Instead Of Curtains There Is A Couziniere Or Mosquito
Net, Made Of A Kind Of Gauze, That Opens And Contracts
Occasionally, And Incloses The Place Where You Lie:
Persons of
condition, however, have also bedsteads and curtains; but these
last are never used in the summer.
In these countries, people of all ranks dine exactly at noon; and
this is the time I seize in winter, for making my daily tour of
the streets and ramparts, which at all other hours of the day are
crowded with men, women, children and beasts of burthen. The
rampart is the common road for carriages of all kinds. I think
there are two private coaches in Nice, besides that of the
commandant: but there are sedan chairs, which may be had at a
reasonable rate. When I bathed in the summer, I paid thirty sols,
equal to eighteen-pence, for being carried to and from the
bathing place, which was a mile from my own house.
Now I am speaking of bathing, it may not be amiss to inform you
that though there is a fine open beach, extending several miles
to the westward of Nice, those who cannot swim ought to bathe
with great precaution, as the sea is very deep, and the descent
very abrupt from within a yard or two of the water's edge. The
people here were much surprised when I began to bathe in the
beginning of May. They thought it very strange, that a man
seemingly consumptive should plunge into the sea, especially when
the weather was so cold; and some of the doctors prognosticated
immediate death. But, when it was perceived that I grew better in
consequence of the bath, some of the Swiss officers tried the
same experiment, and in a few days, our example was followed by
several inhabitants of Nice. There is, however, no convenience
for this operation, from the benefit 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
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.
LETTER XXIV
NICE, January 4, 1765.
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
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.
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