 The kings of France continued the custom until Louis XV stopped it in the 18th century, though it was briefly revived by Charles X in 1825.Physicians, healers, and patent medicine sellers offered a wide range of cures for scrofula or The King's Evil.Since ancient times, mercury, referred to as cinnabar, quicksilver or calomel, was administered as an ointment or pill or inhaled as a vapor to treat skin diseases such as scrofula.