Quaint Remedies

 

Over a century ago there were cases of a malignant disease known as ‘king’s evil’. A remedy prescribed for this malady was the leg of a toad, cut from the living reptile, then sewn up in a thin muslin bag and hung round the sufferer’s neck, to be worn constantly next to the skin.

Epileptic fits were supposed to be curable by the following ritual;- The patient collected a penny each from eleven different friends, a twelfth friend then gave a shilling for the eleven coins.  The silver coin was then beaten into a ring to be worn by the afflicted one.  I remember seeing a ring which had been so acquired, but no benefit resulted.

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