36 MEALS MEDICINAL. 
The effervescent table waters of commerce,—soda-water, 
potash-water, Seltzer-water, Apollinaris water, and the like,— 
are all charged more or less with alkaline carbonates, whereby 
they are prevented from arresting the salivary digestion, so 
that the use of such waters as an addition to sub-acid wines is 
commendable. The mineral waters, soda or potash, usually 
contain in each bottle from ten to fifteen grains of their respective 
bicarbonates, in addition to the carbonic acid gas. Seltzer-water 
further contains magnesium, with phosphate, and sulphate of 
soda. ‘‘ At Bath,” we are told, “in Pickwick’s day, near at 
hand to the Pump Room, there were mineral baths in which a 
part of the company wash themselves, and a band plays after- 
wards to congratulate the remainder on their fellow-visitors 
having done so.” Further on we read concerning these Bath 
mineral waters (sulphated lime): ‘ ‘ Have you drunk the waters, 
Mr. Weller ?’ inquired his companion, the tall footman, as they 
walked towards High Street. ‘ Once,’ replied Sam. ‘ What 
did you think of ’em, Sir?’ ‘I thought they was particklerly 
unpleasant,’ replied Sam. ‘Ah!’ said Mr. John Smawker, 
“you disliked the killibeate taste, perhaps?’ ‘I don’t know 
much about that ’ere,’ said Sam; ‘I thought they’d a werry 
strong flavour of warm flat-irons.’ ‘That is the killibeate, 
Mr. Weller,’ observed Mr. John Smawker contemptuously. 
‘Well, if it is, it?s a welty inexpressive word, that’s all,’ said 
Sam ; ‘it may be so, but I aint much in the chemical line myself, 
so I can’t say.’ ” 
Nowadays much may be done for the relief of functional heart 
disorders by taking, as a pleasant beverage at meals, Barium 
water, a famous spring whereof exists at Llangammarch Wells, 
in Breconshire. This contains more than six grains of barium 
per gallon. The water is likewise of especial service for curing 
enlarged tonsils in delicate children, with contingent irritability 
of the heart; also it is highly useful as a course for lessening 
arterial stiffness of the vascular coats. The Barium water can 
be had in bottles, or syphons, for table use. 
About the middle of the eighteenth century, when stone in 
the bladder was common, and was sought to be dissolved by 
alkalies, soap was largely administered as such a solvent. The 
case of Horace Walpole marked this method in 1748, when he 
began to take a course consisting of one ounce of Alicant soap in 
three pints of lime-water daily: The same regimen was continued. 
