in a comfortable position on deck to which we could repair in case it should clear up on the way over all of this i faithfully did the chairs had the best possible position behind the deck house and one of my pieces of luggage was left there as a that they belonged to me it looked like rain when the train arrived and we went below for a and a cup of coffee but before the boat left it up somewhat and we sat on deck study a at forty ing the harbor and the interesting company which was to cross with us some twenty english school girls in charge of several severe looking were crossing to paris either for a holiday or as t to renew their studies in a paris school a lot of maidens it would be hard to conceive and yet some of them were not at all bad looking and proper conduct were written all over them their clothing was severely plain and their manners were most none of that vivacity which the average american girl would have been under the circumstances there was no undue and little if any they interested me because i instantly imagined twenty american girls of the same age in their place they would have manifested twenty times the interest and enthusiasm only in england that would have been the height of bad manners as it was these english maidens sat in a quaint row all the way over and disappeared quite into the train at this english steamer crossing the channel to france was a disappointment to me in one way i had heard for some time past that the old uncomfortable channel boats had been with and new put in their place as a matter of fact these boats were not nearly so large as those that run from new york to island nor so though much and brighter if it had rained as anticipated the cabin below would have been and as it was all the passengers were on the upper deck sitting in camp chairs and preparing to be sick it was impossible to conceive that a distance so short not more than twenty three or four miles should be so disagreeable as said it was at times the boat did not pitch to any extent on this trip over en route to paris on my return some three months later i had a experience but now the wind blew fiercely and it was cold the channel was as gray as a rabbit and bleak i did not imagine the sea could be so dull looking and france when it appeared in the distance was equally bleak in appearance as we drew near it was no better � a shore line beset with gas and iron but when we actually reached the dock and i saw a line of sparkling french looking down on the boat from the platform above � england was gone gone all the solemnity and the politeness of the who had brought our luggage aboard gone the quiet civility of ship officers and train men gone the solid of the whole english race it seemed to me on the instant as if the sky had changed and instead of the gray misty pathos of english life � sweet and romantic � had come the lively slap dash of another world these men who looked down on us with their eyes were no more like the english than a is like a great they were black haired lean brown active they had on blue and blue and a kind of military cap there was a touch of scarlet somewhere either in their caps or their i forget which and somewhere near by i saw a french soldier � his scarlet trousers and coat poorly so far as goes with the splendid of the british nevertheless he did not look but raw and as one the soldiers of napoleon should be the of the made up for much and i said at once that i would not give france for fifty million i felt although i did not speak the language as though i had returned to america it is curious how one feels about france or at least a at forty how i feel about it for all of six weeks i had been rejoicing in the charms and the virtues of the english london is a great city � splendid � the intellectual capital of the world and the north represent as a realm as the world holds there is no doubt of that the and sweetness of english country life is not to be surpassed for charm and beauty but france has fifty times the spirit and enthusiasm of england after london and the english country it seems strangely young and vital france is often spoken of as � but i said to myself lord let us get some of this and take it home with us it is such a cheerful thing to have around i would commend it to the english particularly on the way over had been giving me additional instructions i was to stay on board when the boat arrived and signal a who would then come and get my luggage i was to say to him whereupon he would gather up the bundles and lead the way to the dock i was to be sure and get his number for all french were and likely to rob you i did exactly as i was told while went forward to engage a section first class and to see that we secured places in the dining car for the first service then he returned and found me on the dock doing my best to keep track of the various pieces of luggage while the did his best to secure the attention of a customs it was certainly interesting to see the difference between the arrival of this 