Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/154

 suffocation.

Then, with  Gonzalo,  would  I  have  ixiven  a  thousand furlongs of  sea  for  an  acre  of  barren  ground. I would have given  my  chance  of  heaven,  to  say  nothing  of California,  to  have  been  out  of  it,  anywhere  but  there. This is  why  middle-aged  and  elderly  men  endure  the hardships of  a  voyage  to  California  better  than  young men and  boys,  their  physique  is  more  fixed,  their minds more  evenly  balanced,  and  they  know  better how to  make  themselves  comfortable. My father informs me  that  on  his  passage  from  Panama,  many young men  died  of  the  Isthmus  fever,  but  not  a  single person over  forty  years  of  age  was  ill  with  any  disease. The next  day  the  sea  was  higher,  but  the  morning after it  was  evidently  growing  quieter. Following the throes  of  sickness  comes  a  mental  exaltation,  giv- ing birth to  new  thoughts. Never have  I  felt  my  brain so active  as  while  lying  bracing  myself  in  my  berth for days,  until  my  bones  ached,  and  during  which time I  would  be  up  only  long  enough  to  rush  to  the table for  my  meals,  and  rush  back  again  to  keep  the uneasy food  quiet. Thus dull  intellects  are  whetted into keenness  by  the  asperities  of  the  journey,  and  so made  ready  to  cut  their  way  through  the  difficulties awaiting them. Moreover, this  malady  is  the  best cure in  the  world  for  love-sickness,  as  I  have  noticed in the  pensive  youth  who  had  left  his  inamorata  be- hind, and in  solitary  young  women  going  to  Califor- nia to be  married. Indeed, upon  the  homoepathic hypothesis that  similia  shnilihus  curantur,  this  malady is likewise  an  antidote  for  bankruptcy,  conjugal  infi- delity, or any  ill  flesh  is  heir  too. The heart  and  the stomach cannot  both  exercise  the  mastery  at  the  same time. Overwhelmed at  the  beginning  of  the  voyage with the  merciless  fate  that  crucified  all  fond  endear- ments, and indifferent  to  terrestrial  affairs ;  as  the rising wind  grows  stronger,  and  the  rolling  waves mount higher,  slowly  the  dominator  lifts  passion  from the seat  of  the  affections,  and  places  it  just  below, where it  plays  havoc  with  the  organs  of  supply.