Oh how important are our feet!
Because he was a traveling preacher and walked an estimated 5,000 miles a year, John Wesley often suffered from sore aching feet. (I'll bet he did)
A common solution was to rub the feet with Ivy leaves. Another was to put Silverweed into the shoes to keep the feet comfortable. For stamina they used Lovage, making a soup with it, or eating the leaves fresh.
If the feet were blistered then they were rubbed with a mixture of spirits and tallow dropped from a lighted candle. This mixture was applied before going to bed.
I get tired aching feet myself some times. I like to soak them in a warm foot-bath to which I have added a few drops of lavender and peppermint. I then rub them with a mixture of lavender, peppermint and sandlewood. It works wonders. If I run out of essential oils, I find that a couple of sachets of peppermint tea in the foot-bath is wonderful.
Contact Hilary Williams
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