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Peppers (Capsicum gargle of properly)

A Capsicum gargle of properly modified strength will specially relieve other milder forms of sore, and relaxed throat, by virtue, not only of its stimulating action, but further because possessing an inherent specific medicinal affinity for the throat; which part Sydney Smith apostrophized thus in his own instance :- "Much injured organ! constant is thy toil!

Spits turn to do thee harm, and coppers boil; Passion, and punch, and toasted cheese, and paste, And all that's said, and swallowed, lay thee waste!" Under the invocation of Saint Blaize (in whose processions at one time drunkenness prevailed, giving rise to the reproach "drunk as Blazes") a custom has become perpetuated from Italy by the Fathers of Charity, for the blessing of throats. Two candles consecrated on Candlemas Day, being crossed in the form of an X, are placed under the affected person's chin so as to touch the throat, while these words are said: "By the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, through the merits of St. Blaize, Bishop, and Martyr, may our Lord deliver thee from every malady of the throat." Miraculous cures are said to have followed this pious ceremony. Saint Blaize was the patron of wool-combers. Another "sovereign cure for drunkenness, and pleasant withal" is told of by Tuer, in London Cries, as having been known by the name of Saloop, which was originally dispensed at street corners, where it was consumed formerly for the most part about the hour of midnight. It eventually found its way into the coffee houses of past times. The ingredients used in preparing this beverage were various, sassafras, and other simples of the cuckoo-flower tribe being the principal among them. This was not the same old English drink as Salep, concocted from the dried tubers of several orchids which were mucilaginous, and demulcent, like sago, or tapioca.

With respect to Peppers, and their allied pungent spices, as desirable aids to digestion, doctors have differed, and still include objectors. Dr. Beaumont said: "These spicy condiments do not afford any nutrition, and their continual use affects the stomach as alcohol, and all other stimulants do; the present relief afforded is at the expense of future suffering." Likewise also Mattieu Williams in his Chemistry of Cooking, writes : "Thousands of poor wretches are crawling miserably to their graves, the victims of the multitude of maladies of both mind, and body, that are connected with chronic incurable dyspepsia brought about by the use of Cayenne, and its condimental cousins."

For catarrh of the stomach which gives distress without feverish disturbance, or for gout of stomach under the like conditions, a tea made by pouring boiling water on sufficient Cayenne Pepper, and drinking half a tumblerful (whilst quite hot) at a time will give relief.

A Capsicum ointment, or Chilli paste, will almost invariably serve to mitigate the painful stiffness of chronic rheumatism if rubbed in topically for ten minutes at a time with a gloved hand. This paste is to be made with "capsicin," the oleo-resin of the pods (half an ounce), and sheep's-wool oil (lanoline), five ounces, melting the latter, and after adding the capsicin letting them be stirred together until cold. Indolent piles which have extruded, and the circulation in which is stagnant, can be stimulated to reduction by the use of this ointment when diluted so as to cause only moderate smarting. At the same time the viands taken at table should be sprinkled with Cayenne Pepper. For a scrofulous discharge from the ears of a child Capsicum tincture, of a weak strength (four drops to a tablespoonful of cold water), injected three times a day, will exercise curative effects. In passive congestion of the eyes through catarrh, or rheumatism, the diluted juice of Capsicum used as a lotion is a sovereign remedy. It will even clear the sight of healthy eyes, but must not be used too strong, only sufficiently so as to produce a temporary smarting. A "poor man's plaster" made of Capsicum extract, or Cayenne Pepper, mixed with melted resin plaster, and then spread on brown paper, is of admirable use in lumbago, and chronic rheumatism; it must be warmed before application. This, and the Chilli paste, excite comforting sensations of warmth in the skin, with redness thereof, but they do not blister it. "I am improved," wrote Sydney Smith to Mrs. Grote, "as to lumbago, but still less upright than Aristides." Unbroken chilblains may be readily cured by rubbing them once a day with a small piece of sponge saturated by a tincture of Cayenne Pepper, until a strong sense of tingling is induced. The occurrence of chilblains," says Dr. Rabagliati, "is for the most part an indication of overfeeding, or of feeding too often, in much the same way as corns