Sneezing, provoked by a feather, relieves heaviness in the head; it is said too, that to touch the nostrils of a mule with the lips, will arrest sneezing and hiccup. For this last purpose, Varro recommends us to scratch the palm, first of one hand and then of the other; while many say that it is a good plan to shift the ring from off the left hand to the longest finger of the right, and then to plunge the hands into hot water. Theophrastus says, that aged persons sneeze with greater difficulty than others.