72 lister’s travels in erance. ’

multitudes had little brafs kettles of fmall-coal kindled, hanging on their arms; and yetyou Ihould fcarce hear any one cough.

I never faw a mill at Paris in the fix months I (laid there, but one; though a verybroad river runs through the middle of the city, nor any very ftrong winds; but thismay be accidental, and the temper of fome one year by chance.

We were very fenfible by the aoth of February our ftyle, though the nights werecold, and the white frofts great in the mornings, that the fun at noon had a muchftronger force and heat, than with us, at that time of the year.

Another argument of the drynefs of the air at Paris , we had from the alteration ofhealth,; fuch as were thick breathed, and coughed and ipit much, foon recovered ; andthe infenfible perfpiration of the.fkin was fo clear and free, that the kidneys had littleto do; fo that it was obfervedby mod, that though we drank pretty freelv of the thinwines of Champagne and Burgundy, yet they never broke our deep to get (hut of thern^and that very little palled that way in the morning.

Laftly, a fign of the drynefs and great goodnels of the air of Paris is, the vafi num-ber of iron bars all over the city ; which yet are moftly intire, and the lealt decayed withruft, I ever faw in any place; whereas ours in London are all in a few years all overrufty, and miferably eaten.

We were fufficiently alarmed at our firft coming to Paris , with the unwholefomenefsof the river water, and cautioned again!! drinking it; and yet it was almoft impoflibletoavoid the bad effedls of it; for within the month two thirds ot the family fell into fluxes,lome into dyfenteries, and fome very.ill of it. The French that come out of other re-mote countries fuffer as well as the ftrangers We were told boiling it was a good re-medy to prevent its griping quality ; but that is a mere notion, for we know mineralwaters boiled have a ftronger.effe:i, and this quality can proceed from nothing lefs.

The wtll waters here are much worfe than the river waters, becaufe more mineral.But our fafety was in th j water brought from the Maifon desEaux, where the aqueduftof Arcueil empties itfelt toferve the great palaces and city fountains.

The difeafe of the dyfentery being one of the moft common, in Paris , the mod cele-brated drug for its cure is now the ipecacuanha; though I never once made ufe of itto any of our people, but cured them all as foon, and as well with our ufual remedies.Indeed they have great need of it here, for the poorer fort of people, through ill diet,this water, and herbs, are very fubjett to it; this root is faid to cure it with as much cer-tainty, and as readily, as thejefuks powder an ague; of this moft of the phvficians andapothecaries agreed. They give it in powder from ten grains to forty, which is thelargeft dofe. It moft commonly vomits, and fometimes purges, but both gently. It isfold here from twenty to fifty crowns a pound. They divide it into four forts, accord-ing to its goodnefs.

Another popular difeafe here is the ftone; and there are men well praftifed in thecutting for it. There are alfo two hofpitals, where great numbers are cut yearly, asLa Charite, and Hotel Dieu, in both of thefe there are wired chefts full of ftones cut fromhuman bodies; and in the cheft of La Charite is one, which exceeds all belief; it wascut from a monk, who died in the very operation ; it is as big as a child’s head. It isbut the model or.pattern of the ftone which is kept in the cheft ; which has this infcrip-tion on it:

Figure & grojfeur de la pierre, pefant 51 ounces, qui font trots livres trots ounces , quta. efle tiree dans cet Hofpital au mots de Juin 1690, & mie l’on confer ve dam le Conventde la Charite .

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