I once knew a strong-minded woman who avowed
she could put down sea-sickness by force of her wilL
"It is a mere fancy," she used to explain, "you feel
yourself swaying and rocking, and see others sick,
and take it for granted you are going to be sick your-
self; and so you are. I'll none of it." Afterward
the lady went to sea. Whether at her command the
wind and the waves were calm, whether the still
small voice within was quiet, she did not say ; but
never afterward did she so much as intimate that
sea-sickness could be brow-beaten.
At last the agony is over. The sea calms some- what, and after two days of rolling and dissolution, pale, gaunt forms crawl from tumbled berths and dis- ordered rooms and eye each other; staggering about as they first attempt to use their feet, grasping posts, and railings, finally settling down to languid lounging in high-back easy-chairs, and on benches. Thouglits of feeding arise ; appetite grows apace, and seats at table fill up. With return of appetite comes some degree of amiability. The whitened faces put on a cheerful look as they multiply on deck, the females manifesting their convalescence by renewed interest in their toilets, and in the dresses of their neighbors. Under these auspices if not harmony, at least general good conduct prevails.
And now the voyage proper begins. Taking your ticket, which indicates room and berth, to the office of the purser, the civil commandant, though not al- ways a civil man, you receive for it a table check, whose number designates your seat for the voyage. Notables and favorites are placed at the captain's table. Women travelling alone in charge of the cap- tain often fare better than when their husbands are with them. Aside from the captain's table, all is managed upon the most democratic principles. The table is usually ill supplied and ill served, though not always. Table tickets are given to prevent a scramble
