Friday, 22 September 2006
Find Me An Ash Tree!
If you liked my last post, I hope you enjoy hearing about some 'traditional' Devonian cures for various illnesses. And if anyone knows of the location of an ash tree, let me know, please!
Toothache
There were three 'cures' or 'charms' listed in the book (mentioned in my last post, link above) for this ailment. Two of which I am not testing the effectiveness of, no matter what!
If you were suffering from toothache in the Victorian times and living in Devon, one idea was to mix two quarts of rat's broth, an ounce of camphor and one ounce of cloves together, and use the mixture as mouth wash. It sounds rather horrible! I think I'd rather prevention, although I'm most definitely not trying the next suggestion...
To prevent toothache, it was advised to put an old tooth in your pocket and keep it with you at all times. Not any old tooth, however... the tooth had to belong to a dead person - even better if it was BITTEN from a skull found in a churchyard! Eep!!!
So, instead, what I'm going to do to prevent toothache is this last prevention 'charm' - I shall cut my toe and finger nails and wrap the bits in tissue paper. This I will then stick in a slit in the bark of an ash tree before sunrise (if I can get out of bed early enough, that is). This 'should' ensure no toothache ever again! ;)
Fits
Again, one 'cure' is positively loathsome, but the other sounds fun. ;)
The first - which I'm not trying if I ever suffer from fits - is to make a ring from three nails or screws that were taken from a coffin buried in a churchyard. I firmly believe that the living should leave the dead to rest in peace, so, please, don't try this one! The second is far more fun!
If a woman should suffer from fits, this cures requires nothing to be taken from a graveyard, but instead involves receiving money from men. You may need to change the amounts of money given, however, as Victorian coins are mentioned here.
Go to church with thirty young men. After the service, sit in the church porch. As each man leaves, he must drop a penny in your lap. The last man then takes these coins and gives you a half crown (equivalent to 30p, at least in those days). You must then take this coin and walk three times around the communion table. Now, if you make the coin into a ring and wear it, you are said to be cured. And if not, at least you had more fun than if you were to attempt the first 'cure', and you would also have gained a nice piece of jewellery, too!
Corns
I'd be too squeamish to try this - I also object to the animal cruelty involved. But, as a 'cure' for corns, apparently Victorian Devonians would crush a slug, place it on the smooth side of an ivy leaf and place it on the corn!
Nosebleeds
Again, I am against such cruel treatment to animals, and the idea of actually doing this creeps me out! Thank goodness I don't suffer from nosebleeds (or live in Victorian times).
Put "one or two" old toads on a baking dish in a cold oven. Turn up the heat gradually until the toads are a "brown crisp mass". Take them out and make them into a powder with a stone mortar. Use this powder as snuff!
A Wen on the Neck
I didn't know what a "wen" was, but have looked it up and it is "a benign encysted tumor of the skin" - I'm very glad I don't have one of these! However, if you do, this is one suggested 'cure' that I certainly don't recommend, so don't blame me if you try it and get caught!
Rub your neck three times each way on each side of a newly dug grave! Or, more sensibly, go to your doctor for some more effective treatment. :P
That's all that I'll mention, I think. It's making me feel sick! Don't you feel glad you don't live in Victorian times? Just the idea of some of these 'cures' makes me shudder. Ugh! How did they come up with these ideas? And how many people actually tried them? And did they ever (seem to) work?
Finally, I'd just like to make it clear that I'm joking about needing an ash tree. I'm not a superstitious person - in fact I'm perversely the opposite. I often make a point of walking under ladders when I see one. And I once tried to break a mirror on Friday 13th (it was a small cosmetic one I owned, and it barely even chipped at the edge). That was a good day...:)
Although... more due to curiosity than superstitious belief, of course, I have tried a Roman cure for chilblains, which is rubbing my feet in the snow (when there is any). And it works.
Sometimes. ;P
