Mr. B. Well then, Malta.
Dr. A. Dr. Domeier, in his account of this climate, tells us that the thermometer seldom varies in this island more than 6° in the twenty-four hours, or stands below 51°, even in the depth of winter: but then the summer, which is protracted even to the month of November, is extremely mischievous from its heat, the force of which is severely felt in a country where there is scarcely any visible foliage, the place of hedges being universally occupied by stone walls.
Mr. B. Let me hear what you have to say with respect to the other islands which have gained celebrity for their climates, such as Madeira, the Bermudas, Jamaica,—
Dr. A. You must be well aware that these places are, generally speaking, beyond the reach of the ordinary class of English invalids. Madeira has been greatly extolled by Dr. Adams, who even ventures to assert that in cases of consumption, if the patient does not saunter away his time, after his physician has advised him to quit England, we may with certainty promise him a cure. In the West Indies it is agreed by all authors, that consumptive affections are almost unknown, and that scrofula in all its forms is uncommon.
Mr. B. Would you recommend a residence in the West Indies to a person who has free control over his movements?
Dr. A. If we may be allowed to draw any inference from the qualities of a climate, as indicated by the thermometer, or by its effects on the constitution of the inhabitants, there can be but little doubt that a residence in the Bermudas, in a temperate and sheltered part of Jamaica, or in some other of the West India Islands, would present every advantage, towards the recovery of a consumptive patient, that climate alone can bestow.
Mr. B. I thank you sincerely, my good Sir, for the patience and candour with which you have discussed the subject of climate. I am fully sensible of the difficulties with which it is encompassed, and of the utter impossibility of expecting from medical advice a satisfactory solution of the many problems which it involves. Every invalid must, to a certain extent, rely upon his own judgment; but before I finally decide upon the place of my destination, allow me to trespass still farther upon your patience, in order to learn whether, after all, there be not some favoured spot in our own country, where I might seek shelter from the approaching season, and which would supersede the necessity of travelling to a foreign land?
Dr. A. I should say to a person, who had been accustomed to the colder and more exposed parts of our island, try the effects of some more genial situation; and such a change would be as likely to favour convalescence as an emigration to the continent; for although by such a step, he might not obtain an equally favourable atmosphere, he would more than counterbalance the difference by ensuring the advantages of English comforts.
Mr. B. And to what parts of England would you direct him?
Dr. A. There are particular spots on the coast of Hampshire and Sussex which have been long considered as eligible places of winter residence; such are Southampton and Hastings, which are certainly less subject to the effect of the Northern and Eastern winds than many parts of our island; but they are not to be put in competition with Sidmouth, Dawlish, or Torquay in Devonshire, and still less with Penzance in Cornwall, which, after all, is the only situation which can be fairly said to possess any very material advantages from the mildness of its winter. I speak this from well grounded observation and experience. The Climate of Penzance is unlike that of any other part of the island.