others that it was
attributable to the smoke of the chiah; but the truth is, that, both
before and after this period, we had experienced nearly as great
extremes of heat by day and cold by night without any such
consequences, and that some, who had not approached the chiah fires
were as severely affected as those who had. It was concluded, with
every appearance of reason, that the real cause was the dazzling light
reflected from the snow during our march on the 20th of April. I
recollect one artilleryman, who was conducting his gun, when suddenly,
as the sun broke out afresh, he stopped, rubbed his eyes, turned his
head in every direction, and exclaimed: 'I cannot see; I am quite
blind!' Although we had not expected snow in the plains of Sahara, the
general had anticipated the effects of the reflection of light from
the sand, and the possibility of small particles of it getting into
the eyes; and with this view each man had been provided with a green
gauze veil. But the soldier dislikes anything out of his regular
routine as much as the most ignorant peasant; so when the order was
given that these veils should be worn,[3] the soldiers wore them to
be sure--in their pockets. I insisted that each man should fasten his
on his helmet, and this, too, was done; but it was allowed to fly like
a streamer behind, instead of being drawn over the eyes. Happily the
epidemic was but temporary, and none permanently suffered the loss of
sight as the punishment of his folly.

FOOTNOTES:

[2] All hope abandon ye that enter here.

[3] _Porter_, to carry, is the word by which the French express to
wear a thing, so that the error of Cavaignac's soldiers was somewhat
more excusable than it would have been in Englishmen.

THINGS TALKED OF IN LONDON.

_August 1852._

The great heat, which has been more talked about than anything else,
if it does not prove that the meteorologists, who predicted that this
summer was to bring a return of the warm cycle, were right in their
conclusions, at least coincides with their vaticinations. Not least
remarkable was the suddenness with which we plunged into it, as though
the cause which had produced a precisely similar effect in the United
States a month earlier, had slowly crossed the Atlantic for our
benefit.

It follows, when 'everybody' is going out of town, that the number of
those who stay behind to talk must be greatly diminished