Early English Meals and Manners Part 56

[Sidenotes to Footnote: [a] Of Frication [b] and combing the head.]]

[Footnote 4: Drunkards, bench-wislers, that will quaffe untill thei are starcke staring madde like Marche Hares: Fleming-like Sinckars; brainlesse like infernall Furies. Drinkyng, braulyng, tossyng of the pitcher, staryng, p.i.s.syng[*], and sauyng your reuerence, beastly spuyng vntill midnight. Therefore let men take hede of dronke{n}nes to bedward, for feare of sodain death: although the Flemishe[] nacion vse this horrible custome in their vnnaturall watching all the night. _Bullein_, fol. lxix-lxx, see also fol. xj.]

[Footnote 4*: Compare A. Borde of the "base Doche man," in his _Introduction_.]

[Footnote 4: I am a Flemyng, what for all that Although I wyll be dronken other whyles as a rat.

A. Borde, _Introduction_.]

William Vaughan's

Fifteen Directions to preserve Health.

(From his _Naturall & Artificial Directions for health_, 1602, p. 57-63.)

Declare vnto mee a dayly dyet, whereby I may liue in health, and not trouble my selfe in Physicke.

(1) I will: first of all in the morning when you are about to rise vp, stretch your self strongly: for thereby the animall heate is somewhat forced into the outward partes, the memorie is quickned, and the bodie strengthened.

(2) Secondarily, rub and chafe your body with the palmes of your hands, or with a course linnen cloth; the breast, back, and belly, gently: but the armes, thighes, and legges roughly, till they seem ruddy and warme.

(3) Euacuate your selfe.

(4) Put on your apparell: which in the summer time must be for the most part silke, or buffe, made of buckes skinne, for it resisteth venime and contagious ayres: in winter your vpper garment must be of cotton or friezeadow.

(5) When you have apparelled your selfe hansomely, combe your head softly and easily with an Iuorie combe: for nothing recreateth the memorie more.

[Sidenotes: 1. Stretch yourself. 2. Rub yourself. 3. Go to stool. 4. Put on your clothes. 5. Comb your head.]

(6) Picke and rub your teeth: and because I would not haue you to bestow much cost in making dentrifices for them; [a] I will aduertise you by foure rules of importance how to keepe your teeth white and vncorruyt (_sic_), and also to haue a sweete breath. First, wash well your mouth when you haue eaten your meat: secondly, sleepe with your mouth somewhat open. Thirdly, spit out in the morning that which is gathered together that night in the throate: then take a linnen cloth, and rub your teeth well within and without, to take away the fumositie of the meat and the yellownesse of the teeth. For it is that which putrifieth them and infecteth the breath. But least peraduenture your teeth become loose and filthy, I will shew you [b] a water farre better then pouders, which shall fasten them, scoure the month, make sound the gums, and cause the flesh to growe againe, if it were fallen away. Take halfe a gla.s.se-full of vineger, and as much of the water of the mastick tree (if it may easily be gotten) of rosemarie, myrrhe, mastick, bole Armoniake, Dragons herbe, roche allome, of each of them an ounce; of fine cinnamon halfe an ounce, and of fountaine water three gla.s.sefulles; mingle all well together and let it boile with a small fire, adding to it halfe a pound of honie, and taking away the sc.u.mme of it; then put in a little bengwine, and when it hath sodden a quarter of an houre, take it from the fire, and keepe it in a cleane bottle, and wash your teeth therewithall as well before meate as after; if you hould some of it in your mouth a little while, it doth much good to the head, and sweetneth the breath. I take this water to be [c] better worth then a thousand of their dentifrices.

[Sidenotes: 6. Clean your teeth.

[a] (How to keep the teeth sound and the breath sweet. [b] Use Vaughan's Water made after this recipe. [c] It's better than 1000 Dentrifices.)]

(7) Wash your face, eyes, eares and hands, with fountaine water. I have knowne diuers students which vsed to bathe their eyes onely in well water twise a day, whereby they preserued their eyesight free from all pa.s.sions and bloudsheds, and sharpened their memories maruaylously. You may sometimes bathe your eyes in rosewater, fennell water, or eyebright water, if you please; but I know for certaintie, that you neede them not as long as you vse good fountaine water. Moreouer, least you by old age or some other meanes doe waxe dimme of sight, I will declare vnto you, [a] the best and safest remedie which I knowe, and this it is: Take of the distilled waters of verueine, bettonie, and fennell one ounce and a halfe, then take one ounce of white wine, one drachme of Tutia (if you may easilie come by it) two drachmes of sugarcandy, one drachme of Aloes Epatick, two drachmes of womans milke, and one scruple of Camphire: beat those into pouder, which are to be beaten, and infuse them together for foure and twenty houres s.p.a.ce, and then straine them, and so vse it when you list.

[Sidenotes: 7. Wash. [a] The best remedy for dim sight.]

(8) When you haue finished these, say your morning prayers, and desire G.o.d to blesse you, to preserue you from all daungers, and to direct you in all your actions. For the feare of G.o.d (as it is written) is the beginning of wisedome: and without his protection whatsoeuer you take in hand, shall fall to ruine. Therefore see that you be mindfull of him, and remember that to that intent you were borne, to weet, to set foorth his glorie and most holy name.

(9) Goe about your businesse circ.u.mspectly, and endeauour to banish all cares and cogitations, which are the onely baits of wickednesse. [a]

Defraud no man of his right: for what measure you giue vnto your neighbour, that measure shall you receiue. And finally, imprint this saying deepely in your mind: A man is but a steward of his owne goods; wherof G.o.d one day will demaund an account.

[Sidenotes: 8. Say your Prayers. 9. Set to work. [a] Be honest.]

(10) Eate three meales a day vntill you come to the age of fourtie yeares: as, your breakefast, dinner, and supper; yet, that betweene breakefast and dinner there be the s.p.a.ce of foure houres, and betwixt dinner and supper seauen houres: the breakfast must be lesse then dinner, and the dinner somewhat lesse then supper.

[Sidenote: 10. Eat only three meals a day.]

[a] In the beginning of meales, eate such meates as will make the belly soluble, and let grosse meats be the last. Content your selfe with one kind of meate, for diuersities hurt the body, by reason that meats are not all of one qualitie: Some are easily digested, others againe are heauy, and will lie a long time vpon the stomack: also, the eating of sundrie sorts of meat require often [b] pottes of drinke, which hinder concoction; like as we see often putting of water into the meat-potte to hinder it from seething. Our stomack is our bodies kitchin, which being distempered, how can we liue in temperate order: drinke not aboue foure times, and that moderately, at each meale: least the belly-G.o.d hale you at length captiue into his prison house of gurmandise, where you shall be afflicted with as many diseases as you haue deuoured dishes of sundry sorts. [c] The cups whereof you drinke, should be of siluer, or siluer and gilt.

[Sidenotes: [a] Eat light food before heavy. [b] Drink hinders digestion.

[c] Use silver cups.]

(11) Labour not either your mind or body presently after meales: rather sit a while and discourse of some pleasant matters: when you haue ended your confabulations, wash your face and mouth with cold waters, then go to your chamber, and make cleane your teeth with your tooth-picker, which should be either of iuorie, silver, or gold. Watch not too long after supper, but depart within two hours to bed. But if necessitie compell you to watch longer then ordinary, then be sure to augment your sleepe the next morning; that you may recompence nature, which otherwise through your watching would not a little be impaired.

[Sidenote: 11. Don't work directly after meals, but talk, wash, and clean your teeth.]

(12) Put of your clothes in winter by the fire side: and cause your bed to bee heated with a warming panne: vnless your pretence bee to harden your members, and to apply your selfe vnto militarie discipline. This outward heating doth wonderfully comfort the inward heat, it helpeth concoction, and consumeth moisture.

[Sidenote: 12. Undress by the fire in winter.]

(13) Remember before you rest, to chew down two or three drachmes of mastick: for it will preserue your body from bad humours.

(14) Pray feruently to G.o.d, before you sleepe, to inspire you with his grace, to defend you from all perils and subtelties of wicked fiends, and to prosper you in all your affaires: and then lay aside your cares and businesse, as well publicke as priuate: for that night, in so doing, you shall slepe more quietly. Make water at least once, and cast it out: but in the morning [a] make water in an vrinal: that by looking on it, you may ghesse some what of the state of your body. Sleep first on your right side with your mouth open, and [b] let your night cappe haue a hole in the top, through which the vapour may goe out.

(15) In the morning remember your affayres, and if you be troubled with rheumes, as soone as you haue risen, vse diatrion piperion, or eate white pepper now and then, and you shall be holpen.

FINIS.

[Sidenotes: 13. Before bed, chew Mastic, and 14. Pray to G.o.d. [a] Look at your water in a Urinal. [b] Have a hole in your nightcap. 15. Against rheums, eat white pepper.]

The Dyet for every Day.

(FROM

Sir John Harington's 'Schoole of Salerne,'

2nd part.

The Preservation of Health, or a Dyet for the Healthfull Man, 1624, p. 358.)

. . first I will begin with the dyet for every day.

In the beginning when you arise from the bed, [a] extend forth all your members, for by this meanes the _animal_ spirits are drawne to the outward members, the [* Page 36.] braine is made subtill, & the body strengthened. Then [b] rub the whole body somewhat with the palmes, the brest, back and belly gently, but the armes and legs with the hands, either with warm linnen: [c] next, the head is to be scrubbed fro{m} the forepart to the hinderpart very lightly. After you are risen, I will that you [d] defend with all care and diligence your head, necke, and feet, from all cold in the morning; for there is no doubt, but in the morning and euening the cold doth offend more, then it doth about noone tide, by reason of the weaknes of the Sun-beames. [e] Put on your clothes neat and cleane: in the Summer season, first wash with cleane pure water, before described; [f] but in the Winter season sit somewhat by the fire, not made with turfe or stinking coale, but with oake or other wood that burneth cleare, for our bodies are somewhat affected with our clothes, and as strength is increased by the vse of meat and drinke, and our life defended and preserued; and so our garments doe conserue the heat of our hodies, and doe driue away colds: so that as diet and apparel may seeme alike, so in either of them a like diligence is to be preferred.

[Sidenotes: [a] Stretch your limbs, [b] rub your body [c] and head; [d] protect yourself from cold; [e] dress, washing in Summer, [f] warming yourself in Winter.]

[a] In the Summer-time I chiefly commend garments [Page 37.] of Harts-skinnes, and Calues-skins, for the Hart is a creature of long life, and resisteth poyson and Serpents; therefore I my selfe vse garments of the like sort for the winter season, also neuerthelesse lined with good linnen. Next I doe iudge it not to bee much amisse to vse garments of Silke or Bombace, or of purple: also of Martyn or [b]

Wolfe-skinnes, or made of Fox skinnes, I suppose to be good for the winter; notwithstanding in the time of Pestilence, apparell of Silke and skinnes is condemned, because it doth easily admit and receiue the contagious ayre, and doth retain it long. After the body is well clothed, [c] kembe your head wel with an Iuory comb, from the forehead to the backe-part, drawing the comb some forty times at the least; then [d] wash all the instruments of the sences, as the eies, the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, the tongue, the teeth, and all the face with cold water; and the eyes are not only to be washed, but being open plainly, immerg'd: and [e] the gumme and foulnes of the eie-lids that do there stick, to remoue; somtimes also to besprinkle the water with Rose-water or Fenel-water, also [f] rubb the neck well with [* Page 38.] a linnen napking somewhat course, for these things doe confirme the whole body; it maketh the mind more cheerefull, and conserueth the sight. In this place it pleaseth me to adioyne some Dentifrices or clensers of teeth, waters not only to make the teeth white, but also to conserue them, with some medicines also to conserue the sight.....

[Sidenotes: [a] In Summer wear deer's and calves' skins, [b] in Winter, wolf and fox skins. [c] Comb your head 40 times, [d] wash your face, [e] clean your eyelids, [f] rub your neck well.]