the hind fund
TRANSCRIPT
797
chill, Trains de litxe are shortly to be run between Calaisand Bologna, viâ Turin, and it is to be hoped that travellersto the Riviera will soon be provided with the palatialCDillfort3 afforded by the Pullman cars. If it be preferred,
, the traveller can of course break his journey as often ashe chooses, but it is probable that he will run the leastrisk by going straight through. A few hints may notbe out of place on the subject of night travelling,and how best to obtain sleep. The traveller shouldwear loose-fitting clothes made of tweed, or similarmaterial, and should be provided with a soft cap, whichwill pull over the ears, and a pair of slippers. Let him havesome food with a little wine between six and eight o’clock,and then, when drowsiness comes on, he must prepare him-self for sleep by taking off his collar and boots, as it is abso.lutely necessary in order to obtain sleep to encourage therequisite anaemia of the brain by loosening the neckerchiefand allowing the circulation through the feet to be perfectlyfree. This done, let him assume a position as near thehorizontal as possible, and be well covered up, and undersuch circumstances he ought to get several hours of refresh-ing slumber, and be ready for a cup of coffee when the trainstops at Marseilles.The journey finished, the question of lodging becomes
important. Invalids should always be guided by theadvice of a local physician before fixing on au hotel,and they should never definitely take up their quarterstu peosion in any hotel without giving it a few days’ trial.Only a very small minority of hotels have been designed witha view to the health and comfort of the guests. In ordinaryhotels the bedrooms open directly on to corridors, andcommunicate by doors. In most of the hotels the doorsare single, and the separation-walls between the rooms areof the flimsiest ; and the occupant of any room runs the riskof having his rest disturbed by the traffic and work in thecorridor, and by the conversation, stamping, coughing, orperhaps the pianos of his neighbours in the adjoining rooms.For an invalid refreshing sleep is all-important, and wecannot advise a person of delicate health to stop in any hotelin which the bedrooms are not provided.with double doors,or are otherwise made secure against noise. For the samereason hotels which are too close to railways or noisy streetsare to be avoided. It is needless to say that the doors andwindows of bedrooms ought to fit sufficiently well to keepout draughts. This is not always the case; and as wewrite we call to mind at least one hotel in which apalatial marble staircase leads to rickety old rooms with aninch or so to spare between the floors and the bottoms ofthe doors. In some hotels the salle à manger and the,s(ilo)i are of insufficient size and badly ventilated, andsince many hours have to be passed in these apartments itis important that an invalid should not patronise an estab-lishment where insuflicient cubic space is allotted to thepublic rooms. Another important matter is the quality ofthe food. In many establishments which are intended toattract the English the cooking is too rich. Of all forms ofbad cookery we think that bad French cookery is the worst, ’,in which the dithes are complicated and greasy, in which ’’,great show is made with mushrooms, truffies, and cocks-combs, and all natural delicate flavours are smothered by ’,the innumerahle adjuncts poured in by the heavy hand of ’,a vulgar chef Throughout France it is the invariablecustom to include wine at the table d’hôte. This custom isuying out in the hotels patronised by the English, and inplace of fresh and refreshing ordinaire provided by the hostguests are no IV expected to pay for wine the quality ofwhich is seldom first-rate, and the price for which is alwaysexorbitant. It is a common custom for those en pension tohave their wine kept for them from one meal to the next, ’,and one may often see guests drinking, from a bottle ofBordeaux which has been open for three or four days, andhas been kept in some cupboard in the room. It is needlessto say that light French wine is certainly spoiled by such aprocess, and if it be not rendered unwholesome it assuredlyt<comes unpalatable. Visitors to the Riviera ought to makea stand agamst the rapacity of hotel keepers, aud for five!M)cs they ought to insist on a good table d’hôte, vin compris,bother important matter with regard to hotels is the
.1,lity of the sanitary arrangements. These have improvedlamensely of late years ; but the lucus a non lucendo water-set is not yet quite extinct, and there is probably no moredangerous machine than a watercloset without water.ae main factor in determining the popularity of this or
that health resort is undoubtedly its accesibility. The
completion of the line of railway from Marseilles to Genoahas thrown open the whole of this portiou of the Mediter-ranean coast to the seekers after warmth and sunshine, andthose places are the most popular which have the best train-service. The country between Toulon and Genoa, popularlyknown as the Riviera, is about 220 miles in length from westto east, and is situated between 43° 10" and 44° 20" of northlatitude. The most southern health resort of this locality(Hyeres) is some 650 miles south of London as the crowflies, whlle Genoa, the most northern town, is seventy toeighty miles more to the north. It cannot fail to be observedthat the celebrity of the various stations along the coast hasto a great extent depended upon railway communication.The proximity of Hyeres to the politically important townof Toulon and the consequent ease with which it wasreached from Paris, brought it early into note, and Hyereswas a well-known resort before some of its younger rivalswere thought of, As the railway slowly found its wayeast vvard other towns of this highly favoured district attainednotoriety, and it may safely be said that the patronage ofLord Brougham would not have been of much use to Canneshad not the iron road forced a passage through the E,4trellemountains. The railway now reaches from Marseilles to
Genoa, and it may be predicted with certainty that beforemany years elapse the whole country from Hyères to SanRemo will be one big winter city. Building operations arebeing; pushed forward with great activity, and very notablyat St Raphael, close to Frejus (to the west of Cannes) atAntibes, between Cannes and Nice, and at Ospedaletti, be-tween Bordighera and San Remo. Not only are new placesspringing up, but the old ones are extending, and at H eres,Cannes, Monaco, Mentone, and San Remo, builders andarchitects are still, as they have been for years past, busilyengaged. A new line of railway is projected (and has justreceived the sanction of the State) from Hyères to Frejus.This line will skirt the coast as far as St. Tropez, and wiJlthen follow the northern side of the bay of St. Tropez, apicturesque district with a sloping hilly shore covered withpine and cork trees, and there can be no doubt that it isdestined at no distant date to be dotted with hotels andvillas. Eastward of San Remo the climate is less warm,although, like the more protected districts, it enjoys aglorious sun. Among the rising towns of this district isAlassio, with an excellent hotel and magnificent sands. Itis a pleasant enough place even ill the winter, and its un-rivalled facilities for bathing must bring it a large con-course of visitors in the spring, early summer, and autumn.
(To be concluded.)
THE HIND FUND.
The following additional subscriptions have been receivedand paid to the account of the "Hind Fund" at Mesrs.Coutts’ Bank :-
Subscriptions may be paid to Dr. Richardson, F.R.S.,(chairman), 25, Manchester-square; John Tweedy, Esq,,F.R.C.S., 24, Harley-street, Hon. Treasurer; A. J. Pepper,Esq., F.R.C.S., 122, Gower-street; and T. Wa,kley, jun.,E=q., L.R.C.P., 96, Redcliffe-gardens, Hon. Secretaries; orto Messrs. Coutts & Co., Strand.
DR. REGINALD EDWARD THOMPSON, of Trinity, hasbeen appointed assessor to the Regius Professor of Pnysic atCambridge.