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with difficulty o f breathing, and dread of
suffocation. This disorder is called la
grippe. The first winter I was in Geneva,
the frost for a short tirne was very severe,
and the bise most p ie rc in g ; eight
hundred persons were said at one period to
be affected with la grippe, and I was myself
among the number. For persons affected
with pulmonary complaints, Geneva cannot
be recommended as a desirable winter
residence. I have before mentioned that
the vicinity to the lake is supposed to produce
rheumatism and disorders in the teeth;
hut I believe its influence does not extend
far from the surface of the water. I was
returning on horseback one evening after
sunset from Copet, by the side o f the
lake : it was the latter end of A p ril; the
day had been remarkably w arm; the air
was clear and calm, and when the road
rose forty or fifty feet above the lake, the atmosphere
continued mild, and g en ia l; but
whenever the road brought me near to the
level of the water, I felt a damp chilling
coldness, greater than I should have supposed
could possibly be produced, by such
a trifling difference of elevation. On reflection,
it was evident that a thin stratum
of dense cold air covered the water, but
did not rise high above its surface, being
kept there by its own density, and remaining
undisturbed by any agitation in the atmosphere.
Now as this must be of frequent
occurrence, we may easily conceive
that houses situated in the lower part of
the city, on a level with such a stratum of
air, must be in some respects unhealthy.
The upper part of Geneva is, however,
more than eighty feet above the lake.
The country round Geneva is seldom
visited by those dreadful hail-storms, which
often ravage the middle of France, in the
same parallel of latitude. The upper part
of the valley of the Rhone has repeatedly
suffered from earthquakes, particularly in
the vicinity of Brieg and Leuk. Geneva and
the lower valley of the Bhone have been
less frequently, and less violently affected
by these awful phenomena. One of the
greatest shocks that had occurred for many
years, took place the second winter we
were at Geneva, on February 19th, 1822,
about nine o’clock in the morning. The
day previously, M. André de Luc, who had
been dining with me, expressed his opinion
that the east wall of the house was not
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