f 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WASHINGTON,  D. C.
GPO  16—67244-1 
 
J 
                    THE

   MATERNAL  PHYSICIAN;


              A TREATISE

ON THE NURTURE AND  MANAGEMENT OF

                INFANTS,

    FROM THE BIRTH UNTIL TWO YEARS OLD.


            BEING  THE RESULT OF

 SIXTEEN YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN THE NURSERY.

                ILLUSTRATED

   By Extracts from the most approved Medical Authors.

         BY AN AMERICAN MATRON.


   " Light were my task if every gentle breast
   " Owned the just laws of native truth imprest j
   " For not by hopes of vain applause misled,
   " In reason's injured cause alone I plead.
  " "'Tis yours to judge; nor 1 that judgment fear
   " If truth be sacred, and if virtue dear."
 
DISTRrCT OF NEW-YORK, «.
    BE IT REMEMBERED,  That on  the  sixth day of Au-
     gust, in  the thirty-sixth year of the Independence of the
United States of America, Isaac Riley, of the  sail dis-
trict, hath deposited in this ".ffice the title of a book, the right
whereof  he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit:

  " The  Maternal  Physician; a Treatise on the Nurture and
Management of Infants, from the birth until two years old. Be-
ing the result of sixteen years* experience in the  Nursery.  Il-
lustrated   by Extracts  from  the  most  approved Medical Au»
Chors.  By an  American Matron.
    " Light were my task if every gentle breast
    "Owned the just laws of native truth imprest;
    " For not by hopes  of vain applause misled,
    "In  reason's injured cause alone I  plead.
    " 'Tis yours to judge;  nor I that judgment fear
    " If  truth be sacred, and if virtue  dear "
             " Roscoe,from the Italian of Lwgi Tramillo."

  In "conformity to the act of the Congress of the United
States, entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning,
"by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the
i( authors anil proprietors  of such copies,  during  the times"
" therein mentioned ;" and also to an act,  entitled,  " \n  Set
" supplementary to an act, entitled, an act for the encour..**.'
"ment of learning,  by securing the copies of maps,  charts arin'
" books,  to the authors and proprietors of such copies, durim.
l< the times therein mentioned,  and  extending the benefits
"thereof to the arts of designing,  engraving and etching histo-
" riral and other prints."
                    CHARLES CLINTON,
                         Clerk of the District of Xew-York. 
DEDICATION.
               TO MY MOTHER.
     Madam,
   THAT helpless babe which reposed on your
 affrighted bosom  when  you fied the vicinity
 of Boston, on the day of the ever  memora-
 ble battle of Lexington, now  a wife, a mo-
 ther, and near the meridian of life, as a small
 tribute for all your maternal cares,  most re-
 spectfully addresses this little volume to your
 perusal; candidly confessing that all which is
 valuable in it she  derived from  you.
   For the nurture of my infancy T am most
 grateful—but for  my education, and, above all,
for the sublime lesson you taught me, " that
 the best pleasures of a woman's life are found
 in the faithful discharge of her maternal du-
 ties," / owe you  more than gratitude.
   May you find an ample recompense in the
 assurance that from your grandchildren I re-
 ceive that filial love and respect which has
 rver been rendered you by
                    Your Daughter
                              MARY. 
 
INTRODUCTION.
 Every Mother her Child's best Physician.

  SOME time since, while looking over a
file of old newspapers, I cast my eyes  upon
the  obituaries, and was forcibly impressed
with the great proportion of children who
are yearly consigned to the relentless grave
under the age of two years.  I  revolved in
my  mind  why it was so, and could not
avoid concluding that it must be in a  great
measure occasioned by  some  gross  mis-
management in mothers or nurses,  or per-
haps in both. Involuntarily I looked around
upon  my   own  children, and my  heart
swelled with gratitude to heaven for hither-
to averting  the shafts of the fell destroyer
from  them, and  permitting  the roses of
health to bloom on their cheeks with almost
uninterrupted continuity.
  Deeply  impressed  by this  invaluable
blessing of  a  merciful  Providence,  I felt
an irresistible  desire to see the same feli*
                    A* 
6
city  pervade every maternal bosom.  But
alas!  imagination  presented to my  view
the sick or the  dying babe, and the anx-
ious or distracted  mother, and  I  ardently
wished to extend my hand, feeble though it
might be, to their relief.  And why, thought
I,  may  not  this  be done.   I remembered,
when my first child  was an infant, how
easily I was  alarmed if he was ill, and how
eargerly  I caught at every glimpse of light
that promised to  direct me in  the manage-
ment of  him; I recollected the words of
an eminent physician,  whom I  was  in the
habit of  summoning every  time my babe
looked paler than usual.   " You  may your-
self be  your child's best physician,"  said
this excellent man,  " if you only will  attend
to a few general directions."  I promised
faithful obedience ;  and  Heaven has crown-
ed my endeavours  with  success : why then
may I not show my gratitude, by presenting
to the matrons of my country the  fruits of
my experience,  in the pleasing hope  that 1
may be instrumental  in  directing  them in
the all-important and delightful task of nur
Ang those sweet pledges of  connubial love, 
7
over  whom  every good  mother  watches
with tremulous anxiety, and almost painful
affection.   A very near and dear friend, not
entirely unknown in the literary world, ap-
proving my plan, I have resolved on the at-
tempt, and if I can happily aid in preserving
but one lovely  babe from fell  disease, in
averting  the  deadliest  arrow  of affliction
from the  bosom of but  one mother, great
will be my reward.  I am well  aware how
much has been written  on this  subject by
the most  able physicians, to  whom  I ac-
knowledge myself indebted for many useful
hints; but these gentlemen  must pardon
me if I think, after all, that a mother is her
child's best physician, in all ordinary cases ;
and that none but a mother can tell how to
nurse an infant as  it ought to  be nursed.
Who but  a  mother can possibly  feel inte-
rest enough in a helpless new born babe to
pay  it that unwearied, uninterrupted atten-
tion necessary to detect in season any latent
symptoms of disease lurking in its tender
frame, and which, if neglected,  or  injudi-
ciously treated at first, might in a few hours
baffle the physician's skill, and consign it to
the grave. 
8
    And believe me, my fair friends,  this is
 not a labour.   What can so sweetly  relieve
 the tedium of three or four weeks' confine-
 ment to a sick room, as to watch with unre-
 mitting care,  and mark with enraptured eye,
 the opening beauties of the dear  innocent
 cause of such confinement ?   Or what can
 equal a mother's ecstacy when she  catches
 the first emanation of  mind in  the  mant-
 ling smile  of  her  babe ?   Kotzebue little
 knew  the  mother's  heart  when he makes
 Cora place her first  joy  after birth, " When
 first the white blossoms of his teeth appear,
 breaking the crimson buds that did encase
 them."   Ten  thousand  raptures  thrill her
 bosom  before a tooth is formed.   How
 dead to  the  finest feelings of our nature
 must that mother be who can voluntarily ba-
 nish her  infant from  her bosom, and  thus
 forego the exquisite delight attending the
 first development of  its  rational faculties.
 O fashion !  arbitrary tyrant, of what hours of
heartfelt bliss dost thou deprive thy votary__
  « One lovely babe her fostering care demands ;
  " And can she trust  it  to a hireling's hands V
Far distant, I trust, from our beloved coun- 
9
try, is the period when it shall be accounted
disgraceful for a mother to nurse her own
babe.  When that  time arrives my  system
must fall to the  ground.   It  is  upon the
presumption  that  my  readers are among
those who glory  in the sweetest  privilege
of nature, and are never more blest
   "Than whilst their babe, with unpolluted lips,
   " As nature asks, the vital fountain sips,"
that I presume to offer my advice ; for it is
under such circumstances  only that a  mo-
ther can  observe all  the  minutise  of her
child's state of health.
   Experience  has  taught  me that the babe
who  was  to all  appearance well  in  the
morning may droop in the  afternoon, be ve-
ry ill at night, and yet,  by  proper care and
attention, again be  well the next  morning;
when,  perhaps,  the   same  babe  if   ne-
glected or improperly treated, would  have
been seized with fits, or some equally fatal
complaint,  and possibly have  died in less
time.  For the truth of this statement I ap-
peal to those who are skilled in those dread-
ful disorders the quinsy and the croup.  It 
10
 is upon cases similar to this that I ground
 my hypothesis that every mother is her child's
 best physician;  and how can a  mother re-
 concile her conscience when she  consigns
 this precious little being, given her by  Pro-
 vidence  to be her comfort through life, and
 the staff of her declining age, to the care of
a stranger, when assured that one day's ne-
glect  might deprive her of  it for ever,  and
blast  her fondest hopes.

   " Ah then by duty led, ye nuptial fair,
   " Let the sweet office be your constant care;
   " With peace and health in humblest station blest,
   " Give to the smiling babe the fostering breast;
   " Nor if by prosperous fortune placed on high,
   " Think aught superior to the dear employ.'*
    " Not half a mother she, whose pride denies
   " The  streaming beverage to her infant's cries,
   " Admits another in her rights to share,
   " Or trusts its nurture to  a stranger's care."

That  there are  many instances when  the
mother's health  will  not  permit  her to
suckle her  child  I  will allow; but I must
believe those cases would less frequently oc-
cur if the attempt were persevered in.  This
I assert from experience  in  one  remarkable
    1 
11
instance.  My  first  child had  the thrush
when about a fortnight old. I had previously
suffered great pain from an  exuberant flow
of milk, and  was greatly weakened by  it.
Now I took the humour from his mouth, and
for two months  he seldom sucked without
throwing up fresh blood afterwards, which
he had swallowed with his milk.  The torture
I endured can better be conceived than de-
scribed. Many of my friends^ with tears en-
treated  me to wean my child, and dry away
my  milk, which, owing to loss of appetite
and fever, occasioned by excess of suffc ring,
might then have been done  with  ease; but
my own mother, who watched over me and
my babe with more than maternal tenderness,
and who, I am  convinced, felt all  I suffered
with redoubled anguish, constantly exhorted
me  to persevere  with  fortitude, nor let any
thing I endured tempt me to tear my babe
from the breast, and by improper food occa-
 sion ill health, if not endanger his life ;  for
amidst  all my distress  I had the inexpressi-
ble delight of seeing  him thrive surprisingly.
 I listened  to my mother, for my judgment
 was  on her  side,  and had  abundant cause 
12
to rejoice  that  I did  so, for  the days of
affliction passed away as a dream, and left
the sweet consciousness  of having done my
duty as a recompense for suffering;  a recom-
pense, how rich, how lasting, how consoling!
Had I weakly yielded in the hour  of pain,
and dried away my  milk, it  is  more  than
probable, from the bad state the  humours
were  then  in, some unnatural contractions
would have taken place, and not only that
child but all my succeeding family  would
have suffered from it.   Therefore  I entreat
every mother to undergo every thing  short
of death or lasting disease, rather than refuse
to suckle her child.  There are now  many
useful inventions for drawing out the milk,
which were not in  general use when I was
so afflicted; and if it can be drawn  out with
sucking glasses, and the  babe fed with it for
a few days in cases similar to the one related
above, it will without doubt be far better both
for mother and child: upon this plan the milk
may be preserved; for it is a fact that  while
the babe is nourished by it, it will continue
to flow, let  it be obtained from the breast
how it may;  whereas, if it is drawn out and 
13
thrown away, the mother will have less and
less until it eventually  dries away entirely.*
It may not be amiss to mention here, for
the benefit of the afflicted, that the remedy
I eventually  found  most efficacious in this
distressing complaint was white lead.   After

  * This statement may perhaps excite a smile of
incredulity in the learned reader, because the fact
cannot be  accounted for on any known principles.
Facts, however, are not made by theory, but theory
created by  facts.  If the  fact that a mother's milk
will cease to flow when it is thrown away, and con
tinue to flow when given to her babe, is derided by
the learned, it will only meet  the fate of discove-
ries every way more important.  The same thing
 has always happened.  An operation  of nature is
noticed by the vulgar: if the learned cannot account
for it, those who credit it are derided as weak  and
tredulous,and its existence is denied; but when it
 can be no longer denied, the learned  set down se-
 riously to account for it; they publish their reve-
 ries ; and this is called theory.  The sneer of deri-
 sion is then on the other side; and those who do not
 at once admit the fact and the theory are  ranked
 among the  weak and the vulgar.   I believe in the
 existence of this fact; and if it can derive support
 from analogy, I appeal to  every observing dairy  wo-
 man if the same  does  not happen in the manage*
 i^ent  of her milch-kine. 
14
trying various applications, and employing
several physicians, in vain, this was acciden-
tally recommended by a lady who had her-
self  experienced the  same affliction.   The
cooling qualities  of the ceruse appeared to
allay  the distressing  heat of the humour,
and, by its absorbency, to heal and sooth the
part.  Great care, however, must  be  taken
when using it, carefully to wash  the  breast
with warm milk and water before the  child
is permitted to suck.
   But if,  after all,  my amiable friends, you
should  actually  be so  unhappy   as  to be
obliged to permit your infant to draw its first
nourishment from  a stranger, let me  advise
you to have  your nurse  under  your own
roof if possible. Notwithstanding all the hor-
rors so poetically described in an elegant little
poem already quoted in the preceding pages
catted " The  Nurse," translated from the
 Italian by that learned and fascinating writer,
 William Roscoe, of  Liverpool, (and  which
 I would recommend  to the perusal of every
 lady who hesitates for a moment whether to
 nurse her infant herself, or not, from a blind
 devotedness to fashion, or still more repre- 
15
hensible indolence of disposition,) if your
babe is in the house with you, you can with
ease pay  it every attention requisite to its
health, and  thus discharge the only remain-
ing duty in  your power.  You can observe,
and  by your authority oblige your nurse to
observe,  the state of its bowels,  and  other
indications of disease.

 " Sick, pale  and  languid, when your infant's moans
 " Speaks its  soft sufferings in pathetic tones,
 " When nature asks a purer lymph, subdued
 " By needful physic and by temperate food,"

it must be  your care to see the proper regi-
men adopted and medicine taken.   You will
also  have it in  your power to prevent the
attendants from crowding its little stomach
with pap and other crudities, which I fear are
too often given,  from a mistaken tenderness,
to the great injury of the  child.   You will
likewise be able to watch that your babe is
not exposed to every change of atmosphere.
I have known a fine  healthy  child  seized
with a violent quinsy, owing to carelessness
in exposing  it to the evening air after a sul- 
1(5
 try day.   Indifferent persons are apt to for-
 get  that an  infant in  arms, from inactivity,
 is much more sensible of the cold than those
, who attend  it,  who from  that  very exer-
 tion keep up a brisk circulation of the blood,
 which renders them less obnoxious to the de-
 leterious effects of any sudden change in the
 air.   For this reason a mother is her child's
 best physician, as it is better by  care to pre-
 vent disease than to be ever so  well skilled
 in curing it.

 li Once exiled from your breast, and doomed to bring
 " His daily nurture from a stranger  spring,
 " Ah who can tell the dangers that await
 :i Your infant, thus abandoned to his fate ?"

 Let your tenderness, then, render you trem-
 blingly alive to every  appearance of danger.
 Do  not,  however, imagine, from what  is
 here said, that I mean to advocate a too deli-
 cate  regimen for  infants.  The  following
 pages, if they respond  to my wishes, will fully
 prove the contrary.   I only wish  such care
 to be taken of them as their extreme tender-
 ness evidently demands.   If a child is pro-
 perly  and faithfully  nursed the  first year, 
17
it will have gained such a portion of health
and strength by that time as will enable it to
bear all the exercise in the open air which
its age will admit;  and then the more it  is
carried abroad the better, when the weather
is fair.  When

                    " The rural wilds
 " Invite; the mountains call you, and the vales,
 " The woods, the streams, and each ambrosial breeze
 " That fans the ever undulating sky ;
 " A kindly sky! whose fostering power regales
 " Man, beast, and all the vegetable reign."
                                Armstrong.

   Eight lovely  and beloved children, who
 have all (except the three youngest) passed
 through the usual epidemics of our country,
 and  now  enjoy an  unusual proportion of
 health  and strength, are  the best apologies
 I can offer for thus presuming to give my
 advice unasked, and  perhaps undesired, to
 my fair countrywomen.  The motive I trust
 will ensure my pardon for any traits of ego-
 tism, which must unavoidably appear while
 recommending a mode of treatment founded 
18
chiefly upon my own experience; but which,
nevertheless, the better  to enforce, I in-
tend  to enrich  with  casual extracts  from
the most approved medical authorities.
  In the following work  I  propose to take
the babe  from  the  birth, and   attend  it
through every stage until  it is two years old;
after which period children in general, having
cut all their teeth,  grow  more robust, (that
is, if they have been properly managed,) and
will increase  in health and strength without
any attention except the  ordinary care con-
ducive to cleanliness and exercise, two points
never to be dispensed with through life.
  That I may not tire  your patience, and
in the pleasing hope that  from what has been
said,  you will be  inclined  to believe a
mother may  be her child's best  physician,
if she is desirous to be so, I shall now pro-
ceed  to my  first chapter,  in which  I shall
endeavour to enable her to manage her babe
from the birth until it is four months old;
the  time  when  they  generally  begm   to
breed teeth,  and consequently require an ap-
propriate  treatment.   And I do verily  be-
lieve, if the directions I shall give are faith- 
19
fully  attended to, many a fond mother will
have  reason to rejoice in the experiment.

   " Think not that I would bid your softness share
   " Undue fatigue, and every grosser care;
   " Another's toils may here supply your own,
   " But be the task of nurture yours alone ;
   " Nor from a stranger let your offspring prove
   " The fond endearments of a parent's love—
   " So shall your child, in manhood's  riper day,
   " With  warm affection all your cares repay."

       Chesnut Hill, June, 1810. 
CHAPTER I.
SECTION I.
On the proper  treatment of Infants  under the
             age of four months.

     " For thee health gushes from a thousand springs."
                                      Pope.

   I  NEED not attempt to describe the rap-
 ture that swells a mother's heart, when, after
 agonies almost insupportable, her babe is
 given to her arms.  Every  mother  knows
 that language  is  inadequate  to  such a de-
 scription.   It  is perhaps  equally impossible
 to  paint her anxiety to  preserve  a  life so
 dearly  bought, so highly valued; or with
 what fervent devotion  she lifts  her  soul to
 Him who gave it, in supplications lor its
          I 
21
health and safety.  In the sweet yet humble
hope of contributing towards an end so de-
sirable, I shall attempt to exhibit in the fol-
lowing pages the fruits of sixteen years' un-
remitted attention to the complaints,  the
wants,   the  tempers,  dispositions, and de-
sires of children.   And when I  assure my
readers that I have nursed all my children
myself, and have been their constant attend-
ant in sickness and in health, they will allow
me to have had a competent share of  expe-
rience.  In this long course of observation I
have become  convinced that if  the  simple
method I  shall recommend was generally
adopted, the lives of thousands  would be
saved, and many a fond parent's heart escape
the reiterated  "stingof death" in the per-
sons of their children—
              ——« a consummation
       Devoutly to be wished"—
in the  accomplishment  of which no pains
should be spared;  no means left  unessayed.
Good   nursing, especially  cleanliness,  is
among  the  first  things to be considered.
Therefore, after a new born babe has under- 
22
gone  the usual washing with warm  suds,
made  with castile,  or other purified soap,
let it  be carefully washed with  cold water;
not immersed,  for that appears  to  me,  a
cruel  and unnecessary practice ; but let the
nurse have readv a basin of  cold water,  and
with a warm hand wash the infant's head,
face, neck, behind its ears, under  the  arms,
the legs,  feet,  in the groin,  and  every part
peculiarly subject to excoriation ;  she must
then have  a warm soft cloth, and wipe  it
perfectly dry  as quick as possible, and pro-
ceed to dress it,  as usual.  Particular atten-
tion should be paid to wiping it,  for if the
water is left in  the  creases of  the neck or
elsewhere, it may do more hurt than  good,
by  increasing   their  natural liability   to
chafe and become sore.  This washing I
would have repeated every morning,  with
this exception,  that after the  first dressing
the cold  water  will be sufficient.   Do  not,
I entreat you, my fair friends,  from a mista-
ken tenderness  reject this salutary practice.
We are acknowledged creatures  of  habit;
and  when the cold bathing  is  thus used
from  the birth,  infants in general  will soon 
23
become pleased with  it.   I have now a fine
boy, scarce four months old, who was born
in the winter, when the weather was most
inclement; yet this did not deter me from
insisting upon his being thoroughly washed
with  cold water before  he was  dressed;
and the practice  has  never been omitted a
single day since; and now he will spring to
the basin,  evidently  wishing  to  put his
hands in the water,  and laugh while it tric-
kles down his neck.  Many good women
have  called me  cruel, and protested it was
unnatural thus to deluge a poor little inno-
cent* with cold water; asserting that a little
spirit  of any kind was much better.   Now I
would ask which is the most cruel or un-
natural ;  to lave its little limbs with  the
pure  element, designed  by a  beneficent
Creator for our purification, and consequent
health, and  beauty; or with ardent spirits,
which,  when applied to the  skin of a new
born  babe, already perhaps in many places
excoriated, must occasion intolerable smart-
ing and pain.  Let an experiment for once  be
tried  of each, and the child by  its cries
will quickly  decide to which  it gives the 
24
preference. However, if an Infant continues,
after a few  days,  to  show  an  uncommon
aversion to  the cold  bath, I would by  no
means insist upon perfectly  cold water ;  in
such  cases  it  may be  rendered tepid.   I
remember one  of my children never would
submit to washing with cold water, without
screaming violently,  and  to this day, when
he  is six years old,  has  an unaccountable
dread of it; but remember this is  only one
out of eight, and he  has been  the most un-
well of any  of my  family.   I  do not say
this is owing to my indulgence in  substitu-
ting the tepid for the  cold bath; perhaps it
was  some  constitutional  infirmity which
rendered him from his birth so averse  to it.
The great desideratum,  cleanliness, may  be
achieved in either way; but still I beg leave
to repeat  my earnest request  that  the  cold
water may be faithfully tried ;  it invigorates
the system, renders  the  babe  strong and
healthy,  and,   by preventing irritation and
soreness,  permits it to sleep quietly, which
every new born child inclines to do when
not prevented by pain. 
25
                SECTION II.
        "mEach thing that fitted gentleness to wear."
                                 Drayton.
   TO aid this natural  desire and  evident
 necessity of rest, the dress of so young an
 infant cannot be too light and easy ;  but in
 our inclement climate some regard must be
 paid to the  season of the year.  In winter
 the  more flannel is  substituted  for  other
 materials in  their clothing,  the  better; it
 greatly contributes to  their  comfort  and
 health. As a general rule,  I think their usual
 dress may be in this season, a foot blanket of
 fine flannel,  a petticoat of the same, and
 a  frock of  any  material  the  mother may
 fancy;  these,  with  a cap  and  shirt  of
 the  lightest  materials  possible,  are  quite
 sufficient  for every purpose  of health  and
 comfort.  If the  season is approaching to
 summer,  I would omit the flannel coat, and
 let its place be supplied with one of a light-
er texture,  preserving the foot blanket as
better  calculated to wrap around the  feet;
and every mother knows, if she attends to
her child, that the moment its feet are cold
                    c 
26
it seems to be in pain, and that it is quieted
again by warming them by the fire,  or in
any  other  way.   An infant's  feet should
never  be  exposed  to  the cold  air;  at
the same time  it ought not to  be loaded
with clothes, to increase its natural propen-
sity to perspiration.   Perhaps it were better
to wrap a  light  flannel mantle  about  the
babe  occasionally, which  might with  ease
be thrown off,  as the weather  grew warm,
rather than  encumber its little frame with
too much clothing the first month or  six
weeks.   Care  must  nevertheless be taken
not to err on the  other hand.  A judicious
writer  observes, "Infants  should always be
cool, but never cold.'"'*   But what  I esteem
of  still more  essential  consequence,  and
would particularly enforce, is changing an
  * Michael Underwood, M.  D. Licentiate in Mid-
wifery, of the Royal College of Physicians in Lon-
don,  Physician to her Royal Highness,  the  Prin-
cess of Wales, and  Senior Physician to the  Bri-
tish Lying-in Hospital, in a Treatise on-the Diseases
of Children and Management of Infants from the
birth ;  a book perused with much  pleasure and
profit  by the author of  this  work, and warmly re-
commended to her fair readers.  For, perhaps, af- 
27
infant's clothes frequently.   I would choose
it should be done every day.  I know many
ladies  who are  perfectly  correct  on  this
head;  but I likewise  know many affection-
ate mothers, who err  greatly from  a mista-
ken fear  of  making  their  children  take
cold.  Believe me, there is no danger of this,
provided the clothes are perfectly well aired.
A  child should never be  suffered  to  sleep
in  any part of the  dress  worn during the
day; for besides the most indispensable ob-
ject in nursing, cleanliness,  many other ad-
vantages  accrue  to the  infant  from thus
often  dressing  and  undressing it;  it gives
the mother or nurse frequent opportunities
to  examine the whole body,  and  by that
means discover any excoriation  or chafing.
Opening it to the air before the fire, (if the
weather requires one,) and rubbing its little
ter making due allowance for certain positions, in
the assuming of which he  was obliged to pay ho-
mage to the high bred prejudices of a luxurious
city and age,  there are few European medical
writers who can be read with so much advantage,
as applicable to the diseases or management of in-
fants in the United States. 
28
  limbs, gives a spring to the blood, invigo-
  rates the frame, and inclines  it to stretch,
  which facilitates the  growth and beauty of
  its form.   Every mother should reflect upon
 the  great  utility  of promoting the kindly
 circulation of the fluids, and  keeping open
 the pores,

  " The grand discharge, th' effusion of the skin
  a Slowly impaired, the languid maladies
  " Creep on, and4through the sinking functions steal.'1
                               Armstrong,

And what can so greatly contribute to  both
these requisites as  the method here recom-
mended.  To those mothers, however, who,
from early prejudice, or any other cause, should
object to putting fresh clothes upon their child
every day, permit  me to suggest the pro-
priety of having an entire night suit, even to
the shirt, and  entreat them to see that their
babes are carefully examined all  over every
night and  morning,  and gently  rubbed  in
all parts of the body, especially the back.
In this  way the clothing may  be constantly
kept smooth about them, and any eruption
or other complaint  detected in  season, the 
29
necessity of which is sufficiently  obvious.
Dr.Buchan, in his family physician,mentions
a child  who  died in convulsion  fits, and
after it was dead a pin was discovered thrust
half its length or more  into the body of the
little sufferer; which he thinks was the only
cause of the  fits,  and consequently of  its
death!  My blood recoils with horror while
I think  of the wretched mother  when she
made this discovery;  may  it be  a  solemn
warning  to every one who has the care of an
infant to carefully search for some such cause
when their helpless little charge by its  cries
makes the only complaint in its power.

 "What ceaseless dread a mother's breast  alarms
 " Whilst her loved offspring fills another's arms :
 " Fearful  of ill, she starts at every noise,
" And hears, or thinks she hears, her children's cries."

  One thing more should be mentioned here,
which, as I esteem of very  essential  conse-
quence, although entirely neglected by ma-
ny,  I shall beg  leave  (lest my   authority-
should be disputed) to  notice in the  words
of Dr. Buchan. 
3©
   '* Combing the heads of infants should by
no means be neglected; they are apt  to ac-
quire a kind of scurf beneath the hair, which
stops the pores, and is productive of head-
ache and weak eyes; to which, from a mere
omission of this useful operation, most  young
children  are subject.   But a fine comb, and
very tender hand, are  requisite in the per-
formance of this task."  For this  reason I
never suffer any hand  but my own to per-
form it for my  children while at this early
age.
   And now, as I have said all that I think
necessary as to the washing and  clothing of
infants, I will proceed to the still more im-
portant point,  their food.

               SECTION III.

 The mother's milk the best and only proper
            food for infants.

•< Doubt ye  the  laws by nature's God ordained ?
•' Or that the callow young should be sustained
" Upon the  parent breast ? be those your schools
kt Where nature triumphs and where instinct rules."
  NEW born infants, if well, (as they gene-
rally are  at the birth,) require no food but 
31
 what they will obtain from  the mother's
breast; and if ill,  peculiar care should  be
taken not to crowd their little stomachs with
any improper  mixtures.  I am well aware
that this doctrine will be rejected by many
who believe it absolutely necessary  to give-
the little creatures  some nauseous draught
or other, to promote the natural evacu "tions.
But trust me this is a great mistake ; and be
persuaded to accept as proof my own expe-
rience.  As soon as my children are. dressed,
I always order  them to be brought  to  me,
and  put them  immediately  to the  breast.
O what a blissful moment to a fond mother!
when

   " The starting beverage meets the thirsty lip,
   " 'Tis joy to yield it, and 'tis joy to sip;"

and I never had the  least occasion to  use
any other medicine for my babes.   But  if
my authority is not  sufficient, hear what  Dr.
Buchan says upon the subject.
  " Children commonly show a disposition
to suck very shortly after the birth, and they 
32
 should  unquestionably  be immediately  in^
 dulged, if the mother's milk begins to flow
 into the breast; and should it be slow  in its
 progress,  the natural  industry  of the  infant
 will speedily supply  the  deficiency.  The
 first milk  it can  draw is the best medicine
 in the world to cleanse its little stomach and
 bowels  of the matter acquired in the womb;
 and at  the  same time contributes to the
 safety of  the mother, by  preventing  milk
 fevers, inflammations, and  other complaints
 incident to women in childbed."
  It is true it will not at first obtain  much ;
 but it will ordinarily get enough to support
 it until the milk comes, which  (as observed
 by  the  judicious author just quoted) will
be very soon,  when thus gently invited by
 the  sweetest call of nature.   It is well known
 that when a child is not put  to the breast
 until the milk is fully come; which in that
 case is seldom until the  third or fourth day,
 it must  be fed : this unnatural food clogs the
 first passages, occasions acidities, wind, and
 their u.ual  distressing  consequences; re-
 course is then had to oils, syrups, and even 
33
 spirituous liquors, which greatly increase the
 irritation.  In this state the poor little babe
 is at  length  permitted to suck inordinately
 from a full breast of milk, while the mother
 herself is feverish and ill from the  sudden
 change her system has undergone :  the  fatal
 effects may be easily  imagined; and who
 can wonder if children so managed are fre-
 quently  seized  with  convulsions,  and die
 within a few  days.   Therefore let  me en-
 treat you to take your infants to your bosom
 immediately,  and leave Nature  to  do her
 own work, in which, as it respects so material
 a point as providing food for her offspring,
 it  is almost presumptuous to think her de-
 ficient.
   It will sometimes happen, however,  that
 from  some unknown cause  a new born in-
 fant evinces such indisputable signs  of hun-
 ger as it  would be cruel to disregard.  If,
 therefore, after the babe has drawn all it can
 obtain from its mother, (which for its .medi-
 cinal qualities it should be allowed to do as
 soon as possible,) it  should  still show indi-
cations of hunger, such as eagerly  sucking 
34
its fingers, and then crying from disappoint-
ment,  it should be permitted to suck some
healthy woman with a good breast of milk.
It is almost superfluous to observe that the
younger such milk  may be, the more salu-
brious it must prove for so young an  infant.
And if it should  be impossible  to find a
woman with convenience who could  give it
the  breast, it may  be fed  with a little good
cow's milk, diluted with nearly half water,
and  rendered palatable  with sugar.   After
this  first  craving is allayed,  the  child will
fall  asleep, and afterwards be perfectly satis-
fied with what it can obtain from its mother.
Too much  food  occasions  acidities and
griping in such young children; oftener the
cause of their crying, and infinitely more
hurtful to them than the temporary want
of food they  may  feel previous to the  full
flowing of the milk, even  allowing that they
do  feel  such want, which I  believe rarely
happens, provided they are permitted to suck
as often as they show a  disposition to do
so.   Here, I suppose, I shall  have the dis-
ciples of the late Dr. Hugh Smith to combat.
Through a mistaken complaisance to ladies 
35
of over refined delicacy, and with a laudable
wish to persuade them that they may pos-
sibly undergo  the  fatigue  of nursing their
own children,  that gentleman has attempted
to prove,  in his letters to married women,
that the meals of an infant may be regulated
like those of adults, and  that if they are
suffered to suck four or five times in four
and twenty hours,  it is sufficient.   I  will
not say this cannot be done, but I will say
I would not for any consideration undertake
to bring up a little babe from the birth so
hampered.  I  have often been vexed witii
 physicians who, while they exhort us to fol-
 low nature, from a misplaced indulgence to
 the prevailing fastidiousness of the age, adopt
 the absurd notion that a mother  cannot en-
 dure the fatigue of suckling her own child.
 This may be  the case in some few instances.
 Such unhappy mothers are to be pitied, but
 I greatly fear the  far greater number  who
 neglect this sweet endearing office are more
 fit objects of censure than  pity.
    Anv woman, how delicate soever her edu-
 cation and habits, who is capable  of beco-
 ming the mother of a child, may nurse it if 
36
  she pleases, unless prevented by illness ; and
  indeed  she whom education  has rendered
  thus delicate  is  doubly  reprehensible  for
  neglecting this prime maternal duty; as it is
  to be presumed Providence has  given her
  the means of providing herself every assist-
  ance necessary, and every indulgence even
  to superfluity.
    How  ungrateful  to  that  benign  Provi-
  dence, thus to turn the greatest blessings
  into evils the most lamentable, and by giving
  way to a sickly delicacy,  and  fashions and
 opinions totally repugnant to the finest feel-
  ings  of the soul, cast from her  fostering
 bosom the sweet pledge of her heart's best
 affections, and expose it to sickness and sor-
 row, if not to death.
  " But you whose hearts with gentle pity warm,
  " Pure joys can please and genuine pleasures charm,
 " Clasp your fair nurslings to your breasts of snow
 " And give the sweet  salubrious streams to flow;
 " Let kind affections sway without control,
 rt And through the milk-streams pour  the feelinir
   soul."

But to'return to my subject: as it is above
every  thing desirable to  keep the  infant 
                     37

 quiet,  both because crying is the occasion
 of ruptures in such young children, and that
 the mother and babe mutually require  rest,
 it may be better to feed it occasionally  with
 the milk and water rather than let it complain
 for want of food; but do not on any account
 suffer your attendants to cram its little sto-
 mach with  pap,  or any other thick food.
 I shall  here beg  leave to  insert  an extract
 from a work I  have read with great benefit
 and pleasure.  Speaking of the great folly
 of feeding infants with what the author calls
 " thick victuals,"  he says—
   " On this article a vast crowd of  absur-
 dities open upon  us at once, and many of
 them with the sanction of custom and autho-
 rity.   I shall first  advert to the thickness of
 the food : and it has, indeed, been a matter of
 wonder, how the custom of stuffing new born
 infants with  bread could become so univer-
 sal, or the idea first  enter the mind of a pa-
 rent, that such heavy food could be fit for its
 nourishment.  It were  well if the  fond mo*
 ther, and all  well-inclined nurses, had more
just ideas of the manner in which we are
 nourished ; and especially, that it is not from 
38
the great quantity, nor from the  quality of
the food, abstractedly considered ; since the
inhabitants of different parts of the globe are
equally healthy and long-lived who feed up-
on  the most opposite  diets.  Parents, one
should think, may very easily conceive that
our nourishment arises  from the  use the
stomach  makes of the  food it  receives;
which is  to pass through  such a change call-
ed digestion, as renders it balsamic, and fit
to renew the mass of blood which  is  daily
wasting and consumed.   An improper kind,
or too great a quantity  taken at  a  time, or
too hastily, before the stomach has duly dis-
posed of its former  contents, prevents this
work of digestion, and, by making  bad jui-
ces, weakens  instead of  strengthens the ha-
bit ;  and in the end produces worms, con-
vulsions, rickets, kings-evil, slow fevers,
purging, and general decay.
   " Nature, it should be considered, has pro-
vided  only milk for  every animal adapted
to draw  it  from the breast, and that of wo-
men  is  certainly among the thinnest of
them; but at the same time,  far more  nutri-
tive  than  bread, and, probably, than any
other milk, as it contains a greater proporr 
39
tion of  saccharine matter, which is thought
to be that quality in all our food which ren-
ders it nutritious.   It is true, bread, as it re-
quires more digestion, will lie longer on  the
stomach  both of infants  and  adults; and
hence,  probably,   because  it  satisfies  the
present cravings,  it has  been conceived to
afford a greater proportion of nourishment:
though mixed up only with water, as it too
frequently is,  it is far  less nutritive than
has been imagined; for the  water  affords
no nourishment,  and the bread is but  im-
perfectly  digested.   Children  ought to  be
frequently hungry, and  as often supplied
with  light food,  of which milk is really
the most  nourishing we  are  acquainted
with."
   From  authority  so  indisputable  I  pre-
sume   there  will  be no  appeal.   There-
fore,  as I wish to enable my fair readers to
manage the infants committed to their  care
 without being obliged to call in a physician
 for every trifling  indisposition, I will now
 beg leave briefly  to notice such little com-
 plaints as are generally incident to them  at
 this early age; with the remedies  I have 
40
 from long  experience found beneficial.   I
 shall also, as mentioned in my introduction,
 occasionally enforce my opinions with the
 best medical authorities, lest some fond mo-
 thers should doubt my ability to direct on so
 important an occasion as where  the health,
 and, possibly, the lives, of their children are
 concerned.  Honouring, as I most cordially
 do, every indication of maternal tenderness,
 I reverence even prejudices arising from so
amiable a source;  and therefore  as I pro-
ceed I shall endeavour to obviate  such as
 I think most injurious to the health  of in-
fants, by arguments drawn from the best
authorities, as well as from my own success-
ful experience, rather than by asserting them
to be either false or unfounded. 
41
               SECTION IV.

   " To watch the infant form with anxious care,
   " The lurking symptoms of disease detect,
   " And with the aid of sweet nutritious food,
   " Or potent herb, or kindly drug, to aid
   " Oppressed nature in her arduous task
   " Be thine! and thine the grateful rich reward
   " Of conscious duty done—a mead more fair
   " Than all the laurels which bedeck the brow
   " Of modern Csesar."

    On Diseases incident to the Navel.

  AS this is a part which requires the earliest
attention, and which, as every nurse knows,
will call for particular care the first fortnight
of the  infant's  existence,  and sometimes
much longer,  I shall notice it here.   It is
not my intention, however, to enter into the
treatment of ruptures, or any other uncom-
mon disorder of this part which may possibly
occur, as every mother in  such cases would
undoubtedly wish for the best professional
aid and advice. I shall confine myself to the
common complaints, and the best method
of treating them, that has  come within my
                     n* 
42
knowledge.   As young mothers and nurses
are sometimes at  a loss how to proceed in
the first dressing of the child, it may perhaps
be advantageous to insert  a quotation from
Dr. Buchan  upon that subject in the first
place.  " If too much of the cord or navel
string is left to the body of the child it is apt
to  occasion  inflammation;  nay,  in some
cases, even mortification.  The best way of
managing it is, to make a hole in a piece of
fine linen, many times doubled, and passing
the end of the navel string through the hole,
to fold the cloth several times till its gets near
the belly ; to which it should be bound  by  4
a smooth roller (or belly-band) but not drawn
too  tight.   The navel string  commonly
separates and falls off in four or five days;
when that happens, which should be carefully
attended to, a bit  of singed rag may be laid
over the navel; and if any rawness or sore-
ness should appear round  it, and the skin
should be fretted or galled, a raisin split and
stoned may be applied, and the part washed   !
with a little alum water, or a weak solution.
of sugar of lead, and a plaster of cerate ap-
plied, to protect it from rubbing." I have al-
 ways been in the habit of roasting the raisin. 
43
and grating upon it  a little nutmeg; and
I  think  the  dressing ought   to  be  re-
newed every  day, and the part  anointed
with sweet oil in  preference to the waters
recommended above.   I  observe  that Dr.
Underwood enters largely  into the treatment
of this part, and to his book I  would refer
all those who wish for more particular in-
formation.   But as some of my readers may
not have it  either in their power or inclina-
tion to consult  so large a work, I will for
their  convenience extract from it what  is
said upon  the  most  common complaints
incident to it at  this age.
   " A complete separation  (of the cord) in
some instances takes place in five days, and
even earlier;  and in  others not  until  the
fifteenth or sixteenth. When so late the cord
is usually found to hang for some time only
by a very small filament or thread, which, ha-
ving no life remaining, ought to be divided.
For want of this a source of irritation and
discharge  is kept up, which  I have sus-
pected being the cause of some of the little
disorders  of  this  part.  The  separation,
however,; is not often followed with much
soreness or pain, though there  is frequently 
44
 a true ulcer of the part.  In some instances,
 however, the discharge is very great, and the
 part continues to appear raw and indisposed
 to heal or dry up.   In such cases,  I have
 often found three or four  small  pieces of a
 soft cabbage leaf one of the best  applica-
 tions.   They  should be   laid  one over
 another, that they may  be preserved moist
 and cool, and should be continued as long as
 the discharge shall be considerable."  I have
 had one  instance among my children similar
 to the one last mentioned, and tound a plaster
 of Turner's cerate the best application among
 a variety I made use of.   Parents are often
 alarmed  at the  protrusion of the navel, mis-
 taking it for a rupture, but as  that rarely
happens, great  care should be taken  not to
 attempt reducing it  by any violent  means.  •
The best way of avoiding such alarming ap-
pearances is  to suffer the child to wear the
belly-band at least six weeks, provided the
weather  is not  extremely warm;  and when
it is removed, directions should be given to
its  attendant to press the hand  firmly  but
gently upon  that part, if the  child  should
chance to cry violently. The vulgar opinion
that a large navel is the sign  of a crying 
45
 ehild, is a conclusive argument in favour
 of the above precaution.

       Red Gum, or Benign Eruption,

   This is a complaint (if it can  be called
 one) incident I believe to every child, and
 therefore perfectly well known.   It has pro-
 bably obtained the name of Benign Eruption
 from its being a sign of health in the child
 when  it appears profusely  on the surface;
 It usually  appears in the course of the first
 week in the form of a fine rash, first  upon
 the  neck  and  the  inside of the arms and
 about the face, from whence it  generally
 spreads to every part of the body in spots,
 particularly those parts which are  the most
 covered.   It usually  continues  upon the
 surface two or three weeks, and will some-
 times  appear again at intervals  until the
 child  is  six weeks  or two months old.
 When it first appears,  it is best to give the
 babe a little saffron tea to assist in throwing
 it out  and defend the stomach in  case  it
 should suddenly disappear,  which,  however,
 will seldom happen if the child is  managed
from  the birth  according to the preceding 
46
directions; care also being taken to keep
it from the cold.   Little or no medicine is
required except to keep the body open.  If
the infant is costive, small doses of rhubarb
and  magnesia may  be given in a little of
any of the warming or aromatic waters, such
as mint or carraway; if these are not to be
had common water will do.   My last child,
however,  was  uncommonly full of it for
more than a fortnight, but as he was perfectly
well in every other respect, I never gave him
even the usual first dose of saffron tea.  Lest
some of my  readers  should be fearful of
washing their  infants  in cold water while
this  eruption continues, from an idea that it
will  tend to repel it, I will observe that I
never once omitted the washing on that ac-
count; but  I would wish  it to  be always
understood that in my method  of washing
the water is not dashed on in such a  manner
as to occasion  any sudden  repulsion of the
humour.   Indeed I  should myself be averse
to throwing a quantity  of very  cold water
directly upon the parts where  this or any
other, eruption  appears; at  the  same time
I think washing with cold water, if it is per-
 formed judiciously, is peculiarly beneficial 
                   47

at this time as the infant's liability  to chafe
is increased, and its neck and groins will in-
fallibly become sore if itis not done.

  Thrush, commonly called the Sore  Mouth,

  Is far from being so harmless a complaint
as that last  mentioned; and as  I have had
but very little experience in it, (as none of
my children  except  the first  were  ever
troubled with it,) I shall not  presume to di-
rect others, but give  copious extracts from
Dr. Underwood,  who,  from his vast expe-
rience in the management of infants, must
be peculiarly well  qualified  to  advise  and
direct,  and who has  written largely on the
subject.' After some preliminary observations,
he says," It is among the vulgar errors, how-
ever, that the thrush is a very harmless com-
plaint, or is even desirable to a child in the
month; for it is said,  if it does not then make
its appearance, it certainly will at a more ad-
vanced age, and will  then  prove fatal, or,
at least, attend patients in their last illness.
The fact is, it is a disease of debility, and
therefore attacks  very old and very young 
48
 subjects, especially if otherwise weakened.
 From the above mistake,  however, the dis-
 order is  often neglected  in the beginning,
 whereby  the acidity in the first passages is
 suffered to increase, which always  aggra-
 vates the complaint.   The thrush indeed is
 as  much a disease as any  other complaint
 which appears in the month, and is connect-
 ed with  most of the foregoing; a  proper
 attention  to  which  it has been suggested
 may very frequently prevent it."
  The disorders  here alluded to are costive-
 ness, acidities, wind, &c. and which I think
 may generally be avoided  by  putting the
 babe to the breast as soon  as the mother  is
 sufficiently composed to admit of it; to the
 observance of which salutary practice,  and
the constant use  of cold water, I attribute
 the happy escape  of  my children from this
distressing complaint.  My first child, it is
true, had it very bad, but a  premature birth,
 and many other causes, conspired to render
him peculiarly delicate, and consequently
 a fit subject for it.  But to proceed with my
 quotation:
  " This disorder is so well know as scarce-
        I 
49
 to require any description, and  generally
appears first  in the angles of the  lips, and
 then on the tongue and cheeks, in the form
 of  little white specks.   These, increasing
 in  number  and  size,  run  together  more
 or less, according to the degree of malignity,
 and  form  a  thin  white crust, which at
 length lines the whole inside of the  mouth,
 from the lips even to  the  gullet, and is said
to extend into the stomach,  and through the
 whole  length of  the bowels.   When the
 crust falls off,  it is frequently succeeded by
 others  of a  darker colour;  but this is true
 only of  the worst kind of thrush, for  there
 is a milder sort that  is spread  thinly over
the lips and tongue, which  returns  a  great
many  times,  and always lasts  for  several
weeks.
  " A  principal remote cause of this  disease
seems to be indigestion, whether occasioned
by bad milk, or other  unwholesome food, or
by weakness of the stomach. Perhaps thick
victuals, particularly if made too hot or very
sweet;  also covering  the  face of the  child
when it sleeps ; or its breathing the confined
air of its mother's bed, may be amongst thosr
F. 
50
causes, and ought, therefore, to be avoided..
The more immediate cause is the thickness
or acrimony of the juices secreted from the
glands of the  mouth and  stomach, produ-
cing heat  and soreness in  these  parts.   A
tea-spoonful  of   cold  water  given  every
morning has been thought a good preven-
tive; but keeping the  body duly open is
certainly better."
  With all  due deference  to  the superior
skill of  this learned writer,  I must observe,
that I think both ought to be done.   I have  /
always made  it a practice to put into  the
mouth of a  newborn child  a portion of the
cold water,  before  I washed  it, for  several
days; and  for the purpose  of keeping  the
bowels open, nature has provided a specific
(as  before observed)  in the mother's  breast
far  preferable to any medicine invented or
discovered  by art;  and  therefore  a babe
ought always to be  suffered to suck  before
the milk comes.  Every woman knows her
bosom to contain a fluid  long  before  her
child is  born, which  cannot properly  be
called milk, but is  undoubtedly  designed
by  an allwise Creator for a medicine for the 
51
infant, and ought to be drawn by the babe
before it is mixed with more genuine milk.
If this was the universal practice, little aid
would be required from art.   I observe all
the moelern writers upon  this subject are
fond of referring us  to the  brute  creation
for examples in the management  of our lit-
tle ones:  why, then, are they not consistent;
or  why  direct  that an infant must not be
put  to the breast until  the milk comes, as
is oftentimes the case.  All  the young ani-  ,
mals which have come within my know-
ledge (and as I live in  the country, I may
be presumed to have a chance for observa-
tion) suck their mothers almost immediately
after they are born.   What  would become
of the tender little  lamb,  if the shepherd,
like some  physicians, and many nurses,
should  insist  that it should not suck until
the third or fourth day after its birth?  I be-
lieve the woollen manufactory,  that  great
and fundamental  support  of the British
 Empire, would soon feel  the effects  of a
practice so absurd.  Every farmer can tell
 how absolutely necessary to  the health both
 of the cow and her calf it is to permit them 
52
to remain constantly together the first  two
or three days after the birth of the calf.  To
descend  still lower in the scale of creation:
observe the cat with her numerous family;
how tender she is  of her little ones; lying
almost constantly with  them, and how  well
they repay  her care ; how  soft,  clean  and
delicate  they look: only  remove one  of
these from the mother, and  endeavour by
every possible care to bring it up, how soon
it  loses its  sleek beautiful appearance ; be-
comes feeble, dejected, and  often dies,  fit
emblem  of the unhappy little infant debar-
red by prejudice,  or mistaken  tenderness,
from its own, and only  proper nourishment,

  i{ And can ye then,  whilst Nature's voice  divine
  » Prescribes your duty, to yourselves confine
  "Your pleased attention? Can ye hope to prove
  u More  bliss from selfish joys than social love,
  " Nor deign a mother's best delights to share,
  r' Though purchased oft with watchfulness and care."

   Perhaps I ought to  ask  pardon for  thus
wandering from my subject; but my  rea-
ders must recollect I do not profess to write
systematically, and therefore hope to be for- 
                   53

given for introducing my remarks when and
where they strike  me most forcibly. I will
now resume my quotations, well pleased to
present to those mothers who cannot conve-
niently obtain the  work itself, the fruits of
so much real humanity,  learning and expe-
rience.   Dr.  Underwood further observes,
" The means of cure must be sufficiently
obvious, if due attention is paid to the na-
ture and occasion  of the complaint.   As a
general  observation,  it may be said,  that
when the thrush attacks robust  infants of a
costive habit of body, it is easily cured, and
indeed requires nothing more than  keeping
the bowels well open;  for which  purpose
the daily exhibition of castor oil is usually
the fittest means.   On  the other hand, the
complaint is  attended  with some danger in
delicate infants whose bowels have been pre-
viously  weak, and especially where the  child
is nourished  only with the  spoon: much  in-
deed has been said  in favour of emetics, espe-
cially wine of antimony, as being almost a
specific,  whatever  may be the particular ha-
bit of the infant; but I cannot say it has pro-
ved so with me; nor can I  see any sufficient 
54
cause for departing from the more  ancient
practice in the treatment of this very com-
mon complaint.
  "I believe, therefore, that where  there is
no fever, nor any uncommon symptom, tes-
taceous powders are the best  and safest re-
medy ;  which may be joined  with a little
magnesia, if the body be costive  ; or if in the
other extreme, and the child is very  weakly,
two or  three grains of the compound pow-
der of contrayerva  in its stead.   Some such
preparation, I mean some absorbent or tes-
taceous remedy, should be administered for
three or four days successively,  and after-
wards something  more purgative to carry
down the scales as they fall off from the parts.
For this purpose  rhubarb is generally  the
best; but when the thrush is violent, of an
adust, instead of a white colour; has come
on rapidly ; and the child is lusty and strong,
a grain or two of the powder of scammony
with  calomel,  may be joined with it;  but
this must be given with caution.  After the
purgative, the testaceous powders should be
repeated for two or three days as before, till
t-he  disorder begins  to give way.   After- 
55
wards,  a  tea-spoonful  of  chamomile  tea,
or a few drops of the compound tincture of
gentian,*  well diluted, may be given  two
or three times a day with advantage ;  and
the  bowels be always  kept  open.   On  the
other  hand,  when an infant with this  bad
thrush is weak and delicate, a decoction of
the  bark  with the aromatic confection,t  is

   *  Gentian.  Lest, from a similarity in pronuncia-
tion, some mistake should arise, it may be proper
to notice, that the  root here  meant is  very differ-
ent from the ginseng of  our country, both in its
taste and properties.   Gentian is described in the
Edinburgh  Dispensatory as being of a bright gold
colour, and a strong bitter taste;  it is found growing
wild in some parts of England, and the roots are
brought  dry  from Germany.   It is said  to lose
many of its virtues by exsiccation, and  therefore is
seldom used as a powder, but forms the capital in-
gredient in the bitter Wine Tincture and Infusion
of the shops;  whereas it is  well known that our
ginseng  is  of an  agreeable  taste, and preserves
all its virtues when dry ;  the state in which  it is
generally used  in common domestic practice.
   t  Aromatic Confection.  London Pharmacopoeia.
Take  of  zedoary, in coarse powder,   saffron,  of
each half a pound;  distilled  water,  three pints;
macerate for  twenty-four hours,  then press and 
56
found  the best  remedy.   In regard to ap-
plications to the  part, it is  necessary to ob-
serve that as they have  little to do in curing
the complaint, it will be  improper to have re-
course  to them very early.

strain. Reduce the  strained liquor by evaporation to
a pint and a half, to which add compound powder of
crabsclaws, sixteen ounces; cinnamon, nutmegs, each
two ounces ;  cloves, one ounce;  smaller carda-
mom  seeds, half an ounce ; double refined sugar,
two pounds; make   a confection ——
  A more simple  mode of preparing this confec-
tion  is  found in  the  Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia,
which is said  to be  equally good.
  Take  of aromatic powder, three ounces;  syrup
of orange peal boiled^to the  consistence of honey,
six ounces. Mix them by rubbing  them well toge-
ther so as to form an electuary. See Edinburgh Dis-
pensatory, pages 548, 549. This aromatic powder is
thus prepared. Take of cinnamon, lesser cardamom
seeds, and ginger,  each two ounces; reduce them
together into a powder, to be kept in a well stopped
phial.   See Edinburgh Dispensatory, page 523.
  This powder  is  an  agreeable,  hot, spicy medi-
cine ;  and as such may be taken in cold phlegmatic
habits, and decayed constitutions, for warming the
stomach, promoting digestion,  and  strengthening
the  tone  of the viscera.  The dose is from ten
grains to a scruple  and upwards. 
                    57

  " If, therefore, the inside of the cheeks
and tongue are covered with thick sloughs,
or foulness,  it  may be  convenient to clean
the mouth  two or three times a day;  but
otherwise it  will be improper till the com-
plaint is past  the height, the sloughs dispo-
sed to fall off, and the parts underneath in-
clined to heal;  which never takes place un-
til the secretions in  the first  passages are
become bland and mild.
  " Proper applications will then have  their
use,  not only by keeping the mouth clean,
but by constricting and healing the raw and
tender apertures of the little vessels of the
cheeks and tongue.
  " Of these preparations, a  variety  have
been  in use, in the  form of lotions and gar-
gles,  which from the earliest times,  have all
been  of an astringent nature. Borax  is  cer-
tainly one of the best, and may be mixed up
with sugar in the proportion of one part of the
former to seven of the latter: a pinch of this
put  upon the child's tongue will be licked
to all parts of  the mouth;  but made into a
paste with common honey, (about two  scru-
ples or a dram to  an ounce,) it will hang 
58
about the mouth  better than in a powder.
Either of these, however,  may  be, at this
period,  made use of as often as shall be ne-
cessary, to keep the parts clean ; which they
will effectually do without putting the infant
to pain  by  being forcibly  rubbed on.  I
must own I have frequently been distressed
at seeing nurses rub the mouth of a little
infant with a rag  mop, as they term it, till
they have made  it  bleed; and this operation
they  will often repeat half  a dozen times
a day."
   I  perfectly agree with this humane writer
in censuring this  cruel practice, and thank
him for  making known a method so much
more consonant to the feelings of humanity.
I  have been more  copious in  my extracts
upon this subject,  because I know the error
of regarding this  complaint as  rather  salu-
tary than otherwise, exists in our country;
and as I have every  reason to think my own
child  was injured for want  of  due  infor-
mation  on the subject,   I  would wish to
warn others from so prejudicial a mistake,
that they may,  by proper and timely atten-
tion, either prevent the disease entirely, or
 render it far less injurious. 
59
  I can likewise inform my readers that our
country boasts, among  a  vast variety  of
vegetable  productions,  a  plant generally
known by the  name of dragon root or wild
turnip, that is  an excellent remedy in  this
complaint, and for the canker in all its forms.
It is  used in  the  same  manner Dr.  Un-
derwood prescribes Borax.  I  am  not sci-
entific enough to  describe  technically  the
virtues of this root;  but I know that when
fresh  it resembles a common English turnip
in its  appearance, is of a smart pungent taste^
so much  so as to render it almost  intolera-
ble ;  but  after it  is  perfectly  dry  it loses
most of  its  pungency,  and  becomes  ex-
tremely hard,  so that it must be grated when
used. In this state, if taken in large doses,
it will operate as an emetic, and for that rea-
son is found  efficacious when infants   are
much oppressed from a cold,  if given  re-
peatedly  in small potions,  by loosening  the
cough, and gently exciting them to  throw
up the  phlegm.   It is  also  known to be
very  good for the colic,  either for  very  old
or  very  young patients.  I frequently give
 a small quantity grated into water, and sweet- 
60.
 ened a little, to my infants, when they ap-
 pear afflicted with pains in the bowels, and
 generally with  great success.


                 Snuffles.

   This  complaint, though very trouble-
 some,  is  not frequently attended with any
hazard to the  child; and  for all  cases  of
the common snuffles I know  of nothing
better than anointing the ridge of the nose
with a  little sweet oil, and  at the same time
rubbing  some of the same oil on the  soles
of the feet, and warming them some time at
the fire.   This will generally  procure in-
stantaneous relief: but when this could not
with convenience  be done, I  have  found
milking a little breast milk  up the nose pro-
duce the desired  effect:   it will generally
make the infant sneeze, and by that means
clear out the head, or by otherwise soften-
ing the hard matter  which usually  occa-
sions the complaint, remove the difficulty.
   But if the difficulty of breathing through
the nose should  frequently return, and  at 
61
 length  be attended with  a  copious  dis-
 charge of purulent matter,  resembling that
 from a bile, and accompanied with evident
 debility without any other precise complaint,
 there will be reason to apprehend the mor-
 bid  snuffles have occurred,  and the  best
 medical advice ought instantly to be procu-
 red;  as this, so far from being a slight or
 common complaint, is a very dangerous and
 dreadful disease.
   But the better to enable parents to distin-
 guish it, that, when it does occur  it may be
 properly and  seasonably attended to,  and
 that  the  fond  mother  should be  spared
 any  unnecessary alarm, I  will again avail
 myself of Dr.  Underwood's authority,  and
 insert his description  of the symptoms  and
 general  management  of the  disorder,  lest
 no medical assistance could be with  conve-
 nience procured, as I find even  in London
 many physicians were unacquainted  with
 this disease.
   " This disease, like all other disorders, is
 much more violent in some instances than
 others.   In all a peculiar attention must be
paid to the bowels, especially that they be
                   F 
62
 kept more than commonly open ; and to at-
 tend to the nurse's diet if the infant be suck-
 led.
  "But it may be necessary to be rather more
 explicit on this disorder than on many others
 that may be  considered  as  above the ma-
 nagement of ordinary readers ;  because the
 complaint being as yet but little known, and
 more dangerous than would be apprehended,
 it might  not otherwise be sufficiently distin-
 guished from the  effects  of  a cold, until it
 would  be too late to attend to it with effect.
  " It  was  first noticed  in  1790; and the
 most formidable symptom found to be the
 difficulty  of  breathing through  the  nose;
though this is not constant,  and when free
from it, children appear to be in no danger:
but the difficulty at other times is so great
as to require an attendant to watch the child,
 sleeping  and waking, in  order to open the
 mouth  as often as may be requisite.  A sin-
 gular purple streak  is likewise noticed at the
 verge of the eye-lids and which may be con-
 sidered as a precise mark  of the disease. A
 general fulness is  also observable about the
 throat and neck externally, taking place soon
 after the  commencement  of the complaint; 
63
  which may be properly  dated from  the ap-
  pearance of the purulent discharge from the
  nose: though it has been remarked that this
  symptom, although one  of the  most formi-
  dable, may be entirely wanting.
    "When  the above symptoms  have con-
  tinued for  some time,  according  to the
  strength of the patient,  and degree of the
  disease, children  become pale and languid;
 at this time also the glands of the  throat be-
 come swelled, and of a dark red colour, with
  ash-coloured specks upon them, and in some
 there are extensive ulcerations. The infants
 gradually decline  in their strength, and have
 a particular catch in respiration. They are un-
 able to suck, though not universally;  they swal-
 low with difficulty whatever is given to them
 in a spoon; and die in  convulsions, or with
 all the marks  of great debility, though not
 on any particular day of the disease.
   " The true source of this disorder appears
 to be a defluxion and inflammation over all
 that extent of membrane  that lines the pos-
terior nostrils and contiguous parts. Hence,
the copious  secretion of purulent  matter ir-
ritates  the  windpipe,   and  produces  that 
64
spasm, and croaking  noise, with recurring
sense of suffocation, so  uniformly observed
in this disease.  By descending into the sto-
mach and bowels, it  disorders those parts,
and if not very soon properly treated, induces
such general  disease  as greatly debilitates,
and at an uncertain, but generally at an early
period, carries  off the little  patient in the
manner already described.
   " From this account of the disorder, a re-
gard to the state  of the bowels is the mani-
fest indication, which must be more attended
to than in almost any other disease;  since
the keeping  them very open,  so as to pre-
vent the lodgment of the matter falling into
them, is the grand means of cure.  To this
end, one or more tea-spoonsful of castor oil
should be given every day,  so as to procure
four  or  five motions daily.   If the  child
should be weakened  by this means,  some
cordial medicine should  be interposed; or
should this prove  insufficient to support the
infant, the purgative must be somewhat aba-
ted : but it is remarkable that even weak in-
fants endure  purging  better under this com- 
65
plaint than  perhaps any other, unless  it be
the tooth-fever.
   " It is necessary to  add, that though this
complaint had never till very lately been met
with after the  month,  I have  seen one in-
stance of it in an infant of a quarter  old ;
who was nevertheless  thought,  I know not
how justly, to  have had some slight symp-
toms of it in the month."  I have thus given
my readers such a description of this distres-
sing disease, with the best method of  cure,
as I think will enable them to  guard against
its more pernicious effects.   And  I  have
been induced to do this from having, former-
ly, been a great sufferer for want of such in-
formation.   I have a lovely little girl who I
suspect had it.   She was  attacked  with  it
when only  a week old, and  the discharge,
with all its distressing  symptoms, continued
for several weeks : with sometimes a day  or
two of intermission. Unfortunately the me-
dical gentlemen I applied to were unacquaint-
ted with the disease, (and at that time I ne-
ver  had heard of it,) therefore,  aliuough
their applications succeedtd  in curing the
compLint in the head; yet, as  little attention
was paid to the bowels, the child languished 
66
along until three months  old,  when,  after
being uncommonly unwell for several days,
she  was seized with  convulsions, and had
twenty-three  dreadful fits in  the  course of
one  week; these naturally called  for every
aid,  and were at length relieved by calomel,
which brought  away stools so green  as to
be almost black : from which it was evident
the cause was then in her bowels. I imme-
diately recollected her early complaint, and
was convinced that  was the prime cause of
hey  i^ug ill state of health, and finally of the
Jits; although  I knew not  its appropriate
name.   After the operation of the calomel,
however, she  slowly recovered,   and  I had
the  supreme felicity of being assured by the
physician who  attended her,  that my  unre-
mitted care and attentions,  both  before and
after the last dreadful attack, were a great
jmeans of enabling her to struggle through
her complicated complaints!
   Say, ye fair votaries of dissipation, who,
amid the gay delirium of the rout, the ball,
 the  concert, and the play,  drown all recollec-
 tion of your maternal duties, when did  either
 of your favourite amusements yield a sensa- 
67
tion to be compared with the blissful idea of
having in the least degree contributed towards
saving the life of a beloved child ? O, believe
me, you widely deviate from the paths of
exquisite enjoyment.  I do not ask, I do not
expect,  every mother to devote herself as I
have done to her family ;  I know  the laws
of  society will not admit of it; but I  would
have every mother  taste at least of the pure
unadulterated cup of joy prepared for her by
her beneficent  Creator,  and presented only
by her children.  It is from them, in theii
sweet endearing caresses, their unsophistica-
ted manners,  and  unfeigned  affection, that
genuine happiness is  to be found, enhanced
by  the consciousness of having   done our
duty to them.

  " Ah yet, ye fair, shall come that happier day
  " When love maternal shall assert her sway,
  " And crowning every joy of married life,
  " Join the fond mother to the faithful wife;
  "When every female heart  her rule shall own,
  "From the straw cottage to the splendid thrond ;■
  " Nor e'er, for aught that fortune can bestow,
  rt A mother's sacred privilege forego." 
68
      Wind in the Stomach and Bowels.

   Wind  is  well known to occasion many
 alarming appearances in very young infants:
 indeed,  from the  birth  until four  or five
 months old they are more  or less troubled
 with  it,  and  sometimes longer;  but with
 proper care I fancy little  danger need be ap-
 prehended from it.   Dr. Underwood attri-
 butes the more violent effects, such as*spasms,
 convulsions,   &c.  to indigestion, improper
 food, and especially costiveness ; but I know
 that infants may be very  much afflicted with
 wind who nevrr took any  other  food than
 their mothers' milk,  and were in  apparent
 good health in their bowels in every  other
 respect; nevertheless, I  have not the  least
 doubt that such infants if they should be im-
 properly fed,  would  suffer  infinitely more;
and think every mother ought to  be very
 careful about her diet when she finds her in-
 fant  peculiarly subject to this complaint.    I
 have often  observed my children  to  suffer
greatly after I had incautiously indulged my-
 self in eating apples, or other flatulent  food.
I then make it a practice to correct my milk 
69
by drinking an infusion of some of the car-
minative herbs or seeds, such as catmint, pen-
nyroyal, or caraway.  The essence  of pep-
permint is very good, as the effect it  has is
almost instantaneous.   The infant should al-
ways have something given it, likewise, when-
ever it appears distressed with wind in  any
way whatever. The most  common symptoms
are rolling about the eyes while asleep, start-
ing and  crying  out suddenly, also  crying
violently, and  drawing  up the legs, as is
the case  in all  pains  of the  bowels, from
whatever cause they may  proceed.   I have
been  in  the habit of  using various little
remedies, such  as dragon root, the roots
of the peony,  ginseng, and sweet flag,  and
essences  and  distilled waters from all  the
aromatic  seeds, among  which I  give  the
preference  to anise and caraway.  The roots
may be used  in the  form  of powders b)^
grating  a  little  into  water,  warming and
sweetening it to render it  agreeable.  The
essences must be used with caution, or they
will be apt to quackle  very young  infants;
one or two drops will be sufficient at first in
a little warm water, and  if there should be 
70
 occasion  to  use them  often, the  child will
 gradually  bear,  and indeed require more.
 The distilled water is preferable when it can
 be procured ;  a great  spoonful of this may
 be given  with  the addition of a little sugar,
 and if it should prove too strong (which may
 be known by the  child's catching its breath
 after swallowing a little of it) it may be dilu-
 ted with common water.  Dr. Hugh Smith
 observes  that infants are often affected with
 a complaint similar to what we call the heart
 burn, and recommends giving  them a little
 magnesia as the best remedy. I do not pre-
 tend to judgment enough either to confirm
 or refute this elegant writer; but I have fre-
 quently found  a tea-spoonful of magnesia,
 given  in  a little caraway or mint water, or
even common water, quiet an infant to sleep,
 and appear to render it  perfectly easy when
 every thing  else failed.  The best way of
 giving it is to take the quantity you wish to
give and put  it in a large spoon, braid it very
fine with your finger, so as to be sure there is
no lumps in it, then fill the spoon with what-
ever you have prepared to give it in, mix it,
and cause your babe to swallow it as quick 
71
 as possible, as the magnesia loses much  of
 its absorbent  quality by  being  wet; and a
 small dose given in this  way will  have a bet-
 ter effect  than  double the quantity forced
 down after standing wet in a cup  until every
 particle is perfectly saturated with the liquid.
 I  have always used large quantities of this
 innocent and  excellent medicine  among my
 children, and  never knew it fail of having a
 good effect in  acidities  in the  stomach and
 bowels, and I believe if it was constantly used
 in small quantities every day, it would tend
 greatly to prevent watery  gripes,  and many
 other distressing  complaints incident  to  in-
 fants, provided they  are not killed with kind-
 ness by having their tender stomachs  daily
 crowded with pap  and other preparations
altogether unnatural  and unnecessary.   Dr.
 H. Smith, in his Letters to Married Women,
 inveighs with more than usual energy against
 the absurd practice  of feeding such young
 infants with pap, and it has already been seen
with what conclusive arguments Dr. Under-
wood combats the custom.  I sincerely hope
the united efforts of these, and other gentle-
 men of the faculty, will have their  due weight 
72
 with every judicious mother, and prompt her
 to  banish all such pernicious  preparations
 from her nursery.  Milk  is the only proper
 substitute for the- breast, and I verily believe
 if infants were  never suffered  to take any
 other, many of  the disorders always so dis-
 tressing, and often fatal to them, would be
 avoided.
   The elixir paregoric I  have always es-
 teemed a harmless and salutary  anodyne for
 infants;  and have found it  very serviceable
 in sudden colds, hoarseness, or  coughs, and
 peevishness, which  is ever  occasioned by
 pain.   I have been cautioned against using
 it, from  an  idea that  infants accustomed to
 take it would not sleep without:  but I can
 truly say I never found the  least difficulty in
 discontinuing it whenever  I pleased.   It is
 undoubtedly very  wrong  to give  it  to  a
 healthy child every night, as  is the custom
 with some,  merely  to favour  the attendants
 by quieting it to sleep:  and  it is certainly
 best never  to give infants medicine if it is
 possible to avoid it; yet of two evils I would
always choose the least,  and it is cruel to let
a sweet little creature endure hours of pain, 
/ 3
until a strong constitution triumphs over the
complaint, or a weakly one sinks under it,
merely from an  apprehension that the pa-
tient may be  injured  by taking medicine.
It should be  the care of  every intelligent
mother  to improve her judgment by con-
sulting the  most  approved medical  books
on  the  treatment of  children;  but  more
especially by observation  and attention to
their constitutions and complaints, and thus
qualify themselves to  judge   when  nature
really requires assistance,  and how  to ad-
minister  it  with  propriety, in  all common
complaints;  for I  must  here  beg leave to
enforce upon my readers one solemn precau-
tion.  If your  infants are really ill, so that
their complaints will not readily yield to the
common palliatives,  or the often greater effi-
cacy of good  nursing, let me entreat you
not to delay calling in professional aid un-
til your children are too far gone to  admit
of relief.   Thousands of helpless little in-
nocents suffer greatly from the too prevalent
opinion (especially among the lower classes
of society) that a physician cannot tell what
to do for such young children.   In the hope
                    G 
74
that  such parents  may  be  convinced  by
sound  reasoning, I will insert  what a very
able  writer says upon the subject.   Speak-
ing of  the idea we are now considering, and
the consequent want of timely attention to
the complaints of  infants, he says,  " But I
may venture to assert, that although infants
can  give no account of their complaints in
the manner  of adults,  their diseases are all
plainly and sufficiently marked by the coun-
tenance, the age,  the  manifest symptoms,
and  the  faithful account  given by  the pa-
rent, or an intelligent nurse.   This I am so
confident of,  that 1 never feel more at my
ease  when  prescribing  for any  disorders
than those  of infants, and never succeed
with more  uniformity, or more  agreeably
to the opinion I  may have formed of the
seat and nature of the disease.  Limited as
is human knowledge, there are yet certain
principles   and great  outlines as  well in
physic as  in other sciences, with which
men of  experience are acquainted, that will
 generally lead them safely between the dan-
 gerous extremes of doing too little or too
 much;  and  will carry  them successfully 
75
where  persons who want those advantages
cannot  venture to follow them.—Let me
ask, then,  is it education, is it observation
and long experience, that can qualify a per-
son for the superintendance of infants, or
the treatment  of their complaints ?—Surely
all these fall eminently to the share of  regu-
lar practitioners,  to the utter  exclusion of
illiterate nurses and empirics."  I trust no
judicious parent will dispute arguments so
conclusive.  But  there are those  who be-
lieve  all medical  aid  superfluous; that if
persons are to die they will die, and that to
endeavour to  save life  by human  means is
a species of profanation.  Is, then, the benign
art  of healing  the  invention   of  man ?
Did man by his own  wisdom discover the
various properties of the innumerable  plants
which  compose  the   materia  medica  of
nature ? Even allowing this ;  did  man give
to  those plants their virtues ?   Did he im»
pregnate the bowels of the earth,  and the
"vasty deep," with  minerals, fossils, and
the various testaceous  substances,  so won-
derfully adapted  to mitigate  the  diseases
incident to fallen man ?   Surely  not;  and 
76
no  one will presume to doubt the Infinite
Wisdom that did.  Is it not equally presump-  ^
tuoustosay all this was done for no end; or that
He who teaches the brute creation to cull
from his immense stores the simples adapted
to their diseases, did not likewise place in
the heart of his favoured  creature  Man, a
more acute discernment, joined to  a judg-
ment little less than divine.
         Retention of the Urine.

  As this is a complaint which  sometimes
causes great distress, it  ought  to  be at-
tended to immediately.  An infusion of the
leaves and root of the common  mallows, I
have sometimes found have the  desired ef-
fect, or parsley roots steeped very strong,
and a little of the tea given sweetened with
honey  is very  good; but  for very young
infants I never found any thing preferable
to a tea made of pompion or  pumpkin
seeds ; this never failed to remove the com-
plaint whenever I  have had occasion to use
it among  my  children.  Dr.  Buchan ob- 
77
   9erves that " a warm bath of milk and wa-
»  ter,  or a little oil gently  rubbed on the bel-
   ly,  will in most cases prove efficacious."
   If after all these methods have been tried,
   the retention  should continue,  skilful ad-
   vice should be had, as the impediment may
   be occasioned by some defect which  ought
   to be immediately attended to.
           Sore Ears and Eyes.

 These often troublesome and disgusting
complaints will  generally be entirely avoid-
ed by washing  an infant constantly  with
cold water, as directed  in the beginning of
this chapter.   The first of them,  however,
will sometimes occur  notwithstanding every
precaution, and  I  think  when  it  is only a
slight discharge  unattended with an eruption
I should be careful of using any violent ap-
plications to check it;  as it may be a salutary
exertion of nature, and may  prevent more
fatal complaints: but  great care should be
taken to prevent the excoriation from extend- 
78
ing itself; by washing the part every morn-
ing or oftener if necessary with warm milk
and water, or a weak suds of castile soap, and
carefully placing behind the ear a piece  of
scorched linen. If this should  fail a little plas-
ter of Turner's cerate may be  applied; or a
weak solution of sugar of lead  may be used
instead of the other washes.  But I have  of
late found a very little opedeldoc dissolved
in warm water the most  efficacious applica-
tion I ever tried in this complaint;  and it
will  generally prove effectual if persevered
in a sufficient length of time.  Every mother
and nurse ought to be  informed  that one
great reason why  many  applications  and
medicines are condemned as ineffectual, is,
because the use of them is too hastily sus-
pended  before sufficient time is allowed for
their due  operation.
  As the eyes are  a more delicate  organ, I
will give my readers Dr. Buchan's own words
upon the subject;  especially as none of my
children have ever been affected with the
least complaint in that  part.
   " Sore eyes are in general  occasioned by
fhe neglect of washing the infant's head with 
79
cold water from the birth. Where that  me-
thod is practised this complaint seldom oc*
curs: though it may sometimes happen by
exposing it soon after birth to a strong light,
or placing it too near the fire. In both cases
the most  simple applications are the safest;
and frequent washing with milk and water,
or rose water, will in general remove all the
disagreeable effects of this disorder."


                Vomiting,

   There are many opinions with  respect
to infant's throwing up their milk.   Physi-
cians generally  suppose  it  a symptom of
too great acidity  in the stomach;  but for
my part,  when it  is done without  any ap-
pearance of nausea,  I regard it rather as an
indication of  strength than otherwise:  and
as a kindly exertion of nature to free her-
self from  any superfluous  quantity received
into the stomach.   I am  inclined  to think
it  not a  disease,  from several  reasons: in
the first place, it is generally observed to be
the most  thriving  children who  do it,  and 
80
 those who are nourished from a very full
 breast of milk.  It is also a fact, that infants
 most generally throw up their milk while in
 the act of playing and springing with every
 appearance  of glee;  which would not be
 the case if they felt sick.   Indeed, this has
 always  been the  criterion  by which I have
 been accustomed to judge if  the vomiting
 proceeded from  illness,  or was only the
 effect of repletion.   If my  babe  at the mo-
 ment hangs its  head, looks  uncommonly
 pale, or by affecting moans shows evident
 indisposition,  I  immediately  conclude  its
 stomach out of  order, and treat  the  com-
 plaint accordingly; but  otherwise I always
 regard  it rather as  an indication  of health
 and  strength  than of  disease.   However,
 whenever, from the symptoms above related, <
 I have had reason to think the vomiting pro-
 ceeded  from acidity in the stomach, I have
 ever found magnesia an effectual remedy;  or
 if that  should fail, it is probable the com-
 plaint proceeds  from  something offensive
in the first passage, and a gentle  emetic of
 ipecacuan may be given: three grains, or half
a tea-spoonful  of  the ipecacuan is generally 
81
 sufficient for children of this age ; and if that
 should fail to remove the complaint, a weak
 infusion of senna and manna may  be exhi-
 bited until it  produces a gentle operation;
a  table-spoonful may  be given every two
hours  until  it  operates.  After  this  the
magnesia, or any of the testaceous powders
may be repeated a few times, and will rarely
fail of having the desired effect.
                Convulsions.

   Although this cannot be termed a slight
 or common complaint,   yet as no disorder
 that ever  attacked  my  family  gave  me
 such acute distress, or  so totally overpow-
 ered my faculties,  I cannot resist the desire
 of  giving  some account of  it,  together
 with the most approved  method of treat-
 ment ;  lest some fond  mother,  while her
 heart throbs with agony for a beloved child,
 should find it impossible to obtain medical
aid immediately, and may take up my book
with the eager hope of finding the directions
she requires.  I recollect with what anxiety 
82
 I sought for information when my child was
 so unexpectedly seized with these fits, and
 cannot think any further apology necessary
 for transcribing copiously  from Dr. Under-
 wood relative to the usual  causes and reme-
 dies;  leaving the  reader  to consult that
 learned author for more particular  informa.
 tion as to the various kinds of convulsions,
 if she  should be so unfortunate as  to have
 occasion so to do.
   "If it  may be  accounted a fair  rule of
judging from the result  of my own expe-
rience, both in hospital and private practice,
convulsions  ought  not  to  be  reckoned
amongst the most  frequent disorders, and
are certainly  far  from  the  most  fatal to
infants; perhaps as many as nineteen  cases
out of twenty having their appropriate and
almost certain remedies.
   "Such   original  cause  may  be  a  rash
improperly repelled, but the source of fits
is much oftener in the gums,  in the time of
teething;  or  in  the first  passages, where
some undigested  matter, or merely pent up
wind,  irritates the  coats of  the  intestines,
and produces irregular motions  throughout 
                   83

the whole nervous  system.   Instances  of
this kind have been related of children who
during the first  months have  had frequent
attacks of violent convulsions, which have
disappeared entirely upon the prohibition of
meal pap.  Indeed, too much caution  can
scarcely be given on this head, thick victuals
being a more frequent occasion  of convul-
sions in  young  children than is commonly
imagined.—Any  offensive  load,  whether
from too great  a quantity  or bad  quality
of the food,  by  occasioning a faulty secre-
tion, must act like a poison ; and that the
 convulsions  are owing to this cause may
often be known by the complaints that have
preceded them, such as loathing, costiveness,
purging, pale countenance, large belly, and
disturbed  sleep.—Every  young  infant  is
however  more or less predisposed to this
complaint;  and the disposition  continues
throughout  childhood,  in  a proportion  to
the  tender age  and  delicacy of the habit.
 The younger and more irritable,  therefore,
an infant may be, it will be so  much the
more liable  to convulsions, especially from
any considerable disturbance in  the  first 
                      84

  passages, as was mentioned before, particu.
  larly from the bad quality, or  over  thick-
  ness of the  breast milk or other food, and
  from frights of the wet nurse's.  Of this I
  remember a remarkable instance in a patient
  of my own, in  whose house a  visitor  sud.
 denly  dropped  down  dead.   The mother
 of the child,  which was six months old, was
  exceedingly  alarmed;   but her  att ention
 being for a moment called off by its crying,
 she incautiously put  it to her  breast.  In
 an hour afterwards the infant  was seized
 with ant, and lay either convulsed or drowsy^
 without  so much as taking the breast, for
 the space of six  and thirty hours; though
 it was  at length happily  recovered, as in-
 fants in such case generally may.
   " Among the various causes of convulsion*
 (though equally the occasion of  many other
 complaints)  may be mentioned that of  foul
 air, and want of cleanliness in  the dress and
other accommodations of  infants;  against
 which the lower class  of people  only  need
to be cautioned.
 " Of a like kind, probably, was a curious case
I met with very lately in an infant of only a 
85
fortnight old, who was suddenly seized with
convulsions without  any  manifest  cause.
They had gradually increased for three days
when I was called  to  visit  it, and notwith-
standing a  fair trial  given  to almost every
medicine I  had ever made  use of for fits,
they continued for six weeks, and for the last
three became almost constant, so that except
during the short sleeps the infant got, it was
rarely five minutes together out of a fit.  The
last week I attended, all medicines were given
up ;  but the fits continued the same, and the
infant, reduced to a very emaciated state, was
now expected to expire from one hour to
another.   As a last resource the child was
taken to the country, where, to the surprise
of every one, the fits left it, the infant having
only two through the whole of the next day,
and none afterwards.  The sudden recovery
can only be attributed, I  imagine,  to  change
of air.
  " The cure of convulsions of whatever kind
will  consist principally in removing the ex-
citing causes,  which must  therefore  be in
quired into.   If from improper food  and in-
digestion,  a gentle emetic should be given;
                    H 
86
if the irritation be in the bowels, whatever
will carry down their acrid contents will cure
the convulsions, if administered in time ; and
we ought generally to begin with a clyster.
If the stools appear very foul after common
purges, (in which case there will  frequently
be some difficulty of breathing,) a few grains
of the powder  of scammony  with calomel,
may be given  with great propriety. But if
the disposition to convulsions continues after
the bowels have been properly cleansed, and
no new irritation of them may be apprehend-
ed, the proper remedies for spasm  should
be administered,  such as tincture of soot, or
of castor, spirit of hartshorn, rectified oil of
amber, or oil of rue, which, though an obso-
lete medicine, is an excellent one : but to be-
gin with any of these, as is sometimes done, is
as hazardous as empirical. Rubbing the back
bone,  palms  of the hand, and soles  of the
feet, with oil of amber, or water of ammonia,
has likewise had a good  effect,  as well as
frictions over the whole body, which from
 consent of parts  seems to afford more bene-
 fit than might be imagined."
   I  have thus  given  a brief detail  of the
 common sources from  whence this distress- 
87
ing disorder may be expected to arise, and
likewise the best remedies; and were  I not
fearful of swelling my volume far beyond
the limits  I have proposed,  I could with
pleasure extend my extracts from this valua-
ble work : I must however insert one passage
more, for  the  consolation of  every mother
who may be alarmed for the life of her child
while labouring under this complaint.
   " A few more words may be necessary,
especially as they hold out much comfort in
regard to this alarming complaint. For though
indeed all convulsion fits are in their appear-
ance extremely  shocking, yet  under proper
treatment it has been remarked they are much
less frequently fatal than is  commonly ima-
gined, however often they may recur ; and
for my own part I do not recollect-more than
three  infants dying in convulsions during the
last five years, though I have attended seve-
ral who have had more than twenty fits in  a
day."
   When I reflect upon the comfort such an
assurance,  from such authority, would have
given me when my darling child was afflicted
by them, I feel a sincere hope that in giving 
88
it a place in this littie volume, I may chance
to alleviate the  distress of  many  a fond
mother.
           Fever, from taking cold.

    This kind of fever may  very easily be
 distinguished  from  any other, by its being
 preceded and  attended with the usual symp-
 toms of a cold;  and I mention it here, be-
 cause I think by proper  and  timely care,
 and good nursing, one of the most danger-
 ous disorders incident to infants, an inflamma-
 tion on the lungs, may be avoided :  to  this
 end, when  an  infant is  in  the  least degree
 feverish when afflicted with a cold, especially
 when attended by a cough, the feet and legs
 should  be bathed  in warm  water,  and drafts
applied to the feet;  and for young children,
garlic drafts* are to be preferred, both for

  * Garlic Drafts.  To make these drafts, simmfer
the  cloves of garlic in olive oil or hogs lard, then
cut some brown  papers about  the size of a dollar,
dip  them, and apply  them to the soles of the feet,
binding them on with proper  bandages.  These 
89
 their peculiar virtues and being easy to  the
 feet:  this done,  half a tea-spoonful of  the
 oxymei of squills may  be given  in a little
 hyssop tea, sweetened with honey;  and if the
 infant is  relaxed in its bowels, or subject  to
 griping,  six or ten drops (according to  the
 age of the child) of elixir paregoric may be
 added:  the mother or  nurse should drink,
 when going to bed, a bowl of catmint tea,  or
 any other cooling herb she may prefer.   If
 the child should not be apparendy better the
 next morning, the bathing, drafts and squills
 may be repeated:  this, with great care to keep
 it from the cold, and that  all its clothes are
 perfectly dry, will generally alleviate the com-
 plaint ;  but should the  fever continue,  the

 drafts are very excellent for young children, because
 they are very easy to the feet, are easily renewed
 by dipping the papers anew, and are very powerful
 in their effects upon the  system.  Dr.  Sydenham
 assures us " that among all the substances  which
 occasion a derivation or  revulsion from the head,
 none operates more powerfully than garlic applied
 to the soles of the feet."   Hence the good effect  in
febrile affections,  especially in this  complaint.  I
 have however found them  equally  efficacious for
older children when afflicted with worm complaints.
                     H * 
90
breathing become difficult, with  a  flushed
cheek, an inflammation on the iungs is to be
feared, and immediate recourse should be had
to some approved physician; but  I have
often found the above method of treatment,
persevered in for two or three days, procure
relief in very  severe colds.   The syrup  of
squills  I would particularly recommend,  in
almost every affection occasioned  by  taking
cold:  where that  cannot be  had  with con-
venience, a gentle emetic of ipecacuan should
be given; three grains, as mentioned before, is
generally sufficient for  such  young infants;
but  if that  should  not  operate  sufficiently
to give relief, the dose may be increased to
four or five without danger: as, if you appre-
hend the operation to be too violent, it maybe
easily checked by a few drops of paregoric; but
this seldom happens with this emetic, which
has, besides, this peculiar quality, that if it does
not operate as an emetic it will as a purgative,
and often have the desired effect  without
 puking the infant, which I think  should  be
 done with caution while they are  so  young.
 Nevertheless, in this complaint, it appears ab-
 solutely necessary, as the little creatures have 
91
not discretion to  expectorate in the  usual
manner, and therefore unless relieved in some
other way, become  very much oppressed
with phlegm : they also swallow large quanti-
ties with their milk, which  renders it indi-
gestible, and  thus  induces general  disease ;
therefore it will be proper to keep the body
duly open, for  which purpose a weak infu-
sion of senna and manna,  given gradually
until it operates, will have a good effect, or
half a tea-spoonful of magnesia may be given
twice a day; this I confess is  a favourite
medicine with me  for very young children.
One thing more  I would observe,  as  the
measles and  some other eruptive diseases
begin with every appearance  of a cold, it will
be proper to give a child so affected,  saffron
tea several times, as that will tend  to throw
out any latent disorder of that kind,  if  re-
quisite, or by its stomachic  and exhilarating
qualities prove  otherwise  serviceable.    I
know  not why the learned colleges in Eu-
rope have seen fit to invalidate the virtues of
this very excellent  plant. It  is undoubtedly
one of the best we have; and indeed whatr
ever indisposition  attacks my children,  my 
92 n
 first step is to give a: dose of this tea, and I
 am pretty sure if there is any peccant  hu*
 mour lurking in the blood, it will then make
 its appearance on the surface.
   It may not be improper to mention here
 that whenever honey is used medicinally, it
 should previously be boiled and skimmed,
 as otherwise it  is very  apt to occasion acute
 pains in the bowels, and to  some constitu-
tions is almost a poison.  I  would therefore
suggest the propriety of always boiling it be-
fore it is put up  for medicinal purposes, as
we are frequently called to use  it in  haote,
when it may be impossible to attend to this
precaution.
          On cutting the  Tongue.

   This is an operation  so simple and so
easily executed that no mother need to hesi-
tate a  moment  about performing it herself,
as  I have done for  several of my children
with perfect safety and success;  by taking
a pair  of  very sharp scissors and holding
them between  her fingers  very  near  the ' 
93
points, so as to preclude the possibility of
cutting more than the very outward edge of
the string that confines the tongue, and thus
avoid all danger of cutting too far, or wound-
ing any  of  the veins  beneath  the tongue ;
from which  it is said infants have sometimes
bled to death. Another danger  arising from
this operation is  said  to be  suffocation,
from the child's swallowing the point of
its  tongue and which  is  owing to cutting
too  much of the string or  bridle;  but  I
can  truly say  that although there may be
danger of one or both these dreadful con-
sequences, yet I verily believe any judicious
mother may perform the operation without
the least apprehension,  provided  she feels
sufficient  resolution:  otherwise  she had
better employ some professional gentleman
to do it.   My babe, who is  now  in  arms,
had his tongue tied  to the very  end, so that
whenever he cried  or  attempted to lift  his
tongue it was drawn  into the form of a
heart. As soon as I was able to attend to him,
I seized an opportunity when he was asleep
on my lap;  and, gently placing the fingers
of my left hand under the tongue, I took a 
94
pair of nice scissors, and in the manner above
directed with ease severed so  much of the
string as allowed him to suck with freedom,
and the babe never awoke or appeared to feel
it in the least:  but  I soon  found the  ope-
ration was  not  complete  enough to permit
the tongue to move as it ought to do; and
when he was  two months old, fearful lest it
might  cause   some  impediment  in   his
speech,  I cut  the string a little more, and
although  the  child  was  then awake, he
never showed the least uneasiness by which
I could suppose  it caused him any pain;
but  smiled the whole time.   His  tongue
bled a very little and  ever since has appear-
ed perfectly free 
95
                SECTION Y\

   On the great utility of alternate exercise
 and rest, with  observations on  the pernicious
practice of taking infants out of bed during
 the night when in health.

     Say who is  he, so debonair
     With active limbs, and sportive air,
     With step elastic, bounding, there
                 In frolic gambols sporting ?
     'Tis Exercise; and by his side
     See  Health, his constant blooming bride,
     In all the flush of rosy pride
                  Delighted with his courting.
     And now upon the violet bed
     He droops fatigued his weary head,
     In gayest  dreams illusive led,
                 His daily toil renewing.
     Refreshed  by sleep, at early dawn
     Again he frolics o'er the lawn,
     And  gathers roses to adorn
                 The bride  he's ever wooing.


  After all that has been said concerning
the management of infants in sickness or in 
96
 health,  perhaps  nothing will tend  more
 either  to  prevent the one  or  insure  the
 other than exercise.   The  first  week of
 their  existence new bom infants may  be
 permitted  to sleep as much as  they  incline
 to, but even then  they should be  frequently
 moved, and gently rubbed with a warm hand
 to excite them to stretch;  and as soon as they
 show a disposition to open their  eyes, they
 should be encouraged to do so  by gently
 tossing in the arms, moving  from side to
 side, or in any other way inducing them to
 look about. As they grow older the exercise
 should be increased, and when the  season
 will permit,  and  the weather is  fair,  they
 should be carried abroad every morning, and
 permitted to breathe the fresh air for an hour.
 In this way their health will be greatly bene-
 fited, and their minds will appear to open
 much earlier, than if they were continually
 hushed to sleep by  artificial means: they
 will generally after their morning's walk or
 ride fall asleep,  and  awake, after resting
 an hour or two, with renovated strength, and
even their mental faculties expanded. Thus 
                    97

they will soon acquire  such a proportion  of
knowledge as will no longer submit to con-
finement, but by a restlessness arising from an
inherent love of variety, oblige their attend-
ants to carry them from place to place; and
as soon as they begin to notice persons or
things, they should be constantly talked to,
and their attention drawn to familiar objects
by  frequent repetition.   This will  excite
them to  spring forward  themselves, which
will  give a more  effectual start to the blood,
than  hours of moderate movement, such
as infants usually obtain from  their attend-
ants. Thus weakly and delicate infants will
   " Acquire a vigour and elastic spring
   " To which they were not born"—
                             Armstrong.
and  the more robust  have a good constitu-
tion firmly  established.
  Mothers and nurses will  eventually lessen
their own  fatigue by  thus  permitting their
infant charge to have sufficient exercise; for
true it is

             —" Repose by small fatigue
      " Is  earned"—
                               Armstrong.
                     I 
98
 and children will usually sleep sweetly during
 the night when they are not permitted to sleep
 too much in the day, and are duly  wearied
 with the exercise they have taken.  Thus
 the mother's rest will be unbroken, and  she
 will awake in the morning refreshed and in-
 vigorated ; her milk  will be infinitely better,
 her health and strength be confirmed, and
 she will feel  able to arise and  attend to her
 maternal duties with  delight.

   " Then loveliest, when her babe in native charms
   " Hangs on her breast, or dances in her arms."

   To  this end,  I must be permitted here
 to censure the too prevalent custom of ta-
king  infants out of  bed in  the night, a
practice which cannot be too strictly guard-
ed  against.   It  is astonishing  with  what
facility  the  little creatures  will  learn  bad
habits;  or with what ease they may be made
to acquire good ones.  I have  frequently been
 vexed  to hear parents complain of  their
children, and aver that they  would not lie in
bed, but cry to be taken up and see the can-
dle ; for I always suspect the parents only
are in   fault.   With  a  mistaken  spirit  of 
99
indulgence, they will not permit the dear little
creatures  to  complain in the least, but the
whole house must be  disturbed to appease
them:  or from  a still more reprehensible
impatience of fatigue, many mothers will
summon their attendants if the  child  is in
the least degree restless;  without reflecting
that those who are wearied  with continual
labour through the day ought to be suffer-
ed to sleep quietly during the night, unless
something of great importance forbids  it.
The infant  is taken up, and shortly,  from
the powerful force of custom, acquires a
habit of waking exactly  at  such an hour,
and this probably for  many  months, to the
great disturbance of  both parents and  at-
tendants.  How  infinitely better were it to
endure the  small inconvenience  of attend-
ing a very young infant for  a few nights in
the bed, until it should learn to lie still, than
by thus causing them to be  taken up upon
every slight pretence,  confirm  a habit pro-
ductive of  incalculable fatigue, and equal-
ly destructive of comfort and health.
   With all   my  numerous family I never
had an infant taken out of bed during the 
100
night,  after the first month; nor then, ex-
cept for the purpose of obtaining dry clothes,
(after which I always take them immediate.
ly to bed again,)  except they were ill;  and
I verily  believe  they never would require
it  if  they  were  not injudiciously mana-
ged at first.
  Thus, my fair friends, I have endeavoured
to state what I believe to be the best method
of nursing  and  managing infants from the
birth until they are four months old, and in
the pleasing hope that if you have adopted
my advice your babes are thriving, fair, and
lovely, I will now proceed and  assist  you
all in my power through the  difficult period
of teething. And may that Almighty Being,
who knows the purity of my motives, give
efficacy to my feeble efforts for the preser-
vation of this lovely and interesting portion
of society. 
101
CHAPTER II.
                 SECTION I.


 On  Teething, and the  management of In-
  fants during the often painful and critical
  period of Dentition.

   " I've often heard my Grandame say,
   " When she was young that roguish Fay
   " Would spirit brawling brats away,
   " And in the cradle where they lay
         " Would leave their elvish changeling* .

   " Now watch with care the techy babe,
   " And learn the spell which Grandame said
   " Would charm the Sprites.   A Mother's arms
   •' Are potent 'gainst all fairy charms;
   " And in their hallowed bounds will keep
   •' The babe from Oberon's deceit."

 WE are now to suppose our infant charge
arrived at  that age when its sweet endearing
                     i* 
102
smiles and innocent  caresses begin to inte-
rest every beholder. How infinitely interest-
ing then must they be to a mother who has
watched with impatient fondness the first
dawn of its rational  faculties, eager to catch
the earliest indication of our noble and exalt-
ed  nature! How amply  is she now  repaid
fbr the many  hours of fatigue  and  anxiety
spent in nursing its earlier infancy ! This may
be  imagined  by the  effect  produced  on the
foster nurse. How  frequently do we  hear it
observed that  she scarcely perceives any dif-
ference in her affection for her nursling and
her own offspring.

 " Leaps his young heart with undissembled bliss
 " At the  fond look, soft smile,  or gentle kiss;
 "Whilst by his lips the milky orbs are prest
 " The soft affections spring within his breast,
 " Till the pleased hireling owns the tender claim
 " And to a mother's office joins the name."

   Ah, how is she to be pitied who is  obliged
thus to yield her sacred right to the earliest
affections of  her  babe—and  still  more so
that mother  who voluntarily sacrifices such
heartfelt bliss, for the empty  pageantry of 
103
fashionable dissipation! Now every day, nay,
every hour,  some  new charm is disclosed,
some fresh emanation of mind unfolded, and
some novel and fascinating gesture displayed.
Let those ladies  who  seek  variety in their
pleasures,  and yet  banish their babes from
their bosoms, be persuaded for once to try the
talisman of  infant blandishment,  and they
will acknowledge they have  at length  found
that variety which chases the ennui of life.
And here also we find our beneficent  Crea-
tor has graciously blended  our pleasures
with our cares ;  for now our infants call for
particular  attention;   it  being  absolutely
necessary  for their health, if not their very
existence,  that  they  should  be faithfully
nursed and constantly exercised and amused
for several months of this portion of their
lives, and the better to ensure  those advan-
tages,  their heavenly Father  has  clothtd
them with  such  enchanting loveliness as
none but brutes in human form could possi-
bly resist: hence every one is induced to
notice them; they  are frequently  handed
from one to another,  each trying by every
possible means to excite a smile, or  other 
104
  token of regard, and thus they acquire new
 ideas, and receive the exercise best adapted
 to promote their health.  Now, too, the lit-
 tle creatures  begin to drink more deeply
 of the  bitter cup of  mortal infirmity, as
 this  is the age when they usually show the
 first  indications of pain from  the irritation
 of their gums, and  often appear to suffer
 greatly even before there is any appearance
 of the teeth, either from the gums swelling
 or becoming inflamed, probably  owing to
 the teeth shooting through the bones.  Rub-
 bing  the gums  at this time is said to be of
 service,  "as it not only somewhat appeases
 pain,  as adults sometimes experience in the
 common toothach, but  it also forwards the
 growth of the teeth by  drawing more nou-
 rishment to them,  as  well as assists their
 irruption,  by  pressing  the  gum and  ner-
 vous membrane firmly against their points."
 The application of honey, or the syrup  of
white poppies, to the gums at  this time is
 likewise recommended.
   It has long been  thought  by many,  al-
most indispensable to furnish infants  with
the coral and bells, both as an  amusement 
                   105

and  assistant  in  the  irruption  of  their
teeth,  but  I have  entirely thrown  aside
mine,  being  fully  convinced diat infants
generally prefer to  bite something that will
yield more to the pressure than coral; and
however they  be  at first attracted  by the
jingling sound of the bells, they soon grow
weary of  them, disgusted rather than amu-
sed  by the monotonous  sound and glitter-
ing  appearance, and will throw them aside
for a less gaudy toy, especially if they are
in pain.  I have been led to this conclusion
from observing that whenever, from a wish
to amuse them when fretful, I have jingled
 the  bells  before their eyes, they would avert
their faces,  and,  sinking upon my bosom,
seem  to entreat me  to desist: and while I
reflected upon the distress we feel in after
life, when  tortured  with pain at the teas-
ing  recurrence  of any  noise whatever,  it
 appeared  altogether unnatural to  attempt
 amusing  a sweet little sufferer by  a means
 that would almost  distract a much older
 patient.  Besides, it should ever be remem-
 bered  that the infant mind, eager for infor-
 mation, can receive no new ideas  from the 
106
jingling of  bells or the shrill toned whis-
tle, and that every purpose of amusement is
much  better effected by  talking to  them,
and new ideas constantly conveyed : thus I
said to my babe to day, George where is
Rover? at the  same time pointing to a fa-
vourite spaniel which lay upon the carpet;
the dog advanced, and the child  sprang for-
ward delighted; and now when he is asked
where is  Rover? he  immediately   looks
around to find him; thus he  has acquired
an idea productive  of  constant pleasure.—
On  reading this passage to my little circle,
Amelia ran to her brother Edward, clapping
her hands and exclaiming, Oh, Oh, mamma
has put Rover in her book! This was follow-
 ed by a  lecture  to my audience upon the
 nature of printing and vending books, and
 the pleasure  and profit  of reading  them;
 when my eldest son,  who thinks himself
 very  profound in greek and latin,  with  a
 dash of the pedant natural to his age, gravely
 observed to his father, " If mamma would
 but study greek, and write her book in that
 language, Rover might become immortalized
 like Ulysses'  dog in the Odyssey."   Thus 
107
we endeavour to connect  amusement  with
profit,  in the various grades of infant and
juvenile life.   But to return to my subject:
The very best assistant in this  way  to the
irruption of the teeth is a cork.  Take a cork
screw and worm it into  a new cork of a
proper size to be  admitted with ease into
the mouth, and you have a play thing both
useful  and pleasing to  the  child; the  soft
and  spongy  nature  of the  cork is  exactly
suited to the tender state of the gums, and is
unattended by the danger inseparable  from
permitting such young infants  to  chew a
crust of bread, which  is often recommend-
ed ;  but they too  frequently  get off  large
pieces,  which might be productive  of fatal
consequences unlessgreat attention was paid,
and this cannot always be obtained from ordi-
 nary attendants: and  the ivory or ebony
head of the common cork screw I  believe  "
equally  good as the  coral,  when  a  more
polished  substance  is  required; and if of
gold or silver, they are still better. I have
observed an  infant set several minutes at one
time and bite the cork, with evident tokens
of pleasure,  while his little hands were bu- 
                    108

 sily employed playing with the cork screw.
 It is my opinion that a due attention  to air,
 exercise and amusement,  is the chief requi-
 site to ensure comparatively easy dentition;
 but great care must be taken to keep infants
 in health  at this time,  for although teething
 cannot, perhaps, properly be termed a  dis-
 ease, it is often attended  by,  or productive
 of many  disorders; such  as long continued
 constipations,  convulsions  and  fevers,  or
 violent diarrhoea, and consequent weakness
 of body : various kinds  of  rash likewise
 frequently appear at this time, and may gene-
 rally  be  esteemed salutary.   But although
 thus menaced  on all sides by various com-
 plaints,  infants  who  have  been  properly
 managed  from the birth,  and nourished en-
 tirely by  milk,  will generally  triumph over
 them ail,  and most commonly escape them
 entirely;  therefore, I will notice such com-
 plaints as sometimes occur in the healthiest
 children, and unless  very much  neglected
 scarcely   deserve  the  name  of  diseases.
 We find  almost every child will be  either
 very costive or greatly the reverse  at this
period, and it should be the mother's pecu- 
109
  liar care,  to  watch these  symptoms, and
  afford  the necessary  aid in due  time;  in
  either case no alarm need be felt while the
  child  appears in  good  spirits, has a  good
  appetite, and does not by unusual fretfulness,
  or any other marked symptom, evince  cer-
  tain indisposition: and here again the all-
  wise hand of the great  Creator is displayed,
  for not more true are the  indications of the
  magnetic needle, than the aspects of the in-
  fant countenance ; and as the skilful mariner,
  by noting the one, conducts his vessel safely
  to her destined port,  so may the judicious
  mother, by observing the other, judge accu-
 rately of her infant's health.   I never feel in
 the least anxious about my  children while
 their eyes are bright and lively,  their faces
 dressed in smiles, and they show a constant
 disposition to play ; (by which I would infer
 that the partial ebullitions excited  by endea-
 vours to amuse them do not reach my mean-
 ing;) but when they look pale and deject-
 ed,  their eyes dull and heavy, seldom irra-
 diated by a smile, it is  beyond doubt  that
 they are ill and require some little medicine
to assist  " oppressed nature in her arduous
                    K 
110
task."  If the child is strong and robust, it
will be most inclined to feverish complaints,
attended by  constipation,  in which case I
have- always found magnesia answer a- very
good purpose, especially if the child is affect-
ed with acidity in the stomach and bowels,
which will generally be the case. The magne-
sia may be given in doses  of a tea-spoonful
to infants  from four to  six  and  seven
months, in a little pepper mint, or caraway
water, sweetened with manna, before going
to bed, and repeated in the morning, if it has
not the desired effect.   Magnesia, however,
will not always operate as  a  purgative, and
when  this  happens,  and  the complaint
proves obstinate, the  best medicine  I ever
tried  is  syrup  of  elder  berries:  a  table
spoonful will be  sufficient  for an  infant of
six months, or under, and after that the dost
may  be  increased  to two  table spoonsful
without danger.  I have known this effec-
tually remove a disposition  to constipation,
which would not yield to  other purgatives,
and leave the children in perfect health for
many months.   Rhubarb should be 'a void-
ed, as its astringency will but aggravate the 
Ill
complaint.   Dr.  Underwood  recommends
a medicine which some ladies may wish to
try, especially as it is highly recommended
both as a laxative and cordial, and may be of
service whether the  child is too  costive or
greatly the  reverse.   " Take of  rhubarb
fifteen grains; half a drachm  of magnesia;
sweet  fennel and dill  waters, of  each six
drachms;  half an ounce of syrup of roses,
and ten  or fifteen drops of the compound
spirit of ammonia; of this one, two, or three
teaspoonsful, according to the age of the in-
fant, may be given two or three times a day."
 Weakly infants, on the other  hand, will ge-
 nerally be  most inclined to diarrhoea during
 the progress of dentition;  and  it is  well
 known that great caution  should be used
 not to check it  too soon, as  infants  always
 cut their teeth easiest when their bowels con-
 tinue  very open.  Dr.  Underwood,  when
 treating upon this subject,  says,  "  It has
 been observed that a purging is beneficial ;
 and it may be proper to add that it is  surpri-
 sing how  considerable it  may be on this
 occasion,  and how very bad the stools, for
 several weeks together, and the child happily 
112
 struggle through;  though at another time
 an equal  degree of purging,  with such bad
 stools,  and constant fever, would prove in-
 fallibly fatal.   The purging is therefore not
 only  to be cautiously treated, according to
 the directions already given under that arti-
 cle, but is generally rather to be  increased
 than suppressed."  Therefore, it will be best
 to do little else than give a little magnesia,
 or any of the testaceous powders, in catmint
 or mint water,  every day, so as to counteract
 gently the disposition to  acidity, and warm
 the bowels, provided the babe is otherwise
 in health; but if the disorder should continue
 too long,  and violent, so  as greatly to weak-
 en the child, some further attention  will be
 required;  and  then  the medicine  before
 recommended  (and which is said to keep
 some time)  will be  of great service, and
 should be repeated occasionally as may  be
 found requisite.  When  this  complaint  has
 continued some time, infants so afflicted will
frequently appear pale and languid,  especial-
ly in very warm weather.  In which case
Dr. Underwood recommends a cordial medi-
cine to be  given on the intermediate days, 
US
or in the evening, after the operation of the
medicine: " Take of the aromatic confection,
a scruple ; spearmint water, an ounce and a
half; dill-seed water, half an ounce;  syrup
of tolu or  saphron, a  drachm;  compound
spirit of ammonia, ten drops: a tea-spoon-
ful may be given for a dose.   As  cordials
are frequently mentioned,  the above may
serve as a general guide, and may be made
more or less warm by a greater or less quan-
tity of the aromatic confection or spirit of
ammonia."   If these gentle means fail, the
following  may be tried.
   " In the early part of this disease the ac-
tive purges are the most proper, such as cas-
tor-oil, senna, and sometimes calomel; or
if the fever be considerable, an  infusion of
burnt sponge and senna in boiling water, a
preparation equally adapted to the fever and
this kind of purging.  This should consist
of two parts of senna  leaves (by weight) to
one of burnt sponge, made of such a strength
that the bowels may bear  one or more table-
spoonsful,  two or three times  a day.   The
infusion as soon as it becomes cold should
be strained through filtering paper."
                   K* 
114
  While infants  are breeding  teeth  their
evacuations will often assume a jelly like ap-
pearance ;  frequently streaked  with blood,
which causes the anxious mother much alarm
lest the dysentery has occurred ; but I believe
that dreadful  disease  is  generally distin-
guished by very  appropriate symptoms, be-
ing always attended with loss of appetite, fe-
ver, and extreme pain : the discharges also,
though very frequent, are in very small quan-
tities ; the  very reverse of the diarrhoea usual-
ly attendant on  dentition, which is seldom
accompanied with  fever, and  infants  will
usually  preserve  a  good  appetite,  although
the disease should prove obstinate and trou-
blesome.  Nothing therefore will be neces-
sary should  such instances occur, but occa-
 sionally to repeat  the  medicines above re-
 commended, and to pay  every possible at-
 tention to  their diet, not suffering their  little
 stomachs  to be loaded with  improper food.
 If the mother has  milk  enough, the child
 will require little else  except in occasional
 absences from her, when milk new  from the
 cow is the best substitute, if it can be  pro-
  ured; if not, something as n.arly resembling 
115
 it as  possible should be prepared.  Avery
excellent  beverage both for food and medi-
cine, in cases of obstinate relax, may be pre-
pared by boiling a handful of dry flour tied
up in a cloth very close, several hours, until
it  becomes  perfectly hard and dry; it may
then be grated with a common bread  gra-
ter, and a table  spoonful stirred into half a
pint  of boiling  milk, so as to make it like
thin panada ; a small piece of cinnamon should
be added to the milk, and  when it is boiled
sufficiently it may  be sweetened with a little
loaf sugar, or not, as is most agreeable to the
child.   Infants are usually fond of this food,
and may be permitted to eat a few  spoonsful
several  times a day as a medicine, or a tea-
cupful instead of other food when necessary.
I have  frequently  found this  simple  diet
have a better effect in disorders of the bow-
els than  any other medicine after proper
 evacuations  had been   made.  The  flour
when thus boiled will keep  many months,
and may be  prepared  occasionally, as a va-
riety  in  the food of children of even two or
three  years old, when afflicted  with bowel
complaints of this kind; and is excellent in 
J16
the real dysentery.   But, after all, let me re-
peat,  do not suller this  complaint to cause
any   unnecessary  alarm,   although  often
very  troublesome,  unless  your  infants  ap.
pear otherwise  ill, nor  induce you to ad-
minister astringent medicines  without good
advice, as many  infants  I fear lose  their
lives from having this salutary effort of na-
ture injudiciously counteracted. Gentle ano-
dynes given at  bed time  I think of infinite
service, as they  do not operate as a check
except for a  few hours,  procuring both the
nurse and the child necessary rest, and by
that  means the infant acquires a degree of
strength to bear the  pains and  evils of the
day.  They  tend  likewise  more  than  any
other medicine to  allay  the irritation, which
is often the principal  cause of the disorder;
and  I have  been  assured by  experienced
physicians that physic  will usually  have a
better effect if preceded or followed by them
than  it otherwise would.   It  is frequently
asked, especially by  young mothers, which
teeth are cut first ? and in  what order  do
they  advance ?  As it may be gratifying to
some to have these questions  fully answered. 
117
  I will state the usual progress of dentition,
  agreeable to  the  observations I have  made
  among  my little tribe.
    Children generally  begin to show evident
  signs of pain  and irritation  in  their gums
  about the third and fourth months, and sel-
  dom cut all their teeth until nearly two years
  old, and sometimes even later.   The  first
  teeth  commonly  appear  in the  lower jaw,
  the two directly front are usually cut first,
  then two  immediately over them, then  one
 on each side  in the upper jaw are seen tp
 advance nearly together, then one on  each
  side the two first  teeth  in the  under jaw;
 these eight are in general all  that appear in
 the  first  year; but there are instances when
 twelve or fourteen are  cut in that time.  The
 next teeth which make their  appearance are
 two large double teeth, one on each side in
 the under jaw, then the correspondent ones
 above, then the eye teeth as they are called,
 and  so on  in  regular  succession.   But it
 will  sometimes happen  otherwise, and  the
 teeth will advance very irregularly, which
may be considered as  pretty good evidence
that  the  dentition  is difficult and  painful; 
118
which is often the result of improper ma-
nagement, or unhealthy parents: hence, pro-
bably, has arisen the vulgar opinion, that chil-
dren who cut their  side teeth first never
live to grow up,  for it is a melancholy fact
that weakly  children too  frequently  die du-
ring this critical period, and often before any
teeth appear, a striking instance of which is
recorded by  Dr. Hugh  Smith,  to  enforce
the great efficacy of lancing the gums.
   " A  poor woman in the neighbourhood
some time since  brought her child  to me:
he was apparently a stout fine boy, and then
about nine  months old.   She  desired my
advice for an eruption the child had all over
his body, which she  called  scurvy; but I
found nothing more than some pimples pro-
ceeding  from the  improper  quality  of  its
food; and in fact, notwithstanding the chubby
appearance of the boy, (which in reality was
nothing more than bloated fat,) he was actual-
ly of a very weakly frame, as appears by the
sequel.   Near  or quite six  months  after-
wards, the same woman came to beg the  fa-
vour of  me to look at her child  again, who
she said was  dying.   I  saw an infant worn 
119
away to a mere skeleton; and upon inquiry
found  it to be  the same chubby fat  boy  I
had seen before.   It lay panting for breath,
and had taken little or no nourishment for
twenty-four hours.   Upon  examining the
little patient, there was not a tooth appeared:
the cause of the disease therefore was im-
mediately evident to me;  but I told her it
was too late to be of service,  for I found the
child could not recover.  However, to satisfy
the  mother  I advised  lancing  the  gums.
To  the astonishment of every one, sixteen
large  teeth were  cut  out;  but the gums
 being very much hardened for want  of this
 operation, it was with no small difficulty per-
 formed.  The immediate relief the child re-
 ceived surprised them all still more :  from a
 convulsive state that he before lay in he in-
 stantly recovered, took notice of every body
 in the  room, and, during the time  I  staid,
 eagerly devoured a considerable quantity  of
 nourishment.   The grateful parent thanked
 me a  thousand times, and reflected  upon
 herself for delaying to apply  to me before.
 But alas ! I foresaw it was only a temporary
 relief,  his strength  being  utterly exhausted. 
120
  I left  her without giving the least  hopes of
  his recovery;  and  the next  morning the
  child  died.   A reflection upon this case, I
  take for granted, is  entirely needless.  It  is
  evident  had the  teeth been  cut  in  due
  time, this fatal accident would not have hap-
  pened."   Every mother must feel the force
  of this story; may it prompt the most vigi-
  lant attention!  I sincerely hope the safe and
  salutary practice of lancing the  gums will
  soon become universal, as I am  confident it
  will save  many  lovely little sufferers much
  extreme pain, and  most of these alarming
  complaints.   But as  I know  many  very
  tender mothers are really fearful of having the
  operation performed by a physician,  I must
  beg them  to adopt a  mode  I  have always
  practised,  and  which  answers a very good
 purpose, although perhaps not quite so ef-
 fectual as the regular method.   I take a very
 keen razor and wrap the whole blade in a fine
 handkerchief, leaving only the extreme point
 uncovered,(to prevent all danger of wounding
 the mouth,) and with that make an incision in
 those gums which appear to cause the  pain,
always making it a  point  to feel  the razor 
                   121

grate against the tooth, and then I am pretty
sure  it will advance without difficulty.   I
have  often done  this when the gums were
very  much swelled and inflamed, and  the
child  in such  distress as to require every
exertion to keep it tolerably quiet: in half an
hour afterwards the whole edge of the  teeth  ,
where the incision was made have been visi-
ble, and in the  course of a  few  hours  the
inflammation has subsided, and the infant  ap-
peared surprisingly relieved.   I always per-
form this simple operation as the infants  lie
asleep in my lap, nor do  I  recollect a single
instance of their   awaking  from  it.    It
generally occasions a slight bleeding, which
is of itself serviceable, if we  may credit  the
assurances of many eminent physicians who
have  written upon the subject.  Dr.  Under-
wood  has favoured us with many excellent
directions and  opinions  upon this subject,
which I will transcribe for the benefit of those
who cannot conveniently purchase so large
a work, or may not have time or inclination
to peruse it.  " When it is found necessary
to lance the gums, (which is ever at least a
safe operation,)  it  should  always be done
                    L 
122
effectually, with a proper gum lancet, and not
with a needle, a thin six-pence, or such like
instrument, which  will not sufficiently divide
the gum,  nor  the  strong membrane that
covers the teeth.   The lancet should always
be carried quite down to the teeth, and even
be drawn across the double teeth.  It is cer-
tain  that this little operation gives scarcely
any  pain, and the  relief is at the same time
often so considerable that  the child imme-
diately manifests it by squeezing  the  jaws,
and grinding them together forcibly ;  which
proves they are not very sensible.  The most
painful part of teething, and that  in which
children are most exposed  to convulsions, is
usually from the teeth cutting  through the
nervous membrane that covers the jaw im-
mediately under the  gums.   This, I appre-
hend, in difficult dentition, is  often not cut
through, but is  forced up  before  the  teeth,
when they are even  in  sight, under the thin
gum: hence it  is, that cutting through the
gums is so very often useful, and takes off
fever and convulsions, which severe symptoms
could not arise  merely from teeth piercing
through the gum,  which, it has been said, is 
123
not a veiy sensible part.   At other times the
pain and fever seem to  arise  from almost
the very first shooting of the teeth within the
jaw, and then they will very often not appear
for some  weeks after the gums have been
lanced ; and parents are apt to conclude the
lancing has been unnecessary, if not impro-
per, lam however convinced from experience,
that this little operation, though not in the gene-
ral esteem it ought to be, is often inexpressi-
bly useful, andappears to have saved many lives
after the most dangerous symptoms had taken
place, and every other means of cure made use
of  The mere bleeding from the gums is ca-
pable of affording  some  relief, as it is fre-
quently found to do  in  adult  persons  dis-
tressed With the toothach. And I cannot here
forbear expressing my surprise  at  the fears
some people entertain of lancing the gums,
and their delaying it so long, if not altogether
rejecting it, though no evil can possibly arise
from the operation.  On  the other  hand, its
advantages  are so great, that whenever con-
vulsions take place  about the usual period
of teething, recourse ought always to be had
to it after an unsuccessful use of other means, 
124
though by an examination of the gums there
may be no  certain evidence of the convul-
sions being  owing to such  cause ; the irrita-
tion from teething, it has been remarked,
sometimes taking place in a very early stage
of the business.  At any rate, (it is repeated,)
the operation  can  do  no harm even at any
period ;  and should the shooting of teeth be
only an aggravation of the true cause of the dis-
ease, lancing the gums must be  attended with
advantage.   But  should  teething be  the
proper and sole cause, it is evident how fruit-
less any other means of relief must frequent-
ly be; for should convulsions,  for instance,
take place from a thorn run  into the finger,
or toe, the  proper indication of cure,  by an
immediate extraction of the thorn, is evident,
and the futility  of other  means  must  be
equally obvious."  Much more is said by this
learned and  experienced author on this sub-
ject, but I shall content myself with extract-
ing one passage more,  as it appears to  touch
a point where I myself am peculiarly  sensi-
ble, from having seen a beloved child greatly
afflicted, and I naturally feel a particular de-
sire to guard every mother from the agoni- 
125
zing sight of an infant in convulsions!  After
many other arguments in  favour of lancing
the gums, he says, " Purging, fever, and even
convulsions, will  sometimes  arise  from only
one point of a large tooth offending the ner-
vous  membrane that covers it, and  being
nearer the  surface than the other points, the
lancet may sometimes not completely divide
the membrane that lies over the rest, (or it is
afterwards healed,)  and this part not being
injured by the tooth, the symptoms subside
on having divided that portion of the mem-
brane that was inflamed.  But in a little time
another point of the same tooth is found to
irritate this sensible part, and calls for the like
assistance, which again removes all the com-
plaints.   I  have seen the like  good effect
from it  when children have  been cutting a
number of teeth in succession, and have bred
them all with  convulsions;  nothing having
relieved or prevented these terrible symptoms
but lancing the gums,  which has removed
them every time it has been done, one or more
teeth appearing a day or two after each opera-
tion."  Convulsions are particularly  to be
dreaded at this period, as they are said often 
126
to attack children very suddenly who appear
to enjoy fine health, (excepting the pain from
their gums,) and thus a mother may be taken
by surprise, and obliged to witness the ago-
nies of a darling child when totally unprepared
for so shocking an event.  Therefore, I sin-
cerely  hope, what  has been said upon this
subject will have its due weight with my fair
readers, and  prompt them to conquer any
latent fears they  may entertain while thus
assured by  gentlemen of undoubted skill,
humanity and experience, that no danger can
possibly attend the  operation, but every ad-
vantage may reasonably be expected from it.
Surely  it is absurd  to pretend to such ex-
treme sensibility as to be  unable to see an in-
fant's gums lanced, whilst we live daily spec-
tators of the most excruciating pain which
it  will  almost instantly  relieve.   Thus do
we seethe pampered daughters of pride and
luxury avoiding with horror and dismay the
abode  of  poverty and sickness, lest a sight
of the  wretched inhabitants  should  agonize
their too  susceptible  hearts;   when their
presence and  friendship  might  relieve the
keenest pang of merit in distress, and their 
127
superfluous wealth, properly employed, cause
the  *' widow's heart to sing for joy!"
   Air and exercise are of the utmost impor-
tance at this time.   A variety of good effects
will arise from permitting the little creatures
to be carried abroad almost constantly. Change
of place and new objects will amuse them, and
we all know the efficacy of amusement in the
common toothach.  By air and exercise like-
wise, general health is induced,  which  will
ensure safe, and comparatively easy dentition.
And I verily believe that infants who  are
nursed by tl eir mothers, managed from  the
birth as directed in the preceding pages, and
permitted to breathe the fresh air, with proper
exercise every day, will seldom meetany diffi-
culty, or be seriously affected with any of the
complaints which have been here noticed,
during  this  often   critical and  dangerous
period of  their infancy, but may thus be  car-
ried forward  until nine months old in health
and safety, which  is the  best time, in  my
opinion, to wean them. 
128
                SECTION II.

 Observations relative to teaching Infants the
           right use of their hands.

  " Now, when his little hands from bondage free,
  " Restless expand in new-born liberty,
  " You teach the Child, with reprehension light,
  iX In preference to the left to use the right".
                                     Koscoe.

   The  anxiety many parents  discover lest
their children  should  be  lefthanded,  may
excuse my devoting a page or two  of this
 book  in endeavouring to  combat an  idea
 pretty generally entertained, that it is neces-
sary to watch an infant when it first begins
to use its  hands and direct it,

  " In preference to the left to use the right."

   It is  my decided opinion that if a  child is
lefthanded,  it  is a  natural  defect which  it
will be impossible ever entirely to overcome;
and although the infant might, as it advanced
      1 
129
 in life, be taught  to use the right hand so
 well as greatly to  obviate the inconvenience
 and awkward appearance  arising from  it;
 yet  the propensity  would always predomi-
 nate, while a child which has not this natu-
 ral defect will never acquire it  after birth,
 and therefore all anxiety upon the subject
 is superfluous.  That this is as much an  in-
 surmountable defect as any  other natural de-
 formity, may be  inferred from the rarity of
 its occurrence, and that, generally, whenever
 it does occur, it is observed to be hereditary,
 and often all the children of the same family
 will inherit it as a  legacy from their parents.
 Therefore,  although 1  wo aid by no  means
 wish to  deter  mothers  or  attendants from
 using every proper means to counteract a
 defect  so disagreeable in appearance, and in-
 convenient in its   consequences, where they
 actually  discover it to exist, yet I must be-
 lieve no inattention whatever on  their part
 can  ever  be  censured as  the  cause  of
 such a propensity in children who have it
not born  with them.   If want of care and
attention could produce this  effect, we should
probably  much oftener discover  this cha- 
130
racteristic mark of  the ancient Benjamites
among the labouring part of the community,
who from the necessity of constant occupa-
tion seldom have time or inclination to at-
tend to these little niceties in their children,
and provided they can procure them  "food
to eat and raiment  to put on, therewith are
content;" and probably seldom think of the
circumstance  until the child has decided the
point by evincing beyond dispute which hand
it prefers  to  use:  and yet I fancy the de.
feet does not occur more frequently among
that class than in the  more polished circles. 
131
                SECTION III.

On the best time and method of setting Infants
                on their feet.

" See the plumed Parent teach her callow care
" With outstreched wing to scale the ambient air,
"Tempts with maternal note the rude essay,
" And lures the infant bird from spray to spray*
"Lol on the ground the unfledged flutterer lies,
" The meadow echoes with  its infant cries ;
" With eddying wing the parent stands confest,
" And all the Mother flutters on her breast;
" Till by degrees the timorous pupil knows
 " To beat the air and perch the trembling boughs;
 •; With pinion strong to mount the azure sky
" And fill the groves with native minstrelsy."

   It is universally known that infants, if well,
will  show a disposition to get upon  their
feet very  young, often as soon as the fifth or
sixth month: indeed, if a child  is strong and
healthy, it will appear  evidently pleased  to
 stand on  its feet before it  is six weeks  old,
and  even earlier, and undoubtedly this na-
 tural propensity

 ■" To walk erect, and raise the eye to Heaven," 
132
 should be indulged as soon as the little crea-
 tures acquire strength to hold themselves up-
 right.  But it is a certain fact, that it is not al-
 ways the most thriving children that go alone
 the youngest.  Slender delicate infants if they
enjoy good health will often walk very young;
while a heavy child, although equally healthy,
will not  venture until twelve  or fourteen
 months old.  So that we may fairly judge
that this is no certain  criterion by which to
estimate an  infant's health. At any rate, they
should never  be enticed  to go  by any arti-
ficial means a moment sooner than they in-
cline.  Their natural propensity  to  imita-
tion will incite them  to evince a desire to
 get upon the floor  as soon as they are capa-
ble of the least comprehension, and to walk
as soon as they are able; therefore, they should
 be permitted to  sit or  creep  about  a carpet
as long, and as much, as they please, care be-
ing taken not  to leave them sitting in one
posture too long;  and  even until  their
affecting moans  grow too painful to be any
longer endured,  as is too  often the  case
 in the  middling and lower classes of society :
whereas  I  verily believe that  even  those 
133
mothers who  are compelled to work  for
their subsistence would eventually find their
account in attending more than they usually
do to their infants during the first year at
least, or until they are firmly on their feet,
and  can exercise  themselves sufficiently;
for I greatly fear many an unfortunate little
creature becomes  deformed and  rickety,
from no other cause than want of  exercise
and attention, who would, if properly attend-
ed, have contributed in a  few years  to  the
support and comfort of  its parents.   Chil-
dren who are  permitted to creep about  the
room as much  as  they  please will usually
prove  more elegant  in  their forms,  and
strong  in  their  constitutions,  than  those
who are forced upon  their feet  too early;
therefore their attendants should be  instruct-
ed to hold them up  occasionally by a chair or
other convenient place,   suffering  them  to
sit  down whenever they  please, so as  to
avoid  the  possibility  of  distortion,  from
keeping too long in one posture, at the same
time that they learn by degrees the use of their
feet,  and they will  soon  show their tracta-
bility by stepping round the chair; and by a
                 M 
134
thousand  enchanting  looks and  gestures,
assure us  that they  are  sensible they have
learnt something  new.  After this they may
be led about the room, the attendants stand-
ing behind them and holding both hands. I
have frequently trembled to see aheavy chub-
by infant swinging by one arm, and often
twitched up at the imminent hazard of dis-
locating the limb, a cruel and pernicious
custom, which can  never  be adopted but
by very thoughtless or very unfeeling attend-
ants.   Thus the  little adventurers may be
led on from step  to step,  until they acquire
discretion to venture alone, which they will
undoubtedly do as soon as their limbs have
gained sufficient strength and elasticity, from
an  intuitive desire of imitating those around
them, and perhaps a  still stronger propensity
to wander from place to  place, which they
will soon perceive they   cannot readily  do
unless they can walk.  I have often  obser-
ved  that  they will  go  alone  when they
have  something  given them to carry long
before  they will  venture  without,  which
evinces that it is frequently the apprehension
of falling only that deters them from walk- 
135
 ing; therefore they will sometimes gradually
 lose their fears by being often excited  to
 walk with some object  which  will wholly
 occupy their attention; for instance, by stand-
 ing at a short  distance and calling them to
 take a toy or  cake that you  hold in your
 hand,  and as they advance stepping gently
 and almost  imperceptibly  back, so  as to
 decoy them on: this, however, must be done
 dexterously, without permitting the children
 to discover the deceit, or they will rarely
 be  deceived a  second  time.  Great care
 also should be  taken to prevent their falling
 during these early essays ;  as they will fre-
 quently refuse to attempt walking alone  for
 some weeks after  having received a contu-
 sion on the head from an unlucky fall back-
wards, although previously it appeared pro-
 bable they would

       Trip nimbly round the gay parterre
       With bounding step, and frolic air,

 in far less time.   For this, and other reasons
 above  enumerated, it may be best to  suffer
 them to tumble about a carpet, or lead them
 whenever they show a great desire to  walk, 
136
 until they voluntarily  venture alone:  this
 will afford almost equal relief to the attend-
 ants, and prevent all danger of  accident, or
 distortion, from falling,  or confining them
 too  long in one  posture.   Happily, those
 pernicious  inventions the go-cart, standing
 stool, and walking stool, are rapidly growing
 obsolete, and nature begins to assert her sway
 in that as in many other particulars of infant
 management;   and  I  sincerely hope they
 will ere long be consigned to complete obli-
 vion,  together with the scull caps, forehead
 cloths, swaddling bands, and stays, in which
 our great grandmammas  used to  imprison
 their hapless offspring.  I  have heard my
 grandmother relate,  that  one of  her sons
 walked down cellar  in  a walking stool  and
 almost killed himself.
   Hence we see it  will  not do  for us to
 draw analogous conclusions from the brute
 creation,  in  this article of infant  manage-
 ment at least; for, designed by nature to seek
their  own food,  and  take  care of  them-
selves, they are formed by the hand of infinite
wisdom  with athletic limbs and instinctive
 perceptions  suited to their necessities, while 
137
the helpless little infant is consigned to our
care,  a weak tender little being  formed to
arouse the softest and the finest feelings of
our nature, " A bundle of tender vessels,"
calling for constant care and attention, or it
must inevitably perish ; and such it remains
in a degree for many months,  gradually ac-
quiring strength  as  its mental perceptions
unfold  themselves,   rendering it in some
measure aware of the dangers that surround
it.  Hence we perceive  the  first passion
children discover is fear; awakened, doubt-
less,  for  wise purposes,  by  their divine
protector.  _ As their strength increases their
fears  subside,  until at length  we see them
advance by little and little, feeling their way,
till finally

 " They spring exulting like the bounding roe,"

which, that they may be enabled to do,  it
will be necessary,  as  early as their health
and the seasons will permit, to let them feel
their  feet- unconfined by clothes.  Infants'
clothes should  be shortened as soon as they
incline to stand upon  their feet,  or show a
desire to get upon the  floor, unless the wea- 
138
 ther should prove inclement at that time; if
 so, it will be best to defer the innovation to
 a more propitious  season.   On the other
 hand, if the infant will arrive at a proper age
 (which I think may be fixed at  five or  six
 months) at a  season when the winter-begins
 to advance, it may be better to shorten them
 a month or two earlier,  as no danger need
 be apprehended from the change provided
 the weather is warm, and infants will  walk
 the younger for  feeling their feet at perfect
 liberty.   Some  ladies  insist, in  compliance
 with the fashion of their vicinity,  that the
 poor  little creatures must  continue  enve-
 loped in an exuberant length of  muslin and
 other  articles of dress  until twelve  months
 old, when  probably they would have ran
 about  rejoicing in less time but for that en-
 cumbrance.   Others again never put long
 clothes on their  infants at all, and we see
 their little tender feet exposed to  all  wea-
 thers from the birth.  Both these extremes
 are to  be deprecated; as  it conduces to the
 health  and comfort  of a  very young  child
 to keep its feet wrapt from the cold, not 1  ss
than it contributes to the  welfare ot one  of 
139
six months old to use  them as much as it
will.
   A mother's cares, however, do  not cease
when her infants are firmly on  their feet.
Then, like  the unfledged bird, they are  al-
ways overstepping their bounds,  or incau-
tiously  venturing  too  far.    She feels  far
more secure while  her babe  only  creeps
about and she  can  close the door upon  its
excursions.  When once they feel themselves
capable of walking like other people they are
impatient of confinement, and wish to roam
at large ; few attendants  are  to be  trusted
with them; too often the child is permitted to
wander, while the servant is otherwise  en-
gaged,  until some precipice or pitfall arrests
its feeble steps.  But where shall we place
the boundary of a mother's fears, or how pre-
scribe for their relief ?  It is found only  in a
sincere and humble reliance upon that omnis-
cient Being who suffers not a " sparrow to
fall to  the ground unnoticed."   And here
she may  rest  secure that  the pious  effu-
sions  of a  mother's  heart  committing  her
children to his protection  shall  never be in
vain. 
140
CHAPTER IH.
                SECTION I.


Directions as to the best manner and time of
  weaning Infants, and the diet best adapted
  to  promote  their  health  after  they art
  weaned,

  a Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part,
  " Nay, I  have done, you get no  more  from me,
  " And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,
  M That thus so clearly I myself can free."
                                Drayton.

  This is perhaps one of the severest trials
 a mother  is called to endure ; and no one can
 possibly  conceive the pang she feels when
 compelled to relinquish the sweet office of
 nurse to her- babe, but those who have them-
 selves experienced  its fascinations.   What
 sensation can equal the rapture  of that mo-
 ment, 
HI
•' When the fond mother, bending o'er his charms,
"Clasps her fair nursling in delighted arms;
" Throws the thin kerchief from her neck of snow,
" And half unveils the pearly orbs below;
" With sparkling eye the blameless plunderer owns
" Her soft endearments and endearing tones,
 " Seeks the salubrious fount with opening lips,
" Spreads his inquiring hands, and smiles and sips."
                                    Darwin.

Nevertheless, the drer.ded  .hour will come
when she must forego all these soft emotions,
and therefore it is best  for every  mother to
arm herself  with resolution,  and determine,
when the proper time arrives, not  to  delay
the  task until  her  babe shall  increase in
knowledge,  and  by a  thousand endearing
blandishments render it infinitely more pain-
ful.   Reflection only adds to the difficulties
instead of removing them;  and it may  be
said with truth in this, as in a  more important
sense

         " She who deliberates  is lost"'—

her maternal tenderness  will conjure up a
thousand alarms for her infant's health which
I verily believe are altogether ideal, although
I must confess I  have felt their  soul-subdu-- 
142
ing effects  again and again: but we shall
always  find  this,  like most of the ills and
perplexities of life,
     —" Shrink from the eye of firm resolve,"

and become more or less formidable in pro-
portion to the pusillanimity or firmness with
which we meet them.  Let us then set about
the business with good courage and  perse-
verance* and we shall find the performance of
this task  far less distressing than the con-
templation of it.
   There  has been much  learning and many
arguments  displayed by  different  writers,
both  for and against the necessity of habitua-
ting infants to take other food than-the breast
previous  to  this event.  Dr.  Hugh  Smith
advocates the practice; Dr. Wallis  also is
decidedly on that side. Dr. Buchan, speaking
on this  subject, says, in favour of feeding
them after the fourth month :  " This will
ease  the  mother, will accustom the child
by degrees to  take food, and will render the
weaning both less difficult and less dangerous.
All great  and sudden transitions are  to be
avoided in nursing.    For this purpose the 
143
food of children ought not only to be sim-
ple, but to resemble as much as possible the
properties of milk: indeed, milk itself should
make a principal part of their food not only
before they are weaned, but for a long time af-
ter." On the other hand, Drs. Underwood and
Thompson esteem it a matter of no material
consequence, whether done  or left undone.
Among these  clashing opinions of the learn-
ed, if my fair readers will accept of the fruits
of my experience, it  will be  found rather
on the side of the last-mentioned gentlemen,
as  I have  frequently observed  that some
children who  appear to  crave every thing
they see others eat, and would, if permitted,
eagerly receive various kinds of food during
the earlier months, as they advance towards
the usual time of  weaning grow more  and
more attached to the breast, and finally re-
fuse all %other nourishment before they are
twelve months  old, and thus  render  it
necessary to break them  at  once from all
connection with their mother when the period
arrives that they must be weaned: and others,
who never  appeared to wish for any  food
whatever except Jfchat which nature provided 
144
for them, and could not be enticed to drink
even milk without great difficulty, when ow-
ing to the absence of their mother they are
compelled by imperious hunger to take some-
thing; and others  again who were always
equally happy whether they were permitted
to suck or fed with  the spoon;  and yet all
these children weaned equally well.  There-
fore I cannot give up the belief that  it is no
wise  material;  but  nevertheless,  I would
always wish  (in conformity  to the  idea ad-
vanced by Dr. Buchan,  "  that  all  sudden
transitions should be avoided")  to  have an
infant pleased with its milk,  and somewhat
habituated to eating it, either with or without
bread before the weaning commences ; but
it rarely happens that a child  arrives at the
age of nine,  or especially twelve  months old,
without  being more or less accustomed  to
other food than its mother's milk; their pro-
pensity to imitation  would render it almost
impossible to keep them  from partaking in
the meals of  their attendants in some degree,
after they arrive at an age to  make known
their desires, so that little apprehension need
be felt on the score  of a  too  sudden transi- 
145
  tion.   The greatest difficulty arises from the
  danger of their being overfed.  Meats of all
  kinds should  be positively forbidden except
  in broths and jellies; those may be occasion-
  ally allowed  when a  change of diet  is  es-
  teemed necessary,  but the  longer children
  are fed  upon milk the better:  plain  bread
  and milk is the most proper food for infants
  when  first weaned, and  for many months
 afterwards,  if they are weaned within the
 first year, which  should always be  done, if
 possible; and I believe it will be conceded by
 physicians that children fed  in this simple
 manner, for several years  will enjoy better
 health, generally, and  when  attacked  with
 any of the purulent disorders, stand a better
 chance for their lives, and suffer far less, than
 those who are fed  profusely  from a luxu-
 rious table every  day.   Milk may be  pre-
 pared in various ways to give variety to their
 food : custards are both innocent and nutri-
 tious : rice boiled until perfectly soft in water,
and then milk  added to it  and again boiled, x
and  then  rendered palatable  with a  little
cinnamon and  sugar, is generally  pleasing
to infants,  and  is  calculated to  prevent  a
                     N 
146
diarrhoea, which is said frequently to attack
children upon this change in their diet; but
I have  never found it have  that  effect on
mine, and I am apt to think  when  it does
happen, it is often the effect of overloading
their stomachs with  improper food.   They
may be rendered very  happy  without the
aid of cakes, sweetmeats, or pastry; but lest
I should be  thought too rigid,  I will take
the  liberty  to recommend a simple cake,
which is not only innocent but often  benefi-
cial to them.   Take a quart  of treacle, add
to it half a pint of good  sweet  cream, three
eggs, two  teaspoonsful of  pearlash, and two
ounces of ginger,  and stir in fine flour until
it  becomes  of the  usual  consistence  of
poundcake; it may then be baked in pans of
-any form  you fancy, and the children be
allowed  to  have  a  small  piece   several
times  a  day, so  as not to overload the
stomach, as the great art of feeding young
children  consists  altogether  in providing
them  proper  food  in such quantities that
they may be frequently hungry, and asfre-
quently have their appetites indulged.  When-
ever a child leaves part of its cake or bread 
147
and butter, it is pretty good evidence that the
little creature is ill, or improperly fed, which
amounts to nearly the same thing.   In order
to make children enjoy their good things,
they should always be rarities: if  they are
permitted to have cakes and sweetmeats in
profusion every day,  they will soon lose their
charm, and give no more delight than a simple
piece of bread would, to a child  differently
treated.   The cake   above  mentioned, will
be very light, and the  ingredients are  all
such as will conduce to the infant's health,
whether it be inclined to too long constipa-
tion, or  the contrary extreme. This  may ap-
pear doubtful to  many of my readers, but
I have proved it by experience to be equally
beneficial  in both cases, and a little reflection
upon the nature of the  ingredients will con-
vince the judicious mother of the  probability
at least, of the fact. This cake, then, and milk
 in the various forms in which it may be pre-
 pared, with sometimes an addition  of broth
 and jellies, will be amply sufficient both for
 the health and  gratification  of infants until
 nature  provides  them teeth  to  chew more
 substantial diet; and till this is the case, they 
148
  should on no account be fed with animal food.
  I have seen the  most baneful effects produ-
  ced from  indulging an infant too freely in
  this way, even after it had a number of teeth.
  Children of this age have not discretion to
  chew  their meat properly, and they eagerly
  suck it down in a state wholly unfit for  diges-
  tion, especially in the tender  stomach of an
  infant.   One of my children came very near
  losing his  life from this cause.  He was a
  remarkably healthy boy, and always showed
  a great inclination  to eat whatever he saw
  others eat;  but as  this  was inadmissible in
  my  opinion,  I always  restricted his diet
 agreeably to the above system, and forbid all
 his attendants indulging him with any  other
 without my express permission: one eve-
 ning, however, he was suddenly seized with
 vomiting,  threw  up all his supper,  and
 from every appearance  I suspected he had
 eaten  something  improper:  the   servant,
 however,  who had  attended  him the past
 day, denied all knowledge  of the fact, and
 I attributing his illness to some other cause
sent   for  a  physician:  when he  arrived,
the  child  had fallen  asleep,  and  little 
                    149

could  be  done,  ignorant  as we  were  of
the cause of the complaint:  the child had  a
restless night, looked miserably in the morn-
ing,  and every thing he attempted  to  swal-
low was instantly returned.  I then gave him
a gentle emetic, but being young and inex-
perienced, I was fearful of dabbling in medi-
cine, consequently did  not  give enough to
produce  much effect:  it gave him some re-
lief,  however, and he continued dosing the
chief of the day, and towards night revived
a little, and took a light supper, but evidently
with no great appetite: shortly after the vomi-
ting returned  with  great violence,  and he
threw up more than  I  should  suppose his
little stomach  could  possibly contain;  his
countenance grew ghastly, his strength failed,
and, greatly alarmed,  I again summoned the
physician, who prescribed rhubarb and ipe-
cacuanah, leaving four powders to be given
night and morning until it  relieved  him:
when he  had taken  only two of those pow-
ders he threw up large pieces of veal which
he had sucked down almost three days before,
and which were now of a dark green dingy
wlmtr and sxtre nel'f fetid. The servant wa% 
150
 then compelled to acknowledge she had in
 compliance with the wishes of the child fed*
 him with the veal, and alarmed at  the con-
 sequences, feared to acknowledge it. I have
 been thus particular in relating  this occur-
 rence, in hopes to impress  upon  mothers,
 and all who have the care of infants, a sense
 of  the fatal effects which may arise  from an
 injudicious  indulgence of their  appetites:
 and also caution them to examine their ser-
 vants very  strictly, should any such symp.
 toms occur, that proper means may  be  used
 in due  season for  their relief.  Had the girl
 who attended my  child candidly acknow-
 ledged her imprudence, the physician, when
 first called, would have known how  to  pro-
 ceed,  and  the babe  escaped  much  dis-
 tress. Had he been out  at nurse, or neglected
 at this time, it is altogether probable he would
 have fallen a  sacrifice to this  mistaken in-
 dulgence.  This child was eighteen months
old, and had been weaned nine months.
   With respect to  the expediency of send-
ing an infant from its mother to be weaned,
no general rule can be  given; as many chil-
dren will mourn more  for her than  for the 
151
 breast;  especially if she has been in the ha-
 bit of attending upon  them  principally her-
 self,  or  permitted them to be  almost con-
 stantly with her.  It may be best, therefore,
 to regluate  our conduct in  this particular
 entirely by the disposition of the child; and
 as some will be very obedient and contented,
 if suffered to remain with their mother, and-
 others cannot be pacified unless kept entire-
 ly from her,  their feelings only ought to be
 consulted when about to lose  their earliest
 joy.  If an infant is peculiarly attached to its
 mother, nde  pendent   of her  character  as
 nurse, it seems cruel to deprive it of all com-
 fort at  once; and  no  mother  can  possibly
 hesitate  what line of conduct to pursue when
 her child thus  evinces beyond dispute that
 it is her and not the  food he mourns for.
 No indulgence, no attendance whatever, can
 compensate to a child of this description, the
loss of maternal endearments.

 u Ah what avails the cradle's damask roof
 " The eider bolster, and embroidered woof!
  ' Oft hears the gilded couch unpity'd plains,
 " And many a tear the tassel'd cushion  stains !
 u No voice so sweet attunes his  cares to rest,
 " So  soft no pillow as his  mother's breast! 
152
  " Thus charmed to sweet repose, when twilight
    " hours
  " Shed their soft influence on celestial bowers ;
  " The cherub Innocence, with smile divine,
  •' Shuts his white wings and sleeps on Beauty's
    " serine."
                                  Darwin.

 If we thus consult their feelings, and attend
 to their  diet and  amusements,  infants will
 seldom droop  or  seem in  the  least unwell
 from weaning; but  they will frequently ap-
 pear thoughtful and lose their vivacity for a
 day  or two,  and  no wonder;  for who, in
 more advanced life, would bear to be de-
 prived of their dearest enjoyments,  and not
 evince far greater dejection  and  impatience.
 The remedy  is self-evident; the babe must
 be amused by every possible means,  and not
 suffered to ruminate  upon its sorrows a mo-
 ment ;  but (as we presume fine  wea'her and
 a propitious season  will be  chosen  for the
 event) be carried abroad continually, either
 in arms or in  a  carriage, which  will divert
 their minds, and allow  them no  time to re-
flect  upon their loss,  until they become ha-
bituated to their new  mode of living.   It is 
153
 best likewise to keep them awake as much
 as possible during the day, that they may be
 inclined to sleep quietly the ensuing night;
 to aid which important purpose a gentle ano-
 dyne of paregoric, or syrup of white poppies,
 should be given  them at  bed time; as it is
 very desirable to keep them asleep, if possible,
 the two or three first nights, after which they
 will have so far forgot their old habits a s to
 remain tolerably easy without  any artificial
 means : if not, the anodyne may be repeated
 without any danger whatever; and is far pre-
 ferable to letting them cry violently, or con-
 tract a  habit of getting  up, and  having a
 light, which is  often  productive  of lasting
 inconvenience.
   There  are various opinions  respecting
 the necessity of permitting infants to drink
 in the night  after we begin  to wean them,
 and many physicians pronount e it not only
 unnecessary, but  improper.  However,  I
 think the health of the child may  often be
 preserved by suffering them to drink milk
 once or more for  the  first  few  nights, if
 they  are  very restless,  especially if they
have been  in the habit of sucking in the
 night, as is usually the case; otherw ise the 
154
too sudden change, and going so many hours
without food, may have an unkindly  effect;
but if they sleep quietly, it is certainly best
not to begin a practice productive of some
trouble.
   Some mothers are in the habit of taking
 the  child from the  breast  in  the  day time
 and permitting  it to suckle  in the night
 preparatory  to  weaning  it;  but  I think
 this only prolongs the evil day, for an infant
 will not be less attached to the breast after a
 fortnight  of such restraint than it was when
 first  refused its favourite  food: thus they
 may  be harassed  many weeks,  when  the
 whole business  of  weaning might have
 been over in a  few days,  and the children
 equally happy as before.
    Many fond mothers revolt at the idea of
 weaning an infant,  lest it should lose  that
 almost exclusive attachment it feels for her
 while she nurses it, but this will not be the
 case provided she is equally attentive to it
 in every  other  respect;—the very reverse
 will generally take  place, and the child will
 appear to cling  with redoubled fondness to
 its remainmg friend, as if actuated by  the
       1 
155
same principle that prompts us in every stage
of life, when deprived of a highly valued
enjoyment, to cherish with increased anxiety
those which are left, and when every earthly
comfort is fled, still to look  forward to that
bright  world  where the  "  husband  of the
widow, and the father of the fatherless,"

    " From every  eye shall wipe off every tear !"


                 SECTION II.

  Observations on the early regulation  of the
         infant temper and disposition.

     " And should  life's olive branches rise
     " To bless your fond parental eyes;
     " She who with all a mother's care
     " The nursling plants can fondly rear;
     " Th' excrescent shoots with firmness prune,
     " Each noxious weed with  care consume,
     " Till nurtured by her fostering hand
     " The rising  plants grow and expand,
     " Bud, blossom, bear—while each survives
     " The ripened fruits of virtuous lives."
                               Polyanthus.

 k   Nay,  do not start my amiable friends, at
   the intimation that  you  should  begin  at 
156
  eight or nine months old  to  educate  your
  children ;  believe me,  now is the only  time
  to acquire that ascendency over your  chil-
  dren's minds, which, if properly employed,
  will  ensure you a  due degree of influence
  over  them through life.   Now every dis-
  creet mother, deeply impressed with the im-
  portance  of  the  trust  committed to  her,
  will begin by gentle admonition, softened
  by maternal endearments, to check the first
  indications of obstinacy* and  ill temper in
  her child;  for now,  like small weeds spring.
  ing up in  a  luxuriant  soil, they  may with
  care be  easily eradicated; but if permitted
  by neglect  to take  root, they will soon over-
  shadow the choicest  virtues, or choak them
  while yet in  embryo.
    As  soon as they can comprehend lan-
 guage, infants may be taught obedience, and
 their  inordinate 'desires  be regulated in
 such a manner as to prevent their becoming
 so totally unmanageable as is too often  the
 case, especially where parents are so unfor-
tunate as to have but one.  For instance,
should an infant of eight months take a fan-
cy  to  his   mother's  diamond watch,  as it 
157
wouldbeaveryimproperplaythihg, he should
receive a gentle but firm denial, he would
probably grieve ; something else should then
be offered him ; if he takes it and is pleased,
all will be well; and as often as he reverts to
the watch,  the denial must  be repeated,
and he will soon relinquish the expectation,
and be perfectly happy with his other toys,
and so in every thing  else.   On the  other
hand, should he show resentment when the
Watch  is  denied him,  and refuse  all  other
playthings  that may be offered, instead of
weakly yielding to the storm, and with mis-
taken  tenderness giving  up the watch, or
with  anxious  care concealing  it from his
sight,  still greater resolution must be obser-
ved, tempered  with tenderness and  modera-
tion, as the  object must be to correct the
disposition,  not outrage the feelings, and it
would  be cruel to deny a little creature so
alluring an object and quarrel with him, at
this early age,  for evincing too  great a de-
sire for it,  before he can be made to reason
upon  the subject:  but on no  account per-
mit him to have it, and as often as he inclines
to dispute the  point, let  him perceive you
                    o 
158
are determined.  After a few lessons of this
kind, your word will no longer be disputed,
while your children, thus early taught sub-
mission,  will  never  require any  severity
whatever.  But then  our government must
be uniform to  produce this happy  effect.
It will not do, because we chance to feel out
of humour, or it should militate against our
own  gratifications, to  deny  an infant an
indulgence to-day, which,  in a paroxysm
of maternal fondness, we may  grant him
to-morrow: believe me,  children will very
soon learn to take advantage of such capri-
cious conduct; and when once they  disco-
ver that we are irresolute in our commands,
or may be overcome  by resolution  and im-
portunity on their part, they will not fail to
profit by  the  discovery, and that  by such
imperceptible  degrees,  that many a fond
mother finds  her  authority  gone,  and  her
jurisdiction contemned, before she  is aware
that she has by her imbecility forfeited the
one,  or alienated the other.   Nor is this evil
confined to infancy. She will feel the melan-
choly effects  of failing  to substantiate  her
claim to  obedience from  her children du- 
159
ring the docile period  of childhood, to the
latest evening of her life.  As the children
grow older, the same  steady,  gentle, but
strict discipline, should be observed, avoid-
ing with the  most scrupulous  care  every
passionate or abusive epithet.  In no one
particular do they so soon  manifest the
image of their great  Creator,  as in their
early sense  of justice: therefore,  we must
be wary, lest, from a desire to crush every
vitious  propensity in  the bud, we accuse
them of faults, or  censure them  for neglect
of duty, when they are not guilty, or if guil-
ty,  have erred   from mistaken,  or  even
praiseworthy motives, as will sometimes hap-
pen; for the  same sensibility which crim-
sons the  cheek when  really in fault,  will
prompt the  ingenuous mind to  revolt from
unmerited censure, and may  leave an im-
pression against us not  easily eradicated.   If
we have reason to  suspect a  child  of a
fault of which we have not convincing proof,
and cannot  by gentle means excite a con-
fession,  it  is far  better to give  up  the
point; and by indirect conversation and re-
mark  upon the pernicious effects of such 
160
 practices, endeavour to impress a due  ab-
 horrence of them upon the minds of our little
 hearers, rather than run the risk of wounding
 the innocent, by persisting in  the  accusa-
 tion.  Nor is there the danger some may
 suppose of letting the guilty  escape by this
 lenient  practice;  true  it  may  sometimes
 happen, but in  general the  ingenuous coun-
 tenance of early childhood will betray  the
 guilty to  the  penetrating  eye  of maternal
 inquiry, provided the inquisitor is  actually
 desirous to  discover the truth.   But many
 mothers are so weak as to exclaim within
 their hearing, when their children  is accu-
 sed, " I know my child never did such a
 thing in the world, did  you  my dear?"
 That  child  must  be a  saint indeed who
-would  not take advantage of so partial a
 judge,  and persist in denying a fact  which
 he perceives his mother determined  not to
 believe.  For this reason, as it is of the ut-
 most  importance  that children should be
 convinced that their parents will not uphold
 them in wilful error, they must be  led to
 believe  us apprehensive that they  may be
 guilty,  when charged with  a  fault, but rea- 
                  161

dy and desirous above every thing to hear
them acquit  themselves,  if  possible,  and
never find us  hasty  or  uncandid in  our
judgments, nor permit them to suspect us
of a determination not to believe them in
fault: this is the root of more and greater
evils  than the  contrary extreme.  These
remarks,  however, it must  be obvious,
relate to an age rather more advanced than
that particularly contemplated in this work,
although much may and ought to be done
during the first two  years, that  being the
time when we must make it our constant
care to study and regulate the peculiar tem-
pers  and  dispositions  of  our  children.
These will be manifested and unfolded in a
thousand nameless instances, not tp be de-
scribed,  which none but a mother can be
expected  to  notice, and  which  alone can
form the  criterion by which to regulate
the management of them ; some infants re-
quiring infinitely more care and pains  than
others.   Thus we frequently see in the same
family,  one child  whom a frown and  look
of decision will awe into instant obedience;
another,  whom the least  severity will irri-
                   o* 
162
tate and incense,  but who will be gentle as
the " shorn lamb" when treated with kind-
ness, and reproved with  moderation;  one
whom the promise of littie reward, or the
" delicious  essence" of well-timed praise,
will stimulate to  every  thing  we wish;
while nothing short  of actual  and severe
chastisement will have any effect upon ano-
ther.—All these  varieties in the infant cha-
racter, and more also, will be manifest to the
critical observer, and should be noted by
every  one who  has the  care of children,
lest at any time they should  wound, by un-
due severity, the tender arid  affectionate
heart; rouse_ to  anger  and resentment the
noble  and heroic soul; or intimidate  and
discourage the diffident and humble spirit;
or  on the other hand,  by misplaced indul-
gence, blind  affection, and  indiscriminate
approbation,  confirm a haughty and obsti-
nate temper.
   Since so much judgment  and discretion
is necessary to develop  and regulate the in-
fant mind, and form the characters we wish
to see adorn the  rising  generation, " What
manner of mothers  ought we to be, in all 
163
holy conversation and  godliness ;" or  who
can wonder at the complaints against ungrate-
ful and disobedient children, or that so many
unfortunate parents live to feel

   " How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
   " To have a thankless child"—

when we reflect how little time the prevail-
ing  amusements and  habits of fashionable
life leave to their fair  votaries, for the dis-
charge of their maternal duties, even  when
their children live  beneath  the same roof
with them,  and that many  mothers seldom
see their infants until brought home from
nurse, by which time they  have probably
acquired many  bad habits, and  have had
none of their natural propensities  to evil
properly corrected.
   I have one son who very early gave evi-
dent signs  of an obstinate  and  passionate
temper, of which at nine months old he began
to give convincing proof.   One day he re-
fused positively for  a long time, with every
appearance of resentment his age was capa-
ble of showing, to take the smallest of two 
164
lumps of sugar which had attracted his at-
tention, and  which,  contrary to my better
judgment, I had offered him: he contended
for the large lump: I positively  refused,
and perceiving he intended to  dispute the
point, I thought it  a good opportunity to
begin to withstand an increasing turbulence
of spirit which I had observed with concern
from the first dawning of his  infant percep-
tions.  Therefore I determined not to  give
up, and he went without the sugar until he
consented,  with a smiling countenance, to
take  it up from the carpet where in his an-
 ger he had thrown  it.   I then  kissed and
 praised him, and he seemed conscious he
had done something to merit my caresses,
 and was delighted.   Thus began a course
 of discipline which  in a few years so entire-
 ly subdued a refractory  spirit, which bid
 fair to  cause his friends  and himself  great
 trouble, that now I have not a more  amia-
 ble child, or one who renders more prompt
 obedience to the command of his parents;
 and  this  was accomplished before he was
 four years old,  so that I have had no occa-
 sion  to use the least severity since.  I men- 
165
tion  this  as an  instance to enforce my fa-
vourite maxim, that it isfarbetter, by gentle
and  steady government, to subdue an unto-
ward temper in  infancy, than be compelled
to greater severity in a few years, or permit
our children to  grow up the slaves of their
passions and desires, to  curse in after life that
indiscriminate indulgence which must end
in constant disappointment and vexation, if
not utter ruin.   Indeed, I very much doubt
if parents  do  not properly subdue the tem-
pers of  their  children  within the  first two
or three years, whether  it is ever done after-
wards except by bitter adversity, which will
often have a contrary effect, and drive the un-
happy  child  of injudicious,  unprincipled
fondness to despair, when, if he had been early
taught the great duties of self-denial and sub-
mission to the  divine  will,  he would have
buffeted the storm with the strong  sinews of
resolution and conscious duty, and, sheltered
by the  broad mantle of resignation to  the
dispensations of an allwise Providence, rose
superior to every affliction.
   The great error in infant  management
arises from an idea many well  meaning  pa~ 
166
rents  entertain, that the little creatures must
be indulged in all their whims and wishes,
however inconvenient to their friends, or in-
jurious to themselves, until they  grow old
enough to reason about right and wrong; on
the contrary, children should never know the
time when they are permitted to have their
uncontrolled will in any thing,  but should
always be taught to consider every indul-
 gence, however trivial, a favour.  A mother's
 government should begin so early, and con-
 tinue so uniformly, that  they  shall never
 know the time when she did not have un-
 disputed sway.  When this is not the case,
 they acquire  almost imperceptibly a thou-
 sand factitious wants, and  ungovernable de-
 sires, which  at  length grow so intolerable
 that even  the parents  lose  their patience,
 and  then the  children must  be beaten, or
 constantly thwarted  in their caprices, now
 become innumerable,  and  thus  prove the
 little torments of the whole family, destroy-
 ing  all peace and comfort  wherever they
 appear, and  finally rendering  parents and
 guests perfectly unhappy.  How melancholy
 this  picture, and how great the  pity  that we
          1 
167
see it so often exhibited.  Let it then be
amongst the earliest impressions received by
the infant mind that you know what is best
for them, and are determined to consult their
good without attending to their whims, or
weakly yielding to their impetuous tempers,
and you will quickly reverse the pcture  en-
tirely, and harmony,  peace and happiness
shine  resplendent  round  your  dwellings.
Yet I am far from agreeing with many learn-
ed  writers on the subject  of  infant  educa-
tion, who assert that we should never permit
our children to persuade  us to alter our de-
cisions, or, when once we  have passed  our
word either  for or against  them, suffer any
consideration to induce us to  retract.   This
appears so contrary  to  every principle of
justice that I think  it cannot  be right.  A
child, for instance, may ask a  favour, which
on the first view appears very improper, con-
sequently we refuse to grant it, but upon
inquiry, or more  mature reflection, we be-
come convinced  that it  is not only proper,
but for the child's best interest that it  should
be  indulged.   Shall we in this case  adhere
to our first decision, and grieve the heart of a 
16S
little dependent being whom we have taught
to know that from us there is no appeal, mere-
ly because  we  have  pronounced our  fiat,
without  any regard whatever to the feelings
of  the aggrieved  party.   I  am  convinced
children very early discover such a just sense
of  right  and wrong as will .revolt at such
arbitrary government, and that they will feel
greater respect, and  infinitely more affection,
for a mother who will candidly confess she
was too  hasty, and exert herself to repair
the  injury they may have sustained.  Nor
will her ready acquiescence in this case lessen
her authority in the least, provided the child
perceives it proceeds from a conviction of the
propriety of the  request, and  not merely
from a blind indulgence to its wishes, or an
inability to resist importunity.
   Those writers, however, argue that  we
must be ever on our guard, and never give
an unjust denial or hasty reproof.   If I mis-
take not, the elegant  author of  Coelebs in
search of a  Wife makes the excellent Mr.
'Stanley advance some such a sentiment. Had
every mother the  perfections which are so
captivatingly displayed in   that  inimitable 
                   169

character, happy indeed would it be for the
rising generation; but  I fear they rarely fall
to the lot of mothers,  surrounded by a nu-
merous  offspring  whose  clashing interests
and wants call  for  continual  interference,
where  even her maternal  tenderness  will
often throw her off her guard, and prompt a
hasty decision  " more  honoured  in  the
breach than the observance:"  nevertheless,'
we shall all do well to  keep so bright a star
in view, and follow it  as  nearly as possible
until we arrive at our journey's end, and re-
ceive the rich  reward of all our toils.
   I have thus  far touched upon this impor-
tant subject, although  somewhat  foreign to
the purpose of this little volume, as I esteem
the health of the mind  of even greater im-
portance than  the  health of the body : and
indeed they are, as it  respects  infants, very
intimately connected;  for what mother can
vouch for the health  of  her babe a single
hour if  she has not command  enough  over
herself  and him to control his  appetites,
wants and desires; on  the due regulation of
which not only his happiness but his health
must depend.
                    p 
170
  I was  here almost  tempted to address a
word or two of advice to fathers ; but my
own good man, who sits laughing on the
sofa,  whilst his favourite little Joseph is
drawing  his watch tied to a string round the
carpet for a plaything,  and  who  just now
looked as if he thought me cruel for refusing
the dear enchanting little innocent my ink-
standish for a go-cart, might esteem  it too
presuming. 
m
CHAPTER  IV.
SECTION I,
On the diseases to which children are pecu-
         liarly  subject at this age,

   " Sickness, the minister of death doth lay
   " So strong a siege against our brittle clay,
   " As while it doth our weak forts singly win,
   " It hopes at length to take all mankind in ;
   " First it begins upon the womb to wait,
   " And doth the unborn child there uncreate,
   " Then  rocks the cradle  where the infant lies
   " Where ere  it fully be alive it dies."
                                     Carew.

   IT is now proper, according to my original
design, to give some few directions for the
treatment of those  common complaints  to
which every child is subject during the first
years  of  its existence, and few  fail sooner
or later to experience.   For those complica-
ted disorders  which   require the judgment 
172
and the skill of a  Harvey  or  a Cullen, it
would be equally presumptuous in me to pre-
scribe, or my fair readers to practise my pre •
scriptions ; I shall therefore confine myself to
very narrow limits, and speak only of such com-
plaints as I frequently  manage successfully in
my own family, and which every lady ought
to  understand enough to administer the first
remedies, by which she may often save her-
self many groundless alarms, and her children
much suffering.  ,
   Some physicians assert that women never
 ought to  open a medical book,  or presume
 to meddle with medical knowledge  in  the
 least, lest they become fanciful, and conceit
 themselves and families ill with every disease
 they read  of : not  so the celebrated  Dr.
 Buchan ; and  while we venerate him for his
 philanthropy,  and zeal for the  diffusion of
 professional knowledge,  we  must   admire
 and honour his candour and humanity.   He
 thus speaks upon this important subject:
   " People are told, that if they dip  the least
 into medical knowledge  it will render them
 fanciful,  and make them  believe they have
 got  every disease of which they read.  Per-
 haps this may be the  case with those  who 
173
 are  fanciful  beforehand.    But suppose it
 were so with others, they must be soon un-
 deceived.    A  short  time will show them
 their error, and a little more reading will in-
 fallibly correct it.   A single  instance will
 show the absurdity of this notion. A sensible
 lady rather than read a medical  performance,
 which would instruct her in the management
 of her children, must leave them entirely to
 the care and conduct of the most ignorant,
 credulous, and superstitious part of the hu-
 man species." And again, when endeavouring
 to impress upon the minds of  our  sex  the
 great importance of the truly maternal cha-
 racter,  he  has this  impressive  passage:
 " Did mothers reflect  on their  own impor-
 tance, and lay it to heart, they would em-
 brace every opportunity of informing them-
 selves of the duties they owe  their  infant
 offspring.  It is  their province not only to
 form the body, but also to give the mind  its
 most early bias.  They have it very much
 in their power to make men healthy or vale-
tudinary, useful in life,  or the  pests  of so-
 ciety."   Such sentiments from the pen of a
physician of  eminence,  must  have great
                     p* 
174
weight with every mother who is anxious to
discharge the sacred  duties of her  station.
Every lady will be  sensible of the truth of
the position  in  the passage first quoted, if
she will but read and study, and learn " How
fearfully and wonderfully we are made," and
thereby qualify herself  to mitigate the  suf-
ferings of her fellow creatures in  a  manner
not practicable by  the  multitude:  any   one
may  bestow money—it  is  " trash"—
    " 'Tis his, 'twas mine, and has been slave to
        " thousands;"

 but it is the privilege of the benevolent matron
 to extend the cooling draught  to the parched
 lips of poverty and sickness, and smooth the
 cradle  of the panting infant while directing
 the grateful mother how to restore the little
 sufferer to health ; and  thus diffuse the balm
 of hope  through the dwellings of indigence
 and sorrow.
   It is my sincere wish that this little  vo-
 lume may prove a useful assistant  to  this
 beneficent work, by  furnishing my readers
 with a concise and simple statement of the
 characteristic symptoms  of  the  various
 complaints  to which children are  subject, 
175
in so small a compass that it may become a
pocket companion,  always at hand, and al-
ways faithful.  Therefore, I shall endeavour
to render it so far scientific by quotations
from respectable medical  authors, as will
enable every intelligent reader to proceed
with confidence when called upon to admi-
nister the cordial or the drug, for the  relief
of any complaint here specified, and with
the aid of the rules given  in  note (1) they
may portion out the medicines required with
exactness; which is of the utmost impor-
tance.
   The better to promote  the  end desired,
every lady who has a family, or who wishes
to  impart the blessings  of  her medical
knowledge to her poor neighbours, should
furnish herself with a medicine  chest, con-
taining every drug of known and established
efficacy,  and a set of scales  and weights
proper for the purpose;  for no one  but a
regularly bred physician should ever ven-
ture to  give  any potent drug,  especially
opium, calomel,  or emetic  tartar,' unless
weighed with scrupulous exactness, accord-
ing to the above-mentioned rules.  If thus 
176
provided, she  may  become a  blessing to
the community around her,  at  an expense
comparatively  trivial.  One  of  the  most
distressing   disorders  of  which I  shall
speak is
              The Dysentery,

   Under the heads  of teething,  and the
diseases of the first months, I said all that is
requisite in a work of this  nature, on the
common relaxes to which infants are liable;
but the dysentery being much more distress-
ing  in its effects upon  the  human  body,
I think it calls for the first place in a book
purposely intended  to assist the anxious mo-
ther when her children are taken suddenly
ill, and no better assistance can be procured.
The dysentery usually comes on  with all
the symptoms of a fever, such as pain in
the head and  back,  shivering,  nausea, and
sometimes vomiting, extreme  pain in the
bowels, and total loss of appetite, attended
with great weakness and universal debility; 
177
 so that children who can speak, will usually
 complain  that they  are tired  and  cannot
 stand ; and an infant in  arms, when  not  in
 extreme  pain, will appear weak and lan-
 guid,  and lie almost stupid, or be very rest-
 less and seem in universal distress.  Some-
 times patients will have a very flushed face and
 high fever,  and others will be pale and ca-
 daverous,  their eyes sunk, and tneir whole
 countenance  changed.  But the most cha-
 racteristic symptoms of this dreadful disease,
 is the distressing tenesmus which  constantly
 attends it, and  destroys all  possibility  of
 rest, until we can  succeed in removing it.
 When, from all or any of these symptoms,
 there is reason to  think  the   dysentery has
 occurred, the first  step is  to clear out the
first passages; for  this purpose an emetic  of
ipecacuan must be given:  after it begins to
operate the patient should drink  freely  of
chamomile  tea, the  antiseptic qualities  of
which  are peculiarly adapted to  the  nature
of this  disease; a  gentle opiate  should be
given at bedtime, and repeated in the  course
 of the night every  three hours if  the tenes-
 mus and other distressing symptoms  do not 
178
abate,  and the patient rest quietly without.
The next day a  dose of rhubarb and  calo-
mel, or calomel alone, must be administer.
ed.  If simple calomel  is preferred, castor-
oil should be given in  about  three hours,
the quantities to be  regulated  according to
the age of the child, by the rule before men-
tioned.   If this medicine has the  desired
effect,  as it often will,  the little patients will
 regain their appetites in some  measure and
ask for food: great care must then be taken
to prevent their eating any thing im proper
animal food, and fish of all kinds, and every
thing  inclined  to putrefaction,  should be
strictly  avoided, as the bowels are already
too much disposed to  mortification: there-
fore every  thing we give either  as  food or
medicine should tend to carry  off the offen-
sive contents of the stomach and bowels, and
 sheath, strengthen, and heal the intestines.
Mutton,  or chicken broth with  rice boiled
in it,   calves-foot jellies,  plain  light pud-
dings, custards,  milk,  with rice or the gra-
ted flour boiled in  it, are all good, and may
be offered in succession; for it is very desi-
rable in this disorder to procure something 
179
 that the patient can relish, and that will set
 upon  the  stomach:  when  that  is accom-
 plished, and the appetite returns, a cure is
 almost certain without the aid of any more
 medicine.   The drink should be tea made
 of any  of the mucilaginous herbs, such
 as marsh mallows, cudwort,  which is most
 excellent, and  is said to effect a cure  some-
 times  of itself.  The roots and leaves of
 the  running blackberry  is  particularly  re-
 commended; flax-seed and  hyssop  is also
 very good  where there is much fever;  and
 these may all be tried alternately, if the dis-
 ease proves obstinate.  At the commence-
 ment of the disorder, the patient's feet should
 be bathed in warm water, and drafts applied
 to them, and renewed as often as  they grow
 dry.  Where burdock leaves are to  be had,
 they should be  preferred to every thing  else
 for  this purpose:   let the  fresh leaves be
 gathered, and the  large stalks cut off, then
lay them upon  a table and roll them with a
kitchen rolling pin,  then hold them  to the
fire until they  wilt and become soft  and
pliable:  in  this state bind them round the
feet : they are  excellent in all putrid  febrile 
180
disorders : where they cannot  be procured
the garlic drafts  already mentioned may be
used; or if those are not to be had, mustard
seed boiled in vinegar and made into a paste
with rye flour will answer, care being taken
that they are not made too  strong, or they
will blister the tender feet of an inlant. The
bathing and drafts should be renewed twice
a day, until the disorder is conquered. The
elixir paregoric (2)  should be given as often
as once  in  two or three  hours while the
pain and tenesmus continue, to procure  the
unfortunate  little patient as much  rest as
possible, and  allay  the  spasms and irrita-
tion  to  which infants and young children
are so peculiarly liable.
   The bed, chamber, and every thing about
the sick person, should be kept extremely
clean, and its  linen  changed every day, as
in all disorders  tending  to putrescence  it is
very detrimental to permit the little  frame,
already loaded with disease, to imbibe again
the bad humours kind nature is struggling to
expel from the innumerable pores of the skin;
which will infallibly happen unless the clothes
worn next  the body are frequently changed, 
181
 The greatest care should  be taken to have
 them all perfectly dry and  well  aired, as
 damp clothes, beds, &c. are said to be among
 the usual causes of the dysentery.   A cur-
 rent of fresh air should be allowed to pass
 constantly through the room, (if the patient
 is so  ill as to be confined,) but  if possible
 they  should be carried  abroad  every day;
 and if they reside in the city, or a populous
 town, they should be removed as soon as pos-
 sible to the country,  where they may enjoy  *
 abundant exercise in a fresh and pure  air.
 The first care of parents  who have a large
 family of children in a neighbourhood where
 the dysentery prevails, should be to remove
 them  as soon as possible beyond  the reach
 of infection, as few  diseases are  more con-
 tagious : if this  is  impracticable, the next
 object is to prevent the ill consequences by
fumigating the room  frequently with burn-
ing vinegar,  or other sharp acid, and scent-
ing the bed, pillows, and every thing about
the room, with essences of tansy, spear-mint,
rue, lavender, or any other strong aromatic
herb. 
182
   By practices similar to the above, I have
succeeded in restoring several  of my  little
ones to health when afflicted with this  cruel
disorder,  and never had it prevail through
my family.  However, for the satisfaction of
those ladies who may live at a great distance
from  approved medical aid, I will extract
some  passages from  Dr. Wallis  and Dr.
Buchan upon the treatment of it. Dr.  Wal-
lis,  after  describing at large the  various
kinds  of  dysentery, which he divides   into
three  distinct  kinds,  the  " inflammatory
kind," where there will be a high degree of
fever;  the "putridkind,''' where  the fever-
ish symptoms are slight,  the face pale,  &c.;
and the " malignant  sort,"  where there  is
little fever, but the patient in  more danger
than in either of the other cases ;  goes  on to
say, " Of whatever nature this disease may
be, the indications are similar, and depend
upon evacuating the acrimony, or determin-
ing it to other places,  weakening its action,
alleviating the  distressing  symptoms,  by
rendering the intestines  less sensible  to its
irritating effects in its first stages;  in the last,
recovering the tone, and giving strength to 
183
the relaxed and weakened vessels.  To pro-
mote these  purposes, in full habits, where
there are  apparent  symptoms of inflamma-
tion, the  patient should  be bled  once  or
twice, according to their urgency, and the
strength of the patient.   In the  next place,
the stomach and intestines should be unload-,
ed  by emetics and cathartics; twelve grains
of powdered  ipecacuanha,  and  one  of tar-
tarized antimony, should  be well  mixed
together, and divided into three parts, and
one given every  second  hour; no liquid
should be taken after the first dose; but af-
ter  the third,  weak beef  tea,  or chicken
broth, should be drank liberally, to encourage
the  vomiting,  after which a slight opiate
will be requisite.   Should the  emetic pro-
duce smart evacu ations upwards and down-
wards the succeeding day, it is not necessary
to order any thing except a grain of opium,
mixed with  three or four grains  of ipeca-
cuanha into pills, with syrup of white poppy
heads, and given at bed-time.   But should
the emetic nothave produced any purgative ef-
fects, a purging powder, made of thirty grains
of  rhubarb  and  three of calomel,  must be 
•  184
administered the morning following.  As for
my own part, in  the beginning of this com-
plaint I prefer the castor oil emulsion, (3) as
it relaxes the coats of the stomach, sheathes
the acrimony, produces  evacuations,  and
mitigates the pains of the  bowels.  But as
is the nature of the  disease, so  should be
the election of our purgatives.  If of the in-
flammatory kind, the salines are preferable; if
the putrescent, the antiseptic, as tamarinds,
cream of tartar, &c. but in every case, after
the effect is produced, an opiate  should be
administered at night.  In the intermediate
spaces of time, small doses of nitre accom-
panied with antimonials and saline mixtures,
may  be exhibited, joined with sheathing me-
dicines,  such as  gum tragacanth,  arabic,
starch, if the fever keeps  up;  or should it
be of the low malignant, gentle cordials are
proper.   However, should not the  disease
soon yield to this mode, but the symptoms
still-continue, particularly griping and purg-
ing, small doses  of ipecacuanha may be gi-
ven,  sufficient only to create a nausea, in-
creasing or decreasing the  dose agreeable to
the effects, and joining it with antiseptics,(4) 
185
cooling,  or  cordial  medicines,  as the  case
may require. Should the stools continue re-
markably viscid and offensive, every second
or third  day a  purgative should be  given,
and at night an opiate.  We must proceed
in this manner, till, from  the regularity of the
pulse, the cessation of pain, and  propensity
to stools, as  well as from the want of them, we
may conclude  the disease terminated; but
should not  these  appearances  occur in the
course of a few days, we have reason to appre-
hend the greatest danger; we  must  then, if
the symptoms continue as violent as at first,
have recourse to fomentations, and clysters
of the sheathing and  anodyne sort, made of
milk, broth, marsh mallow, or linseed de-
coction,  with  starch and tincture of opium.
   " Besides the ipecacuanha, other  medi-
cines are recommended,  and,  if we  be-
lieve the recommendation, falling little short
of infallibility; namely, from  two  to ten
grains of created glass of antimony; from
ten to filteen grains of powdered^columbo,
every three  or  four hours; the decoction of
semirauba bark is considered as a specific,
and said to  remove the disease  without the
                    q.* 
186
danger  or inconveniences attendant on as-
tringents.
   " At the close of the complaint, astrin.
gents are  useful, particularly- tonics; and,
indeed, also when  the  most violent symp-
toms of fever, pain, and tenesmus have ceased,
to relieve  the  relaxed  state of the  vessels.
In pursuing the modes here laid down we
shall seldom fail of curing this complaint;
 but should it be accompanied with a putrid
 malignant fever, there will be little hope of
 recovery.   However, we should try the ef-
 fects of antiseptics, particularly wine, infu-
 sions of bark and snake root,  with a few
 drops  of tincture of opium in  each dose,
 and  the  free  use of sub-acid  fruits, taken
 by  themselves,  or squeezed plentifully into
 other  liquors.  Indeed,  fruit,  and things
 of  a similar  nature,  will form,  in these
 cases,  the proper  plan of diet ; but when
 dysenteries are unattended with any high de-
 gree of putrefaction, decoctions, and jellies
 of  rice,  s%o, tapioca, salep, the white de-
 coction, chalk mixture, weak chicken-broth
 or  beef-tea, are  most proper;  though all
 solid animal food must be avoided.
    " When flatulencies  become distressing, 
187
which will sometimes be the case, chamo-
mile flower tea,  infusion of  cinnamon or
cloves, or liquids impregnated slightly with
other aromatics,  may be  occasionally ad-
ministered with great advantage.
  " WTith respect to the common diarrhoea, if
it is unattended with  any weakness, loss of
appetite, or febrile affections, and is mode-
rate in quantity, it very often is  of service
to the constitution, and is  rather conducive
to health than otherwise; but should it run
on  to too great excess,  it will require the
same means for its cure,  and will be con-
quered  much more  easily than  the dysen-
tery ; and,  indeed, all the other  species we
have specified require the same  treatment;
at the  beginning clearing the  first passages
of any irritating contents, by proper emetics
and cathartics;  next soliciting the flow of
fluids to  the  surface by diaphoretics, and
strengthening the  stomach  and  bowels by
tonic astringents, bitters, strengthening medi-
cines,   and particularly riding   on  horse
back, at the close of the disease."
   These  directions are  so full and satisfac-
tory that methinks almost any person might
undertake the cure of the  complaint with so 
188
good  a guide, where the medicines  could
be  procured.   It  must be  remembered,
however, by  my fa,ir readers,  that the doses
&c. are calculated  for adults, and therefore
must be proportioned by the standard given
us  by Dr.  Underwood.
   Dr. Buchan differs so little  in the mode of
 cure that it  is  unnecessary to recapitulate
 the particulars: he has, however, some re-
 marks upon regimen which may be of use.
 His directions as to  cleanliness,  air, exer-
 cise, and  diet,  are almost the same as  may
 be found in the first part of this article.  " A
 flannel- waistcoat  worn next the skin, has
 often a very good effect in  the  d\ sentery.
 This promotes the   perspiration without
 overheating the  body.   Great caution, how-
 ever, is necessary  in leaving  it  off.   I  have
 known a  dysentery brought on by impru-
 dently throwing off a  flmnel waistcoat be-
 fore the season  was sufficiently warm.   For
 whatever purpose this piece  of dre^s is worn,
 it  should  never be left off but  in a w.irm
 season.  In  a putrid  dysentery  the patient
 may be allowed to  eat freely  of  moit kinds
 of  good ripe fruit; as  apples, grapes,  cur- 
189
 rants,  strawberries,  &c; these may either
 be eat raw  or boiled with or without milk,
 as  the patient  chuses.   The  prejudices
 against fruit in this disease are  so great that
 many believe it  to be  the common cause
 of dysenteries : this however is an egregious
 mistake ;  both reason and experience show
 that good fruit is one of the best medicines
 both for the prevention and cure of the dys-
 entery.
   " The most proper drink is whey.  The
 dysentery has often been cured by the use
 of clear whey alone.   It may be taken both
 for drink  and in  form of clyster.   When
 whey cannot be had,  barley-water sharpened
 with cream of tartar may be drank ; or a dc
 coction  of barley  and tamarinds; two  oun-
 ces of  the  former and  one  of the latter,
 may be boiled  in two english quarts  of
 water to one.
  " Chamomile tea, if the stomach will bear
 it, is an exceeding proper  drink;  it both
 strengthens the stomach and by its  antisep-
tic quality tends to prevent a mortification of
the bowels," 
190
   The chief variation as to medicine, in the
 directions given by these two physicians, is
 the substitution of calomel and oily emul-
 sions in Dr. WaUis's practice,  for rhubarb
 only, which is recommended by Dr. Buchan;
 and  from what little experience I have had
 1 must  acknowledge  myself in favour of
 calomel and castor oil in this complaint, for
 young children especially : it is less nauseous,
 and  the stomach is  so  very irritable few
 children can keep  the  rhubarb down; and
 although it is  a principle with me  to begin
 very early  to habituate them to take their
 medicine without  hesitation, yet  common
 humanity will dictate the desire to chuse the
 least disagreeable of two drugs when  they
 are equally efficacious;  and indeed  I believe
 calomel is esteemed the best in all dLn noetic
 complaints by many modern practitioners of
 high respectability.  I have found molasses
 and water a most excellent drink in this dis-
 order, and it is said to be best to pour boil-
 ing water upon the molasses and let  it cool;
 but I fancy this  is  immaterial.   When the
appetite returns, the gingerbread before men-
tioned is as  good  an  article of food as can 
191
well be  prepared  to forward  the  curative
intention.   I once had a child  very  ill with
the  dysentery,  who eat very little  else for
several days, and recovered surprisingly fast.
   When we have  succeeded  in procuring
ease to our little patient, and the distressing
tenesmus and excruciating pain are gone, we
must not think all danger over, and our at-
tentions  no  longer  necessary.   The utmost
care is still  requisite to  perfect a cure, as
children  once affected with this disorder are
very subject to a relapse, which too  often
proves fatal. Therefore the most scrupulous
attention to the diet must be observed, letting
it  still consist  altogether  of  milk, fruits,
broth and jellies, with plain light bread and
puddings; and  also that they have constant
exercise  in the open air, either  in a carriage
or on horseback.  This, and the tender at-
tentions  of a fond mother, can  scarcely  fail
to restore the little invalid to health. 
192
                 Worms.

  These vexatious  vermin  are  often the
source of innumerable complaints in children,
from the time they are weaned, and some-
times  before,  until the  age  of puberty.
Those infants who  have  been indulged in
promiscuous feeding from the birth, are most
apt to be afflicted by them, which should be
an additional inducement to mothers not  to
permit the pernicious practice.    I recollect
visiting a poor woman in my neigbourhood,
some years ago, who sent for me to comfort
her beneath one of the greatest afflictions
the human  heart can  sustain,  a  lovely and
beloved  child  lay  expiring  in the cradle,
totally insensible to all around, in which dis-
tressing- condition it had continued for seve-
ral days, and now all hope was over.   The
physicians judged  its disorder to proceed
from worms, and a vast  number had been
evacuated, but without producing any good
effect.   I asked the disconsolate  mother if
the child had always been  subject to  them; 
193
 she replied in the affirmative, but  added,
 " She has always been a very hearty  child,
 and wanted to eat every thing ever since she
 was two months old."   I asked  her if she
 did not think it hurtful for infants to eat every
 thing; she replied " she did not know but it
 was, but she could never deny the dear  little
 creature any thing she had ; and now, added
 she, while her eyes streamed with tears, now,
 I have the comfort of reflecting, she always
 had every thing she wanted !"   What mista-
 ken fondness !  I recollected  to  have  seen
 the child when in health, and noticed  its un-
 common florid countenance; I was no longer
 at a loss  to account for this,  or  its sudden
 and fatal illness.  Butter, and all fat and oily
 aliments, are  said  to be very injurious to
 children who are predisposed to worms. But
 as  my family have been remarkably free
 from them,  I shall not pretend to direct from
 m)fcown experience, but furnish my readers
 with advice from the rich stores of learning
and skill from which  I have  already made
large drafts.   Dr. Buchan thus describes
the different  kinds, causes,  and modes of
cure:
                    R 
194
  " These  are  chiefly of three kinds viz.
the  taenia or tape-worm;  the teres, or round
and long worm ;  and the ascarides, or round
and short worm.   The  long round worms
occasion  squeamishness, vomiting and dis-
agreeable breath, gripes, looseness, swelling
 of  the belly, swooning, loathing of food, and,
 at other times, a voracious appetite,  a dry
 cough, convulsions, epileptic fits, and some-
 times a privation of speech.   These worms
 have been known to perforate the intestines,
 and get into  the cavity  of the belly.  The
 effects of the tape  worm are the same as the
 long and round, but rather more violent.
    " The round worms called ascarides, be-
 sides  an  itching,  cause swooning  and te-
 nesmus.
    " Andry says  the following symptoms
 particularly  attend the  solium,  which is a
 species of the tape worm,  viz.  swoonings,
 privation of  speech,  and a voracious appe-
 tite.
    "  Causes.  Worms  may proceed from
 various causes ; but they are seldom found
 except in weak and relaxed stomachs, where
 the digestion is bad.   Sedentary persons art- 
195
 more liable  to  them, than the active  and
 laborious.   Those  who eat great quantities
 of unripe fruit,  or who live  much on  raw
 herbs  and  roots,  are generally subject to
 worms.   They are  often a symptom of
 fevers  and   other  acute  diseases.  There
 seems  to  be a  hereditary  disposition in
 some persons to this disease.   I have often
 seen all the children of a  family subject to
 worms of a  particular kind.  They  seem
 likewise  frequently  owing to the  nurse.
 Children of the same family nursed by  one
 woman have often worms, when those nur-
 sed  by another have  none.   Children  are
 more liable  to  this  disease   than  adults;
 though  infants on  the  breast are seldom
 troubled  with it.   To this, however, there
 are several exceptions.  I have seen a child
 who passed  worms  before  it  was  three
 months old.  They were indeed of a very
 particular kind, being real caterpillars : some
 of them were above an inch long ; they had
 red  heads,  and were  so  brisk as  to jump
about; they  lived  several days  after  the
child had  passed   them.   Another  child,
suckled by the same woman, passed the same 
196
kind of worms while upon the breast. Both
children  suffered  extremely  before  the
worms came away.
   " Symptoms.   The  common  symptoms
of worms, are, paleness of countenance, and,
at other  times, a  universal flushing of the
face; itching of the nose: this, however, is
 doubtful, as children pick their noses in all
 diseases; starting and grinding of the teeth
 in sleep; swelling of the upper lip;  the ap-
 petite sometimes bad,  and at other times
 very voracious ;  looseness; a sour, or stink-
 ing  breath;  a hard swelled  belly; great
 thirst; the urine frothy, and sometimes of a
 whitish colour ; an involuntary discharge of
 saliva,   especially  when  asleep;  frequent
 pains of the side, with a dry cough and une-
 qual pulse; palpitations of the heart ; swoon-
 ings; drowsiness; cold sweats; palsy;  epi-
 leptic fits ;  with many other unaccountable
 nervous symptoms,  which were  formerly
attributed to witchcraft,  or  the influence of
evil  spirits.  Small  bodies  in  the  excre-
ments resembling melon or cucumber seeds
are  symptoms of the tape worm.  I lately
saw  some very surprising effects of worms 
197
 in a girl about five years of age, who used to
 lie whole hours as if dead.  She at last ex-
 pired, and upon opening her body a number
 of the teres, or long  round worms,  were
 found in  her guts,  which were very much in-
 flamed ; and what anatomists call an intersus-
 ceptio, or involving  of  one part  of the gut
 within another, had taken place in no less
 than  four  different  parts  of  the intestinal
 canal.
   " Medicines.   For a child of four  or five
 years old, ten grains of rhubarb, five of jalap,
 and two  of calomel, may be mixed  in a
 spoonful of syrup or honey, and given in the
 morning. The child should keep the house
 all day, and take  nothing cold.   This dose
 may  be repeated twice a week for three or
four weeks.  On  the intermediate days the
 child may take a scruple of powdered tin,
 and ten grains of  aethiops mineral in  a
 spoonful  of treacle twice a  day.   These
 doses must  be  increased or diminished ac-
 cording  to  the age  of  the patient.   Bisset
 says  the  great bastard black  hellebore or
 bearsfoot, is a most powerful vermifuge for
 the long round worm.  He orders the decoc-
                    R* 
198
tion of about a drachm of the green leaves,
or about fifteen grains of the dried leaves,
in powder,  for a dose for a child betwixt
four and seven years of age.  This dose is
to be repeated two or three times.   He adds,
that the green leaves made into a syrup with
coarse  sugar  is  almost the only  medicine
he has used for round worms for three years
past.  Before  pressing  out the  juice  he
moistens the leaves with vinegar, which cor-
rects  the  medicine.  The dose  is a  tea-
 spoonful at bed-time, and one or  two next
 morning.
   " I have frequently known those big bel-
 lies,  which in children are commonly reck-
 oned  a  sign of worms,  quite removed by
 giving them white soap in their pottage or
 other food.  Tansy, garlic, and rue,  are all
o-ood against  worms, and may be used in
various  ways.  We  might here  mention
many other plants both for internal and ex-
ternal use;  but think the powder of tin with
atfhiops mineral, and the  purges of rhubarb
and calomel,  are more to be  depended on.
Ball's purging vermifuge powder  is a very
powerful medicine; it is made of equal parts 
199
 of rhubarb,  scammony, and calomel, with
 as much double refined sugar as  is equal
 to the weight of all the other ingredients.
 These must be  well mixed together,  and
 reduced to a fine powder.   The dose for a
 child is from ten grains to twenty,  oncev or
 twice a week.  Parents who would preserve
 their children from worms must allow them
 plenty of exercise in the  open air, to take
 care that their food be wholesome and suffi-
 ciently solid ; and as far as possible to prevent
 their eating raw herbs, roots, or green trashy
 fruits.   It  will not  be  amiss  to allow  a
 child who is subject to worms a glass  of red
 wine after meals ;  as every thing that bra-
 ces and  strengthens  the stomach  is good
 both for preventing and  expelling these ver-
 min."   In a  note  we  find  the  following
 salutary caution.
   " We  think  it  necessary  here to  warn
 people of their danger, who buy cakes, pow-
 ders, and other worm medicines, at  random
from quacks, and give them to their children
without proper care.  The  principal  ingre-
dients in most of these medecines is mer-
cury, which is  never to be trifled with.   I 
200
lately saw a shocking instance of the danger
of this conduct.   A girl who had  taken a
dose of worm powder, bought of a travelling
quack, went out, and perhaps was so impru-
 dent as to drink cold water, dui ing its opera-
 tion.  She immediately swelled  and died that
 very day,  with all the symptoms of having
 been  poisoned."
   Dr. Wallis mentions tansy as an anthel-
 mintic tending to strengthen the stomach and
 bowels, and give  tone and activity to the in-
 testines;   he also mentions  sabine,  worm-
 seed, Indian pink root in powder, fern root
 powder, and many other simples, as  being of
 service in  worm complaints, but concludes
 with observing " that calomel is one of our
 most superior vermifuges," to  which I sin-
 cerely assent,  as  far as my experience has
enabled me to judge: however, when children
are afflicted with the long round  worms, they
will sometimes  rise in the stomach and
throat,  and cause  very alarming symptoms,
and  not unfrequently convulsion fits;  it is
then found  very beneficial  to macerate the
leaves of double  tansy;  either dry or fresh
will answer, in a little spirits over a gentle 
201
heat until soft, then put the leaves so moist-
ened into a little bag, and apply it just above
the pit of the stomach;  this will usually pre-
vent the recurrence of the distressing symp-
toms, and give the child great  relief; the es-
sence of tansy dropped on sugar, children in
general are  fond of, and it should be given
every morning,  and again before dinner, to
those who  are  subject to worms,  whenever
they begin  to show indications of any indis-
position which can reasonably  be attributed
to them ; the essence of peppermint is equally
good, and may be used in the same way ;  in-
deed, it is often preferable when loss of ap-
petite is a symptom.  I have a little girl who
appeared very unwell last spring, would look
extremely pale in the  morning, and had no
appetite for her breakfast; from a very bad
breath, and some other circumstances,  I con-
cluded worms  were the  exciting cause of
her ill health.  I immediately began  (after
being convinced that air, exercise, and regi-
men, failed of the desired effect) to give her
the essence above recommended, and in half
an hour after taking her dose in the morning
she would  have a fine  appetite, and eat her 
202
bread and milk with the keenest relish, and
in six weeks time all her faint languid symp-
toms disappeared, and now she  enjoys fine
health, and can scarcely wait until the servant
brings her breakfast after she rises.  It should
always be remembered by every one who has
the care of children, that medicine does not work
by magic, and therefore cannot be expected
to cure any complaint instantaneously.  It is
 the mistaken idea that a medicine which does
 not cure immediately will never cure, that so
often  renders the  best  advice and  most
appropriate treatment abortive : it frequently
happens also that we give some drug which
 very soon procures a mitigation of the symp-
 toms;  we then think nature will 0)0 the rest,
 and remit the medicine ; the  disease returns
 with renewed energy, like a  baffled enemy,
 who, perceiving his opponent off his guard, or
 wholly withdrawn, returns to the attack with
 renovated courage, confident of victory: and
 so it too frequently happens;  the second  at-
tack is worse than  the first.   We should,
 therefore,  when we find a  medicine benefi-
cial to any complaint whatever, persevere in
 the use of it until the cure is performed, or
       1 
203
we  are convinced by  candid and sufficient
experiment that it is not equal  alone to the
conquest of the disease.   It ib a well known
fact, especially in eruptive  complaints, that
a remedy which  is actually adequate to  the
cure, will make the disorder apparently worse
at first, by throwing it out of the blood upon
the surface, which is evidently the  true in-
dication, but  which  many persons who do
not reflect upon the  nature of the case, look
upon as a bad symptom, and abandon the me-
dicine from a supposition that it makes them
worse.  This is an error, which, it is hoped,
more general information as to the nature
and effects of medicine on the frame would
happily correct.   The happy effect  of the
simple medicine above mentioned on  my
little girl, was not produced  in  a day  nor a
week; I  gave it to  her every morning,  or
every other morning, for several weeks.
  I have heard some ladies express a fear of
giving an emetic in worm  complaints, lest
it should cause them to rise  in the stomach
and occasion fits or suffocation;  but I have
been assured, by very able physicians,  that
this is a mistaken idea, for if the worms were 
204
actually in the  stomach  they ought to be
brought away, and then an emetic might be
of service, or, indeed, the only remedy; but if
they were notin the stomach, taking an emetic
 would  never bring them into that bowel,
 especially ipecacuanha, for they loathe all bitter
 or nauseous drugs. Therefore, whenever my
 children are  seized with vomiting  or nausea,
 or have high feverish symptoms, which I have
 reason to attribute to  worms, and they will
 not yield to  light, cordial, or aromatic medi-
 cines, I immediately give them an emetic of
 ipecac or antimonial wine, and the following
 day some purgative medicine: by this means
 fevers are often prevented, and if worms are
 the  exciting cause, they will probably be
 evacuated in the course of the operation; and
 if the  child is  not materially better after it
 is over, the indication  is obvious; some more
 powerful vermifuge must be resorted to im-
 mediately. 
205
                 Measles.

   This  disease is thus described by Dr.
Wallis: " According to my conception, it is
in general a febrile  disease  of the inflamma-
tory kind, always infectious, electively affect-
ing  that   membrane  called   scheiderian,
which lines the inside of the nose, throat and
lungs,  and, in  its  progression, the  skin;
though I have seen  the affection of the lungs
so extremely slight, as  not to call forth the
least attention, where there was a diarrhoea
attended   through the whole  course  of the
disease.   Its progress is divided  into three
stages; the first precedes, the secon d attends,
and the last succeeds the  completion of the
eruption.  At  the commencement there are
chilness  and  heat   alternately  succeeding
each other; soon after, on the second day, the
fever increases, attended with  considerable
sickness,  great heat, thirst, languor,  and loss
of appetite ;  the  tongue is white ; there is a
heaviness of the head and drowsiness,  sneez-
ing, brightness of the eyes,  from  whence
                     s 
206
flow a thin humour; the eye-lids swell, and,
most commonly, there is a dry  and very
troublesome cough;  sometimes  vomiting
and looseness are associates with these;  the
last of  a dark green colour, when children
are getting their teeth;  and all these symp-
 toms gradually increase, till the eruptive or
 secondary stage begins, which occurs gene-
 rally on the fourth day, about which time
 small red spots, like flea bites, make their ap-
 pearance on the face, which run  into clus-
 ters, forming larger  spots, rising above the
 skin, perceptible only to the  touch, not to
 the sight; afterwards broad spots spread over
 the body downwards, not quite so prominent,
 though of a higher colour than those of the
 face : when the eruption is finished the vom-
 iting ceases, but the fever increases; and the
 cough, with the difficulty of  breathing, be-
 come more violent ; a  sweat and diarrhoea
 now and then supervene.
    " On the  sixth  day,  or thereabout, the
 third stage begins,  on  which the  spots on
 the face grow dry, and  give it a rough ap-
 pearance; and in three days more they total-
 ly disappear from the whole body; for on the 
207
ninth day nothing is to be seen, except a dark
coloured fine farina, or appearance like bran,
all over the surface  of the skin: at this  pe-
riod, the fever and cough are sometimes al-
leviated, sometimes increased,  and termi-
nate in a dangerous peripneumony, and not
unfrequently a looseness succeeds the dis-
ease.
   " After  this we are not  to  conclude the
patient  out  of  danger,  unless, during its
course, some considerable  evacuation  has
taken place,  either  by  sweating, vomiting
urine,  or looseness; for without something
of this kind occurs, the cough will  continue,
the fever  will return with  additional vio-
lence, and the strength not be recovered ex-
cept with great  commotion in the system,
and, consequently, extreme danger.
   " Though what  we have here described
is the most frequent mode  of  the measles'
appearance and progress, to their termina-
tion,  yet sometimes they  differ  so much
that authors have denominated  them anoma-
lous,  or  irregular,  as  deviating  from  the
common course, or as in the eruption put-
ting  on the appearance of the small-pox. 
                    208

   Characteristic signs. An infectious inflam-
 matory fever  for the most part,  with which
 are associated a defluxion of a thin watery
 humour  from the eyes, tickling in the nose,
 sneezing, dry cough, more or less violent;
 on the fourth day, sometimes sooner, some-
 times later, though rarely, small spots run-
 ning together, perceptible to the touch on
 the face, but  broader on the body, not per-
 ceptibly  elevated   above the  skin, break
 forth, which  in three days after are convert-
 ed into branny  scales in part,  and totally
 disappear upon the ninth day.
   " Cure.  In  so mild  a manner will the
 measles sometimes  affect patients, that lit-
 tle is necessary  to be done, except absti-
 nence from all animal food, or heating appli-
 cations ;  and drinking freely of thin watery
 acessent liquids, such as common fig drink,
 made  agreeably  acid with lemon-juice, ap-
 ple water, or some  such like  fluids.  But
 should the  febrile symptoms run high, we
 must proceed as directed in the small-pox;
 but great attention must be paid to  the *af-
fection  of the lungs; oily emulsions  and
Tinctures,  may therefore  be prescribed oc- 
209
casionally in conjunction with the other re-
medies, calculated to keep the febrile affec-
tions  within proper limits.
  " Should oily medicines  disagree with the
stomach, as is sometimes the case,  we must
have  recourse to the class of demulcents,
using the pectoral decoction, or that of lin-
seed, as common drink.
  " After the eruption is completed, slight
opiates  are serviceable ;  but as nature  gen-
erally performs her crisis either by  sweats,
looseness, or urine,  we must observe what
way  she directs her  efforts, and  proceed as
we  have  before directed  in  cures of this
kind, where they occur in fevers not erup-
tive.
  " As  soon as the redness of the skin  goes
off,  and the  spots begin to die away, gentle
purgatives must be administered, at proper in-
tervals, and  the  patient  return to his usual
mode of life gradually.  Care also should be
taken that patients expose not  themselves
too early to the cold air;  for these are apt to
bring on a very  disagreeable cough, asthma,
and   consumption,  from  affections  of the
lungs, or of some other parts." 
210
  Much more is said by this learned author
upon the variations in the  measles, enume-
rating many distressing aspects sometimes as-
sumed by this disease; but as I am not writing
with an idea to make physicians, but merely to
enable my readers to nurse their infants with
the  aid  of the physician, or prescribe  for
them in slight and  ordinary  attacks,  I shall
not transcribe more on this  subject except
one paragraph, which I think merits attention
from the faculty in general.
  " Few people have thought the measles to
be a disease of sufficient consequence, to avail
themselves of those assistances, which, as in
the small-pox, might be derived  from inocu-
lation in this complaint.   As for my own
part, practically I cannot say any thing on  the
subject; but if we may believe the authority
of some who have made the  experiment, or
be allowed to  depend on  reasoning from
analogy, our labours might be happily rewar-
ded ; for it is asserted, and appears probable,
that  from  inoculation from  infected  blood,
on the  sixth day  a slight  fever  manifests
itself most commonly, though it is  very mo-
derate, unattended  with loss of sleep and 
211
inflammatory  symptoms; and  it is  neither
succeeded  by a hectic  fever, cough, nor in-
flamed eyes; so that we find we should be
freed from a  train of  the most dangerous
symptoms, and,  consequently,  relieved, in
many cases, from the most distressing appre-
hensions."
  Surely  the experiment is worth trying,
provided it is unattended with danger, which
appears to be the case.  All my children ex-
cept the three youngest  had this disease at
the same time, and very favourably; they were
not confined but a day or two,  each  one;
indeed, some of them were able to go about
the  house   during  the  whole course of the
disease, although very feeble.    The physi-
cian who attended them, treated the disease
upon the same plan as  he would have done
the small-pox,  in opposition to  the ancient
method of keeping the patients in bed from
fear of their taking cold, and thereby increas-
ing the defluxion, cough, &c.  After two or
three days, while the eruption was  coming
out, my children were able  to run about,
and disposed to play, in which they  were
indulged,  and  they  recovered surprisingly 
212
last;  the  cough left them with the  other
symptoms, and  no  ill consequences  what-
ever occurred. Children in general, I believe,
have  the  disease lighter than adults,  partly
from their youth, but chiefly from their sim-
ple manner of living, and regular habits.
    It is a practice with me, whenever any of
my family are seized with feverish symptoms
for which I cannot  readily account, to give
them a draught  of saffron tea, to defend the
stomach  in  case the disease  should  prove
eruptive; and  I am confident it is often bene-
ficial, although  some physicians ridicule the
practice as an old woman's notion, and  say it
intoxicates and inflames the blood.   Every
thing may be carried to excess; but  it ap-
pears to me equally absurd,  to urge the in-
toxicating qualities  of saffron,  as an  argu-
ment against  the moderate  and  judicious
use of it, as it would be to forbid the use of
opium entirely, because it will occasion death
when taken to excess.  A few spoonsful of
saffron tea, taken once or twice a day, in all
eruptive disorders, would greatly tend to pre-
vent  the retrocession of the eruption, from
which such fatal effects so often arise,  espe-
cially in very young children.  I have always 
213
 been in this  practice, and never knew any
 eruption disappear till in its natural course
 it ought to do so, among all my children.
 Therefore, my fair readers, it  is my sincere
 opinion, that   you will do well, whenever
 your infants droop, and have highly feverish
 symptoms,  to give them  a little saffron tea
 two or three times, and if  the complaint is
 eruptive, it will assist nature in throwing it
 out; and no harm  can result from it should
 it prove  otherwise, as from long experience
I am convinced saffron, although a powerful
stomachic,  is perfectly harmless in its opera-
tion.  A little snake root added to the saffron
tea will often prove serviceable.
                Small-Pox.

   It is my sincere belief, and ardent hope,
 that the  salutary practice of vaccine inocu-
lation will, before  the lapse of many ages,
entirely exterminate this cruel disease.  But
as it is still prevalent in our southern states,
and many a fond mother may be at this mo-
ment watching,  with anxious fondness, the 
214
turn of  the disorder in a beloved child; and
similar  instances may possibly occur in the
northern and eastern parts of our country,
where the disease is but little known, except
by the  dread it conveys, it may be proper to
give such a description  of the  symptoms and
method of cure as will  enable parents to
judge when they are visited by so unwelcome
 a guest, and to know how best to receive and
 expel him from  their dwelling.   We find
 the following  description from the pen of
 Dr. Wallis.
    " This complaint is occasioned by morbid
 matter of a peculiar nature absorbed into the
 habit from the external air, from contact of
 a person infected, or from inoculation, either
 by the inhaling vessels of the skin, lungs,
 membranes of  the  nose  and mouth, or first
 passages, and has been divided, agreeable to
 the cuticular appearances, into distinct, con-
 fluent, coherent,  or into common  crystal-
 line eruptions,  full of thin  serous matter;
 verrucous, resembling warts;  or bloody, filled
 with red fluid, or  blood  in  a broken state.
   However, generally, now, we adhere  to the 
215
terms distinct and confluent; but this seems
of little use  in practice; for  they may be
distinct, yet  of a very bad  kind; and con-
fluent, yet very  good; therefore  the more
eligible division seems to  be into simple
and malignant; the first comprehending those
 which are  the least, the last, those  which
 are the most dangerous.
    Causes. The  remote  or  inducing of this,
 as well as of every other species of infectious
 or contagious fever,  is  a predisposition or
 peculiarity of the constitution, to feel the im-
 pressions  made by the morbid  matter, pro-
 ductive  of distress  in  the moving solids,
 and  alteration of the fluids of the machine.
 The proximate or immediate, contaminating
 particles, peculiar to the  small-pox, absorbed
 into the habit, and these producing febrile
 effects which  vary according to the nature,
  or particular state of the constitution at that
  time.
    " Characteristic signs.  The only certain
  ones  are  the  eruptions themselves,  with
  their  progressive  concomitant  symptoms,
  the appearance of which may be suspected
   in the first stage, if the  attack should  be
   sudden; if  the  small  pox should be the 
216
 reigning epidemic, or the patient so situated
 that he has been thrown in the way of this
 specific infection; if pain  should  affect  the
 back  part  of the head,  fauces, loins,  par-
 ticularly the  pit  of  the  stomach,  attended
 with vomiting,  and  that pain increased on
 pressure.
   " Cure.   The indications are, to dimi-
 nish the assimilating or contaminating power
 of the morbid matter, and keep the fever with-
 in such bounds, that nature shall be enabled
 to separate from and throw out  of the habit
 the  offensive materials that cause the dis-
 tress,  which  is done  by so regulating the
 motions of the nervous and vascular  sys-
 tems,  that the constitution may  be put  into
 a state to mitigate and support the succeed-
 ing  contest  with the greatest ease, and free-
 dom from danger.
   " And this knowledge  we shall acquire,
 by considering the situation of the  habit, the
 mode  of living, and  season  of  the year,
 with respect to the weather or constitution
 of the  air, as these will dispose, more or less,
 to the production of inflammatory, nervous
or putrescent  febrile  affections;  for  I  am 
217
 certain, that, according to the nature of the
 fever,  so  are  we  to  regulate our conduct.
 Sometimes the disease is so extremely mild,
 that there  is no need  of medical assistance,
 though at the close,  in  order to clear the
 first passages from any foulness or offensive
 matter which may have been collected there
 during the progress of  the  complaint,  it
 would be right to give two or three purges,"
 which may be  the same kind directed for
 the measles.
   " At others,  it is  of a very  dangerous
 nature, and requires the assistance  and sa-
 gacity of no small share of medical know-
 ledge, as  it is  accompanied  with  such  a
 variety of threatening symptoms;" for which
 reason I have now extracted enough for our
 purpose, as no mother could think of trust-
 ing to her own skill in the management of
 this dreadful disease, when once  convinced
 it was  the small-pox.   I can add very little
from my own  experience: although I have
had  the disorder myself,  it was so very
mild as scarcely to merit  the name of dis-
ease, and  all my children have been vacci-
nated.   1  however recollect  perfectly  well
                    T 
218
itiy attendants kept me almost frozen, and
my diet for some  weeks was very light, to
which circumstances I probably  owe the
very favourable termination; for, being absent
from my mother, the people who had the
care  of  me,  though  otherwise very  kind,
trusted me to take my medicines, to which
having a  strong aversion, I threw them all
away, which childish trick, sufficiently pro-
claims I was then a child.


               Chicken Pox.

    This complaint is attended with no dan-
 ger, although sometimes accompanied with
 a slight headach,  great lassitude, and  other
 feverish complaints, while the eruption  is
 coming out and until it arrives at its heighth,
which will be in the course of three or four
days; at the commencement it will be proper
to give a little saffron tea  once a day.   The
eruption may  be  distinguished by the pecu-
liar pellucid appearance of the pustules  when
they  first rise; afterwards, those which do
not get ruptured,  gradually  become white
or yellowish, and resemble the distinct small- 
219
pox:  no medLine  is  required, unless the
feverish symptoms  should run  very high,
which is rarely the case. Care must be taken
to keep children  who are ill with it, from
the cold damps of the  evening air, wetting
their  feet,  &c. and to regulate their diet,
letting it consist  chiefly of  light puddings,
and broth and jellies; and, what is still bet-
ter, bread and milk.
  Dr. Wallis and other writers describe
another species of this disease, which they
denominate the  swinepox,  which is much
more virulent, but never fatal.   Dr. Un-
derwood gives a  melancholy instance of the
fatal effects of mistaking this for the small-
pox.

              Hooping- Cough.

  This distressing disorder is  known  by
the peculiar noise made in  respiration du-
ring a fit of coughing, and  which has given
it its name.   It  usually  begins- with a dry,
hard  cough,  which sometimes lasts many
weeks before  the hooping comes on.  But
I had better give  the description from higher 
22cj
authority.  It is thus  learnedly described
by Dr.  Wallis.
  "It is so called from the violence of  the
concussions, and that  particular noise  of
hooping which  is observable  in the fits of
coughing;  also  chincough, from the dutch
word kincken, to pant; in medical language,
tussis convulsiva or pertussis.
   " Description.  In the beginning chiefly
there is a dry cough, in which there is  not
thrown up any,  or a very small quantity of
thin serum, more or less acrid.  Sometimes
the  cough is moist, and then  a blackish or
blue mucus,  often  extremely tenacious, is
evacuated; at the same time, the extremities
grow cold, the  bowels are costive, and  the
blood is forced up copiously, and with great
force, into the superior parts, breast and head:
from whence, during the  fit, the face grows
turgid with blood,  the veins swell, the ar-
teries beat stronger  and quicker, the eyes
appear prominent, the tears flow, the eyelids
puff up; and sometimes the blood, particu-
larly if a sneezing  comes  on,  is forced  out
from the nostrils; sometimes the vessels of 
221
the lungs are ruptured, and  there arises  a
spitting of blood;  a hiccough often accom-
panies it,  and  very often  vomiting.   With
respect to the convulsive affection, it does
not appear generally till the second or third
week from the attack ; till that time it appears
like a common cough, and then it comes on
at  different  times  of  the  day,  and  con-
tinues till some mucus is thrown up by the
lungs, or the contents of the stomach eva-
cuated, and then it ceases ; when it has  put
on these  appearances, its  time of continu-
ance is uncertain;  it may  go   off in a  few
weeks, or remain some months.  Before the
fits come on  there is some warning given,
chiefly an uneasy  sensation  in breathing,
and children will at this time  catch hold of
any thing that is near them, in order to sup-
port themselves during the fit of coughing,
which they dread.
  " Cure.  The  indications  of which  are,
to correct or  evacuate the peculiar infec-
tious matter; to  alleviate and  lessen  the
violence  and duration  of the cough;  and
prevent those  mischiefs which are likely
to arise in the habit, or parts of it, from 
222
its excess.  But as we know of no means
either to correct or clear the constitution of
the morbid matter creating the disease, we
must therefore imitate Nature  in her efforts,
by such  means as experience, founded on
the knowledge of the laws of  the animal
ceconomy,  will point out to us, in accom-
 plishing  the two  succeeding indications.
   " In full habits, therefore, if the face swells
 much in coughing, looks red, and also the
 eyes,  and other appearances of local pleni-
 tude show themselves, bleeding is  essen-
 tially useful;  and this must be repeated as
 long as such appearances render it necessary;
 but  this  must not be pushed too far; for
 then we should increase the convulsive affec-
 tion ; hence,  in the slighter kinds of the dis-
 ease  it may be omitted; the body should be
kept moderately open, not less than two or
three  stools  procured  every  day;  violent
purging,  for the reason above recited, might
be hurtful.'  Gentle vomiting every day is
beneficial in  the forenoon,  by small  doses
of antimoriials, one  or two spoonsful of the
emetic mixture  for a dose, or as much as
will  produce  the effect;  and  should any 
223
feverish symptoms attend, a quarter or half
a grain of tartarized antimony may be given
at night  with  the  powder,  lessening  or
increasing the dose,  according to the con-
stitution ;  for this mode not only  does good
by the shock it gives to the habit, assisting
expectoration, and clearing  the   stomach,
but by determining the fluids to the surface,
promoting perspiration,  and  keeping the
body open, which  last  if it does  not do, a
little magnesia, or  some other cooling pur-
gative must be added ;  by persisting in this
mode till evident symptoms of amendment
presented themselves, then omitting the vo-
mit to every second or third day ; afterwards
giving it once or twice a week,  has  been
crowned with the desired  success.  Rub-
bing the pit of the stomach,  and down the
spine, with equal parts of rectified oil of am-
ber,  and spirits of wine, where there has
been no inflammatory  symptoms or febrile
tendency;  or after these had  gone oft", has
been of great use;  but  bleeding and purga-
tives, when necessary, have  preceded their
use.
   " However, in the general mode of  man- 
224
 agement, I should, in the beginning, recom-
 mend  vomiting and aperients, with bleed-
 ing, blistering, and use of antimonials, if ne-
 cessary;  small doses of  cicuta;  and  where
 no febrile  symptoms declared themselves,
 external antispasmodics.   When the symp-
 toms had considerably abated, tonics, par-
 ticularly  bark, should supply their  place.
 And, in the flrst period,  the diet  should  be
 abstemious  and sparing,  as  in inflammatory
 fever if the symptoms  ran high.  In the
 second, the mode of living should be  more
 generous ; and should the lungs be affected
 by the violence of the disease, a course  of
 ass's milk, riding, exercise, pure, clear air,
 and the use  of bark, would  be proper.  In-
 deed, in some cases, change of air is highly
 necessary, and  very  often  alone  produces
 the most salutary consequences.   We must
 observe here, that often, when the coughing
 fit ceases, the patients are  almost always per-
 fectly  relieved;  but  should they not, and
 the difficulty of  breathing should  continue,
 and there be any considerable  febrile affec-
tions, there is  danger, which must ever be
suspected;   for  few  die  but  under these 
225
 circumstances; now and then bringing on
 immediate suffocation, and sometimes con-
 sumption; and often attended with extremely
 troublesome and  painful affections;  but it
 will sometimes occur in so mild a state, that
 all fear is unnecessary, and this will mani-
 fest itself by the gentleness of the symptoms;
 for though the  complaint  should  be  com-
 pletely existing, accompanied with its certain
 symptoms of convulsive cough and hooping,
 if these should be moderate, and their returns
 observe  distant periods;  if the ejection of
 mucus from the lungs should be in no great
 degree,  the difficulty of breathing,  and fe-
 brile affections  do not manifest themselves ;
 and between the  fits  the  patient  preserves
 his usual habits of health, and the symptoms
 gradually decrease, Nature will be her own
 physician; in these cases little is necessary to
 be done."
  I  have here selected from a very learned
and elaborate account of this afflicting com-
plaint, such parts  as I conceived adapted to
domestic  practice.  Should children be dan-
gerously ill, professional  assistance  will al-
ways  be necessary,  because every  disease 
                   226
                                 »
assumes  different  appearances  in different
constitutions;  therefore, when attended with
any degree of malignity, no general rule can
be relied upon.   All these variations Dr.
Wallis  particularizes, but no  lady  would
trust  her  own judgment  to  discriminate,
where her infant's  life was at stake.  What
is here said   is  enough to enable  us  to
know when more assistance is requisite, and
this is absolutely necessary for every mother
 to know.
  ' Several of  my children have had it, and as
 the part of the country where we reside is re-
 markable for  a pure, salubrious air, they were
 neither of them  so ill as to be  confined a
 moment, and took but little medicine. Elixir
 paregoric at  night, and  some expectorant
 drinks, such  as hyssop  tea, acidulated with
 lemon juice,  or tamarinds, or  cream of tar-
 tar, or  linseed tea sweetened with double  re-
 fined sugar, or honey, was all I found necessa-
 ry for them; therefore, it would be my advice
 to all parents  who reside  in cities, and have it
 in their power, whenever their children are
 infected with  the hooping cough, to remove
 them as far as possible from the place where 
227
the disease prevails, and permit them to use
as much exercise as possible in a pure coun-
try air, free from the smoke and vapours of
the town : this, in four instances out of five,
would cause  a mitigation  of the  most dis-
tressing  symptoms.   And although Dr.
Wallis says nothing in  favour  of opiates in
this disease, I must believe  them of great ser-
 vice in allaying the spasmodic affections,  as
well as opening the chest,  and  assisting ex-
pectoration, especially the  elixir paregoric ;
and that kind which has liquorice for  an  in-
gredient is to preferred.


        Inflammation of the Lungs.

   This is a very distressing complaint, to
 which  children from one  to two years are
 very often subject. I "have frequently known
 it brought on by violent exercise in  a damp,
 cold air, and seen  children  who appeared
 only slightly  affected with a cold at noon, come
 in  from  their play at night with a flushed
 face, violent  headach, full, hard pulse,  breath
 ing  almost   impeded,  and  attended by  a
 wheezing noise extremely distressing, cough 
228
  nearly incessant, and every symptom highly
  inflammatory,  extending  sometimes to  a
  slight delirium.  In these cases I take the
  little patients to a warm room, give an emetic
  as soon as possible, bathe the  feet  and legs
  in warm water, and apply burdock leaves to
  the feet, if they are  to be procured; if not,
  garlic drafts.  I then  put them to bed, and
  prevail upon them to drink freely of hyssop
  tea sweetened with honey.  Should not  the
  cough  appear to abate after the operation of
  the emetic, in two or  three  hours  I give a
  tea-spoonlul, or less, according to the age of
  the child, of syrup of squills diluted with
  water, adding ten or fifteen drops of elixir
  paregoric; and in the morning exhibit a dose
  of  senna and manna.   If the  child appears
 better in the morning, if  the fever is aba-
 ted, the  breathing less  difficult,  and the
 cough somewhat relieved, a few days' confine-
 ment,  bathing the feet  and  renewing the
 drafts every night, and giving a cup of hy ssop
 tea every two or  three hours, to promote ex-
 pectoration and throw open the  pores,  will
 generally restore the little patient  to  health
with the addition of light and easy diet; but 
229
if the  inflammatory  symptoms   increase
rather than abate the ensuing  day, medical
advice must be had, for this is an acute and
often fatal complaint,  if neglected; and if it
does not readily yield to the little remedies
here proposed,  it would  be wrong to trifle
with it.
                 Ear-ach.

   This may proceed from  various causes;
the most common are sudden cold affecting
the part, either from exposing the head, un-
covered, to the cold, after being very warm,
or setting against a crack or  crevice, so that
a current of air shall strike directly upon the
ear, which is a very delicate organ, easily sub-
ject  to inflammation, which  often ends in
deafness, or perpetual ulcers, which  are ex-
tremely afflicting  and troublesome.    The
ear-ach also sometimes proceeds from har-
dened wax sticking in the ear, or worms be-
ing bred there, from eggs laid  in the  wax
by the flesh fly, which Dr.  Wallis mentions
as being  sometimes the case.  It  is  also
                    u 
230
spasmodic,  and  is  then often very severe,
and likely to  recur  frequently, being occa-
sioned by every little cold.  Dr.Underwood,
recommends  the  juice of rue,  and two or
three drops of laudanum, when  this  is the
cause; or six  or eight drops  of  laudanum,
made warm, and dropped into the ear with
a marrow spoon.  But the worst disorder of
the ear is an abscess forming within it, which
is often occasioned by a sudden cold, but
is more frequently owing to the  translation
of morbid matter to the ear,  usually at the
 crisis of some malignant fever, or those of
the typhus kind;  and  these ulcers are very
difficult to heal,  often continuing  to dis-
charge many months, and  sometimes are
never perfectly healed, but occasion deafness,
and all its unpleasant effects; and when they
are actually healed,  the part continues sub-
ject  to  them,  upon the  slightest  cold.
When this happens there is no relief until a
suppuration takes  place,  to which end  we
must bend all our endeavours.  Roasted on-
ions are exceedingly good applied warm to
the part; the heart of  the onion should be
wrapt in fine lawn, and inserted into the ca- 
231
 vity of the ear, and the remainder put into a
 fine linen  or lawn bag, and applied as close
 as possible,  so as to exclude the cold air;
 these should be changed as often as they be-
 come  cold  or  dry.   If the  pain continues
 violent,  and  the  onions  fail to give ease,
 chamomile flowers boiled in  water, so as to
 form a very strong decoction, and then the
 flowers put into two little flannel bags, and
 dipped alternately into the decoction, kept
 hot for the purpose, and applied  to  the ear,
 and changed as often as they grow cool,  will
 often give great relief;  but   no  lasting ease
 can  be expected until  the abscess breaks,
 which  is usually  preceded by excruciating
 pain, and succeeded by perfect ease, except.
 ing  the  extreme  soreness,  which often
 continues several days, as will the discharge
 not unfrequently  a  fortnight.   When  the
 abscess breaks, the ear  should be syringed
 out perfectly clean every  day,  with  warm
castile soap suds, afterwards injecting into it
tincture of myrrh  diluted with water, or a
weak solution of sugar of lead, and stopping
the orifice with a  little lint or wool, to keep
out the  cold.  Dr.   Underwood gives the 
232
 following  directions, when  the discharge
 becomes fetid and of long standing.
   "It is not uncommon to meet with fetid
 discharges from the internal ear, either w ith
 or without inflammation and external sore-
 ness ; but  this is usually in  children of one
 or more years old, rather than very young
 infants.  If a little cooling physic,  and wi-
 ping  out  the  matter frequently, does not
 remove the complaint,  cleansing injections
 should be  used, and the following  warm
 acoustic dropped into the ear: Take  oil of
 almonds, half an ounce  ; rectified oil of am-
 ber,  twenty  drops;  camphorated   spirits,
 half  a drachm; tincture  of castor, one
 drachm;   mix  these together,  and  instil
 four  or six drops, previously made  warm,
 into  the  ear affected,  night, and morning,
 afterwards inserting loosely a bit of cotton
 to prevent the escape of  the oil.  The child
 should also be made to  lie as much as may-
 be on the  affected side,  that  the  discharge
 may have a free  vent. Should the quantity
and  fetid smell  of  the  matter increase, a
blister should  be kept  on the nape of the
neck, a few purges of  calomel  be  taken. 
233
and  on the intermediate days,  very small
doses  of the  powder of quicksilver  with
sulphur, as kept  in  the shops.  But above
all, fumigations with the  red sulphurated
quicksilver, and  quicksilver  with  sulphur
mixed  together,  should be  made   use  of
morning and  evening, from  which  I  have
seen the  very best effects,  when the dis-
charge and fetid smell have been very great,
and  the ulcer of long standing.  To this
end, a  tube  or  funnel  must be  properly
adapted."

               Scald Head.

   There is little danger of  this complaint
occurring among children, who are properly-
attended to; little else  being necessary to
prevent it than  perfect  cleanliness,  and
combing the  head  every day with a fine
comb;  it is, however, sometimes  the  con-
sequence of a bad  habit of  body,  and is
united with scrophula, and when this is the
case, it is often difficult to cure.   It  is said
to be contagious, and frequently communi-
cated at school.  If  this  is the case, every 
234
child must be exposed to it who attends a
public seminary, and  therefore it may be
desirable to know the best mode of manage-
ment.   Dr.  Underwood gives the follow-
ing:
   " From some considerable experience, I
 may venture to say, that being usually a
 mere complaint of the skin, it may be most
 successfully treated by external applications.
 This disease is seated in the little glands at
 the roots of the hair, is sometimes dry but at
 others moist, and then produces littie ulcers;
 which being thoroughly cleansed, and made
 to digest,  may be safely healed up;  as I
 have found in many other affections of the
 skin, in which the  system has often  over
 scrupulously been conceived to be concern-
 ed.  It is noi uncommon, I know, to admi-
 nister a variety of internal remedies, and per-
haps they  may sometimes be   required;
though I  think I  have seldom given  any
thing more than lime water, or a decoction
of the woods, and a few purges at the decline
of the eruption.
   "  If the complaint be  taken early, before
it has spread far over the head, and  while the 
235
 scabby patches are small and distinct, it may
 frequently be cured  by an ointment  made
 of equal parts of sulphur, flour of mustard,
 and powder of staves-acre, mixed up with
 lard or butter, or with the sulphur ointment,
 with a small addition of the  white calx of
 mercury.  And  this last  preparation may
 very safely be  made  use of,  if the patient
 be kept within doors and the body properly
 open;  as it will be necessary to rub  in only
 a small portion once or  twice  a day, on  the
 parts  immediately  affected.   But  if  the
 disease should  spread, or has  already ex-
 tended itself over a great part of the head,
 the hair must be  shaved off,  and the head
 washed twice a  day with a strong decoction
 of  tobacco; repeating  this process  until
 the scabs disappear, and the hair grows up
 from the parts they had occupied.  Or,  in-
 stead of the decoction of tobacco, the head
 may be well  washed with the soap lotion
 of the  shops,  with the addition of a small
 quantity of  the pure water of kali;  and the
 scabs anointed with the ointment of nitrated
 quicksilver, in  place of the  sulphur oint-
ment and calx of mercury;  the former being 
236
a very powerful as well as safe application,
and may be used in any  quantity that may
 be necessary.
   "But the complaint is sometimes of long
 standing before medical assistance is solici-
 ted, and is not only extended over the whole
 head, but the scabs are thick, and return as
 often as they may fall off.  I have, however,
 never failed to cure common scald head by
 a method  not so much generally  unknown,
 as too seldom  complied with in  time, on
 account of its supposed severity. It con-
 sists only in well washing the  head,  first
 shaved, with a piece of flannel and a  strong
 lather of  soap suds, and then  rubbing in
 very forcibly the tar ointment, and a good
 quantity of  the powder of white hellebore,
 for near an hour at a time, always using it
 very warm;  and  covering the head  with  a
 bladder to preserve  the  ointment on  the
 part, as well as to prevent it from sticking to
 the  cap,  or other covering  made use of.
 When this  has been done  three or  four
 times, not only the  scabs but  the hairs will
 also  loosen,  which  must  be pulled  out,
 however unpleasant  the operation may be,
      1 
237
 as it will  indeed prove a kindness  in  the
 end; and must be repeated until all the hairs
 be taken out; after which new hair will rise
 free from scabs,  which is a sufficient indica-
 tion that the disorder is effectually removed."


           Herpes or Ringworm.

   " The ringworm, like the foregoing com-
 plaint,  is a disease of the skin, infesting
 some children almost annually, and appear-
 ing in dry scurfy blotches on different parts
 of the  body.   It  becomes   troublesome
 chiefly  from the  violent  itching that con-
 stantly attends it,  and would  probably get
 well  of  itself:  it  even sometimes  has  the
 appearance of being critical; or is  perhaps
 rather  an  indication  of  some favourable
 change  in   valetudinarians,  especially  in
 adults;  who are  sometimes found  getting
 the better  of  lingering complaints  at  the
time  the ringworm makes its appearance..
 It is, however, often a blemish, as  it fre-
 quently attacks the hands and face, especially
the forehead.
   " The ringworm is  certainly  very easi. 
238
ly cured, the eruption yielding very readily
to stimulating and astringent remedies. Ink,
therefore, (as it contains an infusion of galls,)
has  been a common, though inelegant ap-
plication, and may serve very well where
better forms are not at hand.   It  is some-
times made into a paste,  with flower of mus-
 tard.   Spirits of wine,  lotions of  diluted
 extract of lead,  with the addition of vinegar,
 or  white vitriol;  and ointments  containing
 lead, answer very well:  but the ointment of
 nitrated  quicksilver is  preferable to  most
 others.
    " The use of the flesh  brush is a good
 preventive in habits accustomed to the com-
 plaint.—It can be only in unhealthy chil-
 dren,  that  there can be any fear in regard
 to external applications, or need of internal
 remedies.   Should  the  ringworm spread,
 and become sore, it  should be  treated as
 directed below."

           The  Ulcerating Herpes.

   " This  is a  malignant  species of the
above complaint,  but is generally  local;  it 
239
is mentioned  in this  place, as having rela*
tion  to the former;  being  itself  rather a
sore than an eruption, and not very common
in  children.   Suppurative, or digestive ap-
plications may be made use of  in the early
stage of the complaint, such as ointments of
minium, soap, and venice turpentine,  or a
suppurative poultice, made of figs, onions,
and  white  lilly  roots,  boiled in water to a
soft  pulp,   with  or  without the  addition
of a little bread and milk; in  order  to libe-
rate the diseased and obstructed glands  on
the surface, and absorb the acrid discharge.
After this,  the parts should be washed with
some soap lotion;  and lastly, with a strong
solution of  vitriol.   Should  these fail,  the
ointment of  nitrated  quicksilver  will be
proper; and,  as the  last remedy,  caustic
applications, of  which butter of  antimony
is the best,  with which the little ulcers may
be touched lightly, from time to time, un-
der the eye of some  medical person.   The
patient may also take a  decoction of  bur-
dock roots, or sarsaparilla." 
240
                The Shingles.

    " The shingles is a  complaint different
  from the foregoing, but being  rarely met
  with, has not been  accurately distinguished
  from other herpetic eruptions. It appears in
  the form of blistei s, of different sizes, with
  or without some redness between them. This,
 however, is an affection of the  system, which
  the others are not, and is attended with fever,
  as well as often preceded by shivering, sick-
 ness, and sometimes even vomiting, but  is
 not dangerous.
   "The feverish symptoms, however,  do not
 wholly disappear on the eruption of the pus-
 tules; which gradually subsides as the fluid
 they contain acquires a thicker consistence ;
 after which the pustules dry off in the form
 of dark-coloured crusts ;  and the disease ter-
 minates in the period of from eight to ten
 days, and not unfrequently without medical
 aid.   But in the confluent species, whi h is
attended  with the  most  fever, the patient
should be kept in a warm atmosphere, take
some light cordial,"  (such as  saffron   tea,) 
241
" and when  the  pustules are drying off, a
gentle  purgative  should be  administered.
It is among the vulgar errors, I  believe, that
when this complaint appears on  the breast or
loins, if  it should extend round the whole
body it  would prove fatal.   This  form of
the  disease is termed the herpetic belt."
  One of my children was attacked by this
complaint a  few  months past.   It made  its
appearance rather upon  the  left side of his
body, in the form  of a cluster of little blisters
with a very  inflamed  base,  and  was ex-
tremely sore  to  the touch;  it  gradually
spread over his bowels  the length of three
or four inches, and there appeared an evident
inflammation  extending from  the part af-
fected  up to his arm-pit, where he com-
plained of pain;  he had been drooping for
several days before  I discovered the erup-
tion, and complained much  of sickness at
his  stomach and headach, which symptoms
continued until the eruption began to dry off.
The physician to  whom I applied, directed a
solution  of   sugar  of  lead,  in vinegar and
water.   I applied cloths wet in this liquid
warm to the  part  several times a day, which
                    x 
242
cooled the inflammation, and gave him great
relief.  I let him drink several times a little
saffron tea, to defend his stomach, and after
the pustules began to dry off, I gave him elder-
berry  syrup several  times, which proved
gently purgative, and soon restored him to
his wonted health.

            Canker  in  the Mouth.

   Children  who cut their teeth painfully
 are very subject to  this  complaint, which
 must greatly aggravate their distress.  I have
 found great relief from the root of the wake-
 robin, or dragon root, as it is termed in  this
 country, grated and mixed with honey,  and
 used in the manner borax  is prescribed for
 the thrush, in the former  part of this work;
 about a tea-spoonful of the fr esh  root mixed
 with three table spoonsful  of honey, or if the
 root is dry, a larger proportion mu st be used;
 this mixture put upon the child's tongue,  or
 touched about the lips several times a  day,
 will frequently perform a cure.   Dr. Under-
 wood esteems it a very slight complaint; but
 I have known infants very ill with it, and to- 
243
tally unable to eat or suck for  several days,
except a little milk from a spoon, and that
with great pain; and  when  we reflect upon
the very great inconvenience and distress we
feel from  ever so small a  speck upon  the
mouth or tongue, we may judge of the tor-
tures  the poor  little creatures must endure
who have their whole mouth and throat lined
with ulcers, as is  often the case. A very good
gargle may be  made by simmering a  little
saffron, sage, gold thread, and a very small
bunch of sumack  berries in  simple water,
and making it very  sweet with  honey,  and
dusting  in a  little burnt allum; this cannot
be used, however, to advantage for very young
children, because we  cannot  instruct  them
to gargle the mouth sufficiently in a pro-
per manner; nevertheless, should the dragon
root and honey fail of the desired effect, this
 decoction may be put occasionally into  the
 mouth,  as  no harm can  result from their
 swallowing it in small quantities at a time;
 and  if the canker extends  into the throat,
 it may be necessary.  Small doses of calomel
 mixed with honey, and given once or twice a
  week, I have found serviceable in  this com- 
244
plaint  among  my  children;  and after the
scales begin to  fall off, and the mouth is in
some measure  healed, magnesia  should be
given several times, to absorb and assist in dis-
charging the acrimony lodged in the stomach
and bowels, during this disagreeable  com-
plaint.  But magnesia is so apt to stick about
the  mouth and throat, that it is almost cruel
to force it down while they  are very sore.
If a gentle purgative is thought necessary,
syrup of violets, or elder berries, or each
alternately, will be found very salutary, es-
pecially the latter,


                 Chilblains.

   This  troublesome complaint  may be
entirely prevented by keeping the feet and
hands  covered from  the cold;  but should
it occur,  as it frequently will in our incle-
ment climate,  however careful  we may be,
it may generally be  removed by  bathing
the  feet in warm water,  and then rubbing
them well with opedeldoc, either the liquid
opedeldoc,  or that  known by the name of 
245
 Sears's opedeldoc, will answer, the qualities
 being essentially the same.  The part must
 then be kept from extreme cold, until perfect-
 ly recovered.   But if the complaint has pro-
 ceeded to suppuration, as it often will, after
 the above applications, the thin skin from off
 the hog's suet, or, when that cannot be had,
 the veal caul should  be applied to the part,
 and  secured with  linen  bandages, to pre-
 vent the stockings  fretting  it:  this  mode
 will seldom fail of removing the complaint,
 if persevered in, and began in due season;
 but if the disorder is slighted, or neglected
 entirely, it often proves troublesome through
 life.

                 Warts.

   The green bark of the sweet elder bushx
 is a sovereign remedy for warts,  which are
important  rather  as  a  deformity than  a
disease.   They will, however,  sometimes
become  inflamed and sore; in which case,
the above  application never fails to cure, if
it can be obtained ;  but as this is difficult
for those that reside in cities, other remedies
                    x* 
246
therefore may be tried ; among which, liga-
tures of horse  hair  or silk,  are  strongly
recommended, as being the most effectual
method of destroying the excrescence ; but
I have seen them cured in a short time, when
the hands were almost covered with  them,
by being rubbed for some  minutes  every
day with a piece of gold or silver.


               Stithe or Stye.

   The stithe is a small inflamed tumour on
the edge of the eyelid,  more commonly on
the side towards  the nose; but  there are
sometimes^ two  or more at a time.   " It is
occasioned by an obstruction  in the  glands
of the  eyelids,  and the matter being  enclo-
sed in  a hard cist or bag,  the inflammation
often returns  in the same spot, till the cist
being destroyed by repeated suppurations, the
cavity is afterwards filled up, and the com-
plaint disappears.  All that is  necessary to
prevent  the  return of  this temporary  ble-
mish, is, to imitate this process of nature.
To this  end  the  little abscess,  as soon as it
breaks,  should be lightly touched  with the 
                   247
                                     c.
caustic, called nitrated silver, cut to a point,
(cautiously avoiding doing injury to the eye)
which,  by destroying  the cist,  at  once re-
moves the complaint."
                            Underwood. 
248
CHAPTER V.
                 SECTION I.



A brief description of such plants, and their
   respective medicinal qualities,  as are men-
   tioned in the preceding pages; with many
   others,  peculiarly  serviceable in the com-
  plaints of children. ,

   a Life's lowest, but far greatest sphere I sing,
   " Of all things that adorn the gaudy spring;
   " Such as in deserts live, whom, unconfined,
   tl None but the simple laws of Nature bind;
   " And those who, growing tame by human care,
   " The  well-bred citizens of gardens are;
   " Those that aspire to Sol their sire's bright face,
  « Or stoop into their mother Earth's embrace;
  " Such as drink streams, or wells, or those, dry fed,
  li Who have Jove  only for their Ganymede;
  " And all that Solomon's lost work, of old
  " (Ah !  fatal loss !) so  wisely did unfold.
  " Though I the oak's vivacious age should live,
  " I  ne 'er to all their names in verse could give."
                                    Cowley. 
249
   The  beneficent creator has enriched our
 country with many  simples, calculated to
 relieve the diseases incident  to our climate,
 and if resorted  to  in  season would often
 supersede  the use  of  compounded  drugs,
 especially in the  disorders peculiar to child-
 hood:  therefore, every  mother  ought  to
 have a general knowledge of them, so that
 she may prescribe for slight complaints with
 ease to herself, and infinite benefit to her lit-
 tle family'.
  To assist her in obtaining this knowledge,
 I have collected a brief history of the  plants
 in most esteem, that, by having them all un-
 der her eye,  she may readily choose those
 adapted  to the  present complaints of her
 children ; and as  I shall take my description
 of their virtues  from  the most  approved
 medical books, where my own experimental
 knowledge fails, my readers may rely upon
the  directions given, that they are so  far
correct, as no danger can arise from follow-
ing them implicitly. 
250
          Arum or Wake Robin.

  Commonly known in this country by the
names of dragon root, and wild turnip.   It
grows wild  in  all  parts  of New-England,
and is in great repute for  its medicinal vir-
tues.   In March or April, it sends forth
two branches from one stalk,  and between
them  arises a purple pistil,  enclosed in a
sheath beautifully striped with purple and
white,  which  curls over  the  pistil as  it
 grows towards  maturity ; till at length, this
 is  succeeded,  in  July   and August, by a
 bunch of red berries.  All parts of the plant
 are very pungent;  but when fresh, the root
 resembles the common turnip in appearance,
 and children have  been frequently deluded
 by it, and induced to  taste it,  to their sor-
 row;  for while  fresh, it is almost intolerable,
 so very acrimonious is the juice; but after
 it is  dry, it loses much  of this quality, and
 in this form it  is chiefly used in this country,
 in domestic practice, and is excellent  in
 colds and colics, for the  canker, and windy
 complaints  in  infants.   The  fresh  root is 
251
highly recommended  in  the   Edinburgh
Dispensatory.
  " The root is a powerful stimulant.  It is
reckoned a medicine of great efficacy in some
cachectic and chlorotic cases, in weakness of
the stomach occasioned by a  load of  viscid
phlegm.    Great benefit  has been obtain-
ed from  it in  rheumatic pains,  particularly
those of the fixed  kind,   and  which  were
deep seated.  In those cases, from ten  grains
to a scruple of the fresh root  may be  given
twice or thrice  a day, made  into a bolus or
emulsion  with unctuous and mucilaginous
substances, which cover  ifs  pungency, and
prevent its making any  painful impression
on the tongue.   It generally excites a slight
tingling sensation through the whole  habit,
and when  the patient is  kept warm in bed,
produces a copious sweat."  The root may
be gathered any time in  the year, as it is
said to be equally good at all times.  It loses
its  virtue if kept too long, and becomes
perfectly insipid to  the taste. 
252
                  Alder.

   The  leaves  and bark  of the alder tree,
have a bitter, styptic, disagreeable taste. The
bark is recommended in intermittent fevers,
and a decoction of it in gargarisms for in-
flammations   of the  tonsils.    Edinburgh
Dispensatory.


                 Ash Tree

   There are several  kinds of ash in this
country,  adorning  our   forests  in   great
abundance.   The  sap of  the   black  and
white  ash is  said to be an excellent remedy
for the ear-ach; and if the use of it is continued
for a length of time after the breaking of an
abscess within the ear, it will prevent a re-
turn of the complaint.   It is obtained by
placing a stick of the wood green from the
forest across the andirons,  at a   convenient
distance from the fire, so that the middle part
may burn  gently ; the sap  will  ooze  out at
each end, and  must be  received into  cups 
25S
placed for the  purpose, then strained  and
put into a phial for use: when used it should
be  made warm  and  injected into the ear
with a syringe,  or, when that cannot be had,
carefully dropped in with a tea-spoon, and  a
piece of lint  or cotton inserted to keep out
the cold  air.  This sap is used by the abori-
gines of our  country, in the cure of cancers,
and frequently with great success; they pre-
scribe it internally and externally.   The
bark and watery extract is good in intermit-
tent fevers.   The  bark  of another  species
called prickly ash, steeped in brandy, is highly
recommended in rheumatic complaints.
               Anise  Seed.

   The plant producing these seeds may be
cultivated in our gardens.   They are car-
minative, and moderately anodyne: the es-
sential oil is an ingredient in the paregoric
elixir, and is used by itself dropped on sugar
in doses of from two to  twenty  drops in
disorders of the  breast,  and  spasmodic
windy  complaints,  so  afflicting to infants.
                     Y 
254
The seed in infusion or  powder are said to
be preferable in flatulent colics.
                Angelica.

  This finely aromatic plant grows wild in
the woods and fields in Vermont, and many
if not all the other States.   It is frequently
preserved, and forms an elegant confection,
and is of use as a carminative; children who
have flatulent complaints will readily take it
in this form.  The root is an  ingredient in
the aromatic tincture of the shops.
               Avens Root.

  This plant, or rather the root of it, was
highly esteemed  by the  natives of this
country,  and they have transmitted its  ho-
nours unimpaired to their successors  in the
soil. The common people esteem it almost a
specific in many cases, and many of them
use it  in their  houses instead of coffee, or
chocolate, the last of which, a decoction of 
255
it greatly resembles.  The taste is not unplea-
sant,  and children  who  are out of health
would reap great benefit from taking  it for
their breakfast and supper, which they would
readily do, if deceived with the  addition of
cream and sugar.  It is highly recommended
in the Edinburgh Dispensatory as a power-
ful stomachic, and for strengthening the tone
of the viscera in general.   The root  has a
warm astringent taste, and a pleasant aroma-
tic smell, especially in the spring.   It yields
on distillation an elegant odoriferous essential
oil, which concretes into a flaky form.


                 Agrimony.

   This  plant grows wild in  the fields and
highways,  and has  an acrid  rough taste,
somewhat aromatic.  A  tea  of it is often
serviceable in fevers, especially those  of the
dysenteric kind.  Digested in whey it affords
a diet-drink grateful to the palate and sto-
 mach. 
256
             Bayberry Bush.

  This  valuable bush grows wild in many
parts of America.  The leaves and berries
are in great repute for their warm carmina-
tive qualities.   Dr. Motherby  thinks  them
highly stomachic. The berries yield on dis-
tillation a considerable quantity of aromatic
essential oil, which is beneficial  in flatulent
colics, dropped on sugar,  from two to ten
and fifteen drops for a dose.   They also
yield on  pressure an insipid oil, which, when
boiled,  cools  into the consistence o,f wax,
of a yellowish  green  colour;  but the  more
common mode of obtaining this oil is, by
boiling  the berries a considerable time  in
fair water, then setting the vessel by to cool;
the berries will subside to the bottom, and
the wax  cool on the top;   it  must then be
taken off, and melted  again  by  itself, in a
clean earthen vessel,  or  a copper, that  is
well tinned upon the inside; when melted, it
must be  strained through a thin  strainer,  or
fine sieve,  into  proper moulds, to form  it
into cakes.  This wax  has an  agreeable 
257
smell, and has long been regarded  as an ex-
cellent medicine in  the dysentery. It may
be grated and mixed  with loaf sugar, and
children  will  take  it very readily;  they
should take it several times a day, to be of
any service.   It is likewise used in  oint-
ments,  for  burns,  and  other complaints.
In addition to all these virtues,  it will make
candles equal in hardness to spermaceti, and
superior  in  fragrance.  It  is  frequently
used  to  impart  an   agreeable perfume to
common household candles.

              Balsam of Fir,

   This  elegant balsam is procured from
an evergreen tree, a  native of  the northern
parts of the United  States, and of Canada,
from whence it is styled in the Dispensatory,
Canada balsam.  It  is however a common
forest tree, and the balsam  is procured from
little globules on the trunk of the tree, and
exudes upon pricking them, when it should
be received into phials,  and stopped close,
as the  air dries  it, and renders it glutinous.
This balsam is perfectly pellucid,  and is said 
258
to possess all the virtues of the balsam copa-
iva.   It is esteemed  in domestic practice,
in the neighbourhood  where it  grows, as
almost a specific for green wounds and in-
ward bruises.


             Baum or Balm.

  This well known and excellent herb needs
no  particular description; it is usually cul-
tivated in our gardens,  and  is divided into
two species, the  high and  the low baum;
the  low baum  is  in the  highest  esteem
generally, and is undoubtedly very excellent
in infusion for dry,  parching fevers; the tea,
acidulated with lemon juice  or cream of tar-
tar,  should always form a variety, at least,
in the diluting drinks, in all feverish com-
plaints.

               Blood Root.

   This is a very valuable simple. It grows
wild in the woods  in New  England.  The
juice of the fresh root resembles blood in
the colour;  the roots themselves  look very 
259
 much like small red  beets;  I have  never
 seen any larger than a man's finger. It is a
 very strong, pungent bitter.  Rectified spirits
 extracts all its virtues, and a tincture  of it
 is frequently  used in domestic   practice
 for the  jaundice, weakness of the  stomach,
 and many other complaints.  It is a powerful
 styptic,  peculiarly  excellent  for  bleeding
 at the lungs, or stomach.  It is  also ascer-
 tained to be of great service to  children who
 are subject to biles, and other purulent hu-
 mours ; for this purpose,  the  roots are cut
 in thin slices and  toasted in  the manner
 coffee is done; when perfectly brown, it must
 be put  into a bottle, and  equal quantities of
 rectified spirit and water added to it; after it
 has infused several  days,  a teaspoonful in
 a little water may be given a child of one or
 two years twice a day, until it has  the  desi-
 red effect; and if the child is older,  the quan-
tity may be   increased to a table spoonful
for a dose.   When fresh, the root is both
emetic  and cathartic ; toasting deprives it
of those qualities in a great degree.  I think
it merits the attention of  gentlemen of the
 faculty. 
260
                 Burdock.

   This is a well known plant, but its medi-
cinal virtues are not  duly estimated.   It is
said to be excellent  in removing every ob-
struction.   A  table spoonful of the  seed,
bruised and taken in a little  water, or  any
other menstrua,  will often afford great relief
in the  ague in the face.   I have repeatedly
had occasion in  the foregoing pages to re-
commend the leaves, as  drafts  in all febrile
affections, which I now beg leave to  enforce.
Many people dry the leaves,  and preserve
them for this purpose, and,  when  wanted,
boil them in vinegar and water, and  apply
them  warm to  the  feet; there should be
barely liquor enough to moisten the leaves.


          Carua or Caraway Seeds,

   These seeds are so well known, and uni-
versally admired, for culinary  purposes,  I
shall only observe that the essential oil, and
simple  distilled  water, are the best cordial
and carminative medicines I have ever used
for infants. 
261
                 Elder.

  There are several species of this plant.
That  which puts forth large umbelliferous
bunches  of  white flowers in June, followed
in August and September, by black berries,
growing  in  the  same form,  and generally
known by the name of sweet elder,  is the
sort in most esteem for medicinal uses.  The
young buds and shoots are said  to be  so
powerfully  purgative as  to  be unsafe; the
inner green  bark i.^> gently laxative, and ex-
cellent in ointments for all kinds of hot, pain-
ful eruptions.  It is made  by simmering the
green bark in oil or lard, until they become of
a green colour.   An infusion of the flowers
is an excellent  purgative for  very young
infants, and is said to effectually cure the St.
Anthony's Fire,  or Eresipelas, if drank very
freely for some time.  The berries may be
dried, and in that form kept  for use ; a table
spoonful of them steeped in a gill of water,
until half evaporated, and sweetened with ho-
ney, or syrup of roses, or even coarse sugar,
will prove powerfully cathartic for infants and 
262
young children. The expressed juice formed
into a syrup, with an equal quantity of honey,
or treacle, will keep many months, and is ex-
cellent for children who are affected with cu-
taneous eruptions.  It must be given in doses
of from one to two table spoonsful  every
morning, for several days, to have the desired
effect in those cases; but as a laxative in cases
of constipation, a table spoonful to an infant,
from four months to  a  year  will  produce
the  end required.  To  an older child the
dose must be increased.


               Elecampane.

   This is a  large downy plant,  growing
 wild in all our woods  and fields.   It is said
 to expel  poison,  by   causing  perspiration.
 The root when dry has  an agreeable smell,
 its taste is glutinous  and somewhat  of an
 aromatic bitter;  when  nicely  candied  it
 forms an elegant confection, highly recom-
 mended for humoral coughs and asthmas, as
 a stomachic,  and for strengthening the sys-
tem in general.   Children, who are subject
    1 
263
to coughs, may receive great benefit from it
in this form, and they are usually fond of it.


          Sweet,  or Slippery Elm.

  This is  a forest tree,  very common in
America.   The inner bark  is in  great re-
pute in cutaneous eruptions, and is taken in
decoction,  and spirituous  infusion.   In the
Edinburgh Dispensatory  we find this short
notice:   " This bark  has  a mild astringent
taste;  a decoction formed  from it, by boiling
an  ounce in a  pound of water, to the con-
sumption of one half, has been highly re-
commended by  some,  particularly  by Dr.
 Letsome, in obstinate cutaneous disorders."
 A  cataplasm formed by boiling this bark,
 previously bruised, in  milk and water until
 it becomes  perfectly soft  and mucilaginous,
 is  one  of  the best applications for  a  bile
 or painful tumour I ever tried in my family.
 It is extremely easy and  grateful. 
264
              Sweet Fennel.

   It  is an old ad ige that  " he who sows
fennel, sows sorrow." How this poor  plant
 came to be loaded with such a stigma it would
 be difficult to say;  however, when we reflect
 that whether we sow fennel  or not, sorrow
 will spring up in all our paths, it is needless
 to  banish  this  very excellent herb, lest  it
 should come accompanied by its meagre
 companion;  therefore, let  us cultivate  it for
 its known virtues, which  are many.  It  is
 said  the  seeds are good in  the small-pox,
 measles, malignant fevers,  heaviness, head-
 achs, indigestion, flatulent  colics, and many
 other  complaints,  from  whence  it might
 seem that " he who sows fennel might banish
 sorrow."   The dose of the  seeds  is  from
 half a drachm to a drachm;  of the essential
 oil from two to twenty drops, on sugar. 
266
               Fever Bush.

  This is a beautiful, fragrant shrub, grow-
ing wild in many parts  of America, and in
high repute  among the inhabitants as a fe-
brifuge, from whence its name.   The whole
plant is highly aromatic; the bark chewed a
short time has much the taste  of  lemon peel,
though less pungent.   A tea  made from any
part of the bush is both aromatic and  mu-
cilaginous, and is  found very efficacious in
dysenteries.    It will probably  one day or
other attract the  attention  of  the medical
societies in this country, or has already done
so.
             Sweet Flagroot.

  This is an elegant aromatic, and is found
in abundance in low marshy grounds.  It is
a powerful carminative for infants, and is
said to prove stimulating to people of all ages,
occasioning agreeable sensations in the mind.
                    z 
                   266

The candied  root is sufficiently agreeable,
and highly esteemed as an antiseptic,  and
used to prevent  contagion  when epidemic
diseases are prevalent.


               Gold Thread.

   This is a small vine  which runs on  the
 ground  in moist woody lands  in America.
 The root, which is the  part used for me-
 dicinal  purposes,  spreads itself  just  be-
 low the  surface of the earth, from whence
 it is easily  drawn by  handsful,  and resem-
 bles  a large entangled skein of thread of a
 bright gold  colour, from whence it derives
 its name.   It  is  a fine astringent  bitter.
 The  Indians  use  it for  canktr  in  the
 mouth, and our physicians find it an  excel-
 lent  remedy in gargarisms for that com-
 plaint.


                 HouseLeek.

   This  is a  singular plant, which loves to
 cling  to  old stumps and hedges; it  looks, 
267
while growing, like a cluster of green balls,
but upon nearer inspection, they assume the
form of roses;  the leaves are thick, and  ap-
pear full of a mucilaginous juice ; simmered
in fresh  butter, oil, or lard, it makes an ex-
cellent ointment for burns, or any cutaneous
eruptions.   There is another species also,
called air plant, which is very beautiful, and
has nearly  the same virtues.


                 Hyssop.

   This  is an invaluable herb among chil-
dren, especially those who are liable to have
lung  complaints.   In inflammatory fevers,
it has not its superiour.   A very strong de-
coction of it, sweetened with honey, and a
small piece  of  spermaceti dissolved  in it,
taken in  doses of a table spoonful several
times a  day, repeatedly cured one of  my
children  who was  very subject to inflamma-
tion on the lungs, and has finally conquered
the disease. 
268
            Catmint or Catnip.

  This is an  excellent herb  for infants.
The distilled water and essential oil, are pow-
erful  in their bowel complaints.   It is said
to partake of the virtues of mint and penny-
royal.   It grows in great abundance in fields
and hedges, and is too well known to need
a particular description.   I have  distilled it
in the flower,  and  found it  yield a  small
quantity of very pungent essential oil, which
cooled in white flakes, but readily dissolved
in rectified spirit.   I  also distilled it when
the seeds were just formed, and obtained a
very clear essential oil of a dark green colour,
resembling the other in smell and flavour.

                Spearmint.

  This plant is one  of  the  most powerful
vermifuges we have in our vegetable  king-
dom, and is found in all our  highways.  It
yields a large quantity  of very limpid essen-
tial oil, which  dropped on sugar in doses of
from  one to six  drops,  and  given  to chil- 
269
 dren who  are subject to  worms,  every
 morning for a length of time, will frequent-
 ly expel numbers of those vermin, and re-
 move many disagreeable  symptoms occa-
 sioned  by  them.  The distilled water is
 highly stomachic ; the leaves, when fresh or
 dry,  drank as a tea,  is not less efficacious,
 though not quite so convenient.  " Their
 virtues are  those of a warm stomachic and
 carminative.  In loss of appetite, nausea,
 continual retchings to vomit, and, as Boer-
 haave expresses it, in almost paralytic weak-
 nesses of the stomach, few simples are per-
 haps of equal efficacy.
                Edinburgh Dispensatory.


                 Tansy.

   This herb is a warm deobstruent bitter,
 and  an  excellent  vermifuge for  children.
 The essential oil or essence, may be given
 in the same manner as the last-mentioned
plants.
z* 
270
               Peppermint.

  The essence procured from  this plant,
has long maintained a conspicuous place in
public opinion ; but although more agreea-
ble, it is, perhaps, inferior in some respects to
the spearmint.  It is, however, an excellent
medicine in many cases, especially faintness
and loss of appetite.  It grows in abundance
in almost every garden, but is not a native
of our soil.


               Pennyroyal.

   Is a native, and one of our choicest plants.
" Pennyroyal is  a warm pungent  herb, of
the  aromatic kind,  similar to  mint,  but
more acrid and less agreeable.   It has long
been held in  great esteem, as an  aperient
and deobstruent,  particularly   in  hysteric
complaints; for this  purpose,  the distilled
 water is generally used,  or  an infusion of
the leaves.
                 Edinburgh Dispensatory. 
271
                Sassafras.

  This  is an American  tree of the laurel
kind.  The bark of the root, ai d indeed of
the whole tree, is  very aromatic, not unlike
mace in its taste,  and was used in  the  late
American  war as  spice, by many  highly
patriotic people.   " As  to  the  virtues of
sassafras, it is a warm aperient and corrobo-
rant, and  frequently employed with good
success, for  purifying the  blood  and  jui-
ces ; for these purposes an infusion made
from the raspsed root or bark,  may  be used
as tea.   Sassafras  yields an extremely fra-
grant essential oil, of a penetrating  pungent
taste,  so  ponderous,  notwithstanding the
lightness of  the  drug  itself, as to sink in
water."
                  Edinburgh Dispensatory.


                  Sumach.

   The  wood of this tree, which grows wild
 in every part of the United States,  is a very
beautiful bright yellow, and has been made 
272
 into snuff boxes and other toys, and sent to
 Europe by way of curiosity.  The  leaves,
 berries,  and seeds, have an acid, astringent
 taste, and are very efficacious, in gargles, for
 the canker, and inflammations of the tonsils.
 The bark of the root bruised and boiled in
 miik and water, and a little indian meal stir-
 red into it, while  cooling,  makes an excel-
 lent application for  burns, and is  said to
 prevent an eschar.

      Thorough Wort or Stanch Blood.

   The names of this herb are  highly indi-
 cative of its qualities.   It  is an umbellife-
 rous plant, and is remarkable for the stock
 appearing to grow through the leaves.   I
 don't find it in the Edinburgh Dispensatory,
 and am not  scientific  enough  to  give  a
 technical account  of  its properties.   How-
 ever, it  grows wild in most parts of New
 England, and is in great esteem among  the
 inh.ibitants, as an emetic and cathartic.   It
frequendy  gives  relief in  bilious  colics,
when all other medicines are ejected, or  fail
of the desired effect.  It has a bitter, astrin- 
273
gent taste,  and is a well known styptic.  It
will  stop the bleeding of fresh wounds, for
which purpose  the leaves  may be applied
green, or powdered on when dry.  But its
superior excellence lies in its efficacy in
curing  internal haemorrhages.  Drinking a
pint of tea made from this plant, every night,
for twelve months, cured  my  father of a
dangerous bleeding at the  stomach,  which
had baffled the physician's skill,  for  seven
years, and  he appeared fast sinking  to  his
grave.   After this,  he lived many years in
perfect health.

             Strawberry Bush.

   The well known, and delicious fruit,  the
product of this bush or plant, it may  seem,
renders it so  well known as  not to require
any further description; but although as  a
dessert it is known, its  medicinal virtues
are not so well understood.  Many, per-
haps, are to be told, that the plant  taken
 in infusion as a tea, is excellent for the jaun-
 dice; that the leaves bruised and applied to
 afresh wound, will stop bleeding, and what 
274
will be more  interesting to the  ladies, the
fruit is said to dissolve tartareous  incrusta-
tions of the teeth.  Surely so elegant a denti-
frice cannot easily be formed by art. The
fruit is also said to be  peculiarly efficacious
in curing long and obstinate diarrhoeas, and
an excellent remedy for the scurvy.


                   Violets.

 ** (Io triumph!) now, now the Spring comes on,
 " In solemn state and high procession,
 " Whilst I, the beauteous Violet, before him go,
 " And usher in the gaudy show.
   " As it becomes the child of such a  sire,
 " I'm  wrapt in purple; the first born of~ Spring,
 " The marks of my legitimation  bring,
   " And all the tokens of his verdant empire wear.
 " Clad like a princely babe, and born in state,
 " I all your regal titles hate,
 " Nor priding in my blood, and mighty birth,
 " Unnatural plant, despise thelap of Mother Earth."
                                    COVTLEY.

   In April, these lovely little flowers adorn
 our fields  in  great abundance; perfuming
 the air, as if commissioned by a  Bountiful
 Parent  to regale and delight  his vast fami- 
275
ly, after the tedious lapse of ungenial winter,
and seem designed by  nature for a  medi-
cine for her infant offspring,  at this season,
when the blood requires something laxative
and aperient,  for which purpose there is no-
thing supericy* to a syrup of violets. It is thus
prepared:   <f-Take  of fresh violets,  one
pound; boiling water,  two quarts;  double
refined sugar,  seven pounds and  a  half;
macerate the  flowers in the  water  twenty-
four hours, in a glass, or glazed earthen ves-
sel; then strain, and to the strained liquor,
add the sugar powdered,  and make into  a
syrup ; a table spoonful or two proves gen-
tly laxative to children."
                Edinburgh Dispensatory. 
276
CHAPTER VII.
CONCLUSION.
" But trust me, when you have done all this,
" Much will be missing still, and much will
  " be amiss."
                          Milton's Odes.

  I HAVE thus, to the best of my abilities,
fulfilled my  promise, and endeavoured to
enable my fair readers to nurse their love-
ly offspring from  the  birth until  two years
old,  or  till they arrive at an age  requiring
eomparatively less attention.   And  if my
plan is adopted,  I flatter myself,  they  will
acquire such a stock of health and strength
by  that time, as  with only common  care
through the remainder of the"n  childhood,
will ensure their exemption from the  vari-
ous complaints, arising from debility, weak-
ness of body, and relaxation of the nervous
system,   such   as convulsions,  epilepsies, 
277
fevers,  consumptions,  king's evil, rickets,
and many others, too numerous to mention ;
and which, for want of proper attention to their
first complaints, and sufficient exercise in the
open  air, too frequently afflict them through
a long life, or sink them to an  early grave.
Therefore,  let me  once  more entreat for
my young friends who have arrived at an
age  when  nature prompts  them  to  seek
health and happiness  in  sportive  gambols
suited to their age, that they may not be con-
fined to the house, to their infinite vexation,
and  the imminent danger of undoing all you
have  hitherto done.  Surely it is wrong  to
immure boys,  from a desire to see  them
look  fair and delicate,  whose  chief attrac-
tion,  both now and in after life, must con-
sist in  their  courage, strength  and activity.
To  say nothing  of our  duty,  as citizens,
while forming the future  guardians of our
beloved  country, it   is   undoubtedly our
duty, as  mothers, to bring up our sons  in
such a manner as shall  render them most
useful and happy  ; and one of  the most ef-
fectual steps towards this desirable end, is to
let them have the free use  of their  limb-
                    a  a 
                   278

during this active period of their lives, and
restricting them to the most simple and nu-
tritious diet—

        ----" By arts like these,
 " Laconia nursed of old her hardy sons,
 " And Rome's unconquer'd legions urged their way,
 " Unhurt, through every toil, in every clime."
                               Armstrong.

 And  even   our  lovely  and   interesting
 daughters will be  more lovely and more
 interesting, if  adorned  with  the  roses of
 health,  entwined with the lilies  of inno-
 cence and  delicacy.  And  this is the time
 to  strengthen their constitutions,  and give
 grace and activity to  their limbs,  by  fre-
 quent  unrestrained  exercise  in  the  open
 air.  Now,  before female vanity  begins  to
 operate, and teaches them to shun the light
 kisses   of  the  passing zephyr,  lest they
 should leave the unseemly  traces of  the
 rude salute  on the damask cheek  or  l'dy
 neck:  now,  while the  infant heart, elate
 with joy and unconscious of remark, bounds
 with   delight  at every change of  scene,
 eagerly springing from object to object, ever
 seeking and  ever finding new and innocent 
279
enjoyments, while  indulgent Nature seems
to say—

 " For thee my borders nurse the fragrant wreath,
 " My fountains murmur and my zephyrs breathe ;
 " Slow slides the painted snail—the gilded fly
 " Smooths his fine down to charm thy curious eye;
 " On twinkling fins my pearly nations play,
 "Or win with sinuous train their trackless way;
 " My plumy pairs in gay embroidery drest,
 " Form with ingenious bill the  pensile nest,
 w To love's soft notes  attune the listening dell,
 " And Echo sounds her soft symphonious shell."

   And surely parents ought to coincide with
their benign Creator, and permit them to en-
joy  for a  few years the various delights he
has  prepared for them, and  which appear
almost necessary to  their  existence.  The
time will soon arrive when they must be con-
fined to different studies and occupations, and
then they  will infallibly sicken  and  decay,
unless the mind and body have both been duly
invigorated, the one  by early precept  and
admonition, the other by abundant exercise
 in  sports and  amusements such as allwise
 Nature excites them to delight in.
   The complexions  of your daughters may 
280
be as well guarded as  you please from the
rude effects of the elements:   this dime, let
them run and enjoy  themselves in fijtll liber-
ty,  for  a few hours every day, being pro-
perly attended by some faithful domestic, and
they  will inhale health  and  beauty from
every breeze.
  And as for your sons,  let me entreat you
to reflect^ upon what  manner of  men you
will wish to see them in after life, and as you de-
termine, so regulate your conduct  now.  Do
you wish to see them effeminate and pusillani-
mous, then be it y ouswSire'to guard their com-
plexions,  to instil  into their tender minds the
love  of  dress and show, to lead their attention
to the best drest  guest,  and  most splendid
equipage—teach them  to believe true excel-
lence consists in sporting with superior grace
the lily hand and diamond ring—

 " Betwixt the finger and the thumb to hold
 " The pouncet box"—

The   poison  will  quickly  pervade  the
whole soul of your children,  and they  will
grow up the things you wish them.  But
if, on the other  hand, you wish to rear the 
281
hero and the sage, teach them betimes to set
no more than their just value on the trappings
of fashion, the mere escutcheons to adorn, and
set off to advantage the nobler part, altogether
beneath the anxious notice of an immortal
being, born to high honours, and capable of
vast attainments.  Teach them to exclaim
with the gallant Hotspur—

 " By Heaven!  methinks it were an easy leap
 " To pluck bright honour from the pale faced moon,
 " Or dive into the bottom of the deep,
 " Where fathom line could never touch  the ground,
 " And pluck up drowned honour by the  locks !
 " So he that doth redeem her thence, might wear
 " Without corival all her dignities."
                                Shak.spea.re.

At the  same  time that you insensibly instil
into their youthful minds such just  ideas of
right and wrong as shall " grow with their
growth, and strengthen with their strength,"
enabling them through life to distinguish
between that  well earned honour which is at
once the basis and reward  of  true courage
and real merit, and that  air  bubble  which
owes its existence to the breath of the mul-
titude, and which a rude puff may elevate on 
282
high or sink into insignificance, and  from
that barbarous, bloodthirsty sentiment which
aims the deadly weapon at the loved bosom
of a darling, perhaps an only  friend.
  But I am wandering bevond mv bounds.
Pardon, gentle reader, my zeal  on this im-
portant subject, and impute it to  the real and
sole  cause, a desire to promote  the best in-
terests of  your lovely and beloved children.
   I must now take my leave with the sincere
hope that this little volume may  answer the
end for which it is presented to the public, and
assist the young and inexperienced mother in
the discharge of duties on the due fulfilment
of which depend the future beauty, health and
happiness   of  the  rising generation, and
eventually, the welfare of the community at
 large.
   It will be observed as respects the medical
 part  of this work, I have  confined  myself
 chiefly to  those disorders  which  few chil-
 dren escape, and every mother may be called
 upon to  nurse  and  prescribe  for; and n I
 hive  in any  material degree deviated from
 the most approved methods of treatment, I
 must beg the gentlemen of the faculty, if any 
                  283

such should honour my book with a perusal,
to believe me open to conviction, and erring
through ignorance or inexperience, not from
vanity or empiricism. 
284
                  NOTES.


              Note {\), p. 175.

 (doses of  medicine  adjusted to the age.)

  Every one  know* that the doses  of medicine
should be adapted to different ages; but these are
not in mere arithmetical or geometrical proportions,
and their due relation is only to  be ascertained  by
experience,  and  a reference to all the varieties of
constitution  and habits.
  From the result  of daily observation, one may
say, for example, to a child of seven years old, nearly
half the dose  suitable  for adults ; to one of three
years, the fourth part; of one year, the  sixth part;
and the eighth  or tenth part to an infant in the month.
  An adult  person may take from fifteen to thirty
grains of the testaceous powders, and double that
quantity of magnesia, to be  repeated two or three
timesa day; from fifteen to thirty grains of ipecacuan-
ha, and from one to two of emetic tartar, as a vomit.
   From  one  to  two ounces of  salts or  of manna,
and  from  ten to thirty grains  of jalap, and from
four to ten of calomel, as a purge.   From ten  to
thirty drops  of laudanum; the  like  number  of
 grains of the  extract of the white poppy, and from
half an  ounce  to  two ounces  of its syrup as  an
 anodyne : from  this twofold direction, parents  may
 perhaps attain  to  a  more accurate  estimation of 
285
   the d ose proper for their children, by the means of
   the experience they may have had of the particular
   quantity  of any  of the above  medicines usually
   found sufTf,i<nt for »hemr< ves  whereinsoever that
   happens to Vary from the dose here stated as pro-
   pc r for aduUs
                                     Underwood.

                 Note (2), p. 180.
                 Paregoric Elixir.
   Take of acid, or flowers of benzoin,  ?  «  .   ,__
           ,  ~     r    .           ?■  3 drachms.
        and saffron, of each          3
   Opium,                            2 drachms.
   Distilled Oil of Anise Seed,          1-2 a drachm.
   Spirit of Ammonia, oi Rectified Spirit, 2 pints.
   Digest four days in a close vessel, then strain.
                          Edinburgh Dix/iensatory.

               elixir proprietatis.
   Take of Myrrh in Powder,         2 ounces.
   Soccatrine Aloes,                  1 1-2 ounce.
   Saffron,                           1 ounce.
   Rectified Spirit of Wine, Proof ?   ]  Dound
    Spirit, of each,              $
    Digest the  Myrrh with the  Spirits  four days,
then  add  the  aloes in   powder, and  the saffron,
continue  the digestion two days longer.  Suffer the
fjeces to subside,  and pour off the  clear elixir.
                         Edinburgh Dispensatory.
    This  elixir I  have  found very  efficacious for
 children afflicted with worms.   Dose, ten or fifteen 
286
 MEOICINES RECOMMENDED IX THE DYSENTERY*

               Note (5),/>. 184.
            OIL OF CASTOR  EMULSION.
  Take Oil of Castor,                    2 ounces.
  Yolk of  Egg, or Mucilage of Gum"l
    Arabic, sufficient to make it mix uni- > 10 ounces.
    formly with Decoction of Barley,    J
  Syrup of Roses,                      I  ounce.
  Mix.  Dose. Four table spoonsful every second or
third hour until the desired effect is obtained.

               Note (4), p. 184.
           CRYSTALS OF TARTAR WHEY.
  Take Crystals of Tartar,           1-2 an ounce.
  Dissolve them in Milk,           1-2 a pint.
  And add. Manna,                  2 ounces.
             INFUSION  OF TAMARINDS.
  Take Tamarinds,                   1 ounce.
  Boil them in Milk Whey,           8 cunces.
  Then add Manna,                   2 ounces.
  Of each of these a  teacupful  or  more  may be
  taken occasionally.
           ANTISEPTIC  PURGING  APOZEM.
  Take Tamarinds,               1-2 an ounce,
    boil them in water, from nine
    to seven ounces, then strain
  Dissolve Manna,                2  ounces.
  Tartarized Kali,                1-2 an ounce.
  Mix. 
287
        ANTISEPTIC  APERIENT DRAUGHT.
 Take Tartarized Kali,           40 grains,
 Manna picked,                  1-2 a drachm.
 Lemon Juice,                   2 drachms.
 Distilled Water,                1-2 an ounce.
  Mix.' Any of these may be taken in proper dose?,
and repeated agreeable to the effect  wanted to be
produced.
                                       Wallis.

             sedative fomentation.
 Take the Heads of  the.White?   4 ^ numbep<
     Poppy bruised,           5
 Let these be boiled in forty
    ounces of Water to twenty;
    then add,
 Vinegar,                       3 ounces.
 Fixed Ammoniacal  Salt,           5  drac! ms.
 Mix.

              NAUSEATING POWDER.
 Take Ipecacuanha Powder,           1 grain.
 Nitre, or Aromatic Powder,          10 grains.
 To  be taken every  third hour.
          DECOCTION  OF SEMIRAUBA.
Take of Semirauba Bark,            2 drachms
                          20 ounces, boiled to
 Distilled  Water,               l6 0llnccs.
 Dose. Four spoonsful. 
288
MEDIClXhS RECOMMENDED  FOR THE MEASLES
See p.  205.
COOLING  SALINE PURGE.
 Take Milk of Almonds, or
   Decoction of Barley,
 In which dissolve Vitriolated
     Natron,
 Or Tartarized Natron,
 Or Vitriolated Kali,
 Manna,
 Dose. Four table spoonsful every third hour until
the desired effect is produced.
10 ounces.

I  1-2 ounce.
1  ounce.
1-2 an ounce.
1  ounce.
             PURGING DRAUGHT.

Take infusion of Senna,          2 ounces.
Manna and Tincture of Senna, each, 1-2 an  ounce.
Rhubarb in Powder,              8 or 10 gmins
Compound Spirit of Lavender,     2 drachms.
Mix.
Take Rhubarb,     } .      d     25 grains
Jalap              5             6 gral»s-
Cinnamon Water,
Syrup of Orange Peel,
  grain
1 ounce.
1 drachm.
Mix.
OR
Take Rhubarb  in Powder,
30 grains,
Mucilage of Gum  Arabic, sufficient to form it  into 
289
pills, or syrup may be added to make it into a bolus.
Any of these forms  nv.iy  be taken in  the morning
early, and when they begin to operate, worked off
with weak broth or thin gruel.
                OILY EMULSION.
Take Oil of Sweet Almonds,      1 ounce.
Gum Arabic,                     2 drachms.
Fine Sugar,                      1-2 an ounce.
Mix these well together, then  ~|
  gradually add decoction of  >   8 ounces.
  barley,                     J
Dose.  Three or four spoonsful often in the day.
                  OILY LINCTUS.
 Take Oil of Sweet Almonds,      1 ource.
 Gum Arabic,                    3 drachms.
 Syiup of Marshmallows,          1 1-2 ounce.
 Mix these well  together.  Dose.  Two  or  three
spoonsful  often in the day ; or it may be acidulated
with a few drops of diluted vitriolic acid; or an ounce
of syrup of lemon may  oe  added.


     MEDICINES FOR THE HOOPING COUGH.
                  See p.  219.
               EMETIC MIXTURE.
 Take Tartarized Antimony,       6 grains.
 Distilled Water,                  6 ounces.
 Syrup nf Saffron.  --       i  „. i'  j-2 an ounce.
               *-   Bb   ~    « 
290
 Mix.  Dose.  Two table spoonsful repeated every
half hour until the desired effect is produced.
             ANTIMONIAL MIXTURE.
 Take Tartarized Antimony,       3 grains.
 Rose Water,                    6 ounces.
 Syrup of Sugar,                  3 ounces.
 Mix.   Dose.  One or two spoonsful every six or
eight hours.
           SALINE ANODYNE  DRAUGHT.
 Take Kali prepared,              10 grains.
 Lemon Juice,                    2  drachms
 Distilled Water,                  1  ounce.
 Tincture of Opium,              15 drops.
 Syrup of White Poppy Heads,     2 drachms.
 Mix. Dose as above.

  The above  medicines are all  taken from  Dr.
WaUis's Treatise on the "Art of Preserving and Re-
storing Health," and are therefore presumed to be cor-
rect; but it must be remembered by my readers that
the doses are all calculated for adults, and must be
proportioned according to the ages of the children
to whom they are given.  I shall now offer  a recipe
i-iven me by a very skilful physician, who assured
me of its efficacy, but as I have not tried it, having
never seen  a case of  the hooping cough since it
r«.ms into my  possession, I cannot recommend it 
291
from experience; I have, however, great faith in the
skill, and reliance upon the honour, of the gentleman
who recommended the medicine, and, in  the hope
that it may piove beneficial, in  some instances at
least, I give it a rjlace here.


         Cure for the Hooping Cough.
  Dissolve a scruple of salt of tartar in a quarter of
a pint  of water, add to it ten  grains  of  cochi-
neal finely powdered, sweeten this with fine  sugar,
and give an infant a  tea-spoonful four times  a day.
To a child of two or  three years old two tea-spoons-
ful, from four years and  upwards a table spoonful
or  more may be taken.   The relief is immediate,
and the cure in general within five or six days.
FINIS. 
 
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