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Treatment of Diphtheria

Make two small bags to reach from ear to ear, and fill them with wood-ashes and salt; dip them in hot water, and wring them out so that they will not drip, and apply them to the throat; cover up the whole with a flannel cloth, and change them as often as they become cool, until the throat becomes irritated, near blistering. For children it is necessary to put flannel cloths between the ashes and the throat, to prevent blistering. When the ashes have been on a sufficient time, take a wet flannel cloth and rub it with castile soap until it is covered with a thick lather; dip it in hot water, and apply it to the throat, and change as they cool; at the same time use a gargle made of 1 tea-spoonful each of cayenne pepper, salt, and molasses, in a tea-cupful of starting during sleep, attended often with a hot water, and when cool, add as much slow fever.