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

Twenty Days Of Heavy Rain: A Very

Extraordinary Visitation In This Country: But The Seasons Seem To

Be More Irregular Than Formerly, All Over Europe. In The Month Of

July, The Mercury In Fahrenheit's Thermometer, Rose To Eighty-Four

At Rome, The Highest Degree At Which It Was Ever Known In

That Country; And The Very Next Day, The Sabine Mountains Were 

Part 7 Letter 24 (Nice, January 4, 1765.) Pg 201

Covered With Snow. The Same Phaemomenon Happened On The Eleventh

Of August, And The Thirtieth Of September. The Consequence Of

These Sudden Variations Of Weather, Was This: Putrid Fevers Were

Less Frequent Than Usual; But The Sudden Cheek Of Perspiration

From The Cold, Produced Colds, Inflammatory Sore Throats, And The

Rheumatism. I Know Instances Of Some English Valetudinarians, Who

Have Passed The Winter At Aix, On The Supposition That There Was

Little Or No Difference Between That Air And The Climate Of Nice:

But This Is A Very Great Mistake, Which May Be Attended With

Fatal Consequences. Aix Is Altogether Exposed To The North And

North-West Winds, Which Blow As Cold In Provence, As Ever I Felt

Them On The Mountains Of Scotland: Whereas Nice Is Entirely

Screened From These Winds By The Maritime Alps, Which Form An

Amphitheatre, To The Land-Side, Around This Little Territory: But

Another Incontestible Proof Of The Mildness Of This Climate, Is

Deduced From The Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, Roses, Narcissus's,

July-Flowers, And Jonquils, Which Ripen And Blow In The Middle Of

Winter. I Have Described The Agreeable Side Of This Climate; And

Now I Will Point Out Its Inconveniences. In The Winter, But

Especially In The Spring, The Sun Is So Hot, That One Can Hardly

Take Exercise Of Any Sort Abroad, Without Being Thrown Into A

Breathing Sweat; And The Wind At This Season Is So Cold And

Piercing, That It Often Produces A Mischievous Effect On The

Pores Thus Opened. If The Heat Rarifies The Blood And Juices,

While The Cold Air Constringes The Fibres, And Obstructs The

Perspiration, Inflammatory Disorders Must Ensue. Accordingly, The

People Are Then Subject To Colds, Pleurisies, Peripneumonies, And

Ardent Fevers. An Old Count Advised Me To Stay Within Doors In

March, Car Alors Les Humeurs Commencent A Se Remuer, For Then The

Humours Begin To Be In Motion. During The Heats Of Summer, Some

Few Persons Of Gross Habits Have, In Consequence Of Violent

Exercise And Excess, Been Seized With Putrid Fevers, Attended

With Exanthemata, Erisipelatous, And Miliary Eruptions, Which

Commonly Prove Fatal: But The People In General Are Healthy, Even

Those That Take Very Little Exercise: A Strong Presumption In

Favour Of The Climate! As To Medicine, I Know Nothing Of The

Practice Of The Nice Physicians. Here Are Eleven In All; But Four

Or Five Make Shift To Live By The Profession. They Receive, By

Way Of Fee, Ten Sols (An English Six-Pence) A Visit, And This Is

But Ill Paid: So You May Guess Whether They Are In A Condition To

Support The Dignity Of Physic; And Whether Any Man, Of A Liberal

Education, Would Bury Himself At Nice On Such Terms. I Am

Acquainted With An Italian Physician Settled At Villa Franca, A

Very Good Sort Of A Man, Who Practises For A Certain Salary,

Raised By Annual Contribution Among The Better Sort Of People;

And An Allowance From The King, For Visiting The Sick Belonging

To The Garrison And The Gallies. The Whole May Amount To Near

Thirty Pounds.

 

 

 

Among The Inconveniences Of This Climate, The Vermin Form No

Inconsiderable Article. Vipers And Snakes Are Found In The

Mountains. Our Gardens Swarm With Lizzards; And There Are Some 

Part 7 Letter 24 (Nice, January 4, 1765.) Pg 202

Few Scorpions; But As Yet I Have Seen But One Of This Species. In

Summer, Notwithstanding All The Care And Precautions We Can Take,

We Are Pestered With Incredible Swarms Of Flies, Fleas, And Bugs;

But The Gnats, Or Couzins, Are More Intolerable Than All The

Rest. In The Day-Time, It Is Impossible To Keep The Flies Out Of

Your Mouth, Nostrils, Eyes, And Ears. They Croud Into Your Milk,

Tea, Chocolate, Soup, Wine, And Water: They Soil Your Sugar,

Contaminate Your Victuals, And Devour Your Fruit; They Cover And

Defile Your Furniture, Floors, Cielings, And Indeed Your Whole

Body. As Soon As Candles Are Lighted, The Couzins Begin To Buz

About Your Ears In Myriads, And Torment You With Their Stings, So

That You Have No Rest Nor Respite 'Till You Get Into Bed, Where

You Are Secured By Your Mosquito-Net. This Inclosure Is Very

Disagreeable In Hot Weather; And Very Inconvenient To Those, Who,

Like Me, Are Subject To A Cough And Spitting. It Is Moreover

Ineffectual; For Some Of Those Cursed Insects Insinuate

Themselves Within It, Almost Every Night; And Half A Dozen Of

Them Are Sufficient To Disturb You 'Till Morning. This Is A

Plague That Continues All The Year; But In Summer It Is

Intolerable. During This Season, Likewise, The Moths Are So

Mischievous, That It Requires The Utmost Care To Preserve Woollen

Cloths From Being Destroyed. From The Month Of May, 'Till The

Beginning Of October, The Heat Is So Violent, That You Cannot

Stir Abroad After Six In The Morning 'Till Eight At Night, So

That You Are Entirely Deprived Of The Benefit Of Exercise: There

Is No Shaded Walk In, Or Near The Town; And There Is Neither

Coach Nor Chaise To Hire, Unless You Travel Post. Indeed, There

Is No Road Fit For Any Wheel Carriage, But The Common Highway To

The Var, In Which You Are Scorched By The Reflexion Of The Sun

From The Sand And Stones, And At The Same Time Half Stifled With

Dust. If You Ride Out In The Cool Of The Evening, You Will Have

The Disadvantage Of Returning In The Dark.

 

 

 

Among The Demerits Of Nice, I Must Also Mention The Water Which

Is Used In The City. It Is Drawn From Wells; And For The Most

Part So Hard, That It Curdles With Soap. There Are Many Fountains

And Streams In The Neighbourhood, That Afford Excellent Water,

Which, At No Great Charge, Might Be Conveyed Into The Town, So As

To Form Conduits In All The Public Streets: But The Inhabitants

Are Either Destitute Of Public Spirit, Or Cannot Afford The

Expense. [General Paterson Delivered A Plan To The King Of

Sardinia For Supplying Nice With Excellent Water For So Small An

Expence As One Livre A House Per Annum; But The Inhabitants

Remonstrated Against It As An Intolerable Imposition.] I Have A

Draw-Well In My Porch, And Another In My Garden, Which Supply

Tolerable Water For Culinary Uses; But What We Drink, Is Fetched

From A Well Belonging To A Convent Of Dominicans In This

Neighbourhood. Our Linnen Is Washed In The River Paglion; And

When That Is Dry, In The Brook Called Limpia, Which Runs Into The

Harbour.

 

Part 7 Letter 24 (Nice, January 4, 1765.) Pg 203

 

In Mentioning The Water Of This Neighbourhood, I Ought Not To

Omit The Baths Of Rocabiliare, A Small Town Among The Mountains,

About Five And Twenty Miles From Nice. There Are Three Sources,

Each Warmer Than The Other; The Warmest Being Nearly Equal To The

Heat Of The King's Bath At Bath In Somersetshire, As Far As I Can

Judge From Information. I Have Perused A Latin Manuscript, Which

Treats Of These Baths At Rocabiliare, Written By The Duke Of

Savoy's First Physician About Sixty Years Ago. He Talks Much Of

The Sulphur And The Nitre Which They Contain; But I Apprehend

Their Efficacy Is Owing To The Same Volatile Vitriolic Principle,

Which Characterises The Waters At Bath. They Are Attenuating And

Deobstruent, Consequently Of Service In Disorders Arising From A

Languid Circulation, A Viscidity Of The Juices, A Lax Fibre, And

Obstructed Viscera. The Road From Hence To Rocabiliare Is In Some

Parts Very Dangerous, Lying Along The Brink Of Precipices,

Impassable To Any Other Carriage But A Mule. The Town Itself

Affords Bad Lodging And Accommodation, And Little Or No Society.

The Waters Are At The Distance Of A Mile And A Half From The

Town: There Are No Baths Nor Shelter, Nor Any Sort Of Convenience

For Those That Drink Them; And The Best Part Of Their Efficacy Is

Lost, Unless They Are Drank At The Fountain-Head. If These

Objections Were In Some Measure Removed, I Would Advise

Valetudinarians, Who Come Hither For The Benefit Of This Climate,

To Pass The Heats Of Summer At Rocabiliare, Which Being Situated

Among Mountains, Enjoys A Cool Temperate Air All The Summer. This

Would Be A Salutary Respite From The Salt Air Of Nice, To Those

Who Labour Under Scorbutical Complaints; And They Would Return

With Fresh Vigour And Spirits, To Pass The Winter In This Place,

Where No Severity Of Weather Is Known. Last June, When I Found

Myself So Ill At My Cassine, I Had Determined To Go To

Rocabiliare, And Even To Erect A Hut At The Spring, For My Own

Convenience. A Gentleman Of Nice Undertook To Procure Me A

Tolerable Lodging In The House Of The Cure, Who Was His Relation.

He Assured Me, There Was No Want Of Fresh Butter, Good Poultry,

Excellent Veal, And Delicate Trout; And That The Articles Of

Living Might Be Had At Rocabiliare For Half The Price We Paid At

Nice: But Finding Myself Grow Better Immediately On My Return

From The Cassine To My Own House, I Would Not Put Myself To The

Trouble And Expence Of A Further Removal.

 

 

 

I Think I Have Now Communicated All The Particulars Relating To

Nice, That Are Worth Knowing; And Perhaps Many More Than You

Desired To Know: But, In Such Cases, I Would Rather Be Thought

Prolix And Unentertaining, Than Deficient In That Regard And

Attention With Which I Am Very Sincerely,--Your Friend And

Servant.

 

 

Part 7 Letter 25 ( Nice, January 1, 1765.) Pg 204