84 THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



and tliis notion may be traced back from the present day to the earliest records 

 of physic. It has with us passed into a proverb that "an ague in the spring is physic 

 for a king," and when this was repeated to James I., he being ill of the disease, he 

 said it might be good for a young man, but would not do for an old one like 

 him. He was quite right, for, as we have seen, it killed him. Sufferers from ague 

 are seldom, even in the intervals of the paroxysms, capable of either much physical 

 or mental exertion. We in England not unnaturally think somewhat lightly of 

 ague, but in warmer climates it affords ample evidence of its appalling powers, and 

 we know only too well that whole armies have been almost exterminated by its 

 ravages. Fortunately nowadays death from ague, or at all events from uncomplicated 

 ague, is very rare in this country. 



It is a curious fact that ague exhibits a strong tendency to return, even after it 

 has been apparently cured. People who have once suffered from the disease should 

 be very careful to avoid over-fatigue and exhaustion of all kinds, as the slightest 

 excess in any shape or form will in many cases induce a relapse. 



What should we do to avoid taking ague ? The most obvious thing is, of course, 

 not to go into a malarious district' but this is a piece of advice which it is not 

 always possible to follow. Should your affairs necessitate your residence in an ague 

 district, even for a short time, there are certain precautions which you will do well 

 to adopt. You will remember that the poison never ascends to any great height, 

 and you will if possible live on high ground, as on the top of a hill. For the same 

 reason you will prefer to sleep in the attic to any room in the house, and if you are 

 obliged to be out at night, you will walk about in preference to lying down. You 

 will remember that the poison is often carried for great distances by the wind, and 

 you will consequently prefer to live on that side of the marsh from which the 

 prevalent wind blows. You will remember that water absorbs malaria, and if you 

 have the choice you will let a tract of water intervene between the source of origin 

 of the poison and your residence. You will remember that foliage attracts malaria, 

 and you will be careful not to sleep under a tree, although you would if possible 

 allow a belt of trees to intervene between you and the marsh. If there happen to 

 be any trees round your house, you of course would not cut them down. You will 

 remember that malaria is most active at night, and you will be careful not to stay 

 out after sunset, and not to go out early in the morning. For the same reason you 

 will see that the windows are closed after nightfall. You will remember that ague 

 readily attacks those who are debilitated, and you will be careful to live generously, 

 but to avoid excesses. You should never go out in the morning without a good hot 

 breakfast ; but if you can't get that, a pull at your sherry-flask won't hurt you. A 

 moderate allowance of wine or of some fermented liquor at meals is advisable. 

 Quinine is almost as useful in warding off ague as it is in curing it, and you will 

 do well to take a little occasionally. A table-spoonful of the strong quinine mixture 

 (Pr. 10), or a tea-spoonful of tincture of quinine, three times a day, for a few days, will 

 prove of the greatest benefit. A respirator or the pocket-handkerchief placed over 

 the nose and mouth will on special occasions do much to act as a protective. It is 

 said that by surrounding the head with a gauze veil the action of the malaria is . 

 prevented, and that by its use it is possible even to sleep in the most pernicious 



