Another old rhyme runs:—
“What savour is better, if physicke be true
For places infected than wormwood or rue”.
“Clown. I must have saffron to colour the warden pies.”[35]
Saffron was formerly much prized as a medicine, a condiment, and a dye. It is said to have been introduced into England in the reign of Edward III., and was cultivated in the neighbourhood of Walden, in Essex, to which it gave its name. The quality of English saffron was renowned in Shakspeare’s time. It was used by the monks in mediæval days in illuminating their missals, and dyeing materials, as well as being esteemed as a febrifuge and cordial.
“Macbeth.
What rhubarb, senna, or what purgative drug
Would scour these English hence?”[36]
The well-known purgative properties of senna leaves were held in great repute by the old apothecaries. The drug was introduced into Europe about the ninth or tenth century by the Arabs, and it soon attained a reputable position in medical practice. The best variety was originally supposed to have been brought from Mecca.
“Rosaline. To weed this wormwood from your fruitful brain.”[37]