Travels Through France And Italy - Tobias Smollett (diy ebook reader .TXT) 📗
- Author: Tobias Smollett
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And Stitches In My Breast, Which Tormented Me All Night Long
Without Ceasing. At The Same Time I Had A Great Discharge By
Expectoration, And Such A Dejection Of Spirits As I Never Felt
Before. In This Situation I Took A Step Which May Appear To Have
Been Desperate. I Knew There Was No Imposthume In My Lungs, And I
Supposed The Stitches Were Spasmodical. I Was Sensible That All
Part 7 Letter 3 ( Boulogne, August 15, 1763.) Pg 56My Complaints Were Originally Derived From Relaxation. I
Therefore Hired A Chaise, And Going To The Beach, About A League
From The Town, Plunged Into The Sea Without Hesitation. By This
Desperate Remedy, I Got A Fresh Cold In My Head: But My Stitches
And Fever Vanished The Very First Day; And By A Daily Repetition
Of The Bath, I Have Diminished My Cough, Strengthened My Body,
And Recovered My Spirits. I Believe I Should Have Tried The Same
Experiment, Even If There Had Been An Abscess In My Lungs, Though
Such Practice Would Have Been Contrary To All The Rules Of
Medicine: But I Am Not One Of Those Who Implicitly Believe In All
The Dogmata Of Physic. I Saw One Of The Guides At Bath, The
Stoutest Fellow Among Them, Who Recovered From The Last Stage Of
A Consumption, By Going Into The King's Bath, Contrary To The
Express Injunction Of His Doctor. He Said, If He Must Die, The
Sooner The Better, As He Had Nothing Left For His Subsistence.
Instead Of Immediate Death, He Found Instant Case, And Continued
Mending Every Day, Till His Health Was Entirely Re-Established. I
Myself Drank The Waters Of Bath, And Bathed, In Diametrical
Opposition To The Opinion Of Some Physicians There Settled, And
Found Myself Better Every Day, Notwithstanding Their Unfavourable
Prognostic. If I Had Been Of The Rigid Fibre, Full Of Blood,
Subject To Inflammation, I Should Have Followed A Different
Course. Our Acquaintance, Doctor C--, While He Actually Spit
Up Matter, And Rode Out Every Day For His Life, Led His Horse
To Water, At The Pond In Hyde-Park, One Cold Frosty Morning,
And The Beast, Which Happened To Be Of A Hot Constitution,
Plunged Himself And His Master Over Head And Ears In The Water.
The Poor Doctor Hastened Home, Half Dead With Fear, And
Was Put To Bed In The Apprehension Of A New Imposthume; Instead
Of Which, He Found Himself Exceedingly Recruited In His Spirits,
And His Appetite Much Mended. I Advised Him To Take The
Hint, And Go Into The Cold Bath Every Morning; But He Did Not
Chuse To Run Any Risque. How Cold Water Comes To Be Such A
Bugbear, I Know Not: If I Am Not Mistaken, Hippocrates Recommends
Immersion In Cold Water For The Gout; And Celsus Expressly Says,
In Omni Tussi Utilis Est Natatio: In Every Cough Swimming Is Of
Service.
I Have Conversed With A Physician Of This Place, A Sensible Man,
Who Assured Me He Was Reduced To Meer Skin And Bone By A Cough
And Hectic Fever, When He Ordered A Bath To Be Made In His Own
House, And Dipped Himself In Cold Water Every Morning. He At The
Same Time Left Off Drinking And Swallowing Any Liquid That Was
Warm. He Is Now Strong And Lusty, And Even In Winter Has No Other
Cover Than A Single Sheet. His Notions About The Warm Drink Were
A Little Whimsical: He Imagined It Relaxed The Tone Of The
Stomach; And This Would Undoubtedly Be The Case If It Was Drank
In Large Quantities, Warmer Than The Natural Temperature Of The
Blood. He Alledged The Example Of The Inhabitants Of The Ladrone
Islands, Who Never Taste Any Thing That Is Not Cold, And Are
Remarkably Healthy. But To Balance This Argument I Mentioned The
Chinese, Who Scarce Drink Any Thing But Warm Tea; And The
Part 7 Letter 3 ( Boulogne, August 15, 1763.) Pg 57Laplanders, Who Drink Nothing But Warm Water; Yet The People Of
Both These Nations Are Remarkably Strong, Healthy, And Long-Lived.
You Desire To Know The Fate Of My Books. My Lord H--D Is Not Yet
Come To France; But My Letter Was Transmitted To Him From Paris;
And His Lordship, With That Generous Humanity Which Is Peculiar
To His Character, Has Done Me The Honour To Assure Me, Under His
Own Hand, That He Has Directed Mr. N--Lle, Our Resident At Paris,
To Apply For An Order That My Books May Be Restored.
I Have Met With Another Piece Of Good Fortune, In Being
Introduced To General Paterson And His Lady, In Their Way To
England From Nice, Where The General Has Been Many Years
Commandant For The King Of Sardinia. You Must Have Heard Of This
Gentleman, Who Has Not Only Eminently Distinguished Himself, By
His Courage And Conduct As An Officer; But Also By His Probity
And Humanity In The Exercise, Of His Office, And By His
Remarkable Hospitality To All Strangers, Especially The Subjects
Of Great-Britain, Whose Occasions Called Them To The Place Where
He Commanded. Being Pretty Far Advanced In Years, He Begged Leave
To Resign, That He Might Spend The Evening Of His Days In His Own
Country; And His Sardinian Majesty Granted His Request With
Regret, After Having Honoured Him With Very Particular Marks Of
Approbation And Esteem. The General Talks So Favourably Of The
Climate Of Nice, With Respect To Disorders Of The Breast, That I
Am Now Determined To Go Thither. It Would Have Been Happy For Me
Had He Continued In His Government. I Think Myself Still Very
Fortunate, In Having Obtained Of Him A Letter Of Recommendation
To The English Consul At Nice, Together With Directions How To
Travel Through The South Of France. I Propose To Begin My Journey
Some Time Next Month, When The Weather Will Be Temperate To The
Southward; And In The Wine Countries I Shall Have The Pleasure Of
Seeing The Vintage, Which Is Always A Season Of Festivity Among
All Ranks Of People.
You Have Been Very Much Mis-Informed, By The Person Who Compared
Boulogne To Wapping: He Did A Manifest Injustice To This Place
Which Is A Large Agreeable Town, With Broad Open Streets,
Excellently Paved; And The Houses Are Of Stone, Well Built And
Commodious. The Number Of Inhabitants May Amount To Sixteen
Thousand. You Know This Was Generally Supposed To Be The Portus
Itius, And Gessoriacum Of The Antients: Though It Is Now Believed
That The Portus Itius, From Whence Caesar Sailed To Britain, Is A
Place Called Whitsand, About Half Way Between This Place And
Calais. Boulogne Is The Capital Of The Boulonnois, A District
Extending About Twelve Leagues, Ruled By A Governor Independent
Of The Governor Of Picardy; Of Which Province, However, This
Country Forms A Part. The Present Governor Is The Duc D'aumout.
Part 7 Letter 3 ( Boulogne, August 15, 1763.) Pg 58The Town Of Boulogne Is The See Of A Bishop Suffragan Of Rheims,
Whose Revenue Amounts To About Four-And-Twenty Thousand Livres,
Or One Thousand Pounds Sterling. It Is Also The Seat Of A
Seneschal's Court, From Whence An Appeal Lies To The Parliament
Of Paris; And Thither All Condemned Criminals Are Sent, To Have
Their Sentence Confirmed Or Reversed. Here Is Likewise A
Bailiwick, And A Court Of Admiralty. The Military Jurisdiction Of
The City Belongs To A Commandant Appointed By The King, A Sort Of
Sinecure Bestowed Upon Some Old Officer. His Appointments Are
Very Inconsiderable: He Resides In The Upper Town, And His
Garrison At Present Consists Of A Few Hundreds Of Invalids.
Boulogne Is Divided Into The Upper And Lower Towns. The Former Is
A Kind Of Citadel, About A Short Mile In Circumference, Situated
On A Rising Ground, Surrounded By A High Wall And Rampart,
Planted With Rows Of Trees, Which Form A Delightful Walk. It
Commands A Fine View Of The Country And Lower Town; And In Clear
Weather The Coast Of England, From Dover To Folkstone, Appears So
Plain, That One Would Imagine It Was Within Four Or Five Leagues
Of The French Shore. The Upper Town Was Formerly Fortified With
Outworks, Which Are Now In Ruins. Here Is A Square, A Town-House,
The Cathedral, And Two Or Three Convents Of Nuns; In One Of Which
There Are Several English Girls, Sent Hither For Their Education.
The Smallness Of The Expence Encourages Parents To Send Their
Children Abroad To These Seminaries, Where They Learn Scarce Any
Thing That Is Useful But The French Language; But They Never Fail
To Imbibe Prejudices Against The Protestant Religion, And
Generally Return Enthusiastic Converts To The Religion Of Rome.
This Conversion Always Generates A Contempt For, And Often An
Aversion To, Their Own Country. Indeed It Cannot Reasonably Be
Expected That People Of Weak Minds, Addicted To Superstition,
Should Either Love Or Esteem Those Whom They Are Taught To
Consider As Reprobated Heretics. Ten Pounds A Year Is The Usual
Pension In These Convents; But I Have Been Informed By A French
Lady Who Had Her Education In One Of Them, That Nothing Can Be
More Wretched Than Their Entertainment.
The Civil Magistracy Of Boulogne Consists Of A Mayor And
Echevins; And This Is The Case In Almost All The Towns Of France.
The Lower Town Is Continued From The Gate Of The Upper Town, Down
The Slope Of A Hill, As Far As The Harbour, Stretching On Both
Sides To A Large Extent, And Is Much More Considerable Than The
Upper, With Respect To The Beauty Of The Streets, The Convenience
Of The Houses, And The Number And Wealth Of The Inhabitants.
These, However, Are All Merchants, Or Bourgeoise, For The
Noblesse Or Gentry Live All Together In The Upper Town, And Never
Mix With The Others. The Harbour Of Boulogne Is At The Mouth Of
Part 7 Letter 3 ( Boulogne, August 15, 1763.) Pg 59
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