The curiosities of common water: or the advantages thereof in preventing and curing many distempers. Gather'd from the writings of several eminent physicians, and also from more than forty years experience. By John Smith, C.M. To which are added, some rules for preserving health by diet.

THE CURIOSITIES OF Common Water.

FOR the Benefit of Mankind in general, I have taken pains to give the World an Account of what I have found written in the Works of the moſt eminent Phyſicians concerning the Good that Mankind may receive from the Uſe of Common Water, and of the Informations I have had concerning the Benefits thereof from others by word of mouth; and of what I have diſcover'd by my own Experience from frequent Tryals during a time that hath intervened from that of thirty to ſeventy four Years of Age: which is ſufficient to confirm the ſtupendous Effects thereof in many Particulars, that ſhall be mentioned as my own Diſcovery with reſpect to this excellent Remedy, which will perform Cures with very little Trouble, and without any Charge, and is alſo to be had wherever there are any Habitations, which is what can hardly be ſaid of any other thing: ſo that in ſome ſenſe, Water may truly be ſtiled An Univerſal Remedy, ſince the Diſeaſes it either prevents or cures may have this Remedy applied to all Perſons, and in all Places where Men do inhabit.

The firſt Commendation of Common Water that I ſhall mention, is that which is written concerning it by Dr. Manwaring, in his Method and Means of enjoying Health; wherein he ſaith, that Water is a wholeſome Drink, or rather the moſt wholeſome—being appointed for Man in his beſt State: which doth ſtrongly argue that Drink to be the moſt ſuitable for human Nature—anſwering all the Intentions of common Drinks, for it cools, moiſtens and quencheth Thirſt; 'tis clear, thin, and fit to convey the Nouriſhment through the ſmalleſt Veſſels of the Body—and is a Drink that is a Rule to itſelf, and requires little Caution in the Uſe of it, ſince none will be tempted to drink of it more than needs: And that in the Primitive Ages of the World, Water-Drinkers, he ſays, were the longeſt Livers by ſome Hundreds of Years— nor ſo often ſick and complaining, as we are.

Dr. Keill, when he treats concerning the Stomach, in his Abridgment of the Anatomy of Human Bodies, ſaith, that Water ſeems the fitteſt to promote Digeſtion of the Food which we eat; all ſpirituous Liquors having a Property by which they hurt, rather than help Digeſtion; the ſad Effects of which they are ſenſible of, he ſaith, who by a long uſe thereof have loſt their Appetite, hardly ever to be reſtored without drinking Water, which ſeldom faileth of procuring a good Appetite and a ſtrong Digeſtion.

Dr. Prat, in his Treatiſe of Mineral Water, ſhews it to be his Judgment, that if People would accuſtom themſelves to drink Water, they would be more free from many Diſeaſes; ſuch as Tremblings, Palſies, Apoplexies, Giddineſs, Pains in the Head, Gout, Stone, Dropſy, Rheumatiſm, Piles, and ſuch like: Which Diſeaſes are moſt common among them that drink ſtrong Drinks, and which Water generally would prevent. Moreover, he alſo ſaith, that Water plentifully drank ſtrengthens the Stomach, cauſeth an Appetite, preſerves the Sight, maketh the Senſes lively, and cleanſeth all the Paſſages of the Body, eſpecially thoſe of the Kidneys and Bladder.

'Tis ſaid alſo by Dr. Duncan, in his Treatiſe of hot Liquors, that when Men contented themſelves with Water, they had more Health and Strength; and that at this day thoſe who drink nothing but Water, are more healthy, and live longer than thoſe who drink ſtrong Liquors, which raiſes the Heat of the Stomach to Exceſs, whereas Water keeps it in a due Temper. And he adds in another part of the Book, that by hot Liquors the Blood is inflamed; and ſuch whoſe Blood is inflamed, live not ſo long as thoſe who are of a cooler Temper: a hot Blood being commonly the Cauſe of Fluxes, Rheums, ill Digeſtion, Pains in the Limbs, Headach, Dimneſs of Sight, and eſpecially of Hyſteric Vapours. He alſo imputes the Cauſe of Ulcers to a hot Blood, and declares, that if Men kept their Blood cool and ſweet, by a moderate cooling Diet, they would never be troubled with Ulcers, or other Breakings out.

Sir John Floyer alſo, in the Preface to his Treatiſe of Cold Baths, does affirm, that Vapours both in Men and Women are cauſed by hot things, and that by leaving off ſtrong Liquors and a hot Diet, and by drinking Water, he had procured to himſelf a better Health, and more Hardineſs, than he had enjoyed for many Years. And in the Body of that Book he affirmeth, that drinking of Water in the Morning, cools the Blood, prevents Defluxions, and waſhes off the bilious and ſalt Recrements by Urine; and that drinking Water after Dinner, cools and ſtops the too high Fermentation of the Stomach, which is the Cauſe of breeding Wind or Belching after Meat: to the Truth of which, the Author of this Account can bear a full Teſtimony, who being for many Years afflicted with this belching up of Wind after Meat, did at length prevent the ſame, by drinking Water after eating, inſtead of other Drink, which in time did cool that Hypochondriack Heat, from whence thoſe Belchings did proceed.

Having read over an old Book written by one Sir Tho. Eliot, entitled, The Caſtle of Health, he there declared from his own Experience, that in the County of Cornwall, tho it was a very cold Quarter, the Poorer Sort, which in his time did never, or but very ſeldom drink any other Drinks but Water, were ſtrong of Body, and lived to a very great Age; to which Relation that of Sir Henry Blount is very agreeable who affirmed, in his Book of Travels into the Levant, (where under the Turkiſh Government the Uſe of Wine was forbid, and where the common Drink is Water) that he then had a better Stomach to his Food, and digeſted it more kindly than he ever did before or ſince.

And in the Treatiſe of the Vanity of Philoſophy, written by Dr. Gideon Harvey, it is affirmed by him, that it is not Heat that cauſeth a good Digeſtion, but a proper Ferment or Liquor provided by Nature, to diſſolve the Food into a Subſtance like unto Pap made with fine Flower: which Diſſolvent, he ſaith, is much depraved by hot ſpirituous Liquors, and therefore he commends Water above all other Drinks to promote Digeſtion.

Water-drinking is alſo ſaid by Dr. Allen to be good to prevent two deplorable Diſtempers, the Gout and the Hypochondriack Melancholy; for, ſays he, the Gout is generally cauſed by the too great drinking of fermented Liquors, and is never ſaid to have aſſaulted any Drinker of Water; and he ſaith alſo, that Melancholy Hypochondriack is kept off longeſt by drinking Water inſtead of ſtrong Drink. To which let me add, that I once knew a gouty Gentleman, who, to avoid his drinking Companions in London, retired to New Brentford, where I then lived; in which Town, by a very temperate Diet of one Meal a day, and drinking only Water, he lived two whole Years free from Pain: but being viſited by one who came that way, and invited to drink but one Bottle of Claret between them, he fell next day into a terrible Fit of the Gout, which held above a Month after; of which being recover'd, he by the ſame Courſe continued well till I left the Place, which was about a Year and a half after.

The good Properties of Water are further manifeſted in preventing the breeding of Gravel in the Kidneys; for Zechias, in Conſult. 17. as he is quoted by Salmon, affirms, that nothing doth ſo much abate the Heat of the Kidneys, and free them from thoſe Recrements which cauſe Pain in the Back, one great ſign of Gravel, as Water does: but he adviſeth to drink it warm, by the Uſe of which, he ſaith, the unnatural Heat in time will be ſo extinguiſhed, that no more of that Matter cauſing Gravel will be produced in the Body. Which Aſſertion, by Experience I have found to be true: for obſerving much Gravel to be voided by me, as alſo abundance of Matter floating in the Urine like Bran, with a great number of Recrements like Cuttings of Hair, ſome above an Inch long; which Subſtances were found in all the Water I made in above twelve Months; for which I could get no Remedy: I was adviſed to drink Water, which in about half a Year did entirely free me from thoſe Symptoms which ſome imputed to Witchcraft out of Ignorance; ſo that from that time to this preſent I never have been troubled with it.

Water alſo is commended as efficacious to prevent the breeding of the Stone in the Bladder, for it hath been obſerved, that in ſome who have been cut for the Stone, that new Stones have been ingender'd, ſo that ſome young Perſons have been cut ſeveral times. Now to prevent this, the drinking Water hath been adviſed with Succeſs; for by this that intemperate Heat in the Body was abated, which did occaſion the Diſtemper. Some have adviſed to drink it warm, and others cold, and in particular Van Heydon, a Phyſician of Ghent in Flanders, in his Book, entitled, Help for the Rich and Poor; which he ſaith, in p. 49. is ſufficiently inſinuated by Piſo and Alexander, who do aſſure us, that the taking a Draught of cold Water in the Morning, hath done ſo much good, that ſeveral after the voiding of a Stone never had any more Stones grow in them.

Which Experiment may give light to the Diſcovery of a way to cure the Stone without cutting; for if the growing of new Stones can be prevented by drinking Water, let it be hot or cold, it may prevent a Stone from growing bigger when begun; and if the aiding Matter to increaſe a Stone new begun, can be prevented, Nature in time may waſte that which is begun, eſpecially if ſome Drops of ſweet Spirit of Nitre be added to all the Water drank, which will powerfully help to cool, and is known to be an admirable Mover or Provoker of Urine, and will waſte a Stone, and make it crumble like Fullers Earth, if applied to a Stone taken from the Body. Or the Water may be ſweeten'd with Honey, which is now much in uſe among the Gentry, as I am informed by an ingenious Apothecary; who told me, that among them at preſent Pump-Water and Honey was in great repute to give eaſe in Gravel: and there is ſo near an Affinity between Gravel and the Stone, that what is proper for one, will be ſuitable to both, and will prevent the growing of both.

Water is alſo ſtiled in Sennertus's Works the Balſam of Children, the drinking of it by the Mother being one of thoſe things whereby Children may be ſtrengthen'd in the Womb, and will prevent thoſe Injuries that are done them by drinking ſtrong Liquors; which Sampſon's Mother was not allowed to do, for ſhe was commanded not to drink Wine or ſtrong Drink, Judg. 13.4. But I will not ſay, if all Women ſhould do this, their Children ſhall be as ſtrong as Sampſon was; yet this I will ſay, if they would do this, they would find their Children more free from Diſtemper and Frowardneſs, and ſo much more eaſy to nurſe and bring up, and be leſs liable to an immature Death; the want of which Abſtinence from ſtrong Drinks is the Cauſe why ſo many rich People find it hard to bring up Children, in compariſon to what is done by the Poor: for theſe laſt are born of Mothers, who not only are prevented from being Gluttons by their want of Dainties, which are deceitful Meat, Prov. 23.3. but they ſeldom taſte Wine or ſtrong Drink: whereas the Rich not only feed high, and ſo engender foul Blood, but they alſo drink ſtrong Drinks, which in moſt Conſtitutions do over-heat the Humours of the Body, and that Blood by which their Children are nouriſhed during their Pregnancy. Which Injury to unborn Infants would be prevented, if the Mother would be temperate in Diet, and drink Water, eſpecially at Meals, by which the Blood of the Mother would be kept cool and clean; which muſt needs communicate a healthful Subſtance to the Child within her, and prevent all thoſe Diſtempers which Infants do bring with them into the World.

And here it may be proper to add, what by divers Experiments hath been found to be true, that the drinking Water by Nurſes while they give ſuck to Children, will wonderfully increaſe Milk in thoſe that want it, as every one will find, who can be perſuaded to make uſe thereof. I have adviſed many to make uſe of it, who have found that by drinking a large Draught of Water at Bed-time, they have been ſupplied with Milk ſufficient for that Night, when before they wanted it, and could not be ſupplied by any other means: And beſides, they who have found their Children reſtleſs by reaſon of too much Heat in their Milk, do find them much more quiet after their Milk is cooled by Water-drinking.

By drinking Water alſo, the want of Food for a time may be ſuffered without ſtarving; for I have been informed by a credible Friend, who was an Officer at Sea, that being ſent down to Stafford to take care to ſee ſome Men conveyed on Ship-board, that had deen preſs'd by Act of Parliament for the Sea-Service; he found in the Priſon, where they were kept, a luſty Fellow, who had declared he would ſtarve himſelf rather than go to Sea, and taking particular notice thereof, he found upon due Enquiry, that for twenty days he had refuſed to eat any manner of Food, only he drank each day about three Pints or two Quarts of Water, hoping thereby to get himſelf diſcharged: but when he found his Pretenſions to be in vain, and that in about two days they ſhould all march for London, he condeſcended to eat ſome Food, beginning with a little, and in the March he was obſerved to travel as well as the beſt Man. I find alſo an Account in Dr. Car's Letters, of a certain crack-brain'd Man, who, at Leyden, when the Doctor reſided in that Univerſity, pretended he could faſt as long as Chriſt did; and it was found that he held out the time of forty Days without eating any Food, only he drank Water and ſmoak'd Tobacco. And I once had a ſad Complaint from a poor old Woman of the Greatneſs of her Want, affirming that oftentimes ſhe had not eaten any Food for two or three days; upon which I asked her, if ſhe did not then ſuffer much Uneaſineſs in her Stomach: ſhe ſaid ſhe did, but found a way at laſt to aſſuage her Hunger, by drinking Water, which did ſatisfy her Appetite.

Water is alſo of great uſe to ſtrengthen weak Children, for we are informed by Dr. Joſeph Browne, in his Treatiſe of Cures performed by Cold Baths, that the Welſh Women do preſerve their Children from the Rickets, by waſhing them Night and Morning in cold Water, till they are three quarters of a Year old, p. 79. And 'tis ſaid by Sir John Floyer, in his Treatiſe of Cold Baths, that a Lady in Scotland, who had loſt ſeveral Children through Weakneſs, did by the Advice of a Highland Beggar-Woman preſerve thoſe ſhe had afterwards, by waſhing them daily in cold Water. And I myſelf did adviſe a Neighbour, whoſe Child began to be ricketty, to treat the Child in the ſame manner; but ſhe, inſtead of waſhing, dipt it over head and ears every Morning, it being then in the Summertime: the Event of which was, the Child became ſtrong, and had a good Countenance, tho before it was in the Face very pale and wan. Which ſhews how great the Power of Water is, when uſed outwardly, to invigorate the Spirits, and ſtrengthen Nature.

It is alſo a known Cuſtom, to prevent the Swellings that follow Bruiſes in the Faces of Children, by immediately applying thereunto a Linnen Cloth four or ſix times double, dipt in cold Water, and new dipping it as it begins to grow warm; for the Cold repels or prevents the flowing of Humours to the Part, which otherwiſe would cauſe great Swelling, and after turn blackiſh: and if upon neglecting to do ſo, a Swelling ſhould ſucceed, it may be diſcuſſed by fomenting Night and Morning, for an hour at a time, with Water as hot as can be endured; for that will give vent to the Humours to tranſpire through the Skin, or diſſolve them, ſo as to make them capable of returning back.

Moreover, by means of Water all Sickneſs at the Stomach may be cured, which is done thus: Take four Quarts of Water, make it as hot over the Fire as you can drink it; of which Water let a Quart be taken down at ſeveral Draughts; then wrap a Rag round a ſmall Piece of a Stick, till it is about the Bigneſs of a Man's Thumb, tie it faſt with ſome Thread; and with this, by endeavouring gently to put it a little way down your Throat, provoke yourſelf to vomit up again moſt of the Water: then drink another Quart, and vomit up that, and repeat the ſame the third and fourth time. You may alſo provoke Vomiting by tickling your Throat with your Finger, or the Feather-End of a Gooſe-Quill; but the Cloth round a Skuer maketh one vomit with moſt eaſe, which is done with no Trouble when the Stomach is full. And by this way of Vomiting, which will be all performed in an hour's time, that vitious and ropy Phlegm in the Stomach, which cauſeth the Sickneſs, will be caſt up, ſo that the Party in that time will be free from all that inward Diſturbance, if you uſe the Remedy at the firſt; but if the Sickneſs hath continued for a time, it will require the ſame Courſe once or twice more, which may be done in three or four Hours, one after another, without any other Inconvenience, beſides that of being a little ſore in the Breaſt the next Day, which will ſoon go off by the Force of Nature. Which Remedy, by forty Years Experience, I look upon to be infallible in all Sickneſs at the Stomach from what Cauſe ſoever, and for all Pains in the Belly which ſeem to be above the Navel; for theſe are all in the Stomach, as by long Experience I have found: which Pains are generally counted the Cholick; but it is not ſo, for true Cholicks are always below the Navel, in the Gut, Colon. And by this means I have eaſed very great Pains cauſed by eating Muſſels that were poiſonous; and it is alſo a certain Cure for all Surfeits or Diſorders that follow after much eating; ſo that the Lives of Multitudes might be ſaved by this means, who for want of expelling what offends, do often die in Miſery: For by thus cleanſing the Stomach at the firſt, the Root of Diſeaſes proceeding from Surfeiting, unwholeſome Food, or any viſcous Humours from a bad Digeſtion, are prevented; the Stomach being the Place in which all Diſtempers do at firſt begin. No Man was more ſubject to Sickneſs than myſelf before thirty Years of Age; but ſince I found out the way of vomiting with Water, which is now above forty Years, I never have been ſick for two Days together: for when I find myſelf ill to any great degree, I betake myſelf to this way of vomiting, which in an hour's time reſtores me to Eaſe, and perfectly removes my Illneſs; and the ſame Benefit all my Family find in it, as do others alſo whom I can perſuade to try the Experiment; which is ſuch, that no Phyſician whatever can adviſe a better to the King himſelf, ſhould he fall ſick. For, in the firſt place, 'tis not a nauſeous Remedy, it does not make the Patient ſick, as the beſt of all other Vomits do; and then 'tis a Vomit which is at our own Command, ſince we can leave off when we pleaſe: and it infallibly works a Cure to all ſick Stomachs.

Some few indeed pretend they are not able to vomit by this means; now if they cannot vomit, let them take a Pint of Water when they find themſelves ill from eating, and do ſo every three or four Hours, eating no more till they are hungry; and they will find the Water digeſt and carry off what was offenſive. The ingenious Dr. Cheyne, in his Treatiſe of the Gout, doth affirm that warm Water drank freely in a Morning faſting, and at Meals, (and I ſay cold Water is as good) hath been a ſovereign Remedy for reſtoring loſt Appetites, and ſtrengthening weak Digeſtions, when other more pompous Medicines have failed. And he adviſeth Gouty Perſons, after Exceſs either in Meat or Drink, to ſwill down as much fair Water as their Stomach will bear, before they go to bed, whereby they will reap theſe Advantages, either the Contents of the Stomach will be thrown up, or both Meat and Drink will be much diluted, and the Labour and Expence of Spirits in Digeſtion much ſaved. And indeed I have found by long Experience, that nothing cauſeth ſo good a Digeſtion as fair Water; but this requires time to free us from the Uneaſineſs that an ill Digeſtion cauſeth, whereas Vomiting is an immediate Remedy, and frees a Man from it upon the ſpot.

We are told by Sir John Floyer, in his Treatiſe of Bath and Mineral Springs, that Vomiting with Water is very uſeful in the Gout, Sciatica, Wind, Shortneſs of Breath, Hypochondriack Melancholy, and Falling-Sickneſs; which Diſtempers are generally derived from evil Matter contained in the Stomach, as is likewiſe Giddineſs in the Head and Apoplexies, with which myſelf once ſeemed to be threatned; for after eating a plentiful Dinner, I was ſeized with Giddineſs, and the Sight of my Eyes became ſo depraved, that things ſeemed double, which was accompanied with a ſtrange Conſternation of Spirit; and having read, that Apoplexies generally ſeize after eating, I immediately called for Water, and not daring to ſtay till it was warmed, I drank it cold, and by the help of my Finger provoked Vomiting: upon which I did immediately overcome the Evils I was threatned with, the Symptoms before mentioned being the ſame as did precede the Fit of an Apoplexy in another Perſon, as himſelf afterwards told me, who died of it the third Fit.

As for People who are troubled with Shortneſs of Breath, 'tis certain from Experience, that Vomiting with warm Water three or four times will afford certain Relief. And the ſame may be prevented by drinking nothing but Water afterwards, either cold, or warmed with a Toaſt: for upon doing this, the Difficulty of Breathing will apparently abate; which Water, if you pleaſe, may be boiled with Honey. And I knew one, who by this means, as he was adviſed by me, lived comfortably in this City two or three Winters, but having undertaken Buſineſs which did occaſion drinking ſtrong Drinks, was the next Winter carried off by the Diſtemper: Wine, Ale, or Brandy, being as bad as Poiſon to People troubled with Shortneſs of Breath.

Some People are taken with violent Vomiting, and the Exceſs thereof in ſome hath been ſo great, as to endanger their Lives, yea, cauſe Death: in which Caſe Water will be very helpful; for if a Pint of it warmed be drank after every Vomit, it will prevent that violent Straining, wherein lieth the Danger of all Vomiting, becauſe to ſtrain violently when but little will come up, does endanger the breaking of ſome inward Veſſel. And beſides this, the offending Matter will be ſooner looſen'd from the internal Part of that Bowel, the Stomach, and caſt out, upon which the Vomiting will ſooner ceaſe: For after this manner the famous Sydenham, a moſt honeſt Writer, did overcome the Cholera Morbus, or Vomiting and Looſeneſs, ſo common in his Time, and was found by the weekly Bill to kill more than now die of Convulſions; for his way was to boil a Chicken in four Gallons of Water, which made a Broth not much differing from Water, of which he order'd large Draughts to be given, and ſome of it to be taken by Clyſter, till the whole Quantity was ſpent, if the Vomiting did not ſtop before; which did ſo take off the Sharpneſs of the Matter offending, and waſh it out, that the Party in a little time became well. And the ſame was the Practice of Sigiſmundus Graſius, who commends pure Water in a Vomiting and Looſeneſs to be drank in large Quantities; for thereby, he ſaith, the corroſive or ſharp Humours will be ſo weaken'd, that they will no more offend: and he faith it may be drank cold, if the Patient be ſtrong, otherwiſe let it be warmed.

And in Common Fluxes without Vomitings a Quart or more of warm Water drank, will ſo weaken the Sharpneſs whereby the Diſtemper is cauſed, that it will ſoon be overcome, and the Gripings eaſed; and in the Bloody Flux, which is the moſt dangerous of all Fluxes, the ingenious Cornelius Celſus adviſeth a large Drinking of cold Water as the beſt of Remedies: but then no other Subſtance muſt be taken till the Diſeaſe is cured. And another great Phyſician, by Name Luſitanus, affirms, Cent. 1. Obſer. 46. that he knew one, who, being in the Summer-time afflicted with this bloody Flux, did drink a large quantity of cold Water, and did thereby recover. This large quantity therefore of Water in theſe Fluxes, doth ſo correct the Sharpneſs of the Humour offending, that it can have no power to cauſe Pain, or corrode the Veſſels, and cauſe bloody Digeſtions or Stools.

Water alſo is a Drink that conduceth above all things to cure Conſumptive People, for the Digeſtion being weaken'd, is the Cauſe of producing a hot, fretting Nouriſhment; which is injurious to the tender Subſtance of the Lungs, and which conſtringes and ſtops up the Lymphatick Veſſels, thro which the Nouriſhment is to paſs to all the Parts; ſo that by degrees the Body for want of due Supplies conſumes: which Obſtructions, and that Acrimony that cauſeth them, will be open'd and ſweeten'd by the plentiful Uſe of Water; if taken before the Lungs become ulcerous. Which Cure of Conſumptions by Water is recommended in the Writings of Dr. Couch, who in his Praxis Catholica tells us, that he knew a Man cured very ſoon of a Conſumption by drinking pure Water. And 'tis ſaid by another, that ſome have been cured of Conſumptions by drinking no other Drink but Water, avoiding all Malt Liquors and ſharp Wines: for Wine or any other ſtrong Liquor is pernicious in this Diſtemper.

Some there are who are much troubled with fluſhing Heat in their Face, and others with a Heat in the Back; in both which Caſes, Water, uſed as common Drink, is the beſt Remedy, with a ſpare cooling Diet: and 'tis alſo excellent for ſuch as have red Blotches in their Face, which proceeds from a hot fretting Blood, which, by Water-drinking, and a moderate Diet, will be kept under: for as Dr. Duncan, before quoted, doth affirm, thoſe who keep their Blood cool and clean, are never troubled with Breakings out, like many others, who may be known to be Drinkers of hot Drinks, and uſe a hot full Diet, by their Faces.

Water is alſo commended by the Learned for the Cholick; thus Riverius affirms, that in the Cholick large drinking of Water hath been found to be an excellent Remedy; and 'tis ſaid by Fortis, that when he practiſed at Venice, he often gave cold Water in the Cholick with good Succeſs. With whom an Engliſh Phyſician, Dr. Wainwright, in his Mechanical Account of the ſix Non-naturals, concurs; for he ſaith that Water-Drinkers are never troubled with the Cholick, and that many thereby have been cured when all other Remedies failed.

And in the Small-Pox, Water hath alſo been proved to be an excellent Drink. Salmon, in his Synopſis Medicinae, ſaith, that in this Diſtemper you may ſafely give the Sick fair Water, of which, ſays he, they may drink liberally to quench Thirſt; the want of which plenty of Drink hath been the Death of many a Patient. Which Opinion of his was right, as by Experience I have found in two of my own Children, when ſick of this Diſtemper; to whom, after I had given a gentle Vomit of Emetick Tartar, I gave no other Drink but Water, and they both recovered ſafely, and were not in the leaſt light-headed, as two others before were in the ſame Diſtemper, when treated otherwiſe: and I remember that one Dr. Betts being conſulted in a Caſe where the Eruptions did not come out kindly, did order two Quarts of cold Water to be drank as ſoon as could be, upon which they came out according to expectation, and the Party did well.

'Tis alſo certain, that in what we call burning Fevers, Water is found to be a ſafe and effectual Remedy. It is ſaid by Dr. Primroſe, in his Popular Errors, that many great Phyſicians have commended the drinking cold Water in Diſeaſes, and they attribute to it the chief Place in Fevers, where the Sick muſt drink largely; for thus taken, it will quench all Heat, pag. 374. And Galen is ſaid, by an Engliſh Author, to reprove Craſiſtratus for denying cold Water in burning Fevers; and ſays, that this is a Remedy for any Fever, provided it be drank in great abundance: with which Opinion I find Dr. Oliver to agree, who, in his Eſſay on Fevers, ſays, That in Fevers we muſt drink oftner than Thirſt calls for it, and ſuch Draughts as are plentiful; and the Drink he preſcribes, is either cold Water or Barley-Water. Dr. Wainwright affirms alſo, that Water is proper in Fevers, and that the Antients gave as much of it as the Patient could drink. And by another 'tis ſaid, that if you give the Patient nothing but Water for three Days, that in the third Day the Fever will be cured generally; but if it is not, give for Food a little Barley-Broth, and the Fever will not exceed the ſeventh Day. And by another we are informed, how one in a Fever, that was paſt Hope, being forbidden to drink Water, which he greatly deſired, did find means, in the Abſence of his Nurſe, to get a large Pot-full, which he drank off, and lay down again, being well cooled; after which he fell into a Sweat, and ſo was cured. And I find that Dr. Cook of Warwick, in his Book of Obſervations on Engliſh Bodies, does preſcribe, for the Cure of Fevers, firſt a Vomit, and afterwards as much cold Water as the Patient can drink; and he ſaith, that if he ſweat upon it, the Sweat muſt he continued as long as can be. And 'tis ſaid by another, that 'tis an excellent Remedy in Fevers to drink a Quart of hot Water, and ſweat upon it, being covered warm. There is alſo one Dr. Quinton, who, in his Book of Obſervations, writes, That to one in a malignant Fever, whoſe Pulſe was ſo low it could ſcarcely be felt, there was three Quarts of Water given, at ſeveral Draughts, to make him vomit; but it did not operate that way, yet the Event was this, that it did refreſh him, much raiſed his Pulſe, brought him into a breathing Sweat, and paſſed off by Urine: which Lowneſs of the Pulſe my own Experience hath often found to be raiſed by drinking Water plentifully. And I know a Woman, who tho' ſhe in a Fever had the Advice of two Doctors, yet became diſtracted: I bid the Nurſe give her a Pint of cold Water, which ſhe drank up, and in three or four Minutes came to her right Senſes; and deſiring to drink more, ſhe recovered. And I have obſerved, that when, in Fevers, the Patient can reliſh no other Drink, yet Water is always drank with pleaſure, as it alſo will always be after the eating ſweet things, that ſpoil the Reliſh of other Drinks; which is one Excellence peculiar to Water, and ſhews it to be moſt agreeable to the Nature of Mankind, tho' now ſo much ſlighted.

And as for the Gout, which Dr. Harris ſaith, in his Anti-Empirice, is gotten either by high feeding, or drinking much Wine, or other ſtrong Drink; it may be cured, as that Author doth affirm, by a very ſpare Diet, and drinking Water: according to what is ſaid alſo by Sir Theodore Mayhern, who, in his Medicinal Counſels, adviſeth to leave off all ſtrong Drinks in this Diſeaſe, and drink only Water. And Van Heydon ſaith alſo, in his Treatiſe of Help for the Rich and Poor, that there is not any greater Remedy for the Gout than drinking Water, not only by young but old Men; many of whom, he ſaith, have drank cold Water for many Weeks, which hath ſucceeded ſo well, though they were far gone in Years, that they found great Eaſe thereby, without that Offence to the Stomach, or Hindrance of Digeſtion, which ſome did ſeem to fear. And he alſo commends the large drinking of Water in the Sciatica, or Hip-Gout, he having often cured this Diſtemper, by this means, in leſs time than could reaſonably be expected; and the ſame myſelf have found to be effectual in a like Pain in the Shoulder, which had continued very bad for three Months. For, being taken with a Fever, I drank in one Day about four Quarts of Water; which though it did not make me ſweat, becauſe I lay not in my Bed, yet it cured me ſo that I ſlept well that Night; and in the Morning, when I roſe, I did find that the Pain in my Shoulder was not felt, neither did it ever return. And the ſame Succeſs I have had in the Pains of other Parts, whereby I judge, that in all Pains whatever the drinking of Water is proper, as well as in the Gout; and accordingly I find cold Water adviſed to be drank largely for the Cure of the Headach from hard Drinking; that Pain proceeding from the ſame Cauſe the Gout does, namely from Heat, as all Pains do.

It is ſaid alſo by Dr. Wainwright, that in the Itch, Scurvy, Leproſy, and in all hot inflammatory Diſtempers, ſuch as Pleuriſies, Rheumatiſms, and St. Anthony's. Fire, Water is a proper Remedy; but he adviſeth to drink it hot in ſome Caſes, as doubtleſs ought to be done in Pleuriſies. He alſo ſaith, that Water is proper in Head-aches, Catarrhs, Vapours, Falling-Sickneſs, Dullneſs of Sight, Melancholy, Shortneſs of Breath, Scurvey in the Mouth, and Windineſs in the Stomach: And, for Wind in the Stomach, I, by long Experience, have found it the beſt Remedy, who, in the former part of my Life, through a diſorderly Diet, and drinking ſtrong Drink like others, was never free from windy Belchings, and ſometimes very ſickiſh Qualms after Meals; from which at length I was delivered, by drinking only Water at Meals, ſo that for above forty Years I have been ſeldom troubled: and if I find myſelf troubled, a Pint or more of cold Water, in leſs than half an Hour, will ſet me free, by drinking of it.

And that Water is the beſt Remedy for the Miſchiefs that come by Hard Drinking, Experience teacheth; there being nothing that ſo effectually frees from thoſe nauſeating and reaching Qualms the next Morning, as the drinking a Pint or more of fair Water; which effectually allays the Inflammation of the Bowels, occaſioned by ſtrong or hot Drink, which ſpoils the Strength of the Stomach, as it doth the Strength of all other Parts; nothing being a greater Enemy to the Vigour of the Nerves and Sinews, ſince by much drinking, Men make themſelves unable to ſtand or go: Which Effect would never follow, if Liquors, that abound with Spirits, were ſtrengthening; and if they were ſtrengthening, the Fibres of the Stomach would not be ſo weakened, after drinking ſtrong Drinks, as to make Men ſick: which Sickneſs will ſoon be recovered by the drinking cold Water, this being alſo the beſt Remedy, if taken largely, for that Heat of Urine which is often occaſioned by Hard-drinking.

In Colds, Water is the beſt of all Drinks to prevent Floods of Rheum from the Noſe and Mouth, as my long Experience teſtifies, and the drinking thereof will prevent Coughs; for a Cough will ſeldom ſucceed a Cold, if Water is uſed from the firſt as common Drink: and if, through Neglect, a Cough ſhould become troubleſome, the Uſe of Water, avoiding all Wine and ſtrong Drink, will contribute much to the Cure. Some order the Water to be drank warm, but others ſay that to drink it cold vaſtly excells the uſing of it hot in a Cough. 'Tis ſaid by Van Heydon, that ſome may think it ſtrange to adviſe Water in ſuch Diſeaſes, which moſt do account to proceed from Crudity or Indigeſtion; but, he ſays, that in any Diſeaſe where the Caſe is dangerous, the Uſe of Water is the only Friend to Nature; cold Water being a Preventer rather than a Cauſe of Crudity, ſince, by all Experience, it is proved to be a Promoter of a good Digeſtion: And at this time I know a Woman, 78 Years of Age, who for this ten Years hath had a great Cough, and ſpits much tough Phlegm, that hath this preſent Winter 1722, been perſuaded to leave off all ſtrong and ſmall fermented Liquor, and drink only Water at Meals, and ſometimes a Diſh or two of Tea; and hath found herſelf much leſs ſubject to cough than before, and ſcarce coughs at all in Bed.

It is the general Opinion of moſt Phyſicians, that Wine and Strong-Drinks are not proper for Children, and that the ſmaller and cooler their Drink is, the better it will be with them; and that nothing conduceth more to the Health of Children than drinking Water, which will prevent the Foundation of thoſe Diſeaſes that are cauſed in many by Strong-Drink, and do ſhew themſelves in their more advanced Age, wherein many alſo do ſuffer much by the ill Cuſtom of making them Gluttons, by conſtantly cramming their Stomachs with Food, many being thereby deſtroyed among the Children of the Rich before they come to the Years of Maturity; when the Children of poor Country People, who fare hard, and very often drink Water, ſtand their Ground till full grown: for fewer Children die in the Country than in great Cities, where Luxury in Diet doth more abound; which is one Reaſon why ſo few Houſekeepers in London were born in it, the great Supply of Inhabitants being from the Country, Children being brought up more hardy there than in London, where great Numbers are killed by over-pleaſing their Palates. Which Miſchief would be, in a great meaſure, prevented by their being accuſtomed to drink Water; which, by Experience, is found to make young Children free from that Frowardneſs which is commonly cauſed by a ſharp, and hot, or feveriſh Blood, which ingendereth Wind, and cauſeth Pain and Gripes: for there is no Pain but is the Conſequence of Heat, if it is not cauſed by Blows and Bruiſes.

Water, I have found, by long Experience, to be of excellent uſe in Burns and Scalds; for in all Burns and Scalds that are ſlight, if the Part is plunged immediately into cold Water, the colder the better, the Pain will inſtantly be taken off; and it will fetch out the Fire, if continued ſo long, as will be required to do it by any other Remedy. And if the Burn be ſo conſiderable, that other Remedies muſt be applied, none of which will take off the Smart of themſelves in leſs than two or three Hours; yet if you apply cold Water preſently, after other Applications are made to the Part, the Pain immediately will ceaſe, till the Remedy becomes effectual: ſo that the Eaſe Water will give in ſuch Caſes, makes it of good Uſe. Which Remedy, as it hath not been diſcovered till now, appears to tranſcend all other Remedies in this Caſe; becauſe, in a moment, the great Smart will be eaſed, if the Water is cold, and will be felt no more if the Part afflicted be kept immerſed in it till the Fire is extinguiſhed, either by the Water, or the Medicine applied. Beſides, it is a Remedy every where ready at hand, which cannot be ſaid of any other; which generally requires ſo much time to get it ready, that much Pain will be endured, if Bliſters do not ariſe, which do much increaſe the Trouble. If the Part burnt, or ſcalded, cannot be dipt in Water, you may apply Water to it, with double Linnen Cloths dipped therein, and new dipt as they grow warm; by which means I have cured Burns and Scalds in the Face without bliſtering, when applied immediately before Bliſters did ariſe.

I once knew a large Ulcer in the Foot, made by the running of melted Braſs into the Shoe, that was kept in hand by a Surgeon nine Weeks, without any probability of healing, becauſe of the great Inflammation that attended it; but the Party being a Lover of Angling, was perſuaded to go with ſome others to Hackney River: ſome of them went barelegg'd into the Water, to come at a certain Hole where much Fiſh was ſometimes found. The Sport was ſo good that the lame Man, having pulled off his Stockings and Plaiſters, went in alſo, where he ſtaid above two Hours, and coming out again he found the Ulcer, which appeared very red and angry when he went in, did look pale; he put on his Dreſſings, and came home, and in leſe than a Fortnight his Ulcer healed up: which doubtleſs was occaſioned by the abating of the Inflammation by the Coldneſs of the Water. And I have had an Account alſo from an Acquaintance, that was Surgeon to a Merchant Ship, that their Gunner, at a time when the Captain treated ſome Friends on board, going to charge a Gun that juſt before had been fired off, the Cartridge he was ramming down took fire, whereby he was blown into the Water, and had ſome of his Fingers torn off, and it was about an Hour before a Boat could be got to take him up: but they found that the Coldneſs of the Water had almoſt ſtopt the Bleeding, and the Cure was effected ſo ſpeedily, that other Surgeons wondered at it; which he imputed to the Water, which kept back the Humours, by its Coldneſs, from flowing to the Part at the firſt: ſo that there was no Impediment, from Inflammation, to hinder healing; for the chief Impediment to healing, is Inflammation in Wounds or Ulcers.

And as for Strains and Sprains in the Joints, cold Water affords the beſt and moſt ſpeedy Remedy, as Van Heydon affirms; who ſaith, That by bathing in cold Water all harm ſo received may, by this Remedy, be cured more ſafely and more ſpeedily than by any other, without Loſs of Time, Coſt, or Trouble; for no more is to be done, than, as ſoon as can be, to put the Part into a Tub of cold Water for about two Hours, which will prevent all Swelling and Pain, by repelling or keeping back the Humours that otherwiſe would flow to the Part. And if it ſhould be the Shoulder, or any other Part, which is ſo hurt, that cannot well be immerſed in Water after this manner, Water may be applied, by dipping Towels folded up into it, and laying them to the Part, as is done, in effect, to the wrenched Joints of Horſes; about which, if you wind oftentimes a thick Rope made of Hairs, and then caſt upon it divers times a Pail of cold Water, the Wrench will be cured; which Experiment is now commonly practiſed by thoſe concerned about Horſes.

Bathing in cold Water hath alſo been found to be a good Remedy to ſtrengthen Weakneſs in the Joints, as Sir John Floyer, in his Treatiſe of Cold Bathing, hath ſhewed; and which by Experience I found to be true in a certain Woman, who complained of great Weakneſs and Pain in her Ankles: I adviſed her to dip the Part in cold Water every Morning for about a quarter of an Hour, and to do the ſame at Night; and in about twenty Days ſhe became as ſtrong in that Part as ſhe was in the other. And Sir John tells us of a Boy who could not ſtand, his Limbs were ſo weak, that by bathing in cold Water, perfectly recover'd his Strength in a little time.

Great Pain in the Head hath been alſo cured by this means; for we are told by Van Heydon, that one Sir Toby Mathews had for twenty Years been troubled with great Pain in one ſide of his Head, and a great Defluxion of Rheum from his Noſe; but he at laſt was cured, by applying cold Water to the Part every day for about a quarter of an hour: upon reading of which, I tried the Experiment upon myſelf, who for a long time had been trouble with the running of much clear Water from my Noſe, with great ſpitting of thin Rheum: for I let a Water-Cock run upon the Mould of my Head every Morning, by which, in about ſix Weeks time, I was eaſed of my Trouble. And ſince that I had a credible Information of a certain Servant-Maid, who was afflicted greatly with a Rheumatiſm and an intolerable Pain in the Head, who being put into St. Thomas's Hoſpital, her Nurſe was order'd by the Doctor to apply to her Head Towels four times double, dipt in cold Water, changing them as they became warm, which ſhe was to continue doing four or five Hours; in which time ſhe was freed from that Pain in the Head, and was afterwards cured of the Rheumatiſm by other Means.

The Want of Sleep in Fevers may be cured likewiſe by the Application of cold Water: for to a near Relation, who could not ſleep for three Days and three Nights, I order'd a Towel to be ſeveral times folded up, then to be dipt in Water, and a little wrung out an • ſo laid upon her Forehead, and to be new dipt as it grew hot; which in about two Hours time ſo cool • d her Head, that ſhe fell into a Sleep, and conti •••• in it five Hours: and I order'd the farce to be done the next Night, with the ſ • me effect. And we find that Dr. Co • kbu • n, in his Treatiſe of Sea Diſeaſes, d • d order for the want of Sleep in Fevers, to dip a Towel, four times doubled, in Oxycrat, which is ſix parts Water, and one part Vinegar, to be bound about the Head and Temples; which, he ſaith, will cauſe Sleep with wonderful Succeſs: but Water only will have the ſame effect, as I often have proved.

And that the Uſe of cold Water in Swoonings is of great effect, common Experience teacheth; for if a Diſh or Cup of cold Water is thrown ſtrongly upon the Face, the Perſon in an inſtant will recover his Senſes, tho for a time he ſeemeth dead, and perhaps might not have recover'd in ſome caſes, if cold Water had not been ſo applied: ſuch Faintings being ſometimes deadly, which proceed from poſſonous Vapours aſcending up to the Brain from a foul Stomach; for ſuch Effects there are, as I have found by Experience, who, in my young Days, did ſwoon away twice; at both which times I was ſenſible of a Collection of Wind in my Stomach, from whence I plainly felt a Fume or Vapour aſcend to the Head, that in an inſtant deprived me of all Senſe: but being both times in the Company of a Perſon who had ſeen the thing tried, he daſh'd ſome cold Water againſt my Face, which I remember made me ſtart, as if I had been ſuddenly a waked. And I am apt to think, that ſome die in ſuch a Fit, when none are near to help them; and eſpecially when ſo taken in their Sleep, which, I believe, none need fear who live temperately, or that eat no Suppers: none who have refrained from Suppers, having been ever found to die in Sleep.

Dangerous Bleedings at the Noſe have alſo been cured with cold Water largely drank, ſyringing cold Water up their Noſtrils, and applying Towels round their Necks dipt in cold Water, changing them as they grow warm; for 'tis ſaid by a good Writer, that this will ſo cool the Heat of the Blood, and by the Coldneſs of the Water ſyringed up the Noſe, ſo contract the Mouths of the burſted Veins which bleed, that it will put a ſtop to the Bleeding. Such Bleedings have alſo been ſtopt by daſhing cold Water often into the Face, as a French Writer hath affirmed, whoſe Name was Flamand; and the ſame alſo is affirmed by Cook, in his Marrow of Surgery.

Cold Water is an abſolute Cure for all ſmall Cuts in the Fingers or other Parts; for if when cut, you cloſe the Cut up with the Thumb of your other Hand, keeping it ſo cloſed for a quarter or half an Hour, this will infallibly ſtop the Bleeding: after which, if you double up a Linnen Rag five or ſix times, dip it in cold Water, and apply it to the Part, binding it on faſt. This, by preventing Inflammation and a Flux of Humours, will give Nature time ſoon to heal it without any other Application, as is ſeen in the common Practice of Surgeons when they let a Man blood; for all the Application they make to the Vein ſo cut, is a Pledget of Linnen dipt in cold Water, and bound on with a Fillet: for all Wounds without loſs of Subſtance will heal of themſelves, if Inflammation is prevented, and the Lips of the Wound are kept cloſe together.

We alſo are told by Van Heydon, that in his time ſome were of an opinion, that a Perſon bit by a mad Dog might be preſerved from that Symptom, call'd, The Fear of Water, which generally follows and proves ſo mortal, by applying cold Water to the Place bitten: And this, he ſays, they conceive to be no unlikely thing, if there is any credit to be given to what Cornelius Celſus writes, who ſaith, that the only Remedy in this caſe is to throw the Party who is in this Condition, or hath the Fear of Water upon him, into a Pond or River, and when plunged over Head and Ears, to keep him in the Water till filled with it, whether he will or no; and by this means both his Thirſt and Dread of Water will be cured. For if this Immerſion be of uſe when the Party is ſo far gone, why ſhould it not be of greater force in preſerving from it, if ſpeedily applied and repeated? Now tho this is mention'd by him as a probable Opinion, yet Experience in our days ſhews, That the plunging the Patient into the ſalt Water either of the River of Thames, about Graveſend, or in the ſalt Springs in Cheſhire, is an infallible means to prevent any Evil ſucceeding the Bite of a mad Dog; they muſt indeed be dipt ſo often, as to be almoſt drown'd before the Danger is over; but 'tis a queſtion whether the Saltneſs of the Water contributes any thing to this Cure, ſince Boer have, the preſent Profeſſor at Leyden, affirms, That when Men bitten by a mad Dog are arrived to the Fear of Water, call'd an Hydrophobia, they may be cured, by blinding the Patient's Eyes, and throwing of him into a Pond of Water often, till he ſeems not to be afraid of it, or but very little, and then force him to drink large Quantities.

And we are told by Dr. Browne, that a Perſon troubled with the Falling Sickneſs, by happening to fall into a cold Spring, (I ſuppoſe it was in the time of his Fit) was freed from his Diſtemper all his Life after: and he ſaith there is no need of preparing the Body for it in this, as in ſome other Caſes. But the Patient, when plunged into a cold Bath, ought to continue in the Bath each time about three or four Minutes: for in plunging over head and ears at his firſt Entrance into a cold Bath, the Brain will be ſo ſenſibly affected, as to be relieved from the Diſtemper, which is a kind of Convulſion proceeding from an Inflammation, or ſome other Cauſe; but we want more Experiments to confirm this Notion: Which Notion may be worth noting, that the thing may be tried in others, to ſee whether it will ſucceed as it did in this Perſon. For 'tis ſaid by the ingenious Dr. Pitcairn, a Scotchman, ſome time Profeſſor at Leyden, that there is no ſuch thing as the Art of Phyſick, but Remedies were found out by chance, p. 264. of his Works; for if Phyſick were an Art as certain in its Rules, as the Rules are that belong to Muſick, or to Watch-making, Phyſicians would as ſeldom be miſtaken in their Preſcriptions, as the others are in their Deſigns. But when Remedies happen to be diſcover'd, and prove often to be effectual, the remembring that Remedy, to apply it in a like caſe, often brings Reputation to the Preſcriber; and if it fails, ſome other Experiment muſt be tried, which, were Phyſick an Art, need not be done.

'Tis alſo ſaid by the ſame Dr. Browne, that Madneſs and Melancholy, with all their Retinue, may find better Effects from the Uſe of bathing in cold Water, than from other violent Methods, with which People ſo afflicted are now treated; for, ſays he, that which will make a drunken Man ſober in a minute, will certainly go a great way towards the Cure of a Madman in a month. Now 'tis moſt certain, to my own Knowledge, that if a drunken Man be plunged over head and ears in cold Water, he will come out of it perfectly ſober: And ſome I have known, that in ſuch caſes have been recover'd by barely waſhing their Heads in cold Water. And the forementioned Opinion of Dr. Browne is confirmed by the Practice of Dr. Blair, who, in a Letter to Dr. Baynard, declares, That he cured a Man raving mad, who being bound in a Cart, ſtript of his Clothes, and blindfolded, that the Surprize might be the greater; he on a ſudden had a great Fall of Water let down upon him from the height of twenty foot, under which he continued ſo long as his Strength would permit: and after his Return home, he fell into a Sleep, and ſlept twenty-nine Hours, and awaked in as quiet a State of Mind as ever, and ſo had continued to the time of the writing that Letter, which was twelve Months.

Which Relation ſeems to make that a more probable Truth, which was related in a Letter from Sir John Floyer to Dr. Browne, and printed by that Doctor; wherein it is ſaid, that in Normandy they immerſe Fools, or dip them in cold Water, to cure them: a hot Brain being the Cauſe, perhaps, of ſeveral Diſorders in the Underſtanding, and is in great part found to be true, in the ridiculous Behaviour of ſome drunken Men, which, when their Heads are become cool, abhor what they before did do or ſay. Now if ſuch Dipping would cure Fools among us, great Numbers might be made more happy than they are.

Dr. Browne, in his Diſcourſe of Cold Baths, affirms likewiſe, that to bathe in cold Water hath been found to be the quickeſt, ſafeſt, and pleaſanteſt Cure for the King's Evil; and he tells us, in p. 85. of a Yorkſhire Gentleman, who was grievouſly afflicted with this Diſtemper, having great Ulcers in the Glands of his Neck, which were ſo much inflamed, as to bring him very low; but being adviſed by Dr. Baynard to bathe in the Cold Bath, he in a Month's time was perfectly cured, his Ulcers being healed up, contrary to the Opinion of the moſt learned Phyſicians.

We alſo find mention, in the Deſcription of the Scottiſh Iſlands, of an odd Remedy commonly made uſe of there for the Cure of the Jaundice; which is this: They ſtrip the Party naked, lay him upon the Ground on his Belly, and pour unawares upon his Back a Pail of cold Water. And alſo Pains in the Joints, as Dr. Curtis tells us, will be cured, by holding the Part under the Stream of a Pump or Cock; and fomenting with cold Water is commended as good to aſſuage hot Swellings. And I know a Perſon who had often been ſubject to blood-ſhot or inflamed Eyes, who afterwards, upon the beginning of the ſame Diſtemper, took, by Advice, a Ball of linnen Rags, dipt them in cold Water, and applied them to the Part, cooling them by new dipping as oft as they grew hot: which Application was continued three Hours, in which time the Humour was ſo repelled, as to be troubleſome no more; for the Party, to my knowledge, hath had no ſign of that Diſtemper ſince, tho the ſame had been very troubleſome many times before.

It is alſo adviſed by Dr. Gideon Harvey, to waſh the Eyes well twice a day in cold Water, as the beſt Remedy to prevent Defluxions on them, and preſerve the Eye-ſight, which it greatly comforts. And this I have found true for many Years, my Eyes being often apt to be dim and ſtiff on a ſudden, ſo that I could ſcarce open my Eye-lids; which, upon waſhing for a minute with fair Water, hath been felt no more till a good while after. Beſides which Benefit to the Eyes, Authors ſay it is alſo good to preſerve the Memory, if the whole Forehead be waſhed twice a day; which is a certain Cure for itching in the Eyes, as Authors tell us.

Some People are troubled with a Calloſity, or Hardneſs of the Bottoms of their Feet, which is ſo troubleſome, as to be a hindrance to their eaſy walking; for which a Cure is preſcribed by Dr. Cook, that is, to ſoak them well in warm Water, till the Hardneſs is ſoften'd, and then ſcrape it off with the Edge of a Knife: and if the Feet burn with any unnatural Heat, the bathing often in hot Water will cool them, by giving vent to what offends.

And the plentiful drinking of Water is commended in the Scurvey, by Dr. Pitcairn, to diſſolve the Scorbutick Salts, and carry them out by Urine, whether they are Acids or Alkalies; and myſelf having formerly been extremely troubled with the Scurvey, which often made me faint and weak, and my Pulſe ſo low as ſcarcely to be felt, I found at laſt that the Pulſe would infallibly riſe upon drinking a Pint or more of cold Water, and in a little time I ſhould become brisk and ſtrong: For I have often found that upon a Diſorder of the Stomach, the Strength of the bodily Members ſoon would fail, and would eaſily be recovered when the Diſorder of the Stomach was removed; and have, by long Experience, found that nothing conduceth ſo much to bodily Strength as a Stomach in right Order, which requires Temperance and cooling Drink.

To what hath been already ſaid, I will add an Account, taken from a credible Perſon, of a Man in the Pariſh of Shoreditch, who was deſperately ill of an Aſthma, or Shortneſs of Breath, and deep Conſumption, for which he had tried many Remedies to no purpoſe. At length he was adviſed by a Phyſician, being poor, to drink no other Drink but Water, and eat no other Food but Water-gruel, without Salt or Sugar; which Courſe of Diet he continued for three Months, finding himſelf at firſt to be ſomewhat better, and at the three Months end he was perfectly cured; but, for Security-ſake, he continued in that Diet a Month longer, and grew ſtrong and fat upon it. But his Diet he had no mind to, till he was thorowly hungry, and then he eat with pleaſure; in which perhaps conſiſted the beſt part of his Cure, it being an Advantage to Health never to eat till Hunger calls for Food.

And I remember a young Woman, who was a Burniſher of Silver, who had a deſperate Cough, for which ſhe had taken many things of an Apothecary to no purpoſe; at length the Journey man told her, his Maſter ſaid, he could do more: but, ſaid the Fellow, I would adviſe you every Morning to waſh about and behind your Ears, and upon your Temples, and on the Mould of your Head with cold Water; which ſhe told me ſhe did, and in about a Week's time was perfectly cured of her Cough.

There are divers other Caſes where in the Uſe of Water hath done much good. I knew an antient Practiſer in Phyſick, who told me, That in many Difficulties of making water, he had adviſed the Party to put his Yard into Water as hot as he could endure it, which, in a Minute, did cauſe him to make water; and that Women have had the ſame Benefit by ſitting over hot Water. And he often had adviſed them who were coſtive, and went to Stool with great difficulty, to ſet over a Pot with hot Water in it; which ſoon was attended with an eaſy Digeſtion, the Body drawing up the Vapour, which did provoke Expulſion without much ſtraining.

And it hath been obſerved, that froward Children have been made much more quiet, by waſhing their lower Parts every Morning with Water, to waſh off the fretting Salts of their Urine, which uſually ſtick in the Pores of the Skin, and are fretful and uneaſy, and nothing cures their Soreneſs about thoſe Parts like it. Nor is there are any thing more effectual to cure Men, who are gauled with Riding, than to waſh themſelves well, when they go to bed, with cold Water; and waſhing the bare Breaſt and Neck every Morning with cold Water, will make thoſe hardy who before were apt at every turn to take Cold.

In ſhort, Water, when rightly made uſe of, doth appear, from the Accounts before-mentioned, very effectual to prevent and cure many Diſeaſes, but more eſpecially the inward Uſe thereof: for to uſe the words of the ingenious Dr. Curtis, in his Eſſay for the Preſervation and Recovery of Health; The habitual Uſe of Water for common Drink preſerves the native Ferment of the Stomach in due Order, keeps the Blood temperate, and helps to ſpin out the Thread of Life to the longeſt Extent of Nature; it makes the Reſt at Night more quiet and refreſhing, the Reaſon and Underſtanding more clear, the Paſſions leſs diſorderly; and, in caſe of eating too much, a large Draught of cold Water vaſtly exceeds any other Cordial to cauſe Digeſtion; Water being not ſo cold and lifeleſs, he ſaith, as many do imagine. Beſides which Commendation of it by this Doctor, 'tis certainly a Drink that will not ferment in the Stomach, nor turn ſour, as Wine and ſtrong Malt Drinks will do, to the hindering of a good Digeſtion, which all Acidity in the Stomach certainly doth, when it abounds there; and is beſt corrected by weakening or making it leſs ſour, by drinking good Store of Water, as the Experience of above forty Years Practice hath aſſured myſelf and many others. For tho Water is counted a contemptible Drink, yet by beginning to make uſe of it at about thirty years of Age, before which I was often out of Order, and continuing the Uſe of it ever ſince, drinking very little Wine or ſtrong Drink, I have attained to the Age of ſeventy-four Years; when Thouſands, in the mean time, who delight only in drinking ſtrong Beer, Wine, and Brandy, have not lived half ſo long: which maketh good that Saying in the Scriptures, That Wine is a Mocker, and ſtrong Drink is Raging, and he who is deceived thereby is not wiſe; Prov. 20.1. ſince it no ways contributes to long Life; for 'tis certain that Thouſands in the World live as long who drink no ſtrong Drink, as any Drinkers of it do. Some indeed, from an extraordinary Strength of Nature, have been hard Drinkers, and yet die old; but for one who does this, perhaps an hundred are deſtroyed by it before they come to half the time of Life: and generally we ſhall find that very ſtrong and healthy Conſtitutions, at the long Run, are ruined by Riot and Exceſs, there being no certain Safety in any way of Living but that of Temperance and Moderation. Nature in ſome may, a long time, withſtand the Abuſes offered to it, but at laſt it will yield to its Enemies; and thoſe who live the longeſt in an intemperate Courſe, might, from the Strength of their Conſtitution, have lived much longer, had they eat leſs, and uſed themſelves to drink more Water; which Drink, as it is moſt friendly, and longeſt will preſerve the Life of a ſtrong Conſtitution, ſo 'tis abſolutely neceſſary for thoſe that are weak and ſickly, and are naturally ſubject to the Gout, the Stone, Shortneſs of Breath, Wind, Ill Digeſtion, and ſuch like.

But the chief Uſe of Water in preſerving of Health, is by uſing of it as a Vomit, as before was ſhewn, which is the moſt infallible Remedy that ever was found out for any Stomach-Sickneſs, or Pain there; for to vomit with warm Water will effectually remove it, and be a means to prevent great Fits of Sickneſs, and preſerve the Lives of many Thouſands to Old Age, by cleanſing the Stomach from that tough, ſlimy, or corrupt Matter that offends, and is the Cauſe of all mortal Diſeaſes; eſpecially of an Apoplexy, which tho' counted a Diſeaſe of the Head, yet hath its Original from a foul Stomach, which nothing doth ſo effectually cleanſe as Vomits: according to that of Dr. Curtis, who ſaith, That Vomiting, with warm Water, or Carduus Tea, is very beneficial to bring up that which fluctuates in the Stomach, and that tough ropy Phlegm which ſticks faſt to the Wrinkles and Foulds of that Bowel, and which Purges do often paſs over, and cannot remove. Which way of Vomiting, with warm Water, is ten times more eaſy and pleaſant than that which is effected by the Uſe of a nauſeous Tea made of Carduus, which Phyſicians do ſometimes adviſe; and 'tis alſo ſuch as can do no harm by Violence, as other Vomits made from Antimony ſometimes do.

And here it may not be amiſs to relate what I ſome Years ago diſcovered, in order to Mens freeing themſelves from Sickneſs that may happen after eating; for being invited to dine at a certain Table, where there were ſeveral good Diſhes of Meat, I was over-perſuaded to eat more than I ſhould do, and in a little time after Dinner found myſelf begin to be ſick. I went out, and in a private Place attempted to vomit, by tickling my Throat with my Finger, but could not vomit as I deſigned to do; only by this means I raiſed up two or three mouthfuls of thick tough Phlegm, upon which I found myſelf better, and my ſick Qualm went off. I took the Hint it gave me, and have done the ſame ſeveral times ſince, and find that the getting up the Phlegm, which like Yeſt upon Beer works up to the Mouth of the Stomach, a Man may free himſelf from ſome kinds of Sickneſs after eating. And I remember it is an Advice given by one Vaughan, in a Book long ſince printed, intitled, Directions for Health, for Men who feed high, to put their Finger in their Throat when they riſe in the Morning, to make themſelves puke, or avoid the Phlegm which can be raiſed, as an excellent way to preſerve Health; and 'tis ſaid alſo to be an abſolute Preſervative from the Gout.

I will conclude with this Note, That in ſuch Diſtempers where Water-drinking will be available for a Cure, the ſame muſt not be drank ſparingly, but plentifully, as to eaſe the Gripings in a Looſeneſs or Flux: for if but a Pint of Water ſhould be drank, Eaſe would hardly ſucceed; but drinking in about an hour's time a Quart or three Pints, the Sharpneſs and evil Quality of the Humour offending will be ſo far diluted or weakened, that immediate Eaſe will follow. If the Seaſon be too cold to drink cold Water, you may warm it a little upon the Fire, or put a hot Toaſt of Bread into every Pint; and the ſame is true in Fevers, or in Pains from Gravel or the Cholick; for a ſmall Quantity will not be effectual in theſe Caſes: which ought carefully to be noted, for in a Fever a little Water will rather increaſe the Burning, which large Draughts; often drank, will ſoon take off. Reſt, Faſting, and drinking much Water, after a Vomit or two, is a Courſe that never yet hath failed to Cure Fevers, by clearing the Stomach of that ſordid Filthineſs which cauſeth the Diſtemper; for a happy Iſſue will certainly follow ſuch a Courſe, if the Fever is ſimple, and not complicated with other Diſtempers, which will reſiſt all Remedies: and in many Caſes nothing can prevent Mortality, as is evident by the Death of the beſt Phyſicians as well as others.

I will add to what hath been ſaid, one Experiment more, that is very material: And that is, being very hypochondriacal, and of a melancholy Temper, I have often been ſtrangely dejected in Mind when under Grief, for ſome Misfortunes, which ſometimes hath been ſo great, as to threaten Danger to Life; in which Fits of Grief I always found the Parts within my Breaſt uneaſy, and ſometimes they have continued long: but now I have found a good Remedy, for upon drinking a Pint of cold Water, I find eaſe in two or three Minutes, ſo that no Grief ſeems to afflict. Which Experience I diſcover for the ſake of others in the ſame Circumſtances, being verily perſuaded that the Seat of Grief is in the Stomach, which ſympathizeth with the Mind, and thereby becomes the Cauſe of that uneaſy Senſation and Pain perceived there; for which, cold Water I have found to be the beſt Remedy in myſelf, and I believe others may find the ſame Benefit, who will make uſe thereof upon the like Occaſion.

There is alſo another Experiment that I have often ſeen of good effect; and that is, that if Perſons ſubject to what is called Vapours, or that are afflicted with Fits, commonly call'd The Fits of the Mother, will but drink Water when they find their Fits approach, it will immediately yield Relief. There is in this caſe a mealy Julep preſcribed by Dr. Bates, which is to take a Spoonful of fine Wheat Flower, an Ounce of fine Sugar, and a Pint of Water, brew them together, and drink it off: This is pleaſanter than Water alone; but Water of itſelf will be as effectual, or rather better.

Some perhaps may deſire to know how to diſtinguiſh good from bad Water; and the way to do this, is by the Taſte and Scent: for if it have no Taſte nor Smell, being purely freſh, not ſalt, nor ſweetiſh, nor ill-ſcented, 'tis good, provided it be pure and clear; of which kind is the common Water uſed in London, when well ſettled, or in fair Weather. As for thoſe who are curious, and will be at the Charge, they may procure the beſt Water for Drink by Diſtillation, either in an Alembick, or in a cold Still uſed in drawing any cold Water from Herbs, for no earthy or metallick Subſtance, nor any kind of Salt, will riſe in Diſtillation: ſo that the Water ſo diſtilled will be pure and admirable to drink when cold, and will keep as long from ſtinking as any of the cold-diſtilled Water in the Apothecaries Shops; according to what Dr. Quincy hath affirmed about it in his Diſpenſatory.

Thoſe who have not the Convenience of Diſtillation, may boil it a little as they do for Tea; for then, when kept a while after it is cold, in will become more fine, by ſuffering any Mixture contained in it to ſettle to the bottom of the Veſſel wherein it is contained, and that will render it ſtill more pure.

Since the collecting together the forementioned Accounts, I have met with a Book written by Dr. Boerhave, the preſent Profeſſor of Phyſick at Leyden in Holland, who affirms, that drinking Water made very warm is a good Remedy to pacify griping Pains in the Stomach; and that 'tis proper to bathe Wounds in the Face with it, when they come to be juſt healed, ſo that the Place be kept continually wet, which I conceive is beſt done by applying often linnen Cloths wet; and binding them on till they begin to be dry, will prevent Scars: And he ſaith, that warm Water is better to attenuate or thin the Blood than cold Water.

There is alſo publiſhed a Book of Experiments made with Water, by Dr. Hancock, a Divine, call'd Febriſugum Magnum; wherein he ſaith, that drinking a Pint or a Quart of cold Water in Bed, will raiſe a copious Sweat, and cure all burning Fevers, which at once taking hath done the buſineſs: it will raiſe a Sweat without much more Covering than ordinary. And he further affirms, that the ſame taken at the beginning of the cold Fit of an Ague, and ſweating upon it, at two or three times, taking will cure that Diſtemper. A large Quantity of hot Water, I know, hath been adviſed to hinder the cold Fit, but the Party was not order'd to ſweat.

And he ſaith he hath had long Experience of curing common Colds with cold Water; and this is done by drinking a large Draught of Water at going to bed, another in the Night, and another in the Morning: which, he ſaith, will ſoon thicken and ſweeten, and digeſt that thin ſharp Rheum, that provokes Coughing to no purpoſe; for the Rheum, when thin, is hard to be brought up, but when thicken'd, it will come up eaſily, and the Cough will ſoon go off. Which agrees with what I before affirmed from my own long Experience.

He alſo affirms from his own Experience, that uſing ſometimes to take a Walk of eight or ten Miles in a Morning, he found that Water gave twice as good Breath for that purpoſe as Wine or Ale; and if it would do this for a Man who had no Aſthma, he doubts not but it would do the ſame in one troubled with one. And he alſo affirms Water to be the beſt Remedy for a Surfeit, to the truth of which I can teſtify by long Experience.

He alſo affirms, that drinking cold Water hath been found good in Rheumatiſms, and that to one ſo afflicted he had adviſed to drink it as he lay in his Bed, and it took off the Fit; but if hot Water attenuates the Blood moſt, as Boerhave affirms, 'tis then beſt to drink of it warm daily to a good quantity: for, as Pitcairn obſerves, 'tis then the beſt Diſſolver of all kinds of Salts in the Body, which it will carry off in the Urine, if drank plentifully; for by Urine all Salts are evacuated.

And it is his Opinion, from the long Experience he hath had of the Effect of Water in keeping the Stomach in order, and making it tight and ſtrong to perform its Operations, and digeſt all Humours, that it will cure the Gout in the Stomach; and perhaps it may do it better than Wine, which I have known to fail. And I do not wonder that the ſame Liquor which is the principal Cauſe of the Gout in other Parts, ſhould not be a help in that Part, but rather kill, as it often is found to do.

In ſhort, he affirms, and that with great reaſon, that Sweating in Fevers by drinking cold Water, is more natural than to do it with hot Sudorificks, which often do harm in the beginning of Fevers, except good ſtore of cooling moiſtening Liquors are drank with them, they being more apt to inflame, than cool and quench Heat in the Body; and for that reaſon it hath not been often adviſed by Phyſicians, becauſe they were ignorant of this cold way of Sweating to cure Fevers.

Which Cure, he ſaid, did ſucceed in one who was his Relation, at the fifth Day after his falling ſick; to whom he gave a Doſe of Water after he was in bed, and he ſweated profuſely for 24 Hours, and thereby was cured. Half a Pint, he ſaith, is enough for a grown Child: a Pint to a Man or Woman, tho if they drink a Quart, it will be better. In Scarlet-Fevers, Small-Pox, Meaſles, tho the Water will not cauſe Sweat, yet it will ſo quell and keep under the Fever, that the Eruptions will come out more kindly, which is a Confirmation of what before was ſaid about Dr. Betts's preſcribing two Quarts of Water when the Small-Pox did not come out kindly.

And he ſets down an Account of the Author of the Free-Thinker, concerning a Woman, who in the laſt great Plague fell ill of that Diſtemper, who got her Huſband to fetch her a Pitcher of Water from Lamb's-Conduit; ſhe drank plentifully of it, but did not avoid the Cold, and ſo did not ſweat, however ſhe was cured. And he gives us another Relation of an Engliſhman formerly Reſident at Morocco, that fell ill of the Plague at that Place, and getting Water to drink, fell into a violent Sweat, and recover'd: from whence he concludes that Water is good in the Plague.

I will here add to what the Doctor hath ſaid concerning the Cure of Fevers, That if the Fever be accompanied in the beginning with any Illneſs at the Stomach nauſeating or vomiting, it will be the ſureſt and ſafeſt Practice to clear the Stomach firſt, by vomiting with warm Water, as before hath been preſcribed; for I cannot believe it poſſible for the Stomach to be cleared from foul Humours by ſweating: it may do, if no great ſenſe of Diſorder is perceived there, but it will certainly be ſafeſt to cleanſe the Stomach firſt, which is the Place where all Diſeaſes are originally begun; for then ſweating with cold Water afterwards may turn to good account. Indeed I have not made any trial of it ſince the Doctor's Book was publiſhed, but I have a very good opinion of his Experience upon all the Accounts therein given concerning the Benefit of Water, having had ſo much Experience thereof in my own Practice for above forty Years; for ſo long it is ſince I firſt began to collect thoſe Accounts, and make thoſe Experiments, which are herein made publick for the Benefit of all.

And thus, for the common Good of Mankind of all Ranks and Degrees, I have collected together all the Accounts I have obſerved in Phyſick-Books relating to the Uſe of common Water in preventing and curing Diſeaſes; to which I have added ſome Experiments, which by numerous Trials I can warrant as ſure and certain, eſpecially that of curing any Sickneſs in the Stomach upon the Spot, by vomiting with warm Water: which is an Experiment, that, if put into common Practice, would prevent many thouſand Fits of Sickneſs in a year among Mankind, and a great number of untimely Deaths; for it takes away the Cauſe of all Stomach-Sickneſs, which is the Root of, or firſt Beginning of moſt of the Evils that afflict the Body.

I ſhall conclude all with this Advertiſement, That if this finds a kind Acceptance, the Author intends to publiſh a Collection he hath made out of the beſt Writings relating to Phyſick, of ſuch Receipts as are moſt commended in all Diſtempers, and made up of the feweſt Ingredients, and eaſieſt to be had, all reduced under their proper Heads; which, I doubt not, will prove very uſeful on many accounts, beyond any Collection of that nature. The Collection was begun above forty Years ſince for my own uſe, without any deſign originally to make them publick; but ſince we are not born for ourſelves only, I am perſuaded to let others partake of the Benefit of my Labour, if I can do it with the Proſpect of any ſuitable Encouragement, from the kind Reception this may meet with among thoſe who deſire Health, whi • h is beſt attained to by the moſt uncompounded Remedies in times of Sickneſs.