_Mr. B._ In what then does its excellence consist? _Dr. A._ It is decidedly the best spring residence in Italy. The air is much more moist than that of Nice; and, at this season, it has the advantage of being less liable to cold winds; although it must be confessed that the _Tramontana_ (a sharp northerly wind,) is sometimes felt with considerable severity, but it does not affect the human body like the dry cold winds of Provence. _Mr. B._ The prejudice which exists in my mind against Rome has arisen from the circumstance of many of my friends having suffered severely from head-ache, during their residence there. _Dr. A._ Upon that point, I fear my opinion will rather strengthen than remove your prejudice. I have no hesitation in stating, that the same complaint has been frequently made to me; and even Dr. Clark, the English resident physician, confirms the objection.[141] _Mr. B._ And then come the frightful _Malaria_. _Dr. A._ The stranger has nothing to fear from these exhalations between October and the middle of May, after which period I should not recommend any invalid to protract his visit. _Mr. B._ But suppose his object is to remain two winters at Rome,--where is he to find refuge during these intervals? _Dr. A._ In the vicinity of Rome there are many spots which will furnish a very eligible residence during the hot weather, such are Albano, Frascati, Tivoli, Castel Gandolfo. _Mr. B._ After what you have said, I think it is scarcely worth while for an invalid to encounter the fatigues of so long a journey; but you have not yet mentioned Florence. _Dr. A._ Its climate is almost as changeable as our own, and far more mischievous, as its Siberian winds alternate with a temperature equal to that of our finest days in spring. The summer, however, is delightful, the heat being greatly tempered by the Apennines. Bicchierai, an Italian Physician of eminence, used to say, that he wondered how any body could _live_ at Florence in the winter, or _die_ there in the summer. _Mr. B._ Upon the whole you have presented me with a very discouraging view of the Italian Climate; and I have always understood that Lisbon is intolerable to an Englishman from its filth. _Dr. A._ Lisbon is out of the question: the character of its climate may be summed up in a few words. Its winter temperature is neither mild nor equable, and its spring is remarkable for dense and cold fogs; and as to what an Englishman calls comfort, there is not a city in the world where it is so systematically neglected. _Mr. B._ Suppose I wave the objections to a sea voyage and set sail for Sicily? _Dr. A._ In that case you will undoubtedly find a fine climate, superior in most respects to that of the Italian continent. The winter and spring seasons are remarkably mild, provided you select Palermo for your residence; Messina is exposed to cold piercing easterly winds from the mountains of Calabria. _Mr. B._ I have heard Catania well spoken of.