If the child is chafed in the neck, or elsewhere, take pulverized cranesbill bark, and put it into a muslin bag; when you wash the child, dust this in all the parts affected; do it as often as you think necessary.
If it has sores, wash with Castile soap, and get some pulverized bloodroot, and mix it with two-thirds water and one-third cider, and wash it; this alone will cure all sores. A good medicine for children, in the spring, is composed of the following: take half an ounce of the best sulphur, quarter of an ounce each of cream tartar, pulverized yellow dock root, tanzy, elecampane root, pulverized rhubarb root, one ounce black alder bark, a teaspoonful of mandrake root, and a tablespoonful caraway seed; mix these with molasses, and let them stand twenty-four hours, stirring it two or three times during the day. Give according to age—a child two months old, a piece the size of a bean; a child three years old, half a teaspoonful in the morning, before dinner, and at bed-time; you can begin with small doses, and increase as you think best.
The best way to cleanse the blood of an infant, when at the breast, is for the mother to take the proper medicines and purify her own blood; it will do the child more good, and renew the milk. If your child is full of humors, you may be sure they will increase; but do not wean it on that account—purify your blood by taking the cleansing syrups mentioned in this book; and, in case you do not understand how to mix them, send to me for them, mentioning the age of the child, and how the humor makes its appearance.
The seven years’ itch is very prevalent at the present day, among all classes of society, from the highest to the lowest; it is fashionably termed salt rheum, or a species of it. Children are more or less troubled with the preaff, a species of ringworm; use no ointments, externally, until the inside is well guarded, or you throw it on the lungs, or in the joints, and make it a fool or a cripple for life. So be wise and prudent. Do not comb or scrape a baby’s head, if it has dandruff; wet it with a little sweet or olive oil at night, the next morning wash it carefully with Castile soap, and continue until all is removed. Keep the infant’s ears well cleaned; always use a soft brush for the hair.
Kind reader—I have endeavored to instruct you how to secure good health for your children; allow your aged friend to say a few words for the soul—which never dies, but returns to its Creator, God. Have you ever considered this important truth? If so—happy soul! angels rejoice to see a mother leading her babes to Jesus! As soon as they can lisp, teach them to pronounce the name of Jesus, and to ask him to bless them and you. Bow with them at the Throne of Grace, morning and evening; be simple and short, in your requests to your Heavenly Father, that it may be a pleasure, rather than a task, to them.
Has death visited your abode, or fortune frowned upon you—go to Bethlehem; there you will find the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of your Savior—poor, outcast, and dejected, seeking a shelter, to bring forth the God-man! Then follow her to the Cross; here, a sword pierces her own soul, to behold her only-beloved Son expire on the cross for ungrateful man. But she had grace from on high; and we, too, can have the same ark. Remember, this is not our abiding place; Mary rejoiced, because she knew this, and her soul was filled with love—no murmuring or complaint escaped her lips—all was submission to the will of God! Let us all follow her example; and join our dear babes in Heaven, as the mother of our God and Savior did.
GENERAL REMARKS.
