REMARKS, &c.

THE very name of a Nostrum, or Patent Medicine generally conveys the idea of impoſture; nor is it matter of ſurpriſe. Almoſt every ſhop is furniſhed with ſecret me⯑dicines, and hand-bills and news-papers, in ſwarms, inceſſantly cry up their infallible vir⯑tues, and boldly promiſe a certain cure for every diſeaſe, whether within or beyond the reach of art. This ſort of medicine never abounded more than in the preſent age. Seldom a month elap⯑ſes, but ſomething new is intruded as a ſpecific. And yet, it may be ſaid with truth, every ſpe⯑cies of diſeaſe is as frequent as ever; and ſome kinds, particularly the putrid, the ſcorbutic, and thoſe called nervous, are known to gain ground. But it would be well for the credulous, if the uſe of moſt of the advertiſed medicines, only thinned their pockets, or diſappointed their ex⯑pectation of undoubted recovery. It is every where well known that many valetudinarians have ſuffered and daily do ſuffer by the uſe of thoſe me⯑dicines, their complaints being ſometimes increa⯑ſed, [2]or vitiated humours tranſlated to a more no⯑ble and therefore more dangerous part; at other times new diſorders are formed, and, not unfre⯑quently, the moſt alarming ſymptoms come on, and death at length cloſes the ſcene.

It may ſeem from the futility, or miſchievous effects of many noſtrums, that any medicine, whatever be its real excellence, if offered to the public under the veil of ſecreſy, lies under a great diſadvantage, and muſt meet, more or leſs, with cenſure and contempt. Many undoubtedly who are fond of invective, and wiſh to make a ſhow of ſuperior judgment, will indiſcriminately con⯑demn every medicine of the ſort, and pretend to behold nothing but intereſted artifice on the part of the proprietor, and miſchief, or, at leaſt, in⯑ſignificancy on the part of the medicine. But this dogmatical method of condemning is evi⯑dently erroneous, and muſt expoſe them that adopt it to ridicule and deſerved cenſure; it being in fact as abſurd as, on the other hand, it would be, to believe implicity all the virtues aſcribed to every noſtrum, or to every ſimple, &c. either in an antient, or a modern Materia Medica. As no rank of perſons, ſo no claſs of things univer⯑ſally deſerves either panegyric or invective. The merits or demerits of each muſt be ſingly conſi⯑dered, and when weighed in the balance of im⯑partial [3]criticiſm, receive praiſe or cenſure, ac⯑cording to its reſpective degree of worth or vile⯑neſs. As common ſenſe forbids to inveigh a⯑gainſt all ſovereigns, becauſe ſome are tyrants: to cenſure all the profeſſors of the law, becauſe many of them are obnoxious to it; to condemn all phyſicians, becauſe ſome are illiterate; or, with the medical Quixot, to declaim againſt the uſe of bread, becauſe it is often ill made: ſo like⯑wiſe it will reſtrain the impartial and diſcerning from crying down every ſecret medicine, notwith⯑ſtanding many of them are the brats of mere quackery and impoſture. Should a phyſician diſcover, for inſtance, a more efficacious prepa⯑ration of the Peruvian bark than is yet known, keep the preparation ſecret, and advertiſe and diſperſe it after the uſual manner of noſtrums; the bark would not, for this reaſon, be leſs uſe⯑ful; nor deſerve the cenſure of the public, be⯑cauſe veiled from its eye. Even the great Hoff⯑man, and other firſt rate phyſicians, as well as quacks and medicaſters, have had their Noſ⯑trums. It is not therefore the mere ſecreſy of a medicine, or the manner in which it is exhibited to the world; 'tis its being trifling or dangerous that muſt draw upon it the contempt and abhor⯑rence, which are due to the major part of adver⯑tiſed medicines. [4]

From the premiſes it appears, notwithſtand⯑ing the uſual and commonly juſt outcry againſt noſtrums, that a medicine may with proprie⯑ty be recommended, and with ſervice intro⯑duced to general uſe, although its compoſition be not declared. There may be honour and ſkill on the part of the inventor or proprietor, and efficacy in the medicine.

On this foundation a remedy is now offered, the want of which has hitherto been, and ſtill is fatal to a great part of them, who by their ſex are liable to a greater number of diſeaſes than men, and by their characteriſtic qualifications claim the ſtricteſt attention, &c. I need not ſay that I mean the fair ſex. There is a period of their lives, when the menſes or monthly evacua⯑tions begin to be irregular, and then finally ceaſe. This period admits of great latitude and many exceptions, but generally happens between the age of forty and fifty, and is the moſt criti⯑cal time of women's lives; the final irregularity and ceſſation of the menſes being the origin of moſt, perhaps, of all the diſeaſes which attack them either at that or any other ſucceeding time. Many, who till this period had enjoyed the in⯑valuable bleſſing of health, are then ſeized with one or other of the various complaints that af⯑flict the human frame. Some are ſpeedily ſnatch⯑ed [5]away by an acute diſeaſe: others fall a prey to a chronic diſtemper, and become invalids for life. Many indeed, by a peculiar happineſs of conſtitution, paſs over this period without any remarkable inconvenience: yet, their num⯑ber is much the larger, who are then troubled with ailments, and in theſe caſes it is the com⯑mon practice to preſcribe a few doſes of phyſic: but as theſe ſeldom remove, or even touch the cauſe, ſo they rarely effect a cure. The event of which is, that the ailments increaſe, and a diſ⯑order is at length formed, either of the acute or chronic kind, which, ſtill gaining ground from the preſence or continuation of the primary cauſe, baffles the uſual methods of cure, and the medioines, which otherwiſe might have an⯑ſwered every intention, here, at moſt, only pal⯑liate the ſymptoms.

But it may be queried: How can any medi⯑cine be ſuppoſed to poſſeſs ſuch extenſive effica⯑cy, as to ſubdue the variety of diſeaſes to which Females are expoſed at the aforeſaid period? This query ſhall be fairly conſidered. Its elucidation will clearly point out what judgment is to be formed both of the medicine here recommended, and in general of others that are advertiſed.

In variety of inſtances, it is demonſtrable, that the ſame diſeaſe may proceed from very different [6]canſes; and it is equally certain, that according to the diverſity of the cauſe, the method of cure muſt alſo be varied. It is, again, a certainty, that the ſame diſeaſe muſt often be treated in a different manner, by reaſon of the difference of conſtitution, age, ſex; and of the different ap⯑pearance, degree, inveteracy of the diſeaſe itſelf; and moreover, by reaſon of its combination with ſome other diſtemper. It is thus in the headach, toothach, quinſies, coughs; in conſumptions or decays; in the apoplexy, palſy, deafneſs; in colics; in convulſive diſorders, the epilepſy, tre⯑mours; in the hypochondriac or nervous diſeaſe. The ſame may be ſaid of the rheumatiſm, the ſcurvy, cachexies, the vertigo, pleuriſies, me⯑lancholy, madneſs, &c. &c. and was the whole catalogue of diſeaſes to be ran through, and the principles of rational or judicious practice conſi⯑dered, it would be found that the above variety of cauſes, conſtitution, age, &c. require to be ſo accurately diſtinguiſhed and attended to, that otherwiſe the beſt general method would fre⯑quently prove fruitleſs or noxious; and conſe⯑quently that more or leſs difference in preſcrib⯑ing medicines, or a method of treatment, will often be requiſite for the recovery of ſive patients out of ſix labouring under the ſame diſorder. With what ſhadow of probability then can the [7]ſame drug, or compoſition, be fondly imagined a never-failing cure for all afflicted with the ſcurvy, or for all epileptics, all that are con⯑ſumptive, or, in ſhort, for all patients troubled with the ſame diſeaſe, notwithſtanding the inſu⯑perable impediments ariſing from the diverſity of cauſes creating the diſeaſe; from its changes, its complication with others; from the difference of age, ſex, temperament, ſeaſons, &c? Can the ſame medicine brace the fibres of youth and delicacy, and relax thoſe of age? or warm the chills of the lymphatic conſtitution, and cool the heats of the ſanguine? or break down the viſci⯑dity of the blood, and conquer its putrefactive diatheſis? or act as a reſtorative in diſeaſes from inanition, and perform the office of evacuants in the ſame, when brought on by a plethora? or remove thoſe cholics, &c. in which warm medi⯑cines are eſſential, and the cool deſtructive; and thoſe too vice verſâ, where the warm deſtroy, and the cooling ſave? Nevertheleſs, ſome of theſe, or other ſuch oppoſite indications, are commonly met with in the ſame diſeaſe, and proceed either from the varying ſymptoms which attend its different ſtages and progreſs, or, as was ſaid before, from the diverſity of its cauſe, of the patient's conſti⯑tution, &c. But as rationally might we believe the promiſed feats of a bottle-conjurer, or ex⯑pect [8]adventurers to inhabit the bottom of the ſea, and reviſit its ſurface at pleaſure, as fan⯑cy that any medicine can poſſeſs qualities dia⯑metrically oppoſite, and correſpond with the widely differing intentions and methods of cure, which are ſo often requiſite in order to treat the ſame diſeaſe with ſucceſs. Hence is evinced, not only the ſmall dependence that can be had on the generality of advertiſed medicines, but alſo the danger that muſt attend their uſe: and in fact, where they chance to ſuit the conſtitution of one invalid, accord with every ſymptom and indica⯑tion of his diſeaſe, and thus luckily perform a cure; perhaps ten others, afflicted with the ſame diſeaſe, find no relief; and as many more reap nothing from their trial but the aggravation of their complaints.

If any medicines in the world can eſtabliſh a well grounded confidence of their ſafety and ef⯑ficacy, it muſt be thoſe which are uſually term⯑ed ſpecifics. But how ſmall is their number? and how very frequently do they fail of ſucceſs? how often is their trial attended even with diſad⯑vantage, with an increaſe of the diſeaſe they were intended to cure? or with the introduction of ſome other? And whence all this, but becauſe they are often adminiſtered without diſcernment: the remperament of the patient, the cauſe of the diſ⯑eaſe, [9]or ſome concomitant ſymptoms, are not ta⯑ken into conſideration? Again, they may be ex⯑hibited at an improper time, too ſoon, or too late; or without a cautious preparation; or are given in an incongruous form or quantity; or are not qualified with the addition of other ſuit⯑able ingredients, which, by reſtraining or increaſ⯑ing ſome of their properties, ſhould promote their efficacy. Such is too often the fate of the Peruvian bark in intermittents, of opium in ſpaſms, of tin for worms, of ſteel for the chlo⯑roſis, of cerated glaſs of antimony for the dyſen⯑tery and ſanguineous fluxes. Such likewiſe the fate attending the injudicious uſe of Dr. James' celebrated powder, which, though a medicine of ſovereign efficacy, when given under his in⯑ſpection, or preciſely according to his directions, has nevertheleſs been productive of many bad conſequences, and has ſometimes proved almoſt ſuddenly fatal: and why? becauſe given with⯑out neceſſary precautions, or in caſes, in which that ingenious Phyſician, as beſt knowing its compoſition and ſtrength, would have judged it improper, perhaps perilous.

The difficulties and danger which accompany the uſe of moſt noſtrums, or the unſkilful exhi⯑bition [10]of other medicines, and which ariſe, in part, from their not being ſuited to the cauſes and complication of diſeaſes, to the difference of age, ſex. &c. have no place in the preſent ſub⯑ject of enquiry, viz. a method of treatment to prevent or remove the complaints which attend or follow the ceſſation of the menſes. Here one ſex only is concerned: age is nearly the ſame: the diſeaſes or complications of diſeaſe, which frequently ſeize the fair at or after the ſaid period, are indeed various, yet the cauſe is but one. Such the difference between this and other medicines propoſed as general cures for any malady. Al⯑moſt every diſeaſe may have various, and ſome⯑times oppoſite cauſes: the remedies therefore muſt be ſubject to the ſame variations, and to more ſtill, when conſtitution, age, ſex, &c. are taken into the account. But reſpecting the Re⯑medy now offered to the fair, every thing wears the pleaſing aſpect of certainty and ſafety. It is adapted to them, to the critical period of their lives, to the radical cauſe which at that time in⯑volves ſo many of them in almoſt all the evils of pain and diſeaſe The varieties that may occur in their uſe of this remedy, ariſe chiefly from the kind of morbid quality that may chance to affect [11]the fluids, and from the difference of conſtitu⯑tion, whether ſanguine, lymphatic, &c. or from their being of a robuſt and healthy, or a delicate and infirm habit. Theſe variations are duly con⯑ſidered; and directions adapted to each, together with cautions and methods to be obſerved in the caſes that uſually happen at this period, are laid down clearly and explicity, and will be preſented with the medicine.

But to proceed. As it may be acceptable to many to be informed of the complaints, diſeaſes, danger, which frequently accompany or follow the final ceſſation of the menſes, and to know what grounds there are to expect requiſite aſſiſt⯑ance at that period from the uſe of the Remedy and method of treatment here recommended, I ſhall enter more minutely into theſe particulars.

One grand point in the medical art is to diſco⯑ver and diſtinguiſh the real cauſes of diſeaſe: a⯑nother, to chooſe that method of cure, which, all things conſidered, is ſpecifically proper, ſafe, and eſſectual.

Moſt diſeaſes owe their formation either to ſome fault in the quantity, or to the morbid qualities, of the blood and other fluids.—The principal cauſe of the diſeaſes which afflict fe⯑males [12]at the period in queſtion is manifeſt, viz. a general or partial plethora brought on by the ceſſation of the menſes.—When a long accuſtom⯑ed evacuation ceaſes, a redundancy of blood, &c. muſt enſue, and this exceſs now confined in the body, receiving freſh additions, and its won⯑ted drain being checked, muſt either diſorder the whole frame, by bringing on a general diſeaſe, or, collect in particular parts, and generate the diſorders to which thoſe parts are reſpectively ſubject. This is evident in the ceſſation of the haemorrhoids, of the haemorrhage of the noſe, or of other uſual ſanguine evacuations: the con⯑ſequence being many, and ſometimes fatal diſea⯑ſes: but daily obſervation demonſtrates, that thoſe which follow the final ceſſation of the menſes are more in number, and attended with greater peril.—Secondly, any morbid quality of the blood, &c, whether acrimonious, viſcid, diſſol⯑vent, &c. that exiſted in the habit before the ceſſation, after it, becomes more predominant: and theſe morbid qualities of the blood alſo give birth to a variety of diſorders.

From one or other of theſe cauſes ſingly, or, from their complication, proceed the various diſ⯑eaſes with which females are affected at the turn [13]of life, viz. headachs, ſpaſmodic pains, the ver⯑tigo, large haemorrhages of the noſe. In the throat a quinſy ſometimes ſucceeds. The parts contained within the breaſt have their ſhare of vexatious ſymptoms: a palpitation of the heart, an unea⯑ſineſs in the praecordia, with difficult breathing, violent and laſting coughs, the convulſive or dry aſthma, pleuritic pains; not rarely a ſpitting of blood, which returns at the uſual time of the menſes.—Variety of pains and ailments attack the ſtomach, flatulencies, diſtentions, the cardialgia, the heart-burning, loſs of appetite, &c.—Colics often torment the bowels. Nauſeas and reach⯑ings to vomit are not unfrequent: even a vomit⯑ing of blood now and then alarms the patient.—The loins have their uneaſy ſenſations, and an inflammation of the kidneys has often followed. It is eaſy to conceive that the womb particularly, when the menſes ceaſe to flow, becomes a ſeat of diſeaſe. A ſenſation of weight and diſtention are here common, and pains are ſometimes felt which nearly equal thoſe of labour. Of profuſe, frequent, and ſometimes fatal haemorrhages, of dropſies, inflammations, ulcers, ſcirrhous tu⯑mours, cancers of this part, inſtances are frequent. Sometimes a tumour or hard ſubſtance is there [14]formed of conſiderable ſize. Its weight, the fre⯑quent and violent returns of pain, the attendant fever, and other ſymptoms, are ſimilar to thoſe which accompany a mole. At other times the whole abdomen or belly grows big and turgid, and in ſize and appearance reſembles that of a pregnant woman. This turgeſcency, when miſ⯑taken for pregancy, or neglected, has continued in ſome one or two, in others ten years, and has ſometimes laſted with life.

To theſe evils, which ſeize particular parts, may be added thoſe that diſtemper the whole ha⯑bit. A cacochymy or depravation of the hu⯑mours, and hence generally a cachexy or relaxed ſtate of the ſolids.—Weight and wearineſs of the limbs, particularly after exerciſe. A corpulent or rather bloated habit. Oedematous ſwellings of the feet, &c. Dropſies. Gouty and rheu⯑matic pains, wandering or fixed. Slow or ner⯑vous, hectic, inflammatory fevers. A diſtem⯑perature of the nerves and their ſubtle fluid, which manifeſts itſelf by the frequent aſſault of hypochondriac, hyſteric, convulſive, or paraly⯑tic ſymptoms, ſome of which are moſt trouble⯑ſome at the changes of the moon, and at the pe⯑riods when the menſes uſually came on. Even [15]madneſs has been a conſequence of the ceſſation, and was happily removed. When the humours abound with ſcorbutic ſalts, or other foulneſſes, the itch both of the dry and moiſt kind, variety of other eruptions, blotches, &c. disfigure and torment the patient. Obſtinate ulcers and ſpread⯑ing ſores, eſpecially on the legs, are very fre⯑quent, and the more ſo as age advances.

Beſides theſe complaints, one or more of which, in a greater or leſs degree, too often ſucceed, and are occaſioned by, the ceſſation of the menſes, many other diſorders, either acute or chronical, ſome of which are ſometimes obſcure and com⯑plicated, and perhaps not eaſily reducible to a⯑ny claſs of diſeaſe, alſo ariſe from the ſame cauſe.—And here it may be obſerved, that, although at the ceſſation no preſent inconvenience be perceived, nevertheleſs it often happens, that in the courſe of ſome months or years after it, ſome diſorder or other begins to appear, and becomes exceedingly ſtubborn; but might have been pre⯑vented, had proper care been taken when the fi⯑nal irregularities and ceſſation of the menſes firſt came on.

Having now indicated, in part, the various complaints, to which the ceſſation of the menſes [16]ſubjects the fair, it remains to ſhow, that the the medicine and method of cure recommended to their uſe, are adapted to the cauſe of the ſaid complaints, and poſſeſſed of the properties requi⯑ſite to remove them.

It was obſerved above, that the cauſes of the inconveniencies and diſeaſes which frequently ac⯑company or ſucceed the final ceſſation of the menſes, are chiefly a redundancy, and ſometimes a vitiated ſtate of the blood and other fluids. The intentions of cure are therefore to leſſen their quantity, correct their vitiated qualities, and remove the morbid ſymptoms, viz. obſtruc⯑tions, relaxation, &c. which they may have ge⯑nerated in the ſolids.—In order to anſwer theſe intentions, the medicine under conſideration is calculated to act on the blood, lymph, &c. it enters even the ſmalleſt veſſels, cauſes a free cir⯑culation of their contained fluids, and promotes every ſecretion and excretion. It likewiſe clean⯑ſes the primae viae, and keeps the body open. By theſe means obſtructions are removed from the uterine and other veſſels, from the viſcera, &c. redundancies are carried off, and the variety of complaints, which the ceſſation of the menſes might produce in the ſtomach and bowels, are [17]obviated or ſubdued. It moreover contains a balſamic quality moſt friendly to the blood, which preſerves or reſtores the natural balſam of that fluid; and, being at the ſame time mildly attenuating, prevents a glutinous or viſcid ſtate, which is alone productive of many diſorders. The ſalutary effects of this medicine on the ſo⯑lids, that is, on the veſſels and organs of the bo⯑dy, merit alſo to be noticed: it imparts to them a juſt degree of elaſticity and ſtrength to protrude their contained fluids, and perform their ſeveral functions regularly and with eaſe. Thus, by the peculiar qualities of this medi⯑cine, aſſiſted, when neceſſary, by other means which will be ſpecified in the directions, and which relate to the different ſtate of the humours, to conſtitution, &c. the following indications are fully anſwered, viz. redundancies are evacu⯑ated and thrown off by the different emunctories, the faults of the fluids are obviated or corrected, the ſolids are ſtrengthened, and the whole habit invigorated.

Here it may be remarked, that this medicine is of equal ſervice to females on many other oc⯑caſions. It frequently happens, that the firſt e⯑ruption of the menſes is ſlow, difficult, &c. or [18]that afterwards they are irregular, or deficient, or otherwiſe deviate from their uſual and healthy appearance; or that they are checked for many months ſucceſſively; or in fine, perhaps entirely ceaſe long before the uſual time of their ceſſa⯑tion. I have known ſeveral inſtances of their ceaſing entirely and finally at the ages of thirty, twenty-ſeven, twenty-ſix, once at twenty-five. When the above complaints occur, the ſtrong emmenagogues or forcing medicines, ſuch as ſteel, hellebore, ſavin, &c. are too often adviſ⯑ed, but for the greater part are highly improper, and very frequently are attended with pernicious conſequences, particularly if the patient be of a cachectic or relaxed habit; or if the veſſels, or the viſcera be obſtructed in conſequence of checked perſpiration, or a cold, or of glutinous ſluggiſh humours; or if the irregularity or de⯑fect was brought on by the exceſſive uſe of a⯑ſtringents; or, in fine, if any other ſpecies of e⯑vacuation has ſpontaneouſly, or otherwiſe, ſuc⯑ceeded the ſaid irregularity, defect or ſuppreſ⯑ſion. In theſe caſes the above medicine, as will be more particularly declared in the directions, will, without danger, anſwer every deſirable in⯑tention. [19]

This ſketch of the virtues of the Remedy and method of treatment here recommended to the ſex, is not merely theoretical, or merely deſcrip⯑tive of the good effects which are to be wiſhed for when the menſes are irregular, deficient, or finally ceaſe; but is in fact, a conciſe and can⯑did relation of the efficacy and ſucceſs with which their uſe has been accompanied in almoſt an infinite number of inſtances. The above aſ⯑ſertions being therefore eſtabliſhed on experience, which is above all authorities—any other pane⯑gyric would be uſeleſs.

The caſes attending or following the irregu⯑larities and ceſſation of the menſes, which have been brought to an happy iſſue by the method here recommended, are ſo very numerous and various, that a deſcriptive collection of them would ſwell to a moderate volume, and proba⯑bly would prove both ſatisfactory and ſervice⯑able. Almoſt every female patient might diſco⯑ver therein a caſe ſimilar to her own, and with pleaſure obſerve it had been treated with ſafety and ſucceſs. Perhaps too the profeſſors of the healing art might not deem it an uſeleſs attempt, particularly if the writer of theſe lines ſhould, in the ſaid collection of caſes, fully communicate [20]his obſervations on the ceſſation of the menſes, which though a fertile and fatal ſource of diſ⯑eaſe, has hitherto been little noticed, and gene⯑rally improperly treated. But other avocations permit me not to ſit down to any thing of the kind. Moreover, the fair ſex only being here concerned, the ſubject might to ſome appear ra⯑ther too delicate to admit an hiſtorical detail and explication of caſes.

It ſhould therefore ſeem ſufficient, that every female may know, and have it in her power to obtain, a remedy and directions, which will an⯑ſwer her moſt ſanguine wiſhes, when arrived at the critical period of life, or when, before that period, the free and healthy emanation of the menſes is any way diſturbed. And this is the motive why the ſaid remedy is thus offered to the ſex, as it will, by this publication, and by advertiſements, be far more ſpeedily and uni⯑verſally known than by any other means. But, it may be ſaid, is not the author's own emolu⯑ment alſo a motive? I anſwer, be that as it may, the efficacy of the remedy is not for that reaſon the leſs. Again, why ſhould not the author reap ſome advantage from his endeavours to re⯑lieve and ſave multitudes? But, in truth, the [21]advantage will be in favour of the public. Firſt, the medicine will be made with the beſt ingre⯑dients, and niceſt accuracy. Theſe are condi⯑tions, without which medicines, the moſt judi⯑ciouſly preſcribed, would often prove, not fruit⯑leſs only, but noxious: and, was the compoſi⯑tion of this medine declared, who would anſwer, that as many as made it up would ſtrictly ob⯑ſerve the above conditions? Hurry, negligence, bad drugs, any preſumptuous alteration, or the ſubſtituting one ingredient for another, (faults which are too common and inexcuſable) would fruſtrate every hope, every wiſhed for effect. Theſe uncertainties, and the dangerous conſe⯑quences of neglect, &c. are cut off by entruſt⯑ing the compoſition of this medicine to a perſon whoſe integrity and indefatigable attention are not to be called in queſtion. Secondly, the price of the medicine will be reduced to the loweſt, to the end that, the inferior ranks, as well as the opulent, may purchaſe it with caſe, and, for a triflle, receive that benefit, which an expenſive variety of drugs, and repeated fees, ſeldom procure at the period, &c. in queſtion.

Let it be finally obſerved, that hitherto this remedy has been made up in almoſt every form, [22]according to the inclination of different patients; ſome preferring liquid, others ſolid forms. But now, that it is intended for more general uſe, it will be made into pills. This form is leſs liable to accidents than any other, may be carried from place to place without difficulty or injury, and be taken by patients without trouble, when on a journey, viſit, &c.