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Analyses of Books . 
33 
type are “ due to English eating and drinking.” Again, he speaks 
of the “ puff and colour given to the face by drink.” Thus tem- 
perance is not in England, as in America, necessitated by climate 
or other circumstances, and it is possible that Dr. Beard’s “ ner- 
vousness ” and Mr. Towne’s “ nervousness ” are not exadlly one 
and the same thing, the latter writer meaning rather exaggerated 
nervous activity. 
Our author enumerates, among the reasons for the greater 
prevalence of nervousness in America, “ dryness of the air and 
extremes of heat and cold.” Mr. Towne declares that “the 
drying irritating corrosive effedt of the east wind in the streets of 
London is very much worse than anything known in America ;” 
. . . “ the irritating effects of the English climate are more than 
twice as bad as those of the American.” . . . “ England has ten 
days of irritating rawness, dryness of cold wind, and poison of 
dust, to one that America has.” 
Again, Mr. Towne says, “ As for heat, the mistake is no less 
complete. England suffers more from 78° than America from 98°. 
There is never a chance to change to summer dress with any 
security, and heat, when it does come, has to be undergone 
without preparation. It commonly, moreover, comes with excess 
of moisture, and has an effedl more dangerous than 20 degrees 
more of American heat.” Now we have no personal experience 
of American weather, and have not the faintest disposition to do 
battle for the English climate, and especially for our north-east 
winds. But for all this we must call certain of Mr. Towne’s 
positions in question. In America, during the summer season, 
sun-stroke is a very tangible evil. In England the heat is never 
so high as to be dangerous to a man of fair constitution and 
temperate habits. If in this country we “ undergo heat without 
preparation,” the reason is not so much the uncertainty of our 
climate as our stupid subservience to the dictates of fashion. 
Half a century ago nankeen, fancy drills, and white jean were 
common materials for male attire, but these have all been con- 
demned by Mrs. Grundy. Not long ago we read an article by 
an American writer on the snow-storm of January 18th last. 
He was particularly struck with the manner in which we were 
socially paralysed by what in his country would be deemed a mere 
routine occurrence. Dr. Beard remarks that an English January 
is merely like an American March “ stripped of some of its most 
objedlionable features and on its best behaviour.” Our east 
winds he considered tame and mild as compared with that com- 
pound of snow-dust and Cayenne pepper with which New 
England is scourged. So that on the question of climate experts 
differ. 
The most remarkable point in Dr. Beard’s work is that he 
traces nervousness, with its morbid developments, to the modern 
type of civilisation, especially as manifested in America, as the 
five distinguishing features of which he enumerates steam-power, 
VOL. IV. (THIRD SERIES) D 
