s. This, however, is but
problematical, as the deaths at the other end of the town took place in
two-storied houses.

From what I observed at West Point, there appears to be a constant drain
of water down the hills, about six inches under the surface of the soil.
This water settles under improperly ventilated houses, rots the beams,
and _throws up a crop of mildew in every room_, as I can testify from
actual observation.

That no European female has fallen a victim to this fever, is certainly
a remarkable feature in its history; but it must be borne in mind, that
there were no ladies residing in the immediate neighbourhood of the two
localities just mentioned. Perhaps, the Morrison Education Hill may be
an exception, where two families passed last summer. None of the females
suffered a day's illness, though a young man living in the house, who
was occasionally exposed to the sun, caught the fever and died.

I have no doubt, (and I have heard others express a similar opinion,)
that regular habits and non-exposure to the sun, are the principal
causes to which those Europeans who have escaped illness when their
friends and neighbours have sickened round them, owe their preservation.
The occupants of spacious, two-storied, well-aired houses escaped, with
only a single exception, in the case of a young man who probably
brought on his illness by imprudent exposure to the sun for hours
together, although he was repeatedly warned of the consequences. I know
several instances of families passing last summer in houses of this
description without any interruption of health. My own household was
composed of two ladies, three children, myself, and a European female
attendant: not one of us had an hour's illness during all the hot
weather; yet we took no further care of ourselves than is customary with
people who have resided for several years within the tropics.

That exposure to the sun in that zone is uniformly prejudicial to the
health of Europeans, does not admit of a question; but, in China, the
sun's rays seem to exert a more injurious effect than in most other
places I have visited. The residents in Hong Kong, it is true, were
somewhat careless in the matter. Few, if any of them were provided with
carriages or other conveyance to protect them from it when business
called them abroad during the day; and it was quite common to see them
moving about, on foot and on horseback, with no other precaution than an
umbrella carried