Dr. A. Beyond question;—but as an invalid who seeks permanent advantage from a foreign climate must be content to remain abroad for, at least, two winters, you will readily perceive that the consideration of his residence during the summer season is not entirely a subject of indifference.
Mr. B. My inclination would lead me to the south of France in preference to a more distant residence, provided the place should meet with your full concurrence.
Dr. A. The places to which English invalids have been more usually sent are Montpellier, Marseilles, Toulon, and Hieres; but I never ventured an opinion with less reserve when I declare, that I regard the very coldest parts of our own country to be less inimical to delicate lungs than the sharp and piercing air of the places which I have just mentioned. As to Montpellier, I am at a loss to understand how it could ever have obtained a reputation for its climate; and yet so universal was the belief, that its very name became, as you must well know, a characteristic epithet to places supposed to be preeminently salubrious.
Mr. B. Is it not remarkable for its clear blue sky, the very idea of which will always carry a charm with it to an Englishman?
Dr. A. Clear and brilliant enough, but the air is at the same time so sharp and biting, that every mouthful irritates the lungs, and produces excessive coughing,—and then you are, moreover, constantly assailed by one or the other of two destructive winds,—the Bize bringing cold, and the Marin, moisture.
Mr. B. And yet to this same Bize, of whose sharpness you so greatly complain, did the Emperor Augustus erect an altar.
Dr. A. Very true, but we are told it was an homage like that which the Indians are said to pay to the infernal deity; to avert its wrath, not to conciliate its favour.
Mr. B. Is the locality of Marseilles less exceptionable?
Dr. A. By no means. Cold winds are always injurious, but they are rendered destructive, in a tenfold proportion, when alternated with heat. At Marseilles the dreaded Mistral of Provence (a north-west wind), which is often accompanied by a clear atmosphere, and a powerful sun, reigns in all its glory. Toulon has the damning fault of Marseilles.