The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-16

tables upon him and asked nam
questions He had had some wonderful
champagne, and no doubt an equally
wonderful cigar for our host is a con-
noisseur, as well as something or an
artistic celebrity, therefore he felt
peaceful and benevolently inclined to-
ward the world; and il never occurred
to the poor. deceived man that he was
being interviewed.
England is delightful" he said. Il
wonder now that we have never been
here before, but you know that we
Frenchmen and women are not travel
ers. We can be anything else. but not
that. The channel is a great gulf 10
us. / wonder If it is that we love our
own country better than you Americans
and English, that we stay in il and go
not abroad much? Yet we are working
hard in this visit of ours. Ii is pleasant
work, but work ii is. Take to-day, for
instance. i had three interviews at my
hotel Then we were entertained at
luncheon, and afterwards /, my wife. my
children, come here in the train. 1t is
not far from London, but, yes, IL is
journey. We would stop to think of IT,
at home, perhaps. We have had so
many invita- tionS from kind people who
have been good enough TO want us, that
we have been quite frightened. Julia
and /, at sight of the envelopes waiting
for us to open in the morning. We
knew there were so many We could not
above all we have talked so much.
should like, when we go away. TO lie
on a grassy bank in the green, still
country, far from sounds of all kinds,
with my eyes closed, and without speak
ing. for one whole week Not that we
are exactly tired, We have enjoyed so
much. But we know that we shall real
ize fatigue when we are again in our
own place"
You brought your children here,
then?" i said. How much 1 would
like 20 see them"
"Oh. they would like to be seen They
complain, jestingly, that no one is in
terested in them. They wonder what 1t
is that SO many people see in papa.
With mamma it is different. So say
Lucien, Leon and little Edmee. And 1t
has amused me, the way many people
have taken Julia, my wife, here in Eng
land. They seem to think she has but
to smile and admire me- 1t is quite the
other way in reality, i assure you. She
is the cleverest of women. / owe more
than / can tell to her quick intuition
and wise advice. She has actually col
Elaborated with me in most of my books
1T amounts to that; she herself has
even poems, too. All. but 1 do not need
to remind you of that. You are an
American. She is appreciated. l think
for her own separate personality-in
America.
And yet you enjoy England" said.
"Oh, yes. We but know England of
the drawing rooms. and England, or
rather London. of the streets. / do not
so much like the streets. They depress
me, after Paris. London is a mighty
food. like Paris a bright. sparkling
river. The drawing rooms have i'm
| pressed me by the intellect 1 have met
with. Yet / would gladly have seen
and come into intimate contact with
the middle classes. 1t is life that in
terests me. Perhaps the very pleasant
est impression / shall carry away with
me from England with the exception
of this little two-days visit by the river,
which we shall much delight in, es-
pecially as our children are here) is that
of an evening on which l dined with
Mr.. Arthur Balfour and Mr.. John
Morley. Or are they both, or one of
them, a Sir?' l think | called them
that, and they smiled. We had a SPLEEN
did talk, which was almost an argument.
and all about Voltaire and Diderot. At
IL o'clock we were obliged to break up,
for both must go to their duties in Parlia-
ment. Have i said that right? They
seemed great friends. They left in the
same carriage, laughing much and talk
ing together. Yet i have heard that
they take opposite sides in politics, and
feel strongly all their convictions. That
| interested me. 1 thought that very fine.
| Oh yes! l have talked politics little
| with EngliShmen. But there are other
| thing which / prefer