upright, and to walk without any sense of pain.

4. A certain cardinal was sick of animposthume, and now the collected matter was got in such manner into his throat, that it caused great difficulty of breathing, and threatened to strangle him immediately. The physicians had desert. ed him, as a man whose case was utterly desperate, when his servants, eager after spoil, entered his chamber, and seized upon all the ornaments of it. They took down the hangings, pictures, statues, carried out the carpets, cushions, and the very clothes of their master, yea, his cardinal's gown, while he yet breathed and looked upon them. The cardinal kept an ape, and he having observed how his fellow servants had been busied, comes also himself into the chamber, looks round about him to see what there was left for him; he finds nothing but only the cardinal's cap, which lay neglected upon the ground: this he merrily takes up, and puts uponhisown head. This specfacle moved the almost dying cardinal to a most extreme laughter, the laughter broke the imposthume, and after he had well vomited he was restored to his health and the recovery of his embezzled goods.

5. Sextus Pomponius, the governor of the hither Spain, and father to one that had been pretor, while he was present in his barns at the winnowing of his corn, was seized with terrible pains of the gout; he thrust therefore his legs above the knees into a heap of wheat, and by this way of drying his feet, received ease in a wonderful manner, and afterwards upon the same occasion made use of the same remedy.

6. Mr. Stepkins, the famous oculist (as both himself and an illustrious person that was present at the cure informed me), had a maid brought to him of about eighteen years of age, having a couple of cataracts that she had brought with her into the world, by reason of which she had lived absolutely blind from the first moment of her birth. This maid

beingbrought to the free use of her eyes, was so ravished at the surprising specta cle of so many and various objects as presented themselves to her unacquainted sight, that almost every thing she saw transported her with such admiration and delight, that she was in danger of losing the eyes of her mind by those of her body, and to fulfil that mystical Arabian proverb, which advises to shut the windows that the house may be light.

7. Paleologus the Second, emperor of Constantinople, was dangerously sick, and when nature nor the art of his physicians could at all profit him, and that he had kept his bed for about a year, to the great prejudice of the state, the empress was informed by an old woman, that it was impossible her husband should recover, unless he was continually vexed and provoked by harsh dealing and ill usage, for by that means the humours that were the occasion of his sickness, would be dissipated and discharged. This advice was approved, and by this way of contrary cure (as one would think) the empress proceeded: she began continually to vex and torment him to an exceeding height, scarce observing him in any one thing that he commanded. With these frequent and incessant vexa tions, the malignant humours were discussed by the augmentation of heat, and the emperor did so perfectly recover, that throughout those twenty years which he survived this malady, even to the sixtieth year of his age, he remained sound and well.

8. A certain man (saith Solenander) lay sick upon his bed, and in all appearance entering upon the last moments of his life, at which time came an enemy of his, and inquired of his servant where his master was: "He is," said he, "in his bed, in such condition, that he is not likely to live out this day." But he (as the manner of the Italians is) resolving he should die by his hands, enters his chamber, and giving the sick person a desperate stab, departs; but by the flux of blood that issued from that

wound,

wound, and the diligent attendance for his cure, the man recovered, receiving as it were a new life from him who came for no other purpose than to assure himself of his death.

9 Nicholaus, an architect, fell headlong from an high tower. and yet was so far from being hurt by so dreadful a fall, that he received an advantage thereby; for whereas before he halted on one foot, he ever afterwards went upright.

10. Udalricus baron of Hoenstone, a valiant person, was disfigured by a most protuberant wen, which had been long growing upon him: this man was' colonel of the Switzers under the emperor Maximilian the First. In the war of Milan, it fortuned that the colonel was run through the neck with the point of a lance, and received thereby so fortunate a blow, that the wound from his enemy was the perfect cure of his wen, as himself used afterwards to boast.

11. Alphonsus king of Arragon lay sick at Capua, and receiving no help by the administration of his physicians, betook himself to the reading of Q Curtius's History of the Acts of Alexander the Great, wherein he took such delight, that he was thereby recovered to his former health, as is related by Antonius Panormita and Æneas Sylvius. So also Ferdinand king of Spain and Sicily recovered his health that was despaired of by his physicians, by reading the history of Titus Livius. At the taking of Roan by the duke of Espernon, so strange wounds were observed, as that their cures, defeating all the rules of art, passed for miraculous. One of the soldiers of the duke's guards, called Faure, received a cannon-shot in his belly, which passed quite through, leaving an orifice bigger than a hat-crown, so that the surgeons could not imagine, though it were possible the bowels should remain unoffended, that nature could have supplied so wide a breach, which notwithstanding she did, and to that perfection, that the party found himself as well as before. Another of the same condition, called Ramée, and

of the place (they being both natives of St. Jean d' Angely) received a musket-shot, which entering at his mouth, came out at the nape of his neck, who' was also perfectly cured. Which two extravagant wounds being reported to the king, his majesty took them both into his particular dependence, saying those were men that could not die, though they afterwards both ended their days in his service.

12. I was familiarly acquainted with a man of no mean condition, who about sixteen years ago, being accused of high matters, was brought to Berne, where he was several times tortured upon the rack with great rigour: notwithstanding he constantly affirmed (in the midst of all his pain) that he was innocent; so that at last he was freed and restored to his dignity. This person for many years past, had been miserably tormented with the gout; but from the time of his tortures before-mentioned, and the use of the Valesian baths, his health was so far confirmed, that being alive at this day, he never was sensible of the least pain of his gout; but although he is now old, he is able to stand and walk in a much better manner than he could before,'

13. A young woman married, but without children, had a disease about hef jaws, and under her cheek, like unto kernels, and the disease so corrupted her face, that she could scarce, without great shame, speak unto any man. This woman was admonished in her sleep to go to king Edward, and get him to wash her face with water, and she should be whole. To the court she came; and the king hearing of the matter, disdained not to undertake it, but having a bason of water brought unto him, he dipped his hand therein, and washed the woman's face, and touched the diseased part oftentimes, sometimes also signing it with the sign of the cross. When he had thus washed it, the hard crust or skin was softened, the tumours dissolved, and drawing his hand by divers of the holes, out thence came divers little worms,

whereof,

whereof, and of corrupt matter and blood, they were full. The king still pressed it with his hand to bring forth the corruption, and endured the stench of it, until by such pressing he had brought forth all the corruption. This done, he commanded her a sufficient allowance every day for all things necessary, until she had received perfect health, which was within a week after; and whereas she was ever before barren, within one year she had a child by her husband. This disease hath since been called the King's Evil, and is frequently cured by the touch of the kings of England.

14. Sir John Cheeke was one of the tutors to king Edward the Sixth, and afterwards secretary of state; much did the kingdom value him, but more the king; for being once desperately sick, the king carefully inquiring of him every day, at last his physician told him there was no hope of his life, being given over by him for a dead man: "No," said the king," he will not die at this time, for this morning I begged his life from God in my prayers, and obtained it:" which accordingly came to pass; and soon after, contrary to all expectation, he wonderfully recovered. This, saith Dr. Fuller, was attested by the old earl of Huntingdon, bred up in his childhood with king Edward, to sir Thomas Cheeke, who was alive anno 1654, and eighty years of age.

15. Duffe, the threescore and eighteenth king of Scotland, laboured with a new and unheard-of disease, no cause apparent, all remedies bootless, his body languishing in a continual sweat, and his strength apparently decaying; insomuch that he was suspected to be bewitched, which was increased by a rumour, that certain witches of Forest in Murray practised his destruction, arising from a word which a girl let fall, that the king should die shortly; who being examined by Donald, captain of the castle, and tortures shewed her, confessed the truth, and how her mother was one of the assembly. When certain soldiers being sent in search, surprised them roasting

the waxen image of the king before a soft fire, to the end that as the wax melted by degrees, so should the king dissolve by little and little, and consume with the consumption of the other. The image being broken, and the witches executed, the king recovered his usual health in a moment.

16. When Albertus Basa, physician to the king of Poland, returned out of Italy, he went to Paracelsus, who then lived at the city of Vitus, and with him he went to visit a sick person, of whom all who were there present said "that he could not possibly live above an hour or two; and by reason of an indisposition in his breast, a defect in his pulse, and failing in his spirits, they pronounced of him, that he would not outlive a few hours." Paracelsus said, it would be so indeed in despite of all that skill in physic which the humourists have, but that he might easily be restored by that true art which God had shut up in nature: and thereupon he invited the sick man to dine with him the next day. He then produced a certain distillation, three drops of which he gave to the patient in wine, which immediately so restored the man, that he was well that night, and the next day came to Paracelsus's inn, and dined with him in sound and perfect health, to the admiration of all men.

17. M. de Botaquet, a gentleman born in Normandy, and captain in the service of the United Provinces, fought a duel at Delft in Holland, and was run through the heart in the left side; when he received the wound, he fell down, so that his antagonist thought him dead, and immediately fled. The surgeons in Holland did every thing in their power, and afterwards closed up the wound, so that the patient went abroad to his usual occupation. Some time after however he grew weak; the flesh of his body perceptibly wasted away day after day, so that the Dutch physicians

could