, as
compresses, and also as an outer dressing where there is much
discharge from a surface.
3221. Ointments are spread on calicoes, lint, or even thin layers of
tow by means of a knife; they should not be spread too thick.
3222. Adhesive plaster is cut into strips, ranging in width according
to the nature of the wound, &c., but the usual width is about
three-quarters of an inch.
3223. Isinglass plaster is not so irritating as diachylon, and is
more easily removed.
3224. _Compresses_ are made of pieces of linen, calico, lint, or tow,
doubled or cut into various shapes.
3225. They are used to confine dressings in their places, and to
apply an equal pressure on parts.
3226. They should be free from darns, hems, and knots.
3227. Ordinary compresses are square, oblong, and triangular.
3228. The _pierced compress_ is made by folding up a square piece of
linen five or six times on itself, and then nicking the surface with
scissors, so as to cut out small pieces.
3229. It is then opened out, and spread with ointment.
3230. It is applied to discharging surfaces, for the purpose of
allowing the matter to pass freely through the holes, and is
frequently covered with a thin layer of tow.
3231. Compresses are also made in the shape of a Maltese cross, and
half a cross, sometimes split singly, and at other times doubly: or
they are graduated by placing square pieces of folded cloth on one
another, so arranged that they decrease in size each time.
3232. They are used for keeping up pressure upon certain parts.
3233. _Pads_ are made by sewing tow inside pieces of linen, or
folding linen and sewing the pieces together. They are used to keep
off pressure from parts, such as that caused by splints in fractures.
BANDAGES.
3234. Bandages are strips of calico, linen, flannel, muslin, elastic
webbing, bunting, or some other substance, of various lengths, such
as three, four, eight, ten, or twelve yards, and one, one and a-half,
two, two and a-half, three, four, or six inches wide, free from hems
or darns; soft and unglazed.
3235. They are better after they have been washed.
3236. Bandages are simple and compound; the former are simple slips
rolled up tightly like a roll of ribbon.
3237. There is also another simple kind which is rolled from both
ends--this is called a double-headed bandage.
3238. The compound bandages are formed of many pieces.
3239. Bandages for the head should be two inches wide and five yards
long; for the neck, two inches wide and three yards long; for the
arm, two inches wide and seven yards long; for the leg, two inches
and a half wide and seven yards long; for the thigh, three inches
wide and eight yards long; and for the body, four or six inches wide
and ten or twelve yards long.
3240. To apply a single-headed bandage, lay the _outside of the
end_ next to the part to be bandaged, and to hold the roll between
the little, ring, and middle fingers and the palm of the left hand,
using the thumb and fore-finger of the same hand to guide it, and the
right hand to keep it firm, and pass the bandage partly round the leg
toward the left hand.
3241. It is sometimes necessary to reverse this order, and therefore
it is well to be able to use both hands.
3242. _Circular_ bandages are used for the _neck_, to retain
dressings on any part of it, or for blisters, setons, &c.; for the
_head_, to keep dressings on the forehead or any part contained
within a circle passing round the head; for the _arm_, previous to
bleeding; for the _leg_, above the knee; and for the _fingers_, &c.
3243. _To confine the ends of bandages_ some persons use pins, others
slit the end for a short distance, and tie the two strips into a
knot, and some use a strip of adhesive plaster.
3244. Always place the point of a pin in such a position that it
should not be likely to prick the patient, or the person dressing
the limb, or be likely to draw out by using the limb: therefore, as
a general rule, turn the head of the pin from the free end of the
bandage, or toward the upper part of the limb.
3245. The _oblique_ bandage is generally used for arms and legs, to
retain dressings.
3246. The _spiral_ bandage is generally applied to the trunk and
extremities, but it is apt to fall off even when very carefully
applied: therefore we generally use another called the recurrent,
which folds back again.
3247. The _recurrent_ bandage is the best kind of bandage that we can
employ for general purposes.
3248. The _circular_ bandage is formed by horizontal turns, each of
which overlaps the one made before it.
3249. The _spiral_ consists of spiral turns.
3250. The _oblique_ follows a course oblique or slanting to the
centre of the limb.
3251. The _recurrent_ folds back again to the part whence it started.
3252. A _bandage for the chest_ is always placed upon the patient in
a sitting posture; and it may be put on in circles or spirally.
3253. Use, in fractures of the ribs, to retain dressings, and after
severe contusions.
3254. _A bandage for the belly_ is placed on the patient as directed
in the last; if spirally, carrying it from above downward.
3255. Use, to compress the belly after dropsy, or retain dressings.
3256. The _hand_ is bandaged by crossing the bandage over the back of
the hand.
3257. Use, to retain dressings.
3258. For the _head_, a bandage may be circular, or spiral or both;
in the latter case, commence by placing one circular turn just over
the ears; then bring down from left to right, and round the head
again, so as to alternate a spiral with a circular turn.
3259. Use, to retain dressings on the head or over the eye; but this
form soon gets slack. The circular bandage is the best, crossing it
over both eyes.
3260. _For the Foot._--Place the end just above the outer ankle, and
make two circular turns, to prevent its slipping; then bring it down
from the inside of the foot over the instep toward the outer part;
pass it under the sole of the foot, and upward and inward over the
instep toward the inner ankle, then round the ankle, and repeat again.
3261. Use, to retain dressings to the instep, heel or ankle.
3262. _For the leg and foot_, commence and proceed as directed in
2213; then continue it up the leg as ordered in 3247.
3263. As it sometimes happens that it is necessary to apply a bandage
at once, and the materials are not at hand, it is desirable to know
how to substitute something else _that any one may apply with ease_.
3264. This is found to be effected by handkerchiefs, and an
experienced surgeon has paid great attention to this subject, and
brought it to much perfection. It is to him, therefore, that we are
indebted for most of these hints.
3265. Any ordinary handkerchief will do; but a square of linen,
folded into various shapes, answers better.
3266. The shapes generally required are as follows:--The triangle,
the long square, the cravat, and the cord.
3267. The _triangular handkerchief_ is made by folding it from corner
to corner. Use, as a bandage for the head.
3268. _Application._--Place the base round the head, and the short
part hanging down behind, then tie the long ends over it.
3269. The _long-square_ is made by folding the handkerchief into
three parts, or double it once upon itself.
3270. Use, as a bandage to the ribs, belly, &c. If one handkerchief
is not long enough, sew two together.
3271. The _cravat_ is folded as usual with cravats. Use, as a bandage
for the head, arms, legs, feet, neck, &c.
3272. The _cord_ is used to compress vessels, when a knot is made
in it, and placed over the vessel to be compressed. It is merely a
handkerchief twisted in its long diameter.
3273. Sometimes it is necessary to apply two or more handkerchiefs,
as in a broken collar-bone, or when it is necessary to keep dressings
under the arm.
3274. It is applied by knotting the two ends of one handkerchief
together, passing the left arm through it, then passing another
handkerchief under the right arm, and tying it.
3275. By this means we can brace the shoulders well back, and the
handkerchief will press firmly over the broken collar-bone; besides,
this form of bandage does not readily slip or get slack, but it
requires to be combined with the sling, in order to keep the arm
steady.
3276. When a woman has an inflamed breast that requires support or
dressings to be kept to it, tie two ends of the handkerchief round
her neck, and bring the body of it over the breast, and pass it
upward and backward under the arm of that side, and tie the ends of
those around the neck.
3277. An excellent sling is formed by placing one handkerchief around
the neck, and knotting the two ends over the breast-bone, then
placing the other in triangle under the arm, to be supported with the
base near to the hand; tie the ends over the handkerchief, and pin
the top to the other part after passing it around the elbow.
3278. _Apparatus._--When a person receives a severe contusion of the
leg or foot, or breaks his leg, or has painful ulcers over the leg,
or is unable from some cause to bear the pressure of the bed-clothes,
it is advisable to know how to keep them from hurting the leg.
3279. This may be done by bending up a fire-guard, or placing a
chair, resting upon the edge of its back and front of the seat over
the leg, or putting a box on each side of it, and placing a plank
over them; but the best way is to make a _cradle_, as it is called.
3280. This is done by getting three pieces of wood, and three pieces
of iron wire, and passing the wire or hoop through the wood. This
can be placed to any height, and is very useful in all cases where
pressure cannot be borne.
3281. Wooden hoops cut in halves answer better than the wire.
3282. When a person breaks his leg, and _splints_ cannot be had
directly, get a bunch of straw or twigs, and roll it up in a
handkerchief, and place one on each side of the leg or arm, and
bind another handkerchief firmly around them, or make a long bag
about three inches in diameter, or even more, of coarse linen duck,
or carpet, and stuff this full of bran, sawdust, or sand; sew up
the end, and use this the same as the twigs. It forms an excellent
extemporaneous splint.
3283. Another good plan is to get a hat-box made of chip, and cut it
into suitable lengths, or for want of all these, some bones out of a
pair of stays, and run them through a stout piece of rug, protecting
the leg with a fold of rug, linen, &c.
3284. When dry warmth is required to be applied to any part of the
body, fry a flour pancake and lay it over the part; or warm some sand
and place in the patient's socks, and lay it to the part; salt does
as well, and may be put into a paper bag; or warm water put into
ginger-beer bottles or stone jars, and rolled up in flannel.
3285. _Violent shocks_ will sometimes stun a person, and he will
remain unconscious.
3286. Untie strings, collars, &c.; loose any thing that is tight,
and interferes with the breathing; raise the head; see if there is
bleeding from any part; apply smelling-salts to the nose, and hot
bottles to the feet.
3287. _In concussion_, the surface of the body is cold and pale, and
the pulse weak and small, the breathing slow and _gentle_, and the
pupil of the eye generally contracted or small. You can get an answer
by speaking loud, so as to arouse the patient.
3288. Give a little brandy and water, keep the place quiet, apply
warmth, and do not raise the head too high. If you tickle the feet,
the patient feels it.
3289. _In Compression of the Brain_, from any cause, such as
apoplexy, or a piece of fractured bone pressing on it, there is loss
of sensation. If you tickle the feet, he does not feel it. You cannot
arouse him so as to get an answer. The pulse is slow and labored, the
breathing slow, labored, and _snorting_; the pupils enlarged.
3290. Raise the head, unloose strings or tight things, and send for
a surgeon. If one cannot be got at once, apply mustard-poultices and
hot water to the feet, and leeches to the temples; or cold water,
which is better.
3291. _Choking._--When a person has a fish bone in the throat, insert
the forefinger, press upon the root of the tongue, so as to induce
vomiting; if this does not do, let them swallow a _large piece_ of
potato or soft bread; and if these fail, give a mustard or soap
emetic.
3292. _Fainting, Hysterics, &c._--Loosen the garments, bathe the
temples with water or Eau de Cologne: fresh air; avoid bustle and
excessive sympathy.
3293. _Apparent Death from Drunkenness._--Raise the head, unloose
the clothes, maintain warmth of surface, and give a mustard emetic as
soon as the person can swallow.
3294. _Apoplexy, and Fits generally._--Raise the head; unloose all
tight clothes, strings, &c.; apply cold lotions to the head and cold
water, and use hot applications to the feet. Send for a doctor as
soon as possible.
3295. _Suffocation_ from noxious gases, &c. Remove to the fresh air:
dash cold vinegar and water in the face, neck and breast; keep up
the warmth of the body; if necessary, apply mustard-poultices to the
soles of the feet, and try artificial respiration as in drowning.
3296. _Lightning and Sun-stroke._--Treat the same as apoplexy; that
is, use plenty of cold water.
3297. _Hanging._--Loose the cord, or whatever suspended the person,
and proceed as for drowning, taking the additional precaution to
apply eight or ten leeches to the temples, or cold water.
LEECHES AND THEIR APPLICATION.
3298. The leech used for medical purposes is called the _Hirudo
medicinalis_, to distinguish it from other varieties, such as the
horse-leech and the Lisbon leech.
3299. It varies from two to four inches in length, and is of a
blackish brown color, marked on the back with six yellow spots, and
edged with a yellow line on each side.
3300. Formerly leeches were supplied by Sweden, but latterly most of
the leeches are procured from France, where they are now becoming
scarce.
3301. When leeches are applied to a part, it should be thoroughly
freed from down or hair by shaving, and all liniments, &c., carefully
and effectually cleaned away by washing.
3302. If the leech is hungry it will soon bite, but sometimes great
difficulty is experienced in getting them to fasten on. When this is
the case, roll the leech into a little porter, or moisten the surface
with a little blood, or milk, or sugar and water.
3303. Leeches may be applied by holding them over the part with a
piece of linen cloth or by means of an inverted glass, under which
they must be placed.
3304. When applied to the gums, care should be taken to use a leech
glass, as they are apt to creep down the patient's throat; a large
swan's quill will answer the purpose of a leech glass.
3305. When leeches are gorged they will drop off themselves; never
_tear_ them off from a person, but just dip the point of a moistened
finger into some salt, and touch them with it.
3306. Be sure never to allow any one to go to sleep with leech bites
bleeding, without watching them carefully; and never apply too many
to children.
3307. If a leech is accidentally swallowed, or by any means gets into
the body, employ an emetic, or enema of salt and water.
3308. It is to be hoped that these disgusting worms will soon be
banished with the lancet from the practice.
3309. _Taking blood_ is now conceded, by the best physicians, to be
injurious.
3310. "_The life is the blood._"--Whoever takes away blood, weakens
life.--(See page 127.)
3311. _Bruises and Inflammation._--Use warm water; bathings are
better than scarifications.
3312. _Burns and Scalds._--(See pages 109, 110.)--_Vitriol
Accidents._--See page 110.
3313. _Poisons and their Remedies._--See pages 120, 121, 122.
3314. _Body in Flames._--Lay the person down on the floor of the
room, and throw the tablecloth, rug, or other large cloth over him,
and roll him on the floor.
3315. _Dirt in the Eye._--Place your forefinger upon the cheekbone,
having the patient before you; then draw up the finger and you will
probably be able to remove the dirt; but if this will not enable you
to get at it, repeat this operation while you have a netting-needle
or bodkin placed over the eye-lid; this will turn it inside out, and
enable you to remove the sand, or eyelash, &c., with the corner of a
fine silk handkerchief.
3316. As soon as the substance is removed, bathe the eye with warm
water and exclude the light for a day. If the inflammation is severe,
take a purgative and use a refrigerant lotion. (969.)
3317. _Lime in the Eye._--Syringe it well with warm vinegar and water
(one ounce to eight ounces of water); take a purgative, and exclude
light.
3318. _Iron or Steel Spiculæ in the Eye._--This occurs while turning
iron or steel in a lathe.
3319. Drop a solution of sulphate of copper (from one to three grains
of the salt to one ounce of water) into the eye, or keep the eye open
in a wine-glassful of the solution.
3320. Take a purgative, bathe with cold lotion, and exclude light to
keep down inflammation.
3321. _Dislocated Thumb._--This is frequently produced by a fall.
Make a clove hitch, by passing two loops of cord over the thumb,
placing a piece of rag under the cord to prevent it cutting the
thumb; then pull in the same line as the thumb. Afterward apply a
cold lotion.
3322. _Cuts and Wounds._--Cut thin strips of sticking-plaster, and
bring the parts together; or if large and deep, cut two broad pieces
so as to look like the teeth of a comb, and place one on each side of
the wound, which must be cleaned previously.
3323. These pieces must be arranged so that they shall interlace one
another; then, by laying hold of the pieces on the right hand side
with one hand, and those on the other side with the other hand, and
pulling them from one another, the edges of the wound are brought
together, and without any difficulty.
3324. _Hemorrhage_, when caused by an artery being divided or torn,
may be known by the blood _jumping_ out of the wound, and being of a
bright scarlet color.
3325. If a vein is injured, the blood is darker, and flows
continuously. To stop the latter, apply pressure by means of a
compress and bandage.
3326. To arrest arterial bleeding, get a piece of wood (part of a
mop-handle will do), and tie a piece of tape to one end of it; then
tie a piece of tape loosely over the arm, and pass the other end of
the wood under it; twist the stick round and round until the tape
compresses the arm sufficiently to arrest the bleeding, and then
confine the other end by tying the string round the arm.
3327. If the bleeding is very obstinate, and it occurs in the _arm_,
place a cork underneath the string, on the inside of the fleshy part,
where the artery may be felt beating by any one; if in the _leg_,
place a cork in the direction of a line drawn from the inner part of
the knee a little to the outside of the groin.
3328. It is an excellent thing to accustom yourself to find out the
position of these arteries, or indeed any that are superficial, and
to explain to everyone in your house where they are, and how to stop
bleeding.
3329. If a stick cannot be got, take a handkerchief, make a cord
bandage of it, and tie a knot in the middle; the knot acts as a
compress, and should be placed over the artery, while the two ends
are to be tied around the thumb.
3330. Observe always _to place the ligature between the wound and the
heart_.
3331. Putting your finger into a bleeding wound, and making pressure
until a surgeon arrives, will generally stop violent bleeding.
3332. _Bleeding from the nose_, from whatever cause, may generally be
stopped by putting a plug of lint into the nostrils.--See pp. 95-6.
3333. _In dangerous accidents always send off for a surgeon
immediately an accident occurs, but treat as directed until he
arrives._
3334. _Accidents._--See page 94.
RICHES.
3335. "The way to wealth," says Doctor Franklin, "is as plain as the
way to market."
3336. Many men, however, either miss the way, or stumble and fall on
the road.
3337. Fortune, they say, is a fickle dame--full of her freaks and
caprices; who blindly distributes her favors without the slightest
discrimination. So inconstant, so wavering is she represented, that
her most faithful votaries can place no reliance on her promises.
3338. Disappointment, they tell us, is the lot of those who make
offerings at her shrine. Now, all this is a vile slander upon the
dear blind lady.
3339. Although wealth often appears the result of mere accident,
or a fortunate concurrence of favorable circumstances, without any
exertion of skill or foresight, yet every man of sound health and
unimpaired mind may become wealthy, if he takes the proper steps.
3340. Foremost in the list of requisites, are honesty and strict
integrity in every transaction of life. Let a man have the reputation
of being fair and upright in his dealings, and he will possess the
confidence of all who know him.
3341. Without these qualities, every other merit will prove
unavailing. Ask concerning a man, "Is he active and capable?" Yes.
"Industrious, temperate, and regular in his habits?" O yes.
3342. "Is he honest? is he trustworthy?" Why, as to that, I am sorry
to say that he is not to be trusted; he wants watching; he is a
little tricky, and will take an undue advantage, if he can.
3343. "Then I will have nothing to do with him:" will be the
invariable reply.
3344. In a word, it is almost impossible for a dishonest man to
acquire wealth by a regular process of business, because he is
shunned as a depredator upon society.
3345. Needy men are apt to deviate from the rule of integrity, under
the plea that _necessity_ knows no law; they might as well add that
it knows no shame.
3346. The course is suicidal, and by destroying all confidence, ever
keeps them immured in poverty, although they may possess every other
quality for success in the world.
3347. Punctuality, which is said to be the soul of business, is
another important element in the art of money-getting.
3348. Therefore be prompt in your payments.
3349. Next, let us consider the advantages of a cautious
circumspection in our intercourse with the world. Slowness of belief,
and a proper distrust are essential to success.
3350. The credulous and confiding are ever the dupes of knaves and
impostors. Ask those who have lost their property how it happened,
and you will find in most cases it has been owing to misplaced
confidence.
3351. One has lost by endorsing; another by crediting; another by
false representations; all of which a little more foresight and a
little more distrust would have prevented.
3352. In the affairs of this world, men are not saved by faith, but
by the want of it.
3353. Judge of men by what they do, not by what they say. Believe in
looks rather than in words.
3354. Before trusting a man, before putting it in his power to cause
you a loss, possess yourself of every available information relative
to him.
3355. Learn his history, his habits, inclinations and propensities;
his reputation for honesty, industry, frugality, and punctuality; his
prospects, resources, supports, advantages and disadvantages; his
intentions and motives of action; who are his friends and enemies,
and what are his good or bad qualities.
3356. You may learn a man's good qualities and advantages from his
friends--his bad qualities and disadvantages from his enemies. Make
due allowance for exaggeration in both.
3357. Finally, examine carefully before engaging in any thing, and
act with energy afterward. Have the hundred eyes of Argus beforehand,
and the hundred hands of Briareus afterward.
3358. Order and system in the management of business must not be
neglected. Nothing contributes more to dispatch.
3359. Do first what presses most, and having determined what is to
be done, and how it is to be done, lose no time in doing it. Without
this method, all is hurry and confusion, little or nothing is
accomplished, and business is attended to with neither pleasure nor
profit.
3360. A polite, affable deportment is recommended.
3361. Take two men, possessing equal advantages in every other
respect, but let one be gentlemanly, kind, obliging, and conciliating
in his manners; the other harsh, rude, and disobliging, and the one
will become rich, while the other will starve.
3362. _Industry._--We are now to consider a very important principle
in the business of money-getting, namely--_Industry_--persevering,
indefatigable, attention to business.
3363. Persevering diligence is the philosopher's stone, which turns
every thing to gold. Constant, regular, habitual, and systematic
application to business must, in time, if properly directed, produce
great results.
3364. It must lead to wealth, with the same certainty that poverty
follows in the train of idleness and inattention.
3365. It has been truly remarked, that he who follows his amusements
instead of his business, will, in a short time, have no business to
follow.
3366. The art of money-saving is an important part of the art of
money-getting. Without frugality, no one can become rich; with it,
few would be poor. Those who consume as fast as they produce, are on
the road to ruin.
3367. As most of the poverty we meet with grows out of idleness and
extravagance, so most large fortunes have been the result of habitual
industry and frugality.
3368. The practice of economy is as necessary in the expenditure of
time as of money. They say that if "we take care of the pence, the
pounds will take care of themselves." So, if we take care of the
minutes, the days will take care of themselves.
3669. Away, then, with your expensive follies, and you will not
then have so much cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and
chargeable families.
3370. Many, for the sake of finery on the back, have gone with a
hungry stomach, and half starved their families.
3371. The acquisition of wealth demands as much self-denial, and as
many sacrifices of present gratification, as the practice of virtue
itself.
3372. Vice and poverty proceed, in some degree, from the same
sources, namely--the disposition to sacrifice the future to the
present; the inability to forego a small present pleasure for great
future advantages.
3373. Men fail of fortune in this world, as they fail of happiness
in the world to come, simply because they are unwilling to deny
themselves momentary enjoyments for the sake of permanent future
happiness.
3374. Every large city is filled with persons, who, in order to
support the appearance of wealth, constantly live beyond their
income, and make up the deficiency by contracting debts which are
never paid.
3375. Others there are, the mere drones of society, who pass their
days in idleness, and subsist by pirating on the hives of the
industrious.
3376. Many who run a short-lived career of splendid beggary, could
they but be persuaded to adopt a system of rigid economy for a few
years, might pass the remainder of their days in affluence.
3377. But no! They must keep up _appearances_, they must live like
other folks.
3378. Their debts accumulate; their credit fails; they are harassed
by duns, and besieged by constables and sheriffs.
3379. In this extremity, as a last resort, they submit to a shameful
dependence, or engage in criminal practices, which entail hopeless
wretchedness and infamy on themselves and families.
3380. Stick to the business in which you are regularly employed. Let
speculators make their thousands in a year or a day; mind your own
regular trade, never turning from it to the right hand or to the left.
3381. If you are a merchant, a professional man, or a mechanic, never
buy lots or stocks unless you have surplus money which you wish to
invest. Your own business you understand as well as other men; but
other people's business you do not understand.
3382. Let your business be some one which is useful to the community.
All such occupations possess the elements of profit in themselves.
3383. To the foregoing advice we add the description of _the hero in
business life_.
3384. A sacred regard to the principles of justice forms the basis of
every transaction, and regulates the conduct of the upright man of
business.
3385. He is strict in keeping his engagements.
3386. Does nothing carelessly or in a hurry.
3387. Employs nobody to do what he can easily do himself.
3388. Keeps every thing in its proper place.
3389. Leaves nothing undone that ought to be done, and which
circumstances permit him to do.
3390. Keeps his designs and business from the view of others.
3391. Is prompt and decisive with his customers, and does not
overtrade his capital.
3392. Prefers short credits to long ones; and cash to credit at all
times, either in buying or selling; and small profits in credit cases
with little risk, to the chance of better gains with more hazard.
3393. He is clear and explicit in all his bargains.
3394. Leaves nothing of consequence to memory which he can and ought
to commit to writing.
3395. Keeps copies of all his important letters which he sends away,
and has every letter, invoice, &c., relating to his business, titled,
classed, and put away.
3396. Never suffers his desk to be confused by many papers lying upon
it.
3397. Is always at the head of his business, well knowing that if he
leaves it, it will leave him.
3398. Holds it as a maxim that he whose credit is suspected is not
one to be trusted.
3399. Is constantly examining his books, and sees through all his
affairs as far as care and attention will enable him.
3400. Balances regularly at stated times, and then makes out and
transmits all his accounts-current to his customers, both at home and
abroad.
3401. He avoids, as much as possible, all sorts of accommodation in
money matters and lawsuits where there is the least hazard.
3402. He is economical in his expenditure, always living within his
income.
3403. Keeps a memorandum-book in his pocket, in which he notes every
particular relative to appointments, addresses, and petty cash
matters.
3404. Is cautious how he becomes security for any person; and is
generous when urged by motives of humanity.
3405. Let a man act strictly to these habits; when once begun they
will be easy to continue in--ever remembering that he hath no profits
by his pains whom Providence doth not prosper--and success will
attend his efforts.
3406. If he has a good wife, who does her part, the happiness of the
noble-hearted business-man is as secure as humanity admits.
TEMPERANCE.
3407. To "be temperate in all things," is the command; a rule
necessary for men in order to acquire wealth righteously, and enjoy
health perfectly.
3408. Late hours, irregular habits, and want of attention to diet,
are common errors with most young men, and these gradually, but at
first imperceptibly, undermine the health, and lay the foundation for
various forms of disease in after life.
3409. It is a very difficult thing to make young persons comprehend
this. They frequently sit up as late as twelve, one, or two o'clock,
without experiencing any ill effects; they go without a meal to-day,
and to-morrow eat to repletion, with only temporary inconvenience.
3410. One night they will sleep three or four hours, and the next
nine or ten; or one night, in their eagerness to get away into some
agreeable company, they will take no food at all; and the next,
perhaps, will eat a hearty supper, and go to bed upon it.
3411. These, with various other irregularities, are common to the
majority of young men, and are, as just stated, the cause of much bad
health in mature life.
3412. Indeed, nearly all the shattered constitutions with which
too many are cursed, are the result of a disregard to the plainest
precepts of health in early life.
3413. Laborers, and other working people, more especially those
whose occupations require them to be much in the open air, may be
considered as following a regulated system of moderation; and hence
the higher degree of health which prevails among them and their
families.
3414. They also observe rules; and those which it is said were
recommended by Old Parr are remarkable for good sense; namely--
3415. "Keep your head cool by temperance, your feet warm by exercise;
rise early, and go soon to bed; and if you are inclined to get fat,
keep your eyes open and your mouth shut."
3416. In other words, sleep moderately, and be abstemious in
diet;--excellent admonitions, more especially to those inclined to
corpulency.
3417. The advantage to be derived from a regular mode of living, with
a view to the preservation of health and life, are nowhere better
exemplified than in the precepts and practice of Plutarch, whose
rules for this purpose are excellent; and by observing them himself,
he maintained his bodily strength and mental faculties unimpaired to
a very advanced age.
3418. Galen is a still stronger proof of the advantages of a regular
plan, by means of which he reached the great age of 140 years,
without having ever experienced disease.
3419. His advice to the readers of his "Treatise on Health," is as
follows:
3420. "I beseech all persons who shall read this work, not to degrade
themselves to a level with the brutes, or the rabble, by gratifying
their sloth, or by eating and drinking promiscuously whatever pleases
their palates, or by indulging their appetites of every kind.
3421. "But, whether they understand physic, or not, let them consult
their reason, and observe what agrees, and what does not agree with
them, that, like wise men, they may adhere to the use of such things
as conduce to their health, and forbear every thing which, by their
own experience, they find to do them hurt; and let them be assured
that, by a diligent observation and practice of this rule, they may
enjoy a good share of health, and seldom stand in need of physic or
physicians."
3422. The celebrated maxims of Dr. Franklin, published as the
"Sayings of Poor Richard," deserve a place in this family book.
3423. I have sought out, and here bring together, over one hundred of
these prudent precepts.
THE WAY TO WEALTH.
3424. God helps those who help themselves.
3425. Many words won't fill a bushel.
3426. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears.
3427. The key often used is always bright.
3428. Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the
stuff life is made of.
3429. The sleeping fox catches no poultry.
3430. There will be time enough for sleep, in the grave.
3431. If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must
be the greatest prodigality.
3432. Lost time is never found again.
3433. What we call time enough, always proves little enough.
3434. Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy.
3435. He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce
overtake his business at night.
3436. Laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him.
3437. Drive thy business, lest it drive thee.
3438. Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy,
and wise.
3439. Industry need not wish.
3440. He that lives upon hope, will die fasting.
3441. There are no gains without pains.
3442. Help, hands, for I have no lands.
3443. He that hath a trade, hath an estate, and he that hath a
calling, hath an office of profit and honor; but the trade must be
worked at, and the calling well followed, or neither will enable us
to pay our taxes.
3444. The drone in the hive makes no honey.
3445. At the working-man's house hunger looks in, but does not enter.
3446. Industry pays debts, but despair increaseth them.
3447. Diligence is the mother of good luck.
3448. God gives all things to industry.
3449. Plow deep while sluggards sleep, and you will have corn to sell
and to keep.
3450. One to-day is worth two to-morrow.
3451. Have you somewhat to do to-morrow, do it to-day.
3452. If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good
master should catch you idle? Are you, then, your own master? be
ashamed to catch yourself idle.
3453. The cat in gloves catches no mice.
3454. Handle your tools without mittens.
3455. Light strokes fell great oaks.
3456. By diligence and patience, the mouse ate into the cable.
3457. Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and
since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.
3458. A life of leisure and a life of laziness, are two things.
3459. Troubles spring from idleness, and grievous toils from needless
ease.
3460. Many would live by their wits, without labor, but they break
for want of stock.
3461. Industry gives comfort, plenty, and respect.
3462. Fly pleasures, and they'll follow you.
3463. Now I have a sheep and a cow, everybody bids me good-morrow.
3464. I never saw an oft-removed tree,
Nor yet an oft-removed family,
That throve so well as one that settled be.
3465. Three removes are as bad as a fire.
3466. Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee.
3467. If you would have your business done, go; if not, send.
3468. He that by the plow would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive.
3469. The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands.
3470. Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge.
3471. Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them your purse open.
3472. In the affairs of the world, men are saved not by faith, but
for the want of it.
3473. Learning is to the studious, and riches to the careful, as well
as power to the bold, and heaven to the virtuous.
3474. If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like,
serve yourself.
3475. A little neglect may breed great mischief.
3476. For want of a nail the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe the horse was lost;
For want of a horse the rider was lost--
Being overtaken and slain by the enemy.
3477. If a man save not as he gets, he may keep his nose to the
grindstone all his life, and die not worth a groat.
3478. A fat kitchen makes a lean will.
3479. Many estates are spent in the getting,
Since women for tea, forsook spinning and knitting
And men for punch, forsook hewing and splitting.
3480. The Indies did not make Spain rich, because her outgoes were
greater than her incomes.
3481. Women and wine, game and deceit,
Make the wealth small, and the want great.
3482. What maintains one vice would bring up two children.
3483. Many a little makes a mickle.
3484. Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.
3485. Who dainties love, shall beggars prove.
3486. Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them.
3487. Buy what thou dost not need, and ere long thou shalt sell thy
necessaries.
3488. At a great bargain pause awhile.
3489. Many have been ruined by good bargains.
3490. It is foolish to lay out money in the purchase of repentance.
3491. Wise men learn by other's harms, fools scarcely by their own.
3492. Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire.
3493. For one poor person, there are a hundred indigent.
3494. A plowman on his legs, is higher than a gentleman on his knees.
3495. Always taking out of the meal-tub, and never putting in, soon
comes to the bottom.
3496. When the well is dry we know the worth of water.
3497. If you would know the value of money, try to borrow.
3498. He that goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing.
3499. Fond pride of dress is sure a very curse;
Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.
3500. Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and a great deal more saucy.
3501. It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all
that follow it.
3502. Vessels large may venture more,
But little boats should keep the shore.
3503. Pride that shines on vanity sups on contempt.
3504. Pride breakfasted with Plenty, dined with Poverty, and supped
with Infamy.
3505. What is a butterfly? At best
He's but a caterpillar dress'd;
The gaudy fop's his picture just.
3506. The second vice is lying; the first is running in debt.
3507. Lying rides upon debt's back.
3508. It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.
3509. Creditors have better memories than debtors.
3510. Creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days
and times.
3511. Those have a short Lent who owe money to be paid at Easter.
3512. The borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the
creditor.
3513. For age and want save while you may,
No morning sun lasts a whole day.
3514. It is easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel.
3515. Rather go supperless to bed than rise in debt.
3516. Get what you can, and what you get hold;
'Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold.
3517. Experience keeps a dear school; but fools will learn in no
other, and scarce in that; for we may give advice, but we cannot give
conduct.
3518. They that will not be counseled cannot be helped.
3519. If you will not reason, she will surely rap their knuckles.
3520. Distrust and caution are the parents of security.
3521. After feasts made, the maker shakes his head.
3522. There is neither honor nor gain got in dealing with a villain.
3523. Visits should be like a winter's day, short.
3524. A house without woman and firelight,
Is like a body without soul or sprite.
3525. Light purse, heavy heart.
3526. Ne'er take a wife till thou hast a house (and a fire) to put
her in.
3527. Hunger never saw bad bread.
3528. Great talkers, little doers.
3529. A rich rogue is like a fat hog;
He does no good till as dead as a log.
3530. Relation without friendship, friendship without power, power
without will, will without effect, effect without profit, and profit
without virtue, are not worth a farthing.
3531. He has changed his one-eyed horse for a blind one.
3532. To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.
3533. Tongue double, brings trouble.
3534. He's the best physician that knows the worthlessness of most
medicines.