We come now to the momentous question of mal de mer. It is a question that has puzzled the scientific men of all ages since the departure of the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece on the first ship that ever sailed the sea, and, from present appearances, it will continue to be a puzzle as long as the waves of the ocean continue to roll. By some it is claimed to be a nervous disturbance, others contend that it is purely a stomachic affair and the nerves have nothing to do with it, and there are others who argue that the brain is the seat of the disorder and disturbs the stomach by sympathetic action. There are wise men who charge sea-sickness to the spleen, the liver, or other internal organs, and it is not impossible that we may yet hear of a savant who attributes it to corns on the toes. Sea-sickness is a mystery, and the more we study it the more are we at sea as to its exact operation.

Some people, who are bundles of nerves, are not affected by the motion of a ship, while others, who are nerveless as a paper-weight, are disturbed with the least movement. Weak stomachs escape while strong ones are upset, and there seems to be no rule that can be laid down with exactness or anything that approaches it. But on one point there can be no two opinions, that sea-sickness is a most disagreeable malady, even in its mildest form, and that any means of relieving it, or even of mitigating it in a small degree, will be hailed with delight by all who suffer from it. It will also be a boon to those who are never sea-sick, as it will relieve them from a companionship that is not always the most agreeable in the world.

For some persons there is no escape, and they will be prostrate in their berths during the whole voyage of the ship, or just able to get around. But, in the majority of cases, sea-sickness may be wholly prevented by a free use of cathartics or anti-bilious remedies a day or two before departure on a voyage. In America, the pills of Ayer, Brandreth, or Wright will serve the purpose; in England, the famous "Cockle's pills," and in France the Pilules Duhaut. The relaxation of the system should be sustained during the voyage by the same means or by the use of Seidlitz powders, or similar effervescent substances; this simple precaution will save most persons from being disturbed by sea-sickness, no matter how wildly the ship may toss, provided they combine with it an abundance of air and exercise. As before stated, there is no relief known at present for the other fourth of humanity, except to stay at home.

Dr. Fordyce Barker, an eminent physician who has made a careful study of sea-sickness, opposes the previous use of cathartics, and advises that a hearty meal be eaten a short time before going on board. Those who are subject to sea-sickness he enjoins to undress and go to bed before the vessel moves from her dock or anchorage. He says they should eat regularly and heartily without raising the head for at least one or two days, and in this way they will accustom the digestive organs to the performance of their functions. He advises the use of laxative pills the first night out and, if necessary, during the entire voyage. The following is his prescription:—

LAXATIVE PILLS.

Where there is a tendency to diarrhoea, which sometimes happens at sea, he recommends the following, and he also advises the traveler to carry it in his journeys over the Continent to counteract the effects that occasionally come from drinking bad water. The dose is, for an adult,

M.S. A small teaspoonful in a wineglass of water after each movement.

Dr. Barker says that in cases where the victim has suffered several days from sea-sickness, with constant nausea, nervous depression, and sleeplessness, he has found great benefit in the use of bromide of potassium. The powders are to be taken in a half-tumbler of plain soda-water, and, if this cannot be obtained, in cold water sweetened with sugar. It is to be sipped slowly, so that the stomach may be persuaded to retain and absorb it. The powders should be kept in a wide-mouthed vial, or in a tin box, so as to protect them from the effects of the sea-air. The following is the prescription:

He also recommends a person about making a sea-voyage to take a supply of "mustard leaves," which can be had at the druggist's. They are useful in allaying the nausea and vomiting by getting up a counter irritation, and should be applied over the pit of the stomach.

Many individuals, especially those inclined to corpulency, find relief in wearing a tight belt around the waist. This is so well understood that some of the makers of surgical appliances advertise "belts for sea-sickness" as part of their stock in trade. Some persons recommend a tight-fitting undergarment of strong silk, but, in order to be of use, it must be altogether too close for comfort, and the wearer is quite likely to say that he considers it the greater of the evils.

A recumbent position is better than the erect one when a traveler is suffering from the nautical disturbance, and, in most cases, he is too weak to take any other. It is better to lie flat on the back than in any other way, and there are many persons who are well when thus lying down, but become ill the minute they attempt to rise. A friend of the writer belongs to this category. His mode of taking his meals when at sea is to lie flat on his sofa, while the steward cuts his meat into small pieces and gets everything ready. At a given signal the sufferer rises to a sitting posture, and swallows a few mouthfuls as rapidly as possible. Then he drops back, rests a few minutes, and repeats the feeding operation. In half a dozen performances of this sort he will take in a creditable dinner; as long as he remains on his back his digestion goes on all right, but he cannot be five minutes on his feet without a return of nausea.

A round of heavy dinners and champagne suppers before starting is not a good preparation for a sea-voyage, neither is a "send-off" on board, with farewell glasses of inspiriting liquids. Many a man has suffered at sea from too much conviviality before his departure.

The sufferer on the water is not charmed with the mention of the table, and even the greatest delicacies fail to arouse his appetite. Give him anything he wants, it won't make much difference, though it is well, perhaps, to deter him from ham and eggs, chicken or lobster salads, and anything, in fact, that contains grease or oil. Tea and toast are the great articles of diet for the sea-sick, and they may be safely trusted with baked apples, and with nearly all kinds of fruit. A cracker or an Albert biscuit will sometimes have charms when nothing else can be swallowed, and when the victim is convalescent he feels as though a pickle would do him good. Lemonade is admissible and soda-water is a safe beverage; brandy and soda may be ordered by those who do not shine as members of a temperance society, but it should be taken with caution and the doses must not be repeated too frequently. All drinks that contain carbonic-acid gas are beneficial, and many persons find relief in occasional small allowances of champagne. Those who intend to put any reliance on this wine during sea-sickness should equip themselves with a "champagne tap" before starting; they can then draw what they desire from a bottle and keep the rest without fear that it will become stale through loss of gas.

Hartshorn, cologne, and other substances intended for inhalation are all good at this time, partly because of their effects on their lungs and partly by the distraction of taking them. A volatile article used with great success in sea-sickness is the nitrite of amyl; it is prepared in the form of a pearl with a thin shell of glass around it so as to prevent its evaporation. Any reputable druggist can procure it, and with the pearls it is desirable to have a tube for crushing them and liberating the liquid. In the absence of the tube they may be crushed in the handkerchief, but when taken in this way a large part of the effect is lost.

Always go on deck when you are able to do so, even if you are carried up by your friends or the stewards and deposited in your chair like an armful of wet clothing. Wrap yourself well against the cold, and on the first instant of chillness get more covering or go below. Whenever you feel the impulse to feed the fishes in the early stages of a fit of sea-sickness always go to the lee side of the ship (the one the wind blows from) and never to windward. By so doing you will save a considerable amount of damage to your clothing, and also to that of any who may be near you.

Many persons will tell you that it is an excellent thing to be sea-sick, as you are so much better for it afterwards. If you are a sufferer you will do well to accept their statements as entirely correct, since you are thereby consoled and soothed, and the malady doesn't care what you think about it, one way or the other.

And now comes a bit of advice which might have been given at the opening of this dissertation on the discomforts of the heaving deep, but has been reserved to the end in the hope that it will leave a lasting impression. When the ship casts loose from the dock, or lifts her anchor and gets under way, you should think of anything and everything except sea-sickness, and if any one starts the topic in your hearing leave him and walk away, or ask him to change the subject. If you cannot be thus abrupt, change it for him by starting a political discussion or other agreeable wrangle; do anything rather than allow a continuation of his remarks. Many a man and many a woman has been talked into being sea-sick, or has meditated and wondered on the possibility of it till the malady has put in an appearance. We all know how much the mind dominates the body, how bad news takes away the appetite and good news increases it, and we have all heard how a well man was driven to his bed by the concentrated efforts of a dozen practical jokers who separately informed him that he looked very pale and something must be the matter with him. Don't talk or think of sea-sickness; you will know it fast enough when it comes, and till that time it is the wisest course to assume that you are to be the healthiest passenger on the ship.

Prof. A. G. Wilkinson, of Washington, D.C., says:

"During Atlantic crossings for four years past I found but one instance in which from twenty to thirty grains of bromide of soda in ice-water three times daily for four days, commencing two days before sailing, failed to prevent loss of a single meal. Get dry powders put up in foil and enclosed in ground-stoppered bottles, to prevent deliquescence. I learned this from experimenting for several years with chloral and the various bromides. Soda alone was never distasteful. Dr. G. M. Beard, of New York, was independently experimenting at the same time, and first published his conclusions. After vomiting commences he recommends,

A lady friend had never been able to take a single meal at sea; the second day out, while she was sick, I gave her the above, and she took every meal for the rest of the voyage."