men of Madrid, there is no doubt, and in the days when Ford wrote, they were no doubt immediately bled, and so hastened on their way out of this troublesome world by the doctors; but one has not very far to seek for the cause of this scourge when one notices the habits of the Madrileno.  In the first place he hates nothing quite so much as fresh air, and the cafes, clubs, taverns, and places where he resorts are kept in such a state of heated stuffiness that it seems scarcely an exaggeration to say that the air could be cut out in junks, like pieces of cake.  If he travel by train, all windows must be kept closely shut, while he smokes all the time.  When, at last, it is necessary to brave the outer air in order to reach home, he, carefully and before leaving the vitiated atmosphere he has been breathing, envelops himself in his cloak, throwing the heavy cape, generally lined with velvet or plush, across his mouth and nose, barely leaving his eyes visible; he thus has three or four folds of cloth and velvet as a respirator.  It often happens that at the corner of some street the long arm of the icy “Guadarrama” reaches him; a sudden gust of wind plucks off his respirator, and the mischief is done.  But should he reach the safe closeness of his own house, he has certainly done his level best to charge his lungs with unwholesome and contaminated air.

You have only to see the women on the coldest day in winter with nothing over their heads but a silk or lace mantilla, or a mere velo of net, and the working-women with nothing but their magnificent hair, or, at most, a kerchief, to be certain that it is not the “air” that is to blame.  I have seen the women going about Madrid in winter, both by day and night, when the men were muffled to the eyes, with thicker dresses, of course, and perhaps a fur cape, but no sort of wrap about their head or throat; and pulmonia is comparatively unknown among women.  To English people, accustomed to plenty of fresh air and water, Madrid has never been an unhealthy place, and it is extremely probable that one of these days our doctors will be sending their consumptive patients there for the winter.  They might easily do worse.

One of the coldest winters I remember in Madrid, a young Englishman came out with a letter of introduction from friends.  He looked as if he had not many weeks to live, and in truth he was condemned by his doctors, and his hours were numbered.  He was a Yorkshireman by birth, but had some years past developed seeds of consumption.  He had been sent year after year to Madeira and other of the old resorts, having been told that a winter in England would certainly finish him.  Finally, he made his doctors tell him the truth:  it was that he had not many months, perhaps not many weeks, to live.