An outbreak of cholera, supposed to be Asiatic, in Puebla
de Rugat (Valencia) and some neighbouring villages, has greatly alarmed both Spain and France. The disease, whether sporadic or not, has been spreading since the middle of May, and kills about half those attacked. The local Government has placed a cordon of troops round the town, and emigrants from Valencia are to be placed in rigorous quarantine. So great is the alarm, that the rich from the whole South of Spain are flying northwards, and the peasantry in the Valencia villages have armed themselves to keep out strangers. . The authorities in Southern France are taking severe pre- cautions, practically prohibiting trade by land; and though the Government in Italy pooh-poohs the reports, the cities are greatly alarmed. Men of the Southern temperament almost lose their heads in the presence of the cholera, yet they will not take the necessary precautions as to the purity of the water they drink, or give up eating half-rotten fruit. During the last outbreak in Naples, the people were convinced that the doctors were distributing poison, and both in Italy and Spain they do not scruple to "isolate" any infected house in such a way that the inmates are imprisoned and cannot get food. The disturbance to trade caused by panic is so great, that the rumours from Valencia sent down stocks on every Bourse in Europe. The odd thing is, that an unhealthy season, which kills more than the cholera does, creates no panic at all.
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