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APOTHECARIES.

Joachim 1. who, on coming to the government, gave theapothecary a new patent, in which was stipulated that hisbody physician should take care the shop should be furnishedwith proper drugs; that the medicines to be furnishedto the Elector, and his court, should be made up ac-cording to the prescriptions, and that he should not chargeabove the regulated prices.

We are assured that at Halle, in Saxony , there was noapothecary’s shop till 1403. Before that period, medicineswere sold by grocers and barbers only. In that year, itappears, the council, with the consent of the Archbishop,permitted one Simon Puster to establish an apothecary’sshop; in order,as the patent states, “ That the citizens mightbe supplied with confections, cooling liquids, and suchcommon things, at a cheap rate; and, that in case of sick-ness, they might be able to procure, readily, fresh and w ellprepared medicines.” By it Puster was exempt from allpublic taxes and' contributions for ten years, with thisproviso, that during that period he should furnish yearly,at the council house, for two collations in the time offestivity, eight pounds of good sugar confections, properto be used on such occasions. It was also stated, that infuture, no kind of preserves made with sugar, or what wascalled confectionary, or theriac , should be kept for sale, orsold either in the market, or in booths, shops, or stalls,except at the annual fair. This was the only apothecary’sshop in that city till 1535, when the Archbishop gavehis physician, J. N. Von Wyhe, liberty to establish a newone, with an assurance that to eternity no other should beestablished or permitted in Halle; which declaration wasconfirmed by the chapter! However, notwithstanding theeternal promise of the Archbishop, confirmed by his clergy,one Wolf Holzwirth, a skilful apothecary, who had latelyreturned from Italy , found means to procure permission, in1555, to establish a new, and the third apothecary’s shop.

In 1409, at the period the university of Prague wastransferred to Leipsic, and things were put on the samefooting in the latter city as had been in the former ; amongother things, an apothecary’s shop was likewise founded,and known by the same name as that at Prague had been ;it was called the Golden Lion.

In 1560, an apothecary’s shop was established at Eisenach .At this period there was none for the court of the DukeJohn Ernest, who died in 1638. Till then the office ofapothecary had been supplied by one of the yeomen of thejewellery.