"I'm sure Mr. Altamont is going to claim something more for the Americans," said Johnson.
"Well," said Altamont, "there are some very warm; but as I've never placed a thermometer into their thorax or under their tongue, I can't be sure about it."
"The difference of temperature," resumed the doctor, "between men of different races is quite imperceptible when they are placed in the same circumstances, whatever be the nature of their bringing-up; I should add, that the temperature varies but little between men at the equator and at the pole."
"So," said Altamont, "our temperature is about the same here as in England?"
"About the same," answered the doctor; "as to the other mammalia, their temperature is a trifle higher than that of man. The horse is about the same, as well as the hare, the elephant, the porpoise, the tiger; but the cat, the squirrel, the rat, panther, sheep, ox, dog, monkey, goat, reach 103°; and the warmest of all, the pig, goes above 104°."
"That is humiliating for us," said Altamont.
"Then come amphibious animals and fish, whose temperature varies very much according to that of the water. The serpent does not go above 86°, the frog 70°, and the shark the same in a medium a degree and a half cooler; insects appear to have the temperature of the water and the air."
"That is all very well," said Hatteras, who had not yet spoken, "and I'm much obliged to the doctor for his information; but we are talking as if we had to endure torrid heats. Would it not be wiser to talk about the cold, to know to what we are exposed, and what is the lowest temperature that has ever been observed?"
"True," added Johnson.
"There's nothing easier," continued the doctor, "and I may be able to give you some information."