Change of air, or, The pursuit of health : an autumnal excursion through France, Switzerland, & Italy, in the year 1829 : with observations and reflections on the moral, physical, and medicinal influence of travelling-exercise, change of scene, foreign skies, and voluntary expatriation / by James Johnson.

  • Johnson, James, 1777-1845.
Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Change of air, or, The pursuit of health : an autumnal excursion through France, Switzerland, & Italy, in the year 1829 : with observations and reflections on the moral, physical, and medicinal influence of travelling-exercise, change of scene, foreign skies, and voluntary expatriation / by James Johnson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    graphy to Nice, as the circumambient hills are nearer to the town ; but It is destitute of accommodation. Nice is the great rendezvous of English in- valids ; and certainly it is a most lovely place. Enclosed, on the land side, by a semicircle of hills and mountains, it sweeps round the base of a steep rocky mount, which stands in the midst of it, on the very verge of the sea, commanding a beautiful and extensive view of land and ocean. On the Eastern side of the castle-crowned promontory, the little harbour of Nice lies secured from the storm by a pier—and from its Western base, a raised terrace or promenade, stretches along, and surmounts the sandy beach, for nearly a mile, sheltered by the town itself, from the Northern winds, and commanding a delightful view of the Mediterranean. Through the town, and somewhat parallel to this beautiful terrace, runs a mountain tori-ent, after rains ; but whose bed is nearly dry at all other times. On each side of this stream, the usual 'Lung Arno—or rather 'Lung Paglione, forms other promenades, when that along the ocean is inconvenienced by strong Southerly winds. The old town, clustered round the castellated rock above-mentioned, presents a series of as narrow and almost as dirty streets as any small place in Italy can boast ; but the Western suburb, called the Croix de Marbre, or more properly speaking, the English quarter, contains handsome houses, and pleasant villas, which, in my humble opinion, are infinitely less adapted for protection against cold winds—in other words, for the preservation of invalid health, than the town itself. The line of houses directly behind the marine terrace, and between it and the Paglione, is that which I would se- lect, were health my object. But, alas ! here, as well as elsewhere, fashion, and pride, and custom, too often interfere with more substantial and valuable objects ! As the climate of Nice, for phthisical invalids, is an object of intei-esting investigation, I shuU here introduce an extract from Professor Foder^, of Strasbourg, who resided six years there, for his health, and who has pub- lished an able work on the Maritime Alps. At page 266, et seq., of the second volume, will be found the original, of which this is a translation. As tubercles must be considered the main cause of pulmonary consump- tion, and as a good system of hygiene is the best part of the treatment, it seems rational to enquire, in the first instance, whether a warm or a mode- rately cold climate be best calculated to retard the development of the said tubercles. From what I saw at Nice, I am convinced that the moderately cold climate is preferable to the warm, for phthisical invalids. It is much to be feared, however, that routine has too much influence in the choice of cli- mate, on these occasions ; and that neither patients nor physicians make themselves properly acquainted with the facts on which their selection of residence ought to be based. Yes, it is fashion and custom Avhich estab- lish the rule; and perhaps it would be cruel to deprive consumptive patients