86 



TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



luctantly, and by pleasing amusement. Above all 

 things, you must be careful not to leave the deck, 

 or at the first attack of head-ach, to go down into 

 the confined air of the cabin. But ifj notwith- 

 standing, the disease becomes so severe that you 

 become quite despondent, and hardly able to move, 

 no reUef is to be expected but from an entirely 

 horizontal position, and from the sleep which then 

 ensues. In this position it is advisable, after some 

 repose, to take some porter, solid cold food, such 

 as ham, and then return into the air. Resolution 

 and amusement can do much, whereas meditation 

 and mental exertion, particularly in weak persons, 

 may excite or prolong the disease. The less peo- 

 ple reflect, and the more they divert themselves 

 by various employments, by walking about on 

 deck, nay, even by fencing, and sailors' work, the 

 more easily do they become accustomed to the 

 motion, particularly on a long voyage. In this 

 manner we too were gradually more rarely visited 

 by this disagreeable disorder, and favoured by fine 

 weather, were able to spend the whole day upon 

 deck. Only when the sea is very high, and the 

 motion of the ship very violent, the first sensations 

 return, though only for a time ; but the more 

 uniform the wind and the movement of the ship 

 were, the more easily did we accustom ourselves 

 to it, and the more agreeable did a seafaring life 

 appear to us. 



The wind continuing to be favourable, we soon 

 reached Madeira. On the 5th of June, in the 



