30 TOPOGRAPHY 



falls, with scarcely any intermission, for seven or eight 

 days together, and in two or three instances the 

 torrents of water rushing down the gullies have 

 produced serious consequences. On one occasion the 

 main street was deluged for several feet, and the force 

 of the water was so great, as to carry in its course 

 children who were unfortunately exposed to its 

 influence. 



What renders the climate of Gibraltar peculiarly 

 distressing to invalids, is the prevalence of the easterly 

 wind, or Levanter, which blows sometimes for four 

 and five weeks together, and during nearly all this 

 period, thick dark clouds hang over the rock, and the 

 fog on the neutral ground is frequently as thick as 

 any November fog in London. The mornings espe- 

 cially are very foggy on the narrow isthmus ; some- 

 times there is a fog in the town when there is none 

 outside the ganison, and it is then a great relief to 

 the inhabitants to walk or " ride out into Spain." 

 Various are the sensations ascribed to the Levant 

 wind, but the general one is that of lassitude and 

 dulness of spirits ; and frequently one feels as if co- 

 vered with a wet blanket, or walking, when heated, 

 in a damp cellar. However unpleasant this wind 

 may be to personal comfort, still the hospital statistics 

 do not show any increased sickness whilst it prevails ; 

 but whether its effects are ultimately shown on the 

 constitution of long residents, I cannot say, as there 

 are not sufficient data to come to a correct con- 

 clusion on this subject, but I may venture to assert, 

 that the native inhabitants of the rock (i. e. those 



