12 DECEMBER 1863, Page 22

reader. A colonial life is unquestionably one which is not

likely to produce the disease, and we can, therefore, readily believe that patients in the early stages of the disease generally recover there. We are not equally satisfied that the climate is better than that of well-chosen spots in Europe. Dr. Bird himself threw off incipient phthisis in Australia, and admits himself to be an advocate. Otherwise he would scarcely have contended that colonial society is more likely to be pleasant to a poitrinaire than that of Europe, and that historical associations make a city a depressing residence. These last are surely a source of interest to cultivated men, and it is only the wealthy—who, speaking roughly, are usually cultivated men—who can choose a residence from purely sanitary considerations. Dr. Bird's book is, however a very good and a very pleasant one.