登陆注册
15703000000026

第26章

I know not whether the exact limits of an excursion,as distinguished from a journey,have ever been fixed;at any rate,it seemed none of my business,at Tours,to settle the question.Therefore,though the making of excursions had been the purpose of my stay,I thought it vain,while I started for Bourges,to determine to which category that little expedition might belong.It was not till the third day that I returned to Tours;and the distance,traversed for the most part after dark,was even greater than I had supposed.That,however,was partly the fault of a tiresome wait at Vierzon,where I had more than enough time to dine,very badly,at the buffet,and to observe the proceedings of a family who had entered my railway carriage at Tours and had conversed unreservedly,for my benefit,all the way from that station,a family whom it entertained me to assign to the class of petite noblesse de province.Their noble origin was confirmed by the way they all made maigre in the refreshment oom (it happened to be a Friday),as if it had been possible to do anything else.They ate two or three omelets apiece,and ever so many little cakes,while the positive,talkative mother watched her children as the waiter handed about the roast fowl.I was destined to share the secrets of this family to the end;for when I had taken place in the empty train that was in waiting to convey us to Bourges,the same vigilant woman pushed them all on top of me into my compartment,though the carriages on either side contained no travellers at all.It was better,I found,to have dined (even on omelets and little cakes)at the station at Vierzon than at the hotel at Bourges,which,when I reached it at nine o'clock at night,did not strike me as the prince of hotels.The inns in the smaller provincial towns in France are all,as the term is,commercial,and the commisvoyageur is in triumphant possession.I saw a great deal of him for several weeks after this;for he was apparently the only traveller in the southern provinces,and it was my daily fate to sit opposite to him at tables d'hote and in railway trains.He may be known by two infallible signs,his hands are fat,and he tucks his napkin into his shirtcollar.In spite of these idiosyncrasies,he seemed to me a reserved and inoffensive person,with singularly little of the demonstrative goodhumor that he has been described as possessing.I saw no one who reminded me of Balzac's "illustre Gaudissart;"and indeed,in the course of a month's journey through a large part of France,I heard so little desultory conversation that I wondered whether a change had not come over the spirit of the people.They seemed to me as silent as Americans when Americans have not been "introduced,"and infinitely less addicted to exchanging remarks in railway trains and at tables d'hote the colloquial and cursory English;a fact perhaps not worth mentioning were it not at variance with that reputation which the French have long enjoyed of being a preeminently sociable nation.The common report of the character of a people is,however,an indefinable product;and it is,apt to strike the traveller who observes for himself as very wide of the mark.The English,who have for ages been described (mainly by the French)as the dumb,stiff,unapproachable race,present today a remarkable appearance of goodhumor and garrulity,and are distinguished by their facility of intercourse.On the other hand,any one who has seen half a dozen Frenchmen pass a whole day together in a railwaycarriage without breaking silence is forced to believe that the traditional reputation of these gentlemen is simply the survival of some primitive formula.It was true,doubtless,before the Revolution;but there have been great changes since then.The question of which is the better taste,to talk to strangers or to hold your tongue,is a matter apart;I incline to believe that the French reserve is the result of a more definite conception of social behavior.I allude to it only became it is at variance with the national fame,and at the same time is compatible with a very easy view of life in certain other directions.On some of these latter points the Boule d'Or at Bourges was full of instruction;boasting,as it did,of a hall of reception in which,amid old boots that had been brought to be cleaned,old linen that was being sorted for the wash,and lamps of evil odor that were awaiting replenishment,a strange,familiar,promiscuous household life went forward.Small scullions in white caps and aprons slept upon greasy benches;the Boots sat staring at you while you fumbled,helpless,in a row of pigeonholes,for your candlestick or your key;and,amid the coming and going of the commisvoyageurs,a little sempstress bent over the undergarments of the hostess,the latter being a heavy,stem,silent woman,who looked at people very hard.

It was not to be looked at in that manner that one had come all the way from Tours;so that within ten minutes after my arrival I sallied out into the darkness to get somehow and somewhere a happier impression.However late in the evening I may arrive at a place,I cannot go to bed without an impression.

The natural place,at Bourges,to look for one seemed to be the cathedral;which,moreover,was the only thing that could account for my presence dans cette galere.I turned out of a small square,in front of the hotel,and walked up a narrow,sloping street,paved with big,rough stones and guiltless of a footway.

同类推荐
  • 重订西方公据

    重订西方公据

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 狄公案

    狄公案

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • The Bravo of Venice

    The Bravo of Venice

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 波罗蜜多心经挟注

    波罗蜜多心经挟注

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 佛说无上依经

    佛说无上依经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 大文案

    大文案

    “欢迎宿主启动《大文案》程序!”1积分兑换1000人民币,不知道真假哦?“宿主成功兑换一枚【小解毒丹】!耗费10积分!”
  • 太上玉晨郁仪结璘奔日月图

    太上玉晨郁仪结璘奔日月图

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 将风

    将风

    将者,智、信、仁、勇、严也!赵青寒说:“我是要成为大将军的男人!”
  • 苍蓝的勇者传说

    苍蓝的勇者传说

    世界之始,某一天神降临于世界,神赐予世界光,水,空气与魔法,神说:吾将赐名与世界利维坦之名。无数年后生命在利维坦世界创造了灿烂的文明,神再次降临,神说:吾将收回赐予世界的光,水,空气。
  • 映灵

    映灵

    少年与少年的纠缠……情之一字,无尽纠缠不喜勿喷
  • 易侠

    易侠

    天之宠儿来到这个世界会有什么事情发生呢?自创世的古神遗留下来,到了现代都市。以前无所不能的古神在宇宙间叱咤风云,在现在都市也会是上天的宠儿吗?保留了他的坚强、善、忍、智的优良品质,能否适应这个社会吗?“不是社会适应你,而是你要去适应社会”“噢,我抱歉,我只喜欢改造社会,让社会学会适应我”——易水寒
  • 雪球专刊第021期:股民的自我修养2

    雪球专刊第021期:股民的自我修养2

    最近有这样一种想法,即股市投资成功带来的收益,与一个人的层次、境界密切相关。如果一个人不具备一定的层次和境界,即使从股市中得到了暴利,也很容易失去(2006年首次入市,在2007年大赚的投资人,估计只有不到5%的人到目前保住了牛市的成果)。更多的人是从未在股市中得到过较多的浮盈,而是在中国股市这个亿人坑中越陷越深。
  • 耍宝俊妞:狂傲夫君追求记

    耍宝俊妞:狂傲夫君追求记

    原本是个不良女汉子,一朝穿越成为江湖世家千金,她腹黑执拗不拘小节不经意的耍宝竟成吸引‘他’的原因,对于感情来说她是个迟钝的笨蛋,他外形俊美实力强悍却内心纠结:小妞你要闹哪样哦,怎么才能明白我的心啊?”
  • 都市尖兵

    都市尖兵

    他是华夏最神秘特种部队有史以来最年轻的指挥官,是华夏上头警卫局最顶尖的教官兼保镖,一次莫名其妙的婚约任务使他重回都市,伴随而来的是无数的美女和麻烦,当祖国需要时他总是能挺身而出,他用他超人的智慧和身手书写着属于他自己的都市传奇。
  • 风之剑仙

    风之剑仙

    文章简介:《风之剑仙》是一款网络游戏利用现代最新科技将全球人类的脑电波NDA集中起来建立的一个系统,起初的设计是为了世界和平便于警察抓捕罪犯!但是此系统运行5年以后效果太好导致世界出现和平发展繁荣昌盛的局面!联合国决定将此系统升级、做成一款世界顶尖的网络游戏。大致分为3个大区亚洲区、欧洲区、和无人区无人区现在不详细解释以后会让大家了解!本书主人公桀骜灬熊猫是一个出身低微的打工一族在中国H市为了生活而奋斗!因为恋爱不是很顺利!对感情的事情有点心灰意冷的时候偶然接触到《风之剑仙》开始了一番不平凡的游戏之旅……