A LABRADOR SPRING 



tensified the sun's rays. It is difficult to 

 measure the exact value of the effect of the 

 sun's rays on the bare skin, but that it is con- 

 siderable is easily appreciated by those who 

 have tried sun-baths, and experienced the 

 pleasant sense of well-being that results. As to 

 the value of a plunge in icy salt water after the 

 sun-bath, that may be open to question, and 

 my friend remarked that I probably enjoyed 

 these baths in the same spirit as did the his- 

 torical character, who employed a boy to pinch 

 him in order that he might experience a com- 

 fortable sense of relief when the process was 

 over. However, in the language of the country, 

 chacun a son gout, and my friend preferred to 

 keep his clothes on, but I am inclined to think 

 that a taste for these two invigorating pro- 

 cedures adds a great deal to one's appreciation 

 of the Labrador spring, which is certainly 

 rugged, and not one of " ethereal mildness," 

 as the misleading quotation at the beginning 

 of this chapter might have led the gentle reader 

 to infer. 



35 



