"Yes, Bell," answered the doctor.
"O, Americans could have done better!" said Altamont.
"They would have roasted," said the doctor, laughing.
"And why not?" answered the American.
"At any rate, they have not tried; still, I stand up for my countrymen. There's one thing I must not forget; it is incredible if one can doubt of the accuracy of the witnesses. The Duke of Ragusa and Dr. Jung, a Frenchman and an Austrian, saw a Turk dive into a bath which stood at 170°."
"But it seems to me," said Johnson, that that is not equal to other people you mentioned."
"I beg your pardon," answered the doctor; there is a great difference between entering warm air and entering warm water; warm air induces perspiration, and that protects the skin, while in such hot water there is no perspiration and the skin is burned. Hence a bath is seldom hotter than 107°. This Turk must have been an extraordinary man to have been able to endure so great heat."
"Dr. Clawbonny," asked Johnson, "what is the usual temperature of living beings?"
"It varies very much," answered the doctor; "birds are the warmest blooded, and of these the duck and hen are the most remarkable; their temperature is above 110°, while that of the owl is not more than 104°; then come the mammalia, men; the temperature of Englishmen is generally 101°."[*]