Our vessel has been at sea for a long while now. I lost track of the date a few weeks ago when it was so cloudy and rainy that we couldn't tell when a day had passed. With all our travels, the map closet has gotten quite cramped with new maps and trade contracts. It has gotten so that I can't even sit down without crushing some important papers or another.

Luckily, I found a key the other day. I spent an entire day when I was supposed to have been alphabetizing documents searching the ship for the lock this key belonged to. (That is always the strangest task, for of course the maps are always alphabetized! All I do when they tell me do alphabetize the maps is change whether they're alphabetized by general area, or the first named place listed, or the route's destination, or the name of the mapmaker. I've run out of variations, nearly, but knowing how the maps are organized keeps me employed.

My strange systems seem to be beyond the ken of the officers. I must remember this if they threaten to drop me overboard again.) (Did I mention that the captain constantly threatens my life and limb? It's getting so that I can speak none but gibberish while in his presence. I swear the crew thinks I am possessed of some strange devil.)

(But I am not.)

(If I was, would I be able to tell? Perhaps I should speak to the doctor about this.)

It wasn't until the next night that I found the lock the key fits - another closet in the hold of the ship! There are only a few bottles shoved into the back corners and wood seems permeated with the sweet smell of rum. Maybe this cabinet is made of rum wood.

In any case, there's far less danger of me setting maps on fire with candles, and if I become thirsty I can always see what's in those bottles.

I hear footsteps. I will continue my thoughts anon.

An interesting question, this, and one worth discussion. Going back centuries, men have pondered the question "does the madman know that he is mad?" Or "does the cameleopard know that his name is 'cameleopard'?" How does one know for certain? I have, in the past, designed cruel and egregious instruments to determine whether the perceptions of one person are the same as those of another. I should say that it is ultimately up to the Divine, but such an answer is never entirely satisfactory to those of us with inquiring minds.

As to the issue of possession, it is something that anyone may worry about in this time of sin and iniquity. As the body has four humors which each contribute to Life, it must therefore be concluded that minute life forms must exist in each humor that they may support the body's continued health.

For example, issues with the blood are evidence that there is an imbalance in the life forms of the blood, which I would call "haemogoblins." If the blood is too strong and hot, it means that the haemogoblins are too populous, and the cure of bloodletting lets some of the haemogoblins out, making room for the others. If a patient is weak from their blood being too thin, it is because their haemogoblins are too thin and scrawny, and must be fattened up, like the beasts of the field, on a diet of spinach and leafy green vegetables.

To diagnose demonic possession, on the other hand, one must eliminate all possibilities of an imbalance in the humors. This can be done through a thorough examination of the body, and the behavior of the individual. Various foci of divine energy may be applied--sprinkling of holy water, for example, or repeated strikings with a blessed pommel--to bring the demon to the surface. For now I prescribe another method of bringing any devils within you to the surface: ensuring that the body is a clean receptacle, white and pristine, wherein no self-respecting denizen of the underworld would care to dwell. Wash yourself thoroughly in freshly taken seawater twice a day, consume no meat, and sing hymns as you work in the map-room.

After a week of this treatment, we shall reevaluate the situation.