Life of Count Riimford. 503 



while living in the coldest climates, keep their apart- 

 ments very warm. He says that a warm room, by pro- 

 moting; a free circulation of the blood, gives the health 



O c? 



and vigor which'are necessary in order to support with- 

 out injury occasional exposure to intense cold. The 

 philosopher speaks in the following paragraph : 



" There is a simple experiment, easily made and no wise 

 dangerous, which shows, in a sensible and convincing manner, 

 that warmth prepares the body to bear occasional cold without 

 pain and without injury. Let a person in health, rising from a 

 warm bed, after a good night's rest, in cold weather, put on a 

 dry warm shirt, and, dressing himself merely in his drawers, 

 stockings, and slippers, let him go into a room in which there 

 is no fire, and walk leisurely about the room for half an hour; or 

 let him sit down and write or read during that time. He will 

 find himself able to support this trial without the smallest incon- 

 venience. The cold to which he exposes himself will hardly 

 be felt, and no bad consequences to his health will result from 

 the experiment. Let him now repeat this experiment under 

 different circumstances. In the evening of a chilly day, and 

 when he is shivering with cold, let him undress himself to his 

 shirt, and see how long he will be able to support exposure to 

 the air in a cold room in that light dress." 



The Count likewise repeats the assertion made to 

 him by Dr. Blane, an eminent London physician, that 

 persons who had lived for years in the hot climates of 

 India, returning to reside in England, did not feel in- 

 convenience from the cold of its climate nearly so much 

 in the first year as they did in the second, after their 

 return. If they could be persuaded to have warm 

 rooms and freely use the warm bath, they would never 

 out of doors suffer any inconvenience, and might exer- 

 cise much more freely. 



The Count's thirteenth Essay, "On the Salubrity of 



