The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Sir Kenelm Digby (best e reader for epub .txt) 📖

the next morning distil it in an ordinary or glass-still, & first lay Harts-tongue leaves in the bottom of the still.


THE VERTUES OF THE PRECEDENT WATER

This water preserveth the Lungs without grievances, & helpeth them; being wounded, it suffereth the Blood not to putrifie, but multiplieth the same. This water suffereth not the heart to burn, nor melancholly, nor the Spleen to be lifted up above nature: it expelleth the Rheum, preserveth the Stomach, conserveth Youth, & procureth a good Colour: it preserveth Memory, it destroyeth the Palsie: If this be given to one a dying, a spoonful of it reviveth him; in the Summer use one spoonful a week fasting; in the Winter two spoonfuls.

The above receipt is given in the 3rd edition of The Closet Opened , 1677, also in The Queen's Closet Opened .


2. Another more precious Cosmetick, or beautifying Water, by Sir Kenelm Digby.

Take White Lillies six drams, Florence Orrice Roots, Beans, Cicers, Lupins, of each half an ounce, fresh Bean-flowers a handful, Gum Tragant, White Lead, fine Sugar, of each half an ounce, Crums of white Bread, (steeped in Milk) an ounce, Frankincense, and Gum Arabick of each three drams, Borax, and feather'd Allom of each two drams, the White of an Egg, Camphire a dram and a half; infuse them four and twenty hours in a sufficient quantity of Rose and Bean-flower water, equal parts; then distil it in B.M.

This Water smooths, whitens, beautifies & preserves the Complexions of Ladies. They may wash their Faces with it at any time, but especially Morning and Evening .


3. Another richer Perfume; being pleasant and wholesome, to perfume Tobacco taken in a Pipe .

Take Balm of Peru half an ounce, seven or eight Drops of Oyl of Cinamon, Oyl of Cloves five drops, Oyl of Nutmegs, of Thyme, of Lavender, of Fennel, of Aniseeds (all drawn by distillation) of each a like quantity, or more or less as you like the Odour, and would have it strongest; incorporate with these half a dram of Ambergrease; make all these into a Paste; which keep in a Box; when you have fill'd your Pipe of Tobacco, put upon it about the bigness of a Pin's Head of this Composition.

It will make the Smoak most pleasantly odoriferous, both to the Takers, and to them that come into the Room; and ones Breath will be sweet all the day after. It also comforts the Head and Brains. Approved by Sir Kenelm Digby .

From Hartman, The True Preserver of Health , 1682.


APPENDIX II


The true Preparation of the Powder of Sympathy, as it was prepared every year in Sir Kenelm Digby's Elaboratory, and as I prepare it now .

Take good English Vitriol, which you may buy for two pence a pound, dissolve it in warm water, using no more water than will dissolve it, leaving some of the Impurest part at the bottom undissolved; then powr it off and filtre it, which you may do by a Coffin of fine gray paper put into a Funnel, or by laying a Sheet of gray Paper in a Sieve, and powring your water or Dissolution of Vitriol into it by degrees, setting the Sieve upon a large Pan to receive the filtred Liquor; when all your Liquor is filtred, boil it in an earthen Vessel glazed, till you see a thin Scum upon it; then Set it in a Cellar to cool, covering it loosly, so that nothing may fall in; after two or three days standing, powr off the liquor, and you will find at the bottom and on the sides large and fair green Christals like Emerauds; drain off all the Water clean from them, and dry them; then spread them abroad, in a large flat earthen Dish, & expose them to the hot Sun in the Dog-days, taking them in at Night, and setting them out in the Morning, securing them from the Rain; and when the Sun hath calcin'd them to whiteness, beat them to Powder, & set this Powder again in the Sun, stirring it sometimes, and when you see it perfectly white, powder it, & sift it finely, and set it again in the Sun for a day, and you will have a pure white Powder, which is the Powder of Sympathy; which put up in a Glass, and stop it close. The next yeare when the Dog-days come, if you have any of this Powder left, you may expose it again in the Sun, spreading it abroad to renew its Vertue by the influence of the Sun-beams.

The way of Curing Wounds, with it, is, to take some of the Blood upon a Rag, and put some of the Powder upon the Blood, then keep only the Wound clean, with a clean Linnen about it, and in a moderate Temper betwixt hot and cold, and wrap up the Rag with the Blood, and keep it either in your Pocket, or in a Box, & the Wound will be healed without any Oyntment or Plaister, and without any pain. But if the wound be somewhat old, and hot, and inflamed, you must put some of this Powder into a Porringer or Bason full of cold Water, and then put any thing into it that hath been upon the wound, and hath some of the Blood or Matter upon it, and it will presently take away all Pain and Inflammation, as you see in Sir Kenelm's Relation of Mr. Howard [sic] .

To staunch the Blood either of a Wound or Bleeding at the Nose, take only some of the Blood upon a Rag, & put some powder upon it, or take a Bason with fresh water, and put some of the Powder into it, and bath the Nostrils with it.

From Hartman, The Preserver of Health .


APPENDIX III

A LIST OF THE HERBS, FLOWERS, FRUITS, ETC., REFERRED TO IN The Closet Opened: -


I. Agrimony; alexander; angelica; avens, leaves & flowers; balm; bay-leaves; beet leaves; bettony, wild; bettony, Paul's; bistort; bloodwort; bluebottles; blue-button; borage, leaves & flowers; bramble, red, tops of; broom-buds; bugle; bugloss, leaves & flowers; burnet; carduus benedictus; carrot, wild; celandine; cersevril; chicory; chives; clove gilly-flowers; clown's all-heal; coltsfoot; comfrey; cowslip & French cowslip flowers; dragons; elder flowers; endive; eyebright; fennel; fever-few; garlic; ground-ivy; groundsel; hart's tongue, leaves; hops, flowers; horehound; hypericum, tops & flowers; hyssop; ladies' mantle; lettuce, leaves & stalks; lily of the valley; liquorice; liverwort; maidenhair; marigold, flowers & leaves; marjoram, sweet; marjoram, wild; marshmallow, leaves, flowers, & stalks; may-weed, brown; meadowsweet; mellilot, flowers; mint; spearmint; mouse-ear; mugwort; muscovy; nettle, red; oak of Jerusalem; organ; origanum [wild marjoram]; oseille; parietary; peas (chick); pellitory-of-the-wall; penny-royal; philipendula; pimpernel; pourpier; primrose, flowers; purslane; ribwort; rocket; rosemary, tops, flowers, & sprigs; rose; rue; sage, (red & wild), leaves & flowers; saxifrage; sanicle; scabious; scurvy grass; self-heal; shallots; sibboulets; skirrets; smallage; sorrel (wood); spike [spignel?]; spleenwort; spinach; St. John's wort; strawberry leaves; sweetbriar, leaves, tops, buds; sweet oak; sweetwort; tamarisk; tansy; thyme (broad, lemon, mother, & wild); violet, leaves & flowers; wallflowers (yellow); wall rue; watercress; wheat (green); white-wort; winter savoury; woodbine; wormwood (sea & Roman); yarrow. (From this list I have omitted the commoner vegetables.)


2. Roots .-Alexander; angelica; asparagus; beet; betony, bittersweet; bluebottle; borage; coltsfoot; elecampane; eringo; fennel; fern; galingale; horse-radish; marshmallow; nettle (red); orris; parsley; scabious; sorrel; strawberry; succory; thyme (wild); tormentilla.


3. Seeds .-Anise; cardamom; carraway; citron; coriander; fennel; gromwell; melon; musk grains; mustard; nettle; parsley; saffron; tulip, seedy buds of; wormwood.


4. Fruits .-Apples (codlings, ginet moils, pearmains, pippins, golden pippins, red streaks); apricots; barberries; bilberries; cherries (black, Kentish, Morello); currants (dried, black, red); damsons; dates; jujubes; juniper berries; lemons; pears (bon chrétien & wardens); plums; prunes; raisins; rasps; sweetbriar berries; strawberries.


5. Barks, woods. -Ash-tree bark; lignum cassiæ.


6. Nuts .-Almonds; chestnuts; pine kernels; pistachios; walnuts (green).


7. Juices .-Balm; celandine; cherry; hop; lemon; onion; orange; spearmint; spinach; tansy.


8.- Distilled waters of angelica; cinnamon; mallow; orange-flower; plantain; rose (red & damask).


9. Spices of all sorts; cloves; cinnamon (also oil of, & spirit of); ginger; mace; mustard; nutmeg; pepper; peppercorns.


10. Wines .-Canary sack; claret; Deal; elder; Malaga (old); Muscat; Muscadine (Greek); red; Rhenish; sack, sherry sack; Spanish; white.


11. Other liquors .-Ale & beer; afterworts; lees of beer & wine; aqua vitæ; orangeado.

12. Vinegars of elder wine, & of white wine.

13. Verjuice of cider, & green sour grapes.


14. Other notable seasonings and ingredients :-

Ambergris; ivory; leaf gold; powder of white amber; powder of
pearl; Spanish pastilles (ambergris, sugar, & musk).


NOTES


Introduction

p. x 1. 3 Old Cookery Books and Ancient Cuisine . By W. Carew Hazlitt.
Booklovers' Library. 1886.

p. x 1. 5 The Life of Sir Kenelm Digby . By One of his Descendants [T.
Longueville]. 1896.

p. xi 1. 29 For the controversy about the date of his birth, see the
usual biographical authorities:-Longueville, op. cit. , Digby's
Memoirs , ed. Nicolas, 1827; Dict. of Nat. Biog. ; Biog. Brit.
(Kippis); Wood's Athenae Oxon. , iii. 688; Aubrey's Lives , ii.
323, etc. etc.

p. xiv 1. 13 "the elder Lady Digby." See text, p. 141.

p. xv 1. 15 "manuscript of elections." See W.H. Black's Catalogue of
the Ashmolean MSS. , 240, 131 and 1730, 166.

p. xx 1. 20 Journal of a Voyage to Scanderoon , ed. J. Bruce for
Camden Soc., 1868.

p. xxi 1. 3 "Scanderoon had to be repudiated." Here is a curious echo
of the affair, quoted by Mr. Longueville from Blundell of Crosby.
"When the same Sir Kenelm was provoked in the King's presence (upon
occasion of the old business of Scanderoon) by the Venetian
Ambassador, who told the King it was very strange that his Majesty
should slight so much his ancient amity with the most noble state
of Europe, for the affections which he bore to a man (meaning Sir
Kenelm) whose father was a traitor, his wife a --, and himself a
pirate, altho' he made not the least reply (as long as the
ambassador remained in England) to those great reproaches, yet
after, when the quality of his enemy was changed (by his return) to
that of a private person, Sir Kenelm posted after him to Italy.
There sending him a challenge (from some neighbouring state) he
found the discreet Magnifico as silent in Italy as himself had been
in England, and so he returned home."

p. xxii 1. 13 The Memoirs were edited by Sir N.H. Nicolas from the
Harleian MS. 6758 in 1827.

p. xxii 1. 28 "outburst of vile poetry." See Poems from Sir K.D.'s
papers ,