Ever since Stephen Maturin had grown rich with their first prize he had constantly laid in great quantities of asafetida, castoreum and other substances, to make his medicines more revolting in taste, smell and texture than any others in the fleet; and he found it answered – his hardy patients knew with their entire beings that they were being physicked.
Stinking ingredients that help deal with pox and also make you feel like you’ve had medicine
Asafoetida - hing in Hindi
Castoreum - beaver anal gland secretion
