HICCUP, HICCOUGH OR SINGUL

S, is a sudden spasmodic contraction of diaphragm, accompanied by closure of glottis, caused by abnormal stimulation of any part of phrenic nerve; is a reflex act frequently following irritation of mucous membrane of stomach, and usually easily cured by holding breath, or by a draught of cold water. When perslstent it may be symptomatic of a serious condition—e.g., peritonitis—and is pe common in last stages of exhausting ne , (1864), Eng. novelist; gave up music for literature; won recognition with The Green Carnation, 1894; and since then has pub. An Imaginative Man, Flames, The Woman with the Fan, The Garden of Allah (succe fully dramatized, 1920), The Cali of the Blood, Barbary Sheep, Bella Donna, Snake Bite, 1919; Mrs. Marden, 1919, etc.; collaborated with Wilson Barrett in succe ful play The Daughters of Babylon, and has produced stage versions of his own stories.