spirituous, should cherish Bacon's sapient deliverance: "It is like
that the brain of man waxeth moister and fuller upon the full of the
moon; and therefore it were good for those that have moist brains,
and are great drinkers, to take sume of _lignum aloes_, rosemary,
frankincense, etc., about the full of the moon. It is like, also, that the
humours in men's bodies increase and decrease as the moon doth;
and therefore it were good to purge some day or two after the full;
for that then the humours will not replenish so soon again." [383]
All this sounds so unphilosophical that it is almost incredible that
the learned Bacon believed what he wrote. Darker superstitions,
however, still linger in our land. "In Staffordshire, it is commonly
said, if you want to cure chin-cough, take out the child and let it
look at the new moon; lift up its clothes and rub your right hand up
and down its stomach, and repeat the following lines (looking
steadfastly at the moon, and rubbing at the same time):--

'What I see, may it increase;
What I feel, may it decrease;

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.'" [384]
There is a little ambiguity here. What is felt is the child's stomach.
But the desire is not that that may decrease, but only the whooping
cough, which is _felt_, we take it, by proxy. A lady, writing of the
southern county of Sussex, says: "A superstition lingering amongst
us, worthy of the days of paganism, is that the new May moon,
aided by certain charms, has the power of curing scrofulous
complaints." [385]

As the cutting of hair, finger-nails, and corns has some relation to
health and comfort, we may here mention that in Devonshire it is
said that hair and nails should always be cut in the waning of the
moon, thereby beneficial consequences will result. If corns are cut
after the full moon, some say that they will gradually disappear. In
the _British Apollo_ we have the following request for advice:

"Pray tell your querist if he may
Rely on what the vulgar say,
That when the moon's in her increase,
If corns be cut they'll grow apace
But if you always do take care
After the full your corns to pare,
They do insensibly decay
And will in time wear quite away.
If this be true, pray let me know,
And give the reason why 'tis so." [386]

The following passage is worth quoting, without any abbreviation,
as an excellent summary of wisdom and sens