Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/196

190 hand; on the other, verdant plains and fertile valleys. Even the summer heat and drought on the table-lands are mitigated by the advent of the rainy season, which begins in May and ends with November. It is not continuous. The sun may be shining brightly, when suddenly the sky is overcast, and the rain descends in torrents, to be succeeded by sunshine. If two cloudy or rainy days come consecutively, the people find themselves quite aggrieved, and complain of the awful weather. But the rain usually comes late in the evening or at night; then the streets, ditches and canals overflow their banks and become merged in an open sea; but in the morning the water has disappeared; the sun comes out in all his splendor and cheering rays; the blue sky smiles, and all nature rejoices.

At the capital there are three distinct temperatures—that of the sunny side of the street, that of the shady side, and that in the house. In the morning, walk as early as ten o'clock, on the sunny side of the street, the heat will be almost overpowering. On making a change to the shady side, the difference will be so great as to produce a severe cold, while the light wrap, worn with comfort in the street, will be found insufficient in the house.

On reaching an altitude of four thousand feet and upward, strangers, and especially ladies, experience a peculiar dizziness, which continues for several days, after which they usually return to their normal condition. At the capital the elevation above sea-level is 7,349 feet, and during the first week after my arrival I was almost prostrated from this dizziness.

Another peculiarity of the climate consists in the fact that it is considered by many to be dangerous to pass suddenly from a closed room to the white light and open air outside. I saw several instances in which incurable blindness was said to be produced in this way. The natives understand the importance of moving about the house before going abruptly into the open air.

Still another climatic effect is, that the uncovering of the head is apt to produce a severe catarrhal cold. For this reason gentlemen never remove their hats for any length of time when out of doors.