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VISITING PATIENTS 22

THE LEE PENNY 209

INDEX 285

THE DOCTOR IN HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND FOLK-LORE.

Barber-Surgeons.

BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S.

The calling of the barber is of great antiquity. We find in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel allusions to the Jewish custom of the barber shaving the head as a sign of mourning.

In the remote past the art of surgery and the trade of barber were combined. It is clear that in all parts of the civilized world, in bygone times, the barber acted as a kind of surgeon, or to state his position more precisely, he practised phlebotomy.

The edict of Tours must have given satisfaction to the barbers, and they were not slow to avail themselves of the opportunities the change afforded them. In London, and we presume in other places, the barbers advertised their blood-letting in a most objectionable manner. It was customary to put blood in their windows to attract the attention of the public. An ordinance was passed in 1307, directing the barbers to have the blood "privily carried into the Thames under pain of paying two shillings to the use of the Sheriffs."

At an early period in London the barbers were banded together, and a gild was formed. In the first instance it seems that the chief object was the bringing together of the members at religious observances. They attended the funerals and obits of deceased members and their wives. Eventually it was transformed into a semi-social and religious gild, and subsequently became a trade gild.

In 1308, Richard le Barber, the first master of the Barbers' Company, was sworn at the Guildhall, London. As time progressed, the London Company of Barbers increased in importance.

The barber's pole, it is said, owes its origin to the barber-surgeons. Much has been written on this topic, but we believe that the following are the facts of the matter. We know that in the days of old bleeding was a frequent occurrence, and during the operation the patient used to grasp a staff, stick, or pole which the barber-surgeon kept ready for use, and round it was bound a supply of bandages for tying the arm of the patient. The pole, when not in use, was hung at the door as a sign. In course of time a painted pole was displayed instead of that used in the operation.

Lord Thurlow addressing the House of Lords, July 17th, 1797, stated, "by a statute, still in force, barbers and surgeons were each to use a pole . The barbers were to have theirs blue and white, striped, with no other appendage; but the surgeons', which was to be the same in other respects, was likewise to have a gully-pot and a red rag, to denote the particular nature of their vocations."

The Rev. J. L. Saywell has a note on bleeding in his "History and Annals of Northallerton" :--"Towards the early part of this century," observes Mr. Saywell, "a singular custom prevailed in the town and neighbourhood of Northallerton . In the spring of the year nearly all the robust male adults, and occasionally females, repaired to a surgeon to be bled, a process which they considered essentially conduced to vigorous health." The charge for the operation was one shilling.

Parliament was petitioned, in 1542, praying that surgeons might be exempt from bearing arms and serving on juries, and thus be enabled without hindrance to attend to their professional duties. The request was granted, and to the present time medical men enjoy the privileges granted so long ago.

In 1745, the surgeons and the barbers separated by Act of Parliament. The barber-surgeons lingered for a long time, the last in London, named Middleditch, of Great Suffolk Street, in the Borough, only dying in 1821. Mr. John Timbs, the popular writer, left on record that he had a vivid recollection of Middleditch's dentistry.

Touching for the King's Evil.

BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S.

The practice of touching for the cure of scrofula--a disease more generally known as king's evil--prevailed for a long period in England. Edward the Confessor who reigned from 1042 to 1066, appears to be the first monarch in this country who employed this singular mode of treatment.

Malcolm and Macduff are in England, "in a room in the King's palace" :--

History does not furnish any facts respecting touching by the four kings of the House of Normandy. It is generally believed that the Norman monarchs did not practise the rite.

During the Commonwealth we have not any trace of Cromwell touching for the malady. During the rising in the West of England, the Duke of Monmouth, who claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne, touched several persons for the evil, and, said a newspaper of the time, with success. One of the charges made against him on his trial at Edinburgh for high treason, was, that he had "touched children of the King's Evil." Two witnesses proved the charge, having witnessed the ceremony at Taunton.

Samuel Pepys witnessed the ceremony on April 13th, 1661, and refers to it in his Diary. "Went to the Banquet House, and there saw the King heal, the first time I ever saw him do it, which he did with great gravity, and it seemed to me to be an ugly office and a simple one."

In Evelyn's Diary on March 28th, 1684, there is a record of a serious accident, "There was," he writes, "so great a concourse of people with their children to be touched for the evil, that six or seven were crushed to death by pressing at the chirurgeon's door for tickets."

"March 14th, 1683, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Anne Dickens, of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, was certified for in order to obtayne his Majesty's touch for her cure.

HENRY GROVE, Minister. JOHN BIRCH, } HENRY PATER, } Churchwardens."

We cull from the churchwardens' accounts of Terling, Essex, the following item:--

"1683 Dec. Pd. for his Majestie's order for touching 00.00.06."

A page in the register book of Bisley, Surrey, is headed thus, "Certificates for the Evill commonly called the kings Evill." Two entries occur as follow:--

"Elizabeth Collier and Thomas Collier the children of Thomas Collier, Senior, had a certificate from the minister and churchwardens of Bisley, August 7th 1686."

"Sarah Massey, the daughter of Richard Massey, had a certificate from the minister and churchwardens of Bisley, 1st April 1688."

Old parish accounts often contain entries similar to the following, from Ecclesfield, Yorkshire:--

"1641. Given to John Parkin wife towards her trauell to London to get cure of his Matie. for the disease called Euill which her soone Thom is visited withall 0. 6. 8."

In Vol. 38 of the Corporation Records, fo. 74b, under the date of February 28th, 1671, is the following:--

"Ordered that Elizabeth Trevis haue x given her for charges in carrying her daughter to London to be touched for the Evill."

A few years later, on March 12th, 1678 , occurs the following:--

"Anne Thornton to haue x for goeing to London to be touched for the euill."

And again on March 3, 1687 , ten shillings was granted for "carrying of Judith Gibbons & her Child & one Dorothy Browne to London to be touched by his Majestie in order to be healed of the Kings Evil."

The Records of the Corporation of Preston, Lancashire, contain at least two references to this matter. In the year 1682 the bailiffs were instructed to "pay unto James Harrison, bricklayer, 10s. towards carrying his son to London, in order to the procuring of His Majesty's touch."

The ceremony cost, we learn from Macaulay, about ?10,000 a year, and the amount would have been much greater but for the vigilance of the royal surgeons, whose business it was to examine the applicants, and to distinguish those who came for the cure, and those who came for the gold.

After the death of Queen Anne, no other English sovereign kept up the custom, although the service remained in the "Book of Common Prayer" as late as 1719.

The latest instance we have found of the ceremony being performed was in October, 1745, when Charles Edward, at Holyrood House, touched a child.

Visiting Patients.

In the days of Queen Anne, a doctor would even drive half-a-dozen horses attached to his chariot, and not fewer than four was the general rule.

In our own time the doctor's carriage and pair is to be seen in all directions. It is now driven for use and not for display as in the days of Queen Anne.

We have seen the bicycle used by doctors of good standing, and we predict the time is not far distant when it will be more generally ridden by members of the medical profession.

Assaying Meat and Drink.

BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S.

Let us imagine ourselves in an old English home, the palace of a king, or the stronghold of a leading nobleman. The cloth is laid by subordinate servants, but not without considerable ceremony. Next a chief officer of the household sees that every article on the table is free from poison. The bread about to be consumed is cut, and, in the presence of the "taker of assay," is tasted, and the salt is also tested. The knives, spoons, and table linen are kissed by a responsible person, so that assurance might be given that they were free from poison. Then the salt dish is covered with a lid, and the bread is wrapped in a napkin, and afterwards the whole table is covered with a fair white cloth. The coverlet remains until the head of the household comes to take his repast, and then his chief servant removes the covering of the table. If any person attempted to touch the covered bread or the covered salt after the spreading of the coverlet, they ran the risk of a severe flogging, and sometimes even death at the hands of a hangman.

We produce from the Rev. Charles Bullock's interesting volume entitled "How they Lived in the Olden Time," a picture of bringing in the dinner. It will be observed that the steward, bearing his staff of office, heads the procession.

Each dish as it was brought to the table was again tasted in the presence of the personage who purposed partaking of it. This entailed considerable ceremony, and took up much time. To render the delay as little unpleasant as possible to the guests, music was usually performed.

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