smell under her nose, for bad odours are unpleasant to nature, and the
animal spirits so strive against them, that the natural heat is restored
by their means. The brain is sometimes so oppressed, that it becomes
necessary to burn the outer skin of the head with hot oil, or with a hot
iron, and strong injections and suppositories are useful. Take a handful
each of sage, calamint, horehound, feverfew, marjoram, betony and
hyssop; half an ounce of aniseed; two drachma each of coloquintida,
white hellebore and salgem; boil these in two quarts of water till
reduced to half; add two ounces of castor oil and two drachms of hiera
piera and make an injection of it. Or take two ounces of boiled honey,
half a scruple of spurge, four grains of coloquint, two grains of
hellebore and drachm of salt; make a suppository. Hippocrates mentions a
hysterical woman who could only be relieved of the paroxysms by pouring
cold water on her: yet this is a strange cure, and should only be
administered in the heat of summer, when the sun is in the tropic of
Cancer.

If it be caused by the retention and corruption of the seed, let the
mid-wife take oil of lilies, marjoram and bay leaves, and dissolve two
grains of civet in them, and the same quantity of musk, and at the
moment of the paroxysm let her dip her finger into the mixture and put
it into the neck of the womb, and tickle and rub it with it.

When the fit is over, proceed to remove the cause. If it arises from
suppression of the menses, look in Chapter XI, p. 102, for the cure. If
it arises from the retention of the seed, a good husband will administer
the cure, but those who cannot honourably obtain that remedy, must use
such means as will dry up and diminish the seed, as diaciminum,
diacalaminthes, etc. The seed of the agnus castus is highly valued as a
draught, whether taken inwardly, applied outwardly or used as a