LETTER I. 7 



repeated, but the burden is always the same : 

 1 How shall I avoid sea-sickness, and what must 

 I wear at dinner V The second question won't 

 bother you much at first, Lena ; believe me, you 

 won't risk an entry into the big salon, where the 

 stewards wobble unsteadily, and the soup descends 

 in a torrent on your shoulders for the first four 

 days. After that, if you come down to dinner 

 you will find nothing more needed than a morning- 

 frock with pretty lace fichus and ribbons. 



As for sea-sickness, you cannot avoid it. 

 None of the remedies appear to me to be of any 

 good ; but whatever you do, avoid sodium. I 

 don't know that sodium is anyone's patent, so I 

 attack it boldly, with no fear of an action for libel 

 before my eyes. It is an innocent-looking little 

 white powder, which in our case was brought on 

 board by a singularly benevolent-looking little 

 lady, who had been taking it steadily for weeks 

 beforehand. The coffin which the ship's car- 

 penter built for that little lady was fortunately 

 not wanted, but she deserved it. 



My husband and I chose the St. Lawrence 

 route to Canada, chiefly because it is advertised 

 as the shortest route in open water. So I sup- 

 pose it is, but the St. Lawrence is no duck-pond, 

 and quite capable of being rough at times. 



As to the scenery, I was a little disappointed, 



