5' in the sardabs. In winter, the evenings, nights, and mornings
are so cold, that fires are necessary in the rooms.

The climate of this place is considered very healthy, even by
Europeans. Nevertheless, there is a disease here of which the young
females are terribly afraid, and which not only attacks the natives,
but strangers, when they remain several months here. This is a
disgusting eruption, which is called the Aleppo Boil, or Date-mark.

This ulcer, which is at first no larger than a pin's head, gradually
increases to the size of a halfcrown piece, and leaves deep scars.
It generally breaks out on the face; there is scarcely one face
among a hundred, to be seen without these disfiguring marks. Those
who have only one have reason to consider themselves fortunate; I
saw many with two or three of them. Other parts of the body are
also not exempt. The ulcers generally appear with the ripening of
the dates, and do not go away until the next year, when the same
season returns again. This disease does not occur more than once in
a lifetime; it attacks children for the most part during their
infancy. No remedy is ever applied, as experience has shown that it
cannot be prevented; the Europeans have tried inoculation, but
without success.

This disease is met with in several districts on the Tigris; there
are no traces of it to be found at a distance from the river. It
would appear, therefore, to be, in some way, connected with the
evaporation from the stream, or the mud deposited on its banks; the
former seems less probable, as the crews of the English steamers,
which are always on the river, escape, while all the Europeans who
live on land fall victims to it. One of the latter had forty such
boils, and I was told that he suffered horribly. The French consul,
who expected to remain here for several years, would not bring his
wife with him, to expose her face to the danger of these
ineradicable marks. I had only been here some weeks, when I
discovered slight indications of a boil on my hand, which became
large, but did not penetrate very deep, and left no permanent scar.
I exulted greatly at escaping so easily, but my exultation did not
continue long; only six months afterwards, when I had returned to
Europe, this disease broke out with such violence that I was covered
with thirteen of those boils, and had to contend with them more than
eight months.

On the 24th of May I received an invitation from the En