The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-11-22

IN NAV 1AA IAtrl street. OF I1TQe
WI Park is surrounded by an at.
mosphere which press upon him
with a weight of more than fourteen and
half pounds to the square INCH A man
in Davos is incumbered by a pressure OF
only twelve and a quarter pounds, OF
Whereabouts.
Putting the matter otherwise the Lon
don atmosphere is so heavy as normally
to eounterba1ance column Of nearly
thirty inches of mercury In the barome-
ter, while the Davos air supports a
column of but about twenty-five inches.
After the first few hours at Davos-for
nature does not adapt herself instanta-
neously-you become conscious Of the
difference. and having, as It were, less
burden to carry, you grow proportionate-
" more active and enduring than you
would be IL you remained in London. But
you must not too quickly give way to
this feeling of Increased 1igntness and
energy.
Your heart must first be allowed to
accustom itself to the new conditions,
and unless you allow 1t to do so gradu-
ally you may find yourself suddenly
overcome by faintness, II by nothing
more serious. When, however, you are
acclImatized which will be in a day or
two. you will be astonished at what you
can accomplish without fatigue. A long
walk. which in England would be almost
beyond your powers will leave you un-
tired and fresh. -Four or Ave hours skat-
ing win not weary you IN the least. On
the other hand. very hard labor viii try
your breathing apparatus pretty severe
ly, and you will soon realize that given
quantity OF the raref1ed air of Davos
does not afford you the same support as
the same number Of inhalations Of the
air In London. You will have to learn TO
breathe both more often and more deep
ly in order to maintain yourself in COM
fort, though, unless you exert your
self severely. you will probably not be
conscious of the effort.
AS for the Davos air, it is quite differ
ent from that to which the Londoner is
accustomed. In consequence Of its COM
parative rarity, 1t holds very little moist
ure in suspension, and is, therefore, ex-
traordinarily clear. l recollect once sit
ting with some newly-arrived English
people upon the balcony of the Hotel Vic
toria on fine winters day, and pointing
out to them the summit of the Tinsen-
horn-a very conspicuous object.
How far Off" 1 asked, "'do you sup
pose it to be?' One man, an officer Of
Royal Engineers, said, ''Ten miles at the
outside" Another, also soldier laugh
ed and declared, why. 1t isn't a yard
above seven miles" Measured on the
map, the distance is fourteen miles, or
perhaps rather more; yet both these men
were accustomed to Judging distances,
and the engineer had been In South At
RIGA, where the atmospheric conditions
are somewhat similar. This clearness and
rarity of the air has the effect of giving
Davos an unusual amount of sunshine,
and even in midwinter a remarkably hot
sun, together with a wonderful dryness.
The winter heat of the sun may be
gagged by the fact that when the share
temperature is as low as ten or fifteen de-
grees below zero Fahrenheit, people walk
abroad quite comfortably without over
coats while ladies carry parasols, and
skaters or curriers' strip to their shirt
sleeves. This sort of thing would be i'm
possible were Davos windy place; but,
as it is well protected on north, east and
west, there is often for weeks at time
no atmospheric movement worthy OF the
name.
Even at night, when the temperature
fails occasionally to 40 degrees below zero
and shows 70 degrees of frost, you can
sit and play cards in the open air without
discomfort, provided, Of course, that you
be very warmly wrapped up. l have
known the ink in my fountain pen to
freeze while I was in the act of writing
near an open window, and this when l
myself experienced no inconvenient sense