Travels Through France And Italy - Tobias Smollett (diy ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Of Which The Fair Sex Must

Be Intirely Excluded, Unless They Lay Aside All Regard To

Decorum; For The Shore Is Always Lined With Fishing-Boats, And 

Part 7 Letter 23 (Nice, December 19, 1764) Pg 197

Crouded With People. If A Lady Should Be At The Expence Of Having

A Tent Pitched On The Beach Where She Might Put On And Of Her

Bathing-Dress, She Could Not Pretend To Go Into The Sea Without

Proper Attendants; Nor Could She Possibly Plunge Headlong Into

The Water, Which Is The Most Effectual, And Least Dangerous Way

Of Bathing. All That She Can Do Is To Have The Sea-Water Brought

Into Her House, And Make Use Of A Bathing-Tub, Which May Be Made

According To Her Own, Or Physician's Direction.

 

 

 

What Further I Have To Say Of This Climate And Country, You Shall

Have In My Next; And Then You Will Be Released From A Subject,

Which I Am Afraid Has Been But Too Circumstantially Handled By--

Sir, Your Very Humble Servant.

 

Part 7 Letter 24 (Nice, January 4, 1765.) Pg 198

 

Dear Sir.,--The Constitution Of This Climate May Be Pretty Well

Ascertained, From The Inclosed Register Of The Weather, Which I

Kept With All Possible Care And Attention. From A Perusal Of It,

You Will See That There Is Less Rain And Wind At Nice, Than In

Any Other Part Of The World That I Know; And Such Is The Serenity

Of The Air, That You See Nothing Above Your Head For Several

Months Together, But A Charming Blue Expanse, Without Cloud Or

Speck. Whatever Clouds May Be Formed By Evaporation Of The Sea,

They Seldom Or Never Hover Over This Small Territory; But, In All

Probability, Are Attracted By The Mountains That Surround It, And

There Fall In Rain Or Snow: As For Those That Gather From Other

Quarters, I Suppose Their Progress Hitherward Is Obstructed By

Those Very Alps, Which Rise One Over Another, To An Extent Of

Many Leagues. This Air Being Dry, Pure, Heavy, And Elastic, Must

Be Agreeable To The Constitution Of Those Who Labour Under

Disorders Arising From Weak Nerves, Obstructed Perspiration,

Relaxed Fibres, A Viscidity Of Lymph, And A Languid Circulation.

In Other Respects, It Encourages The Scurvy, The Atmosphere Being

Undoubtedly Impregnated With Sea-Salt. Ever Since My Arrival At

Nice, I Have Had A Scorbutical Eruption On My Right Hand, Which

Diminishes And Increases According To The State Of My Health. One

Day Last Summer, When There Was A Strong Breeze From The Sea, The

Surface Of Our Bodies Was Covered With A Salt Brine, Very

Perceptible To The Taste; My Gums, As Well As Those Of Another

Person In My Family, Began To Swell, And Grow Painful, Though

This Had Never Happened Before; And I Was Seized With Violent

Pains In The Joints Of My Knees. I Was Then At A Country-House

Fronting The Sea, And Particularly Exposed To The Marine Air. The 

Part 7 Letter 24 (Nice, January 4, 1765.) Pg 199

Swelling Of Our Gums Subsided As The Wind Fell: But What Was Very

Remarkable, The Scurvy-Spot On My Hand Disappeared, And Did Not

Return For A Whole Month. It Is Affirmed That Sea-Salt Will

Dissolve, And Render The Blood So Fluid, That It Will Exude

Through The Coats Of The Vessels. Perhaps The Sea-Scurvy Is A

Partial Dissolution Of It, By That Mineral Absorbed From The Air

By The Lymphatics On The Surface Of The Body, And By Those Of The

Lungs In Respiration. Certain It Is, In The Last Stages Of The

Sea-Scurvy, The Blood Often Bursts From The Pores; And This

Phaenomenon Is Imputed To A High Degree Of Putrefaction: Sure

Enough It Is Attended With Putrefaction. We Know That A Certain

Quantity Of Salt Is Required To Preserve The Animal Juices From

Going Putrid: But, How A Greater Quantity Should Produce

Putrefaction, I Leave To Wiser Heads To Explain. Many People Here

Have Scorbutical Complaints, Though Their Teeth Are Not Affected.

They Are Subject To Eruptions On The Skin, Putrid Gums, Pains In

The Bones, Lassitude, Indigestion, And Low Spirits; But The

Reigning Distemper Is A Marasmus, Or Consumption, Which Proceeds

Gradually, Without Any Pulmonary Complaint, The Complexion

Growing More And More Florid, 'Till The Very Last Scene Of The

Tragedy. This I Would Impute To The Effects Of A Very Dry, Saline

Atmosphere, Upon A Thin Habit, In Which There Is An Extraordinary

Waste By Perspiration. The Air Is Remarkably Salt In This

District, Because The Mountains That Hem It In, Prevent Its

Communication With The Circumambient Atmosphere, In Which The

Saline Particles Would Otherwise Be Diffused; And There Is No

Rain, Nor Dew, To Precipitate Or Dissolve Them. Such An Air As I

Have Described, Should Have No Bad Effect Upon A Moist,

Phlegmatic Constitution, Such As Mine; And Yet It Must Be Owned,

I Have Been Visibly Wasting Since I Came Hither, Though This

Decay I Considered As The Progress Of The Tabes Which Began In

England. But The Air Of Nice Has Had A Still More Sensible Effect

Upon Mr. Sch--Z, Who Laboured Under Nervous Complaints To Such A

Degree, That Life Was A Burthen To Him. He Had Also A Fixed Pain

In His Breast, For Which Complaint He Had Formerly Tried The Air

Of Naples, Where He Resided Some Considerable Time, And In A

Great Measure Recovered: But, This Returning With Weakness,

Faintness, Low Spirits, And Entire Loss Of Appetite, He Was

Advised To Come Hither; And The Success Of His Journey Has

Greatly Exceeded His Expectation. Though The Weather Has Been

Remarkably Bad For This Climate, He Has Enjoyed Perfect Health.

Since He Arrived At Nice, The Pain In His Breast Has Vanished; He

Eats Heartily, Sleeps Well, Is In High Spirits, And So Strong,

That He Is Never Off His Legs In The Day-Time. He Can Walk To The

Var And Back Again, Before Dinner; And He Has Climbed To The Tops

Of All The Mountains In This Neighbourhood. I Never Saw Before

Such Sudden And Happy Effects From The Change Of Air. I Must Also

Acknowledge, That Ever Since My Arrival At Nice, I Have Breathed

More Freely Than I Had Done For Some Years, And My Spirits Have

Been More Alert. The Father Of My Housekeeper, Who Was A Dancing-Master,

Had Been So Afflicted With An Asthmatic Disorder, That He

Could Not Live In France, Spain, Or Italy; But Found The Air Of

Nice So Agreeable To His Lungs, That He Was Enabled To Exercise

His Profession For Above Twenty Years, And Died Last Spring 

Part 7 Letter 24 (Nice, January 4, 1765.) Pg 200

Turned Of Seventy. Another Advantage I Have Reaped From This

Climate Is My Being, In A Great Measure, Delivered From A Slow

Fever Which Used To Hang About Me, And Render Life A Burthen.

Neither Am I So Apt To Catch Cold As I Used To Be In England And

France; And The Colds I Do Catch Are Not Of The Same Continuance

And Consequence, As Those To Which I Was Formerly Subject. The

Air Of Nice Is So Dry, That In Summer, And Even In Winter,

(Except Ill Wet Weather) You May Pass The Evening, And Indeed The

Whole Night, Sub Dio, Without Feeling The Least Dew Or Moisture;

And As For Fogs, They Are Never Seen In This District. In Summer,

The Air Is Cooled By A Regular Sea-Breeze Blowing From The Cast,

Like That Of The West-Indies. It Begins In The Forenoon, And

Increases With The Heat Of The Day. It Dies Away About Six Or

Seven; And Immediately After Sun-Set Is Succeeded

By An Agreeable Land-Breeze From The Mountains. The Sea-Breeze

From The Eastward, However, Is Not So Constant Here, As In The

West-Indies Between The Tropicks, Because The Sun, Which Produces

It, Is Not So Powerful. This Country Lies Nearer The Region Of

Variable Winds, And Is Surrounded By Mountains, Capes, And

Straights, Which Often Influence The Constitution And Current Of

The Air. About The Winter Solstice, The People Of Nice Expect

Wind And Rain, Which Generally Lasts, With Intervals, 'Till The

Beginning Of February: But Even During This, Their Worst Weather,

The Sun Breaks Out Occasionally, And You May Take The Air Either

A-Foot Or On Horseback Every Day; For The Moisture Is Immediately

Absorbed By The Earth, Which Is Naturally Dry. They Likewise Lay

Their Account With Being Visited By Showers Of Rain And Gusts Of

Wind In April. A Week's Rain In The Middle Of August Makes Them

Happy. It Not Only Refreshes The Parched Ground, And Plumps Up

The Grapes And Other Fruit, But It Cools The Air And Assuages The

Beets, Which Then Begin To Grow Very Troublesome; But The Rainy

Season Is About The Autumnal Equinox, Or Rather Something Later.

It Continues About Twelve Days Or A Fortnight, And Is Extremely

Welcome To The Natives Of This Country. This Rainy Season Is

Often Delayed 'Till The Latter End Of November, And Sometimes

'Till The Month Of December; In Which Case, The Rest Of The

Winter Is Generally Dry. The Heavy Rains In This Country

Generally Come With A South-West Wind, Which Was The Creberque

Procellis Africus, The Stormy Southwest, Of The Antients. It Is

Here Called Lebeche, A Corruption Of Lybicus: It Generally Blows

High For A Day Or Two, And Rolls The Mediterranean Before It In

Huge Waves, That Often Enter The Town Of Nice. It Likewise Drives

Before It All The Clouds Which Had Been Formed Above The Surface

Of The Mediterranean. These Being Expended In Rain, Fair Weather

Naturally Ensues. For This Reason, The Nissards Observe Le

Lebeche Racommode Le Tems, The Lebeche Settles The Weather.

During The Rains Of This Season, However, The Winds Have Been

Variable. From The Sixteenth Of November, 'Till The Fourth Of

January, We Have Had Two And