Part 55 (2/2)

And than great and n.o.ble men doth vse to here ma.s.se, & other men that can not do so, but muste applye theyr busynes, doth [s] serue G.o.d w{i}t{h} some prayers, surrendrynge thankes to hym for hys manyfolde goodnes, with askynge mercye for theyr offences. And before you go to your refecti[Fol. E. iii.b.]on, moderatly exercise your body with some labour, or [t] playeng at the tennys, or castyng a bowle, or paysyng weyghtes or plo{m}mettes of leede in your handes, or some other thyng, to open your poores, & to augment naturall heate. [v] At dyner and supper[4] vse not to drynke sundry drynkes, and eate not of dyuers meates: but [x] feede of .ii. or .iii. dysshes at the moste. After that you haue dyned and supte, laboure not by and by after, but make a pause, syttynge or standynge vpryght the s.p.a.ce of an howre or more with some pastyme: drynke not moch after dyner. [y] At your supper, vse lyght meates of dygestyon, and refrayne from grose meates; go not to bed with a full nor an emptye stomacke. And after your supper make a pause or you go to bed; and go to bed, as I sayde, with myrth.

[Sidenotes: [a] After Dinner, sleep standing [b] against a cupboard.

[c] Before bedtime be merry.

[d] Have a fire in your bedroom, [e] but stand a good way off it.

[f] Shut your windows.

[f] Lie first on your left side.

[g] To sleep groveling on the belly, is bad; [h] on the back upright, is worse.

[i] Wear a scarlet nightcap.

[k] Have a flock bed over your featherbed.

[l] On rising, remember G.o.d, brush your breeches, put on [m] your hose, [n] stretch, [o] go to stool.

[p] Truss your points, comb your head, [q] wash your hands and face, [r] take a stroll, [s] pray to G.o.d.

[t] Play at tennis, or wield weights.

[v] At meals, [x] eat only of 2 or 3 dishes; [y] let supper-dishes be light.]

Furthermore as concernynge your apparell. In wynter, next your shert vse you to [a] weare a petycote of scarlet: your dowb[Fol. E.iv.]let vse at plesure: But I do aduertyse you to [b] lyne your Iacket vnder this fa.s.shyon or maner. Bye you fyne skynnes of whyte lambe & blacke lambe.

And let your skyn{n}er cut both y^e sortes of the skynnes in smale peces triangle wyse, lyke halfe a quarell of a gla.s.se wyndowe. And than sewe togyther a [* MS. _a a_] whyte pece and a blacke, lyke a whole quarell of a gla.s.se wyndowe: and so sewe vp togyther quarell wyse as moche as wyll lyne your Iacket: this furre, for holsommes, is praysed aboue sables, or any other fur. Your exteryall aparel vse accordyng to your honour. In som{m}er vse to were a scarlet petycote made of stamell or lynse wolse. In wynter and so{m}mer kepe not your bed to hote, nor bynde it to strayte; [c] kepe euer your necke warme. In somer kepe your necke and face from the sonne; vse to [d] wear gloues made of goote skyn, perfumed with Amber degrece. And beware in sta{n}dyng or lyeng on the [Fol. E.iv.b.] grounde in the reflection of the son{n}e, but be mouable. If thou shalt com{m}on or talke w{i}t{h} any man: [e] stande not styll in one place yf it be vpon y^e bare grou{n}de, or gra.s.se, or stones: but be mouable in suche places. Stande nor syt vpon no stone or stones: Stande nor syt longe barehed vnder a vawte of stone. Also beware that you do not lye in olde cha{m}bres which be not occupyed, [f]

specyally suche chambres as myse and rattes and snayles resorteth vnto: lye not in suche chambres, the whiche be depreued cleane from the sonne and open ayre; nor lye in no lowe Chambre, excepte it be boorded. Beware that you [g] take no colde on your feete and legges. And of all weather beware that you do not ryde nor go in great and Impytous wyndes. (_A Compe{n}dyous Regyment or a Dyetary of helth, made in Mou{n}tpylior: Compyled by Andrewe Boorde, of Physicke Doctor._ (Colophon.) Imprinted by me Robert Wyer: Dwellynge at the sygne of seynt John Euangelyst, in S. Martyns Parysshe, besyde Charynge Crosse.)

[Sidenotes: [a] Wear a scarlet petycote.

[b] Line a jacket with white and black lambskin sewn diamond-wise.

[c] Keep your neck warm.

[d] Wear goatskin gloves.

[e] Don't stand long on gra.s.s or stones.

[f] Don't sleep in ratty rooms.

[g] Don't take cold in your feet.]

[Footnote 1-1: Compare what Bulleyn says: --slepe. The night is the best time: the daie is euill: to slepe in the fielde is perilous. But vpon, or in the bedde, liyng firste vpon the right side, untill you make water: then vpon the lefte side, is good. [a]But to lye vpon the backe, with a gaping mouth, is daungerous: and many thereby are made starke ded in their slepe: through apoplexia, and obstruccion of the sinewes, of the places vitalle, animall, and nutrimentalle. _Bullein's Bulwarke, The booke of the vse of sicke men and medicenes_, fol. lxx. See also Sir John Harrington's directions from Ronsovius: ”They that are in health, must first sleepe on the right side, because the meate may come to the liuer, which is to the stomack as a fire vnder the pot, and thereby is digested. To them which haue but weake digestion, it is good to sleepe prostrate on their bellies, or to [b] haue their bare hands on their stomackes: and to lye vpright on the backe, is to bee vtterly abhorred.”

p. 19.

[Sidenotes to Footnote: [a] How to lie in bed.

[b] Who should put their hands on their stomachs.]]

[Footnote 2: This wenche lay _upright_, and faste slepte. Chaucer. _The Reeves Tale_, l. 4192, ed. Wright.]

[Footnote 3: [a] Fricacion is one of the euacuacions, yea, or clensynges of mankinde, as all the learned affirmeth: that mankinde should rise in the mornyng, and haue his apparell warme, stretchyng foorthe his handes and legges. Preparyng the bodie to the stoole, and then [b] begin with a fine Combe, to kembe the heere vp and down: then with a course warme clothe, to chafe or rubbe the hedde, necke, breast, armeholes, bellie, thighes, &c., and this is good to open the pores.

1562 _Bullein's Bulwarke_, The booke of the vse of sicke men and medicenes, fol. lxvij. See Vaughan below, No. 2, p. 133.

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