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
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 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
covered with snow. The same phaemomenon happened on the eleventh
of August, and the thirtieth of September.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 87 of 141
Words from 87558 to 88568
of 143308
