Chapter 17

Take half a pound of sheep's suet, the same of resin and beeswax, a quarter of a pound of thick turpentine, and half a pint of linseed oil; pound the resin, and cut the beeswax and suet; put them over the fire with the other ingredients, and keep stirring till they are mixed, but do not let them boil; put it in a jar, and tie it up. It is good for burns, biles, gathered breasts, &c.

Salve for Corns, or Bunions.

Take a pint of sweet oil, half a pound of red lead, two ounces of Venice turpentine, two of beeswax, and one of white turpentine; boil the oil and red lead in brass or bell-metal till they turn brown, stirring it constantly; have the wax and white turpentine sliced, and put them in by degrees; take it off the fire, and stir till all is melted; then add the Venice turpentine, and continue to stir till it is cold; when dip your hands in cold water, and make it out in rolls about two inches long; wrap each roll up in paper, and keep them in a box. After soaking and scraping the corn, bind it on, spread on a soft rag. To warm a small piece of common adhesive plaster and apply it, gives almost immediate relief.

Sassafras Poultice.

Take the bark of the root and mash, or pound it; boil it in a little water, and take out the bark, and thicken it with crumbs of bread, and milk.

Balsam Apple in Spirits.

Cut a ripe balsam apple in small pieces, and fill a bottle with it; pour Holland gin on it.

This retains its strength for years, and is useful to take a few drops at a time for the colic; it is also valuable to apply with sugar to a cut or wound.

Cure for Bites.

Use equal quantities of resin soap, brown sugar, and powdered resin, worked well together, with a few drops of molasses. A poultice of onions, sassafras, or bread and milk may be used with advantage. For mosquito bites, apply spirits of hartshorn and camphor.

For Scurvy of the Gums.

Take a quarter of an ounce of bark, and a piece of new lime the size of a hazle-nut; put them in a bottle with half a pint of water; wash the mouth with this three times a day.

For an Infant's Sore Mouth.

Make a strong sage tea; put in a little bark and borax or alum, with honey to sweeten it; cork it up in a vial, and wash the child's gums with it three times a day, using a fresh rag every time.

For Affection of the Kidneys.

Boil some onions soft, mash, and apply them where the pain is seated. This has given great relief.

For a Gathering on a Finger.

Mix together equal parts of castile soap and chalk; wet it with camphor, and bind it on, or dip the finger in honey and camphorated spirits, as hot as you can bear. A little burnt alum put on lint is good; also a bread and milk poultice, with pounded sassafras root stewed in it, and renewed frequently. Honey and camphor mixed is useful for gatherings that have been of long standing.

Take of the following ingredients a tea-spoonful each: black pepper powdered finely, ginger, spirits of camphor, laudanum, and honey; beat them well with the yelk of an egg, and thicken with rye flour, or if you cannot obtain rye, corn and wheat flour mixed will answer; this will form a soft poultice, and should be applied in sufficient quantity to keep moist, and changed once a day. I have known this to cure several gatherings that threatened to be severe.

Huxham's Bark Tincture.

Take two ounces of bark, three drachms of Virginia snake root, one ounce of orange peel, and one quart of good spirits; set it in a warm place, and shake it daily for two weeks; then pour it off, and add a pint more spirits to the ingredients.

This is very useful to take, when recovering from the ague or bilious fever, or in the fall of the year; when these are apprehended, take two tea-spoonsful a day, before breakfast and dinner.

Wine Bitters for Debility, &c.

Take two ounces of chamomile flowers, two of centaury flowers, one of iron filings, and an ounce and a half of Jesuit's bark; put these in two quarts of good wine, and set it in the sun three days, shaking; it frequently. Half a wine-glass of this taken, twice a day, with water, is useful in cases of debility, where there is no fever.

Chamomile, and wormwood teas, are both excellent tonics, as is also wild cherry tree bark, made in strong tea, and taken cold.

Spice Wood Berries.

Boil in a pint of new milk, a table-spoonful of bruised spice wood berries. This has a very healing effect in cases of dysentery, and summer disease in children.

Spiced Rhubarb.

Take two ounces of rhubarb, half an ounce of cloves, the same of cinnamon, and quarter of an ounce of mace; stew them in a pint and a half of water till one half is evaporated; then strain it and add half a pint of good spirits. Two tea-spoonsful is a dose for a child a year old, with the summer disease, and two table-spoonsful for a grown person.

For Chapped Lips.

Put a tea-cupful of rich cream over some coals to stew with three table-spoonsful of powdered loaf-sugar. This has a healing effect.

Another remedy, equally good, is to a tea-cupful of honey, add half the quantity of mutton tallow, and stew together till well mixed; pour it out in a cup, and keep stirring till cold.

For chapped hands, mix together equal quantities of rich cream and strong vinegar, and rub it over every time you wash your hands.

Bathing.

Almost every family, even if their circumstances be moderate, can have a shower bath; they may save the expense, by improved health and strength; one bucket full of cold water is sufficient. You should wear on the head an oil-cloth cap. For a person in strong health, the bath may be taken on first rising in the morning; but for one disposed to be delicate, two or three hours after breakfast is the most proper time. To produce warmth, rub the person with a crash towel, or horse hair glove. You should be careful to take some exercise after the bath, or you will be more liable to take cold. Never take a bath soon after a meal, as that is injurious. Persons subject to colds, sore throat, rheumatism, sick head-ache, nervous disease, or general debility, have been greatly benefited by the daily use of the shower bath. Children that are oppressed with heat are much refreshed, and will rest well after a bath; the water should be moderated for them. Infants should be bathed every morning in a tub of water about milk warm, and may be very early accustomed to its use; they will become fond of it, and are less liable to take cold from exposure to the air. They generally take a refreshing nap after coming out of the bath. They should not be allowed to remain in more than five or ten minutes; should be well wiped with a soft towel, and then rubbed with flannel and dressed; their clothes being warmed to prevent a chill.

Elderberry Jam for Colds, &c.

A quart of nicely picked elderberries, to a pound of loaf-sugar and a tea-cup of water; let them boil slowly for an hour. If you prefer it without the seeds, strain the berries after boiling them for a few minutes, before you add the sugar. This is useful and agreeable for colds, taken through the day, or at night, when the cough is troublesome. It is said also to purify the blood, and is taken to prevent erysipelas.

Black Currant Jelly, a Remedy for Sore Throat.

Take ripe black currants, mash and strain them, and to every pint of the juice, add a pound of loaf-sugar; boil it until it becomes a jelly. It is valuable for sore throats.

Quince seeds dried, and boiling water poured on them, make a useful gargle for sore throat.

Lavender Compound.

Pick the lavender blossoms, and put them in a bottle, with a few blades of mace, and some cloves; fill up the bottle with good spirits, and let it stand corked up, till all the strength is extracted; when strain it off, and color it with a little cochineal.

FOOD FOR THE SICK.

Remarks on Preparing Food for the Sick.

Few young persons understand cooking for the sick. It is very important to know how to prepare their food in an inviting manner; every thing should be perfectly clean and nice. Avoid giving an invalid any thing out of a cup that has been used before; even if it is medicine, it will not be so hard to take out of a clean cup. It is well to have a stand or small table by the bed-side, that you can set any thing on. A small silver strainer that will just fit over a tumbler or tea-cup, is very useful to strain lemonade, panada or herb tea.

If you want any thing to use through the night, you should prepare it, if possible, beforehand; as a person that is sick, can sometimes fall asleep without knowing it, if the room is _kept perfectly still._

Boiled Custard.

Beat an egg with a heaped tea-spoonful of sugar; stir it into a tea-cupful of boiling milk, and stir till it is thick; pour it in a bowl on a slice of toast cut up, and grate a little nutmeg over.

Panada.

Put some crackers, crusts of dry bread or dried rusk, in a sauce-pan with cold water, and a few raisins; after it has boiled half an hour, put in sugar, nutmeg, and half a glass of wine, if the patient has no fever.

If you have dried rusk, it is a quicker way to put the rusk in a bowl with some sugar, and pour boiling water on it out of the tea-kettle. If the patient can take nothing but liquids, this makes a good drink when strained.

Egg Panada.

Boil a handful of good raisins in a quart of water; toast a slice of bread and cut it up; beat two eggs with a spoonful of sugar, and mix it with the bread; when the raisins are done, pour them on the toast and eggs, stirring all the time; season to your taste with wine, nutmeg and butter.

Oat-meal Gruel.

Mix two spoonsful of oat-meal, with as much water as will mix it easily, and stir it in a pint of boiling water in a sauce-pan until perfectly smooth; let it boil a few minutes; season it with sugar and nutmeg, and pour it out on a slice of bread toasted and cut up, or some dried rusk. If the patient should like them, you can put in a few raisins, stoned and cut up. This will keep good a day, and if nicely warmed over, is as good as when fresh.

Corn Gruel.

Mix two spoonsful of sifted corn-meal in some water; have a clean skillet with a pint of boiling water in it; stir it in, and when done, season it with salt to your taste, or sugar, if you prefer it;

Arrow-root.

Moisten two tea-spoonsful of powdered arrow-root with water, and rub it smooth with a spoon; then pour on half a pint of boiling water; season it with lemon juice, or wine and nutmeg. In cooking arrow-root for children, it is a very good way to make it very thick, and thin it afterwards with milk.

Sago.

Wash, the sago, (allowing two table-spoonsful to a quart of water,) and soak it an hour; boil it slowly till it thickens; sweeten it with loaf-sugar, and season it with wine or lemon juice.

Tapioca Jelly.

Wash the tapioca well, and let it soak for several hours in cold water; put it in a sauce-pan with the same water, and let it boil slowly till it is clear and thick; then season it with wine and loaf-sugar. The pearl tapioca will require less time to soak, and no washing. Allow three table-spoonsful of tapioca to a quart of water.

Milk Porridge.

Put half a pint of milk, and the same of water, in a sauce-pan to boil; mix two spoonsful of wheat flour in milk till very smooth, and stir in when it boils; keep stirring it five minutes, when pour it in a bowl and season with salt.

Barley Water.

Boil two table-spoonsful of barley in a quart of water; it is a cooling drink in fevers. If the weather is cold, you can make a larger quantity. Some boil whole raisins with barley; take it with or without seasoning.

To Poach Eggs.

Put a pint of water in a clean skillet, with a little butter and salt; when it boils, break two eggs in a plate, and put them in; in about a minute, take them up on a plate, in which there is a slice of bread toasted and buttered. This is a very delicate way of cooking eggs.

Barley Panada.

Boil a small tea-cup of barley in water till it is soft, with a tea-cup of raisins; put in nutmeg and sugar, and break in it toast or dried rusk.

Calf's Foot Blancmange.

Put a set of nicely cleaned feet in four quarts of water, and let it boil more than half away; strain through a colander, and when it is cold, scrape off all the fat, and take out that which settles at the bottom; put it in a sauce-pan, with a quart of new milk, sugar to your taste, lemon peel and juice, and cinnamon or mace; let it boil ten minutes and strain it; wet your moulds, and when it is nearly cold put it in them; when it is cold and stiff it can be turned out on a plate, and eaten with or without cream. This is very nice for a sick person, and is easily made.

Cream Toast.

Cut a slice of stale bread, and wet it with cream; toast it slowly and butter it; this is very nice for an invalid, and an agreeable change.

Milk Toast &c.

Boil a tea-cup of milk, and put in a spoonful of butter; toast a slice of bread and moisten it with water, then pour on the boiling milk. This is very good for sick persons, and can be eaten without much exertion. In making water-toast, the butter should be melted in boiling water, and put on while hot.

To Stew Dried Beef.

Chip some beef very thin, pour hot water on it, and let it stand a minute or two, then drain it off, and stew it in a skillet with a little cream and butter. If it is preferred dry, it may be fried in butter alone.

To Stew Ham, &c.

Cut a slice of ham into small pieces, and pour boiling water on it; let it soak a few minutes to extract the salt, and stew it in a little water; just before it is done, put in some cream and parsley.

If you broil ham that is uncooked, it should always be soaked in water a few minutes.

To Stew Chickens or Birds.

When sick persons are tired of broiled chickens, or birds, it is well to stew them for a change; the wing, with part of the breast of a chicken, will make a meal; stew it in a little water, and put in parsley, cream, pepper and salt, just as it is done.

Chicken Water.

If you have a small chicken, it will take half of it to make a pint of chicken water. Cut it up and put it to boil in a covered skillet with a quart of water; when it has boiled down to a pint, take it up, and put in a little salt and slice of toasted bread. This is valuable in cases of dysentery and cholera morbus, particularly when made of old fowls.

Beef Feet.

Soak the feet and have them nicely cleaned; boil them slowly, and take off the scum as it rises; when they are soft and tender, take them up, and separate the bones from the glutinous part, which is very nice for a sick person, and conveys nutriment in a form that will hardly disagree with the most delicate stomach, and has been, taken when nearly all other food was rejected; a few drops of vinegar, and a little salt, renders it more palatable.

Beef Tea, &c.

Take a piece of juicy beef, without any fat, cut it in small pieces, bruise it till tender, put it in a wide-mouthed bottle, and cork it tight; put this in a pot of cold water, set it over the fire, and let it boil an hour or more.

When a person can take but a small quantity of nourishment, this is very good. Mutton may be done in the same way.

Mutton and Veal Broth.

Boil a piece of mutton till it comes to pieces; then strain the broth, and let it get cold, so that the fat will rise, which must be taken off; then warm it, and put in a little salt. Veal broth may be made in the same way, and is more delicate for sick persons.

Wine Whey.

Boil a pint of milk, and put to it a glass of white wine; set it over the fire till it just boils again, then set it off till the curd has settled, when strain it, and sweeten to your taste.

Rennet Whey.

Warm a pint of milk, but do not let it get too hot, or it will spoil the taste of the whey. Wash the salt from a piece of rennet the size of a dollar, and put it in the milk; when it turns, take out the rennet; wash and put it in a cup of water, and it will do to use again to make whey. If you have rennet in a bottle of wine, two tea-spoonsful of it will make a quart of whey; but if the person has fever, it is best to make it without wine.

Mulled Jelly.

Take a table-spoonful of currant or grape jelly, and beat with it the white of an egg, and a little loaf-sugar; pour on it half a pint of boiling water, and break in a slice of dry toast, or two crackers.

Mulled Wine.

Beat together an egg, a glass of wine, and a spoonful of sugar; pour on it half a pint of hot water; stir all the time to keep it from curdling, and when you pour it in a tumbler, grate a little nutmeg over it.

Toast Water.

Cut slices of bread very thin, and toast dry, but do not let it burn; put it in a pitcher, and pour boiling water on it. Toast water will allay thirst better than almost any thing else. If it is wanted to drink through the night, it should always be made early in the evening.

Apple Water, &c.

Roast two apples, mash them and pour a pint of water on them; or slice raw apples, and pour boiling water on them.

Tamarinds, currant or grape jelly, cranberries, or dried fruit of any kind, make a good drink.

Coffee.

Sick persons should have their coffee made separate from the family, as standing in the tin pot spoils the flavor. Put two tea-spoonsful of ground coffee in a small mug, and pour boiling water on it; let it set by the fire to settle, and pour it off in a cup, with sugar and cream. Care should be taken that there are no burnt grains.

Chocolate.

To make a cup of chocolate, grate a large tea-spoonful in a mug, and pour a tea-cup of boiling water on it; let it stand covered by the fire a few minutes, when you can put in sugar and cream.

Black Tea.

Black tea is much more suitable than green for sick persons, as it does not affect the nerves. Pat a tea-spoonful in a pot that will hold about two cups, and pour boiling water on it. Let it set by the fire to draw five or ten minutes.

Rye Mush.

This is a nourishing and light diet for the sick, and is by some preferred to mush made of Indian meal. Four large spoonsful of rye flour mixed smooth in a little water, and stirred in a pint of boiling water; let it boil twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Nervous persons who sleep badly, rest much better after a supper of corn, or rye mush, than if they take tea or coffee.

DOMESTICS.

Hints on the Management of Domestics, &c.

Some families are always changing their domestics, and weary their friends with complaints of those they have, and inquiries for others.

Deliberate before you make a change; if servants are honest, speak the truth, and have an obliging disposition, it is better to bear with a few defects, than to discharge them; these are qualifications for the foundation of a good servant; and some of the most valuable I have had, were such as could hardly be put up with at first. By being patient, and speaking to them in a kind manner, they become attached and fearful of doing any thing to offend.

When they break any thing, or an accident occurs, accustom them to inform you of it immediately. Few mistresses, of well regulated minds, will be offended when openly told of accidents; but if they are left to be found out, you always feel more disposed to blame and reprove them. By speaking to them in a mild and forgiving manner, careless servants will become more careful.

A considerate mistress may, without loss of dignity, make them feel that she regards it as her duty to be their friend, and that she feels herself under an obligation to advise them in difficulties and promote their comfort.

We should reflect that theirs is a life of servitude, and if they over-exert themselves, or are too much exposed in early life, it will bring on disease that will shorten their days, or render old age a burden.

Some young persons are too indolent to wait on themselves, and ring for the servants on the most trifling occasions; when if they were accustomed to perform these little offices, their health would be much better, and we should not hear of so many complaints, the result of want of exercise. All female servants should have time to attend to their clothing; many have to work so hard through the day that their only leisure is at night, and then they hurry over their things in a careless manner.

Where your circumstances permit, a good man-servant is a valuable acquisition; and they are sometimes more easily governed than females.

If mistresses were better informed, they would not complain so much of the ignorance and awkwardness of their domestics. Always give them their orders in time. If a new dish is to be cooked, superintend its preparation yourself.

If you are capable of directing, a cook will soon learn to do without your constant attention.

If they are slow in their movements, insist on their beginning early to prepare a meal, so that there will be time sufficient for every thing to be done properly.

If you expect company, have every thing prepared, that can be done with safety, the day previous. In summer there are but few things that can be done without risk of spoiling: a ham or tongue may he washed ready to boil; castors and salt-stands put in order, and pastry or dessert prepared, that will not spoil by being kept a day.

In winter, many things can be kept for days in a state of preparation for cooking; and it greatly assists the work of the family, to have every thing done beforehand.

Do with as few domestics as possible; assist with the work yourself, rather than keep one too many. Those that take orphan children to bring up, are often rewarded for their trouble; as sometimes a girl of fifteen will be more useful than one much older: and where a family is small it does very well, but in large families, a little girl is so often called from her work, that it has a tendency to unsettle and make her careless.

Never allow your children to call on or interrupt servants when at their work or meals, to do any thing which a child could do for itself; children that treat domestics with respect, will generally find them willing to render any assistance in their power. I have known a few housekeepers, who have kept the same servants for years, who have assisted in rearing the children, until they almost viewed them as their own, and these were not faultless. If they had been discharged for trifles, they might have wandered, from one family to another, without being attached to any, until they became so indifferent, as not to be worthy of employ, but by the kindness and patience of their employer, they became so grateful and attached, as to be a treasure to her family. When they become weary of such constant servitude, would it not be better, instead of discharging, to give them time for rest and recreation in visiting their friends? I have known them to return, renewed in health and spirits.

Encourage them to lay by as much of their wages as they can possibly spare, in such institutions as are thought the most safe, that they may have something to look to in case of sickness, or any event which would require its use.

Promote their reading in such books as are suited to their capacities; they sometimes have a little leisure, that could be well filled up in this way. I have found it to increase the happiness of those under my care, to encourage a fondness for reading, and improving their minds; it tends to keep them from unprofitable company, and too much visiting, to which so many are addicted.

Young girls should make and mend their own clothes, and keep them in good order, and they should be taught to knit. The material of which stockings are composed costs but little, and they wear much better than those that are bought. Knitting fills up leisure moments, and promotes industrious habits; and when age comes on, they will have a resource, although it appears so simple, yet if it is not learned while young it is hard to acquire when old.