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SWOONING.

those who are afflicted with it ought to avoid all flatulent food.Deep thought, anxiety, or any thing that oppresses the mind oughtalso to be avoided. Sailors are very liable to this disease ; hypo-chondriacs and pregnant women are also its victims, but malesmore frequently than females.

The night-mare is frequently occasioned by eating a full meal ofanimal food, and drinking freely of fermented liquor, after longfasting and bodily fatigue, by which the whole system is debilitat-ed, and the digestive faculties consequently impaired. When inthis state, the safest thing a person can take is tea with bread andbutter, which will be found to alleviate fatigue much more complete-ly than wine.

As persons afflicted with the night-mare generally moan, or makesome noise in the fit, they should be waked, or spoken to by suchas hear them, as the uneasiness generally goes off as soon as thepatient is awake. Dr. Whyte says, he generally found a dram ofbrandy, taken at bed-time, prevent this disease. That, however,is a bad custom, and in time loses its effect. We would ratherhave the patient depend upon the use of food of easy digestion,cheerfulness, exercise through the day, and a light supper takenearly, than to accustom himself to drams. A glass of peppermintwater will often promote digestion as much as a glass of brandy,and is much safer. After a person of weak digestion, however,has eaten flatulent food, a dram may be necessary ; in this casewe would recommend it as the most proper medicine.

When the nightmare goes off, as frequently is the case, withoutthe patient awaking, strange aberrations of mind are occasionallyproduced, which give origin to reputed visions and supernatual vis-itations, even among people of superior intellectual cultivation.The degree of consciousness, during a paroxysm of nightmare, isso much greater than ever happens in a dream, that the personwho has had a vision of this kind cannot easily bring himself toacknowledge the deceit unless he awakes, or is aroused from hisparoxysm, and discovers some incongruity in respect to time orplace, which proves the transaction to be an illusion.

Persons who are young, and full of blood, if troubled with thenight-mare, ought to take a purge frequently, use a spare diet, andexercise in the open air. The carbonate of soda, mixed with aleor porter, form an agreeable beverage for those liable to dyspepticsymptoms and incubus.

Swooning. (Syncope.)

People of weak nerves or delicate constitutions are liable toswoonings or fainting fits. These, indeed, are seldom dangerouswhen duly attended to ; but when wholly neglected, or improperlytreated, they often prove hurtful, and sometimes fatal.

The general causes of swoonings are, sudden transitions fromcold to heat ; breathing air that is deprived of its proper spring orelasticity ; great fatigue ; excessive weakness ; loss of blood ; longfasting ; fear, grief, and other violent passions or affections of themind.

It is well known, that persons who have been long exposed to

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