LUNGS DISEASES OF THE LUNGS. 389 



pleasures to the senses, and stimulants to the nervous and muscular powers, such as 

 must be experienced to be described. But man can bear and even profit by all 

 extremes. The relaxing influence of Grecian or Roman plains, or of Egypt, the fresh, 

 dry, and calm desert air, the life passed in tents, are spoken, of by travellers as giving 

 new vigour, from the healthy tone which is imparted to the nervous and muscular 

 powers. "VVe have all met with men who have done much of this cultivated men, and 

 not mere idlers wanderers of necessity and of liking, who have fought of tne inherited 

 taint, and who have lived to old age, hardy and vigorous, and " temperate in all things/ 

 And this, which need not be an altogether selfish existence, but may include many 

 to help and much that is useful to do, is one of the high and pure enjoyments which, 

 an certain cases, money is permitted to purchase." This may appear almost Utopian, 

 but it must be remembered that consumption is the heritage of the rich as well as of 

 the poor, and to many such a mode of life would be quite possible. Every man 

 an bring his children up to an out-door occupation of some kind, provided only that 

 he can make up his mind to sacrifice something; and he should remember that he 

 can make no greater sacrifice than that of health. In any particular case it is no 

 easy matter to select the climate which possesses the greatest advantages and the 

 fewest drawbacks. There is no model climate, and no country can boast of being 

 perfect. In making the selection attention must be paid to the sick man's general 

 condition, and to the amount of constitutional strength. Then as regards the 

 locality attention must be paid to its aspect, its drainage, its elevation above the sea 

 level ; to the temperature and its equability ; to the dryness or moisture of the soil 

 and atmosphere, a degree of heat being often well borne when the air is dry, which 

 is quite unbearable when it is moist, and to the nature of the prevailing winds. The 

 amount of rain which descends in a season is not of -such moment as the way in 

 which it usually falls, a region liable to sharp heavy showers being much more 

 favourable for the individual than one where it drizzles like a Scotch mist for 

 days together. A clay soil should be avoided ; get on gravel if possible. Luxuriant 

 vegetation is not always a recommendation, for often enough it means high 

 temperature combined with moisture, conditions not favourable for the consumptive. 

 Districts where marshy lands abound, or where occasional inundations occur, are 

 notoriously unhealthy, for the evaporation of the water lowers the temperature, 

 whilst the decaying vegetable matter may set up ague. 



The best time for leaving England is between the end of September and 

 the middle of October, and a patient suffering from chest disease should not 

 return till the beginning of May. He must remember that in going abroad 

 he is merely placing himself under the conditions most favourable for recovery, 

 and that he is not justified in abandoning other remedial measures. He must 

 not lose sight of the fact that he is still an invalid, and must be careful not 

 to run to excess in the matter of sight-seeing. For a sick man to visit picture 

 galleries, museums, -damp old ruins, and cold churches, is often to frustrate the 

 only object he should have in view, the restoration of his health. In even 

 apparently hopeless cases, a visit to another part of the sufferer's country, or 

 to some foreign station, will now and then ward off complications, give mental 

 exhilaration, promote appetite and digestion, and insure tranquil nights. 



