Early Eighteenth-Century Newspaper Reports compiled by Rictor Norton

Preserving Old Age

25 February 1721

Having received the following extraordinary receipt for the preserving of old age, we thought it a debt to the ancient ladies to communicate and recommend it for their advantage.

I am an old woman, of six score and eight;
I am crook'd condition'd, and never was strait:
I scold twice a day, till I'm quite out of breath;
'Tis the milk of my age, and my dose against death:
It opens my pipes, and it quickens my blood,
And serves me instead both of physick and food.
My Grand-Mother told me, (and charg'd me to try),
That while I cou'd scold, I never shou'd dye.

(Applebee's Original Weekly Journal)

(Texts have been modernized with regard to capitalization, italicization, and punctuation, but original spelling has been retained. This edition copyright Rictor Norton. All rights reserved. Reproduction for sale or profit prohibited. These extracts may not be archived, republished or redistributed without the permission of the compiler.)

CITATION: Rictor Norton, Early Eighteenth-Century Newspaper Reports: A Sourcebook, "Preserving Old Age", 4 March 2004 <http://grubstreet.rictornorton.co.uk/oldage.htm>

Return to list of Newspaper Reports