In the 1809 P.L. the zedoary is abandoned, the quantity of saffron is reduced to 2 ounces, the pulv. chelis cancrorum co. is described as testarum præp., and there is no maceration of any of the ingredients. The powders are simply mixed, and the water added little by little until the proper consistence is attained.
This formula is retained in the Pharmacopœias of 1824 and 1836, but in that of 1851 the powdered shells became prepared chalk. In the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia of 1841, and in that of Dublin of 1850, the confection was made from aromatic powders of similar composition, made into confections in P.E. with syrup of orange peel, and in P.D. with simple syrup and clarified honey. All that remains of this historic remedy is Pulvis Cretæ Aromaticus B.P., and from this the saffron has been entirely removed.
Raleigh’s Cordial occasionally turns up in histories. In Aubrey’s “Brief Lives,” it is stated that “Sir Walter Raleigh was a great chymist, and amongst some MSS. receipts I have seen some secrets from him. He made an excellent cordiall, good in feavers. Mr. Robert Boyle has the recipe and does great cures by it.”
In Strickland’s “Lives of the Queens of England” (Vol. VIII, p. 122) we are told that, according to the newspapers of the day, William III, in his last illness was kept alive all through his last night by the use of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Cordial.
In Lord John Hervey’s “Memoirs of the Reign of George II” (Vol. III, p. 294), the details of the last illness of Queen Caroline, who died in 1737, are narrated. Snake root and Sir Walter Raleigh’s Cordial were prescribed for her. As the latter took some time to prepare, Ransby, house surgeon to the King, said one cordial was as good as another, and gave her Usquebaugh. She, however, took the other mixture when it came. Afterwards Daffy’s Elixir and mint water were administered.
Tar Water as a Panacea.
George Berkeley was born in 1685 in Kilkenny county, Ireland, but claimed to be of English extraction. He graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, and became a Fellow of that College. His metaphysical speculations made him famous. He was the originator of the view that the actual existence of matter was not capable of proof. Having been appointed Dean of Derry he was well provided for, but just then he became enthusiastically desirous to convert and civilise the North American Indians. With this object in view he proposed to establish a University at Bermuda to train students for the work. He got some college friends to join him, collected about £5,000 from wealthy supporters, and after long negotiations persuaded the House of Commons to recommend George I. to grant him a contribution of £20,000 which never came. It was during that time that he learned of the medicinal efficacy of tar water from some of the Indian tribes whom he visited. Some time after his return he was made Bishop of Cloyne, and worked indefatigably in his diocese. A terrible winter in 1739–40 caused great distress and was followed by an epidemic of small-pox. It was then that the Bishop remembered his American experiences. He gave tar water as a remedy and tar water as a prophylactic, with the result, as he reported, that those who took the disease had it very mildly if they had taken tar water. Convinced of its value he gave it in other illnesses with such success that with characteristic enthusiasm he came to believe that he had discovered a panacea. Some reports of this treatment had been published in certain magazines, but in the spring of 1744 a little book by the Bishop appeared giving a full account of his experiences. It was entitled “A Chain of Philosophical Reflections and Enquiries concerning the virtues of Tar Water, and divers other subjects connected together and arising one from another.” The treatise was eagerly read and discussed both in Ireland and England. A second edition was required in a few weeks, and to this the author gave the short title “Siris” (Greek for chain).
Berkeley.