Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore

by Elizabeth Mary Wright

What complaint had he, Betty?

Says hoo, aw caunt tell,

We ne’er had no doctor

He deet of hissel.

Edwin Waugh.

Homely Prescriptions

For maintaining good health and keeping the doctor out of the house, there are in use certain homely prescriptions. For example: Ait a happle avore gwain to bed, An’ you’ll make the doctor beg his bread (Dev.); or as the more popular version runs: An apple a day Keeps the doctor away. Sometimes onion is substituted for apple, or, according to an Oxford version, the apple should be eaten during the day, and an onion at night. There is an old west-country proverb which bears further testimony to the health-giving properties of the onion tribe: Eat leekes in Lide [March] and ramsins [wild garlic] in May, And all the year after physitians may play. The term kitchen physic (n.Cy. Lin. Som.), food, good living, is found in early literature, cp. ‘The country people use kitchen Physick, and common experience tells us that they live freest from all manner of infirmities that make least use of Apothecaries Physick,’ Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, 1621. Her don’t want no doctorin’, ’tis kitchen physic her’s in want o’ (Som.). For a trifling ailment may be recommended: A haporth o’ thole-weel [endure-well], an’ a pennorth o’ niver-let-on-ye-hae-it (Irel.).

Medicines for General Debility

Amongst the medicines for general debility are: a decoction of dock-root, the common mallow, known as dock-root-tea (Wil. Hmp.), considered a great purifier of the blood; old-man-tea (Chs.), made from southernwood; bog-bean-tea (Lakel.), a grand thing fer takkin’ fur off yer teeth, an’ givin’ ye a stomach; medicines made from feverfew; gill-tea (War.), a decoction of gill, i.e. ground ivy, heriff, and the young shoots of nettles, given to children as a spring medicine for nine successive days, a very bitter and horrible stuff. It cannot, however, have been so nasty as a mixture formerly known in Durham, called Dean and Chapter. This consisted of the remnants from every medicine bottle in the house, poured together, and well shaken, and then administered to the patient whatever might be the nature of his complaint. A common ironical saying used in recommending a dose of anything specially nauseous is: Sup, Simon, it’s excellent broth!

To wash in May-dew was supposed to strengthen the joints and muscles, the reason given being that the dew had in it all the ‘nature’ of the spring herbs and grasses, and therefore it must be wonderfully strengthening. But the more general belief concerning May-dew was that to get up early on May-morning and wash one’s face in the dew, ensured a rosy complexion. A cosmetic for beautifying the complexion by removing freckles used to be distilled from fevertory (Wil.), the common fumitory, whence the old couplet: If you wish to be pure and holy, Wash your face with fevertory.