3i6 AN ACCOUNT OF 



island of* Ascension had a similar influence on himj 

 on botli occasions he experienced for one day 

 before, and one day after, increased sickness, and 

 pains in the stomach. He then improved gradu- 

 ally till the end of the S. E. monsoon, which 

 brought us only to the equator. From this time 

 he grew worse: he threw up a maw-worm. I gave 

 him a purge to relieve him from the slime which 

 had accumulated in the lower belly. As he grew 

 rather better after this, I continued to give him 

 tamarinds till he reached the latitude of the Cape 

 Verd islands, where the air grew better, as the 

 N.E. monsoon no longer blew so near from shore, 

 and the patient visibly improved : the full moon, 

 which happened at this time, perhaps also contri- 

 buted to his rapid improvement. Some days later, 

 when he had no more sickness at the stomach, and 

 had a twitching all over the stomach, (which I 

 had formerly observed in him to be a symptom of 

 getting better,) I gave him Tinctiira valeriance 

 amnion, with a drop of ol. menthce pip. which 

 agreed very well with him. As he had previously 

 been used to sickness at the stomach, when he had 

 appetite, he now received a glass of wine daily 

 an hour before dinner. Bark and bitters at length 

 put an end to his three months' illness •; but, for 

 some weeks, he could not bear to tread hard on the 



* During these three months we were constantly in the 

 neighbourhood of Africa, from Madagascar to the Cape Verd 

 islands. 



