=12.6; nor did this low temperature arise from great extremes, but rather from a continuous state of uniform cold, the mercury never rising above the freezing point. With such weather on this side of the Atlantic the cholera was devastating the North of England, under the circumstances of mild, open weather and humid atmosphere.

Days. 8 A. M. 5 P. M. 9 A. M. Days. 8 A. M. 5 P. M. 9 A. M.

M. T. at 8 a.m., 12·6; Monthly range, 39; Rain, 0; Snow, 9; E. 6; W. 29; Daily range, max. 35. The column marked "9 A.M.,' indicates the corresponding temperature in London, England.

Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sep.

In this table M. T. denotes

the mean temperature at 8 a. m.; R. the range of the mercury for the month; r. diurnal ditto; between Ms. of 8 and 12. It may here be remarked that the monthly means alone would convey a very inadequate idea of a climate like that of Canada,

subject to such great and sudden fluctuations, for the same result is produced by a series of uniform temperatures, or high extremes balancing one another. Therefore in considering the actual season of cholera, a reference will be made to other and minuter calculations. Meanwhile it will be sufficient to say of the earlier part of 1832, that the spring was remarkably cold, dry, and backward, and unfavorable to vegetation.

The month of June, in which the cholera commenced, exhibited no very remarkable anomalies, although there were sudden variations of temperature, as e.g. from 78° on the 17th to 57°, 53°, 57°, on the three following days. In July and August the ravages of the disease were the most severe.

The first nine days of July were hot, succeeded by five below the mean, with northerly winds and showers. The character of the month was cool and variable, rain fell on twelve days, and the diurnal range exceeded 20. In August the thermometer was once at 49° 84m., and once only above 80°. As to electric phenomena, there were few thunderstorms, and none of peculiar severity. So that upon a review of the season of 1832 we should say, that the spring was backward, the summer cool, and thermic anomalies, as the phrase goes, by no

means uncommon.

In September the pestilence gradually abated, and by the end of the month disappeared, leaving behind it traces of its desolating career which were not likely to be forgotten. Many a valuable life was sacrificed, "there was truly a great cry in the land," of the widow and the orphan thrown destitute on the world. To instance one case out of thousands. In one family, by the death of two brothers and a brother-in-law, mechanics in good employment, seventeen children were left orphans entirely without the means of support. In Quebec alone there were supposed to be at least 1000 of these unfortunate, destitute objects. The sympathy, however, of the charitable was not wanting, and in York a liberal contribution was raised for the widows and orphans of cholera victims, and public and private benevolence was actively employed in alleviating the calamities which every where met the eye. So passed the year 1832, the most disastrous in the annals of Canada.

In 1833 there was a freedom from disease, and the Province began to recover from the blow which had paralyzed its energies. Trade revived, and the stream of emigration again set in upon our shores.

The Town of York was now transformed into the City of Toronto, and received the blessing of a Corporation of City Fathers, bent upon improvements and reform. New brooms sweep clean. Streets were cleansed, sewers dug, middens abolished, groggeries mitigated, and mire and mud superseded by plank and McAdam. Many a venerable nuisance was swept away, and the terror caused by the recent visitation gave rise to many wholesome and sanitary precautions. Though much remained to be done, much no doubt was done, though the disciples of the McClarty school were still too numerous to permit all the purifications necessary. We now come to the year 1834, which was marked by the second visitation of the dreadful pestilence. An inspection of the annexed tables will shew that this season was both remarkable in itself, and formed a strong contrast to the preceding year of plague. It will be well to give a brief sketch to illustrate the subject.

1834.

Jan. Feb. Mar. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept.

1832. Bel. 0. 0-10 10-20 20-32 32-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90

1834. Bel. 0. 0-10 10-20 20-32 32-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90

These tables give a comparative view to every tenth degree of the temperature at 8 a. m., in the cholera years of 1832 and 1834.

January, 1834, was a month of low temperature, the mercury at 8 a. m. being only once above the freezing point at 8 a. m. Max. 41° min. -2.

February. A mild month. On the 22nd a storm of thunder and lightning, ther. 42°, succeeded by flurries of snow, and ther. 180.

March. High temperature. Bay of Toronto free from ice on the 14th, nearly a month earlier than usual, On the 19th and 20th heavy rain and gale, thermometer 48°. Fall of rain, 1.21, succeeded by cold, clear weather, snow, and ther. 18°.

April. A month of high temperature, therm. 61 on the 13th at noon, 66° on the 16th, high range. One thunder storm. Cold and

variable towards end.

In May there was snow on the 13th, therm. 33°. Four days of thunder. Cold and variable first half of the month, and the highest temperature 72° at 8 a. m. on the 24th.

June. A cool month, therm. only once above 70°, viz., 77° noon of the 9th. Considerable fall of rain.

The remembrance of the desolating scourge had in a great measure faded from the minds of many when the afflicting news arrived, that the cholera was once more amongst us. Not a few indulged a too confident hope that the plague was stayed for ever, and even in the height of its fury, it seemed to lull for a while, like the hurricane, only to burst forth again with redoubled violence. It was imagined that the disease was of a milder type at this its second arrival, and one thing is certain, that it did not inspire that dread and consterna

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tion which so strongly marked its former visit. People had become familiarized with its most shocking features, the character of the disease was better understood, many precautionary measures, before neglected, were adopted, but it may well be questioned whether it abated any thing of its former malignity. It was remarked at the time, and indeed it is a familiar truth as regards all similar visitations, that nothing does so effectually predispose the system to the attacks of disease as that fear and anxiety which naturally attended the first appearance of a malady marked by such terrible characteristics. Ward, in his travels in Mexico, speaking of the yellow fever, observes, that a predestinarian would have a much better chance of escaping than one over anxious," and this was specially verified as regards the cholera. We observe that physicians, clergymen, nurses, and others, who were constantly in communication with the dying and the dead, almost invariably escaped, while many no doubt fell victims solely from the influence of panic. In the former, familiarity with scenes of horror, divested them of that morbid sensitiveness which as much as any other cause invited the attacks of the destroyer. Consequently the alarm which accompanied the former visitation having in a great measure subsided, the cholera of 1834 was thought to be of less malignant quality. And yet the facts of the case would scarcely seem to warrant the conclusion. The first case of cholera in 1834, at Quebec, occurred on July 11th, and in Toronto July 28th, and in less than one month, viz., by August 22nd, the number of deaths in Toronto amounted to 423; an extraordinary mortality, when it is considered how many of the inhabitants had left the City. We now revert to the consideration of the two months in which the cholera prevailed, July and August.

July was a month of high temperature, abounding in sultry days, heavy showers, great consequent evaporation, and remarkable for the number of thunderstorms, many of great severity. From 21st to 26th was a continued series of these storms, accompanied by 3.25 in. of rain; and so far from the pestilence being mitigated, as some have argued, by these agents, it seemed to burst forth with fresh fury. The heavy showers and burning sun roused into active operation many a deleterious influence, which under other circumstances might have remained dormant.

August resembled July, though somewhat lower in temperature. On September 12th was a white frost.

Comparing then the seasons of 1832 and 1834, commencing with