26 
they want, and throw gradually over their body with 
their hands, after having performed the usual cere- 
monies of ablutions. 
Those who prefer a vapour bath go into a room on 
the left, which is paved with white and black squares 
of marble. The ceiling is vaulted, and holds three cir- 
cular dormer-windows, of about three inches in diame- 
ter, closed with pieces of different coloured glass, which 
produces a pretty good effect as to light. The door of 
this room is always shut, and opposite to it is a small 
basin, which receives hot water from a conduit; the cold 
water stands in pails. The moment the bather enters 
this room he feels a very hot and suffocating atmosphere, 
which affects the respiration, and in less than a minute 
all the body is covered with a moisture, which uniting 
in large drops, flows down the skin in profuse perspira- 
tion. The marble floor upon which he sits is so heated, 
that it produces at first a heat almost insupportable, but 
which soon seems to dissipate. He remains seated in 
this room as long as he thinks proper; an ablution is 
then made, and the body is washed; however, the great 
transition from heat to cold, in order to dress, is very 
disagreeable, as there is no intermediate room to di- 
minish gradually the temperature of the body before it 
is exposed to the open air. 
The first time I went into this steam-bath I ex- 
perienced an actual sensation of great fatigue from its 
high temperature, but in a short time I became accus- 
tomed to it, and learnt to appreciate its salubrity; my 
permanent feeling was, that less heat and better accom- 
modation would be great improvements. Whenever I 
went there I commonly found eight, ten, and even more 
people quite naked, which appeared to me to be very 
indecorous. 
