Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-12
ginning
CONDUCTOR
By
c.N.2<
chr AM:WILl-IANlSON

scenes that one is constantly coming across
In this pleasant land of France" to leave
picture in ones mind. Miss Randolph
to watch IL.
queer thing about France. by the way.
You and have both been entertained right
royalty In jolly old chateaux by delightful
french people of our own class. We know
that life In such country houses can be
as charming as 1t is I'm England: yet IL one
nad never seen II from the inside one
would fancy in travelling that nothing OF
the sort existed. Roughly one might sum
the difference up in phrase by saying that
England a landlords In England Won see
twenty good country houses for every one
you pass In France-excepting only tba
DISTRICT or the Loire; and outdoor life as we
KNOW IL, on the road and on the river
doesn't seem to exist over here Somebow
l was never so much struck with this con-
trast before. though l know this country
almost as well as / know nv hat Think
or the English roads and lanes of the
pretty girls and decent men one meets ON
horseback or in smart dogcarts, the dow
ayers In Vlctorlas the crowds of cyclists,
the occasional fine motor-car, knickerbock-
cred men walking for the pleasure of eyer
else! Here, though one knows there are
more motors than at home one rarely
comes across them out of towns; and as for
iadles ana gentlemen. or, indeed. any sort
or people out solely for enjoyment they re-
as rare as black opals 1 look in vain for
pretty Held paths and rural lanes, where
when the day is done l suppose they urefer
10 DO their love-making indoors or in front
OF care, or perhaps they sandwich IL in
with their long hours of work and that is
the reason why the whole. of France seems
SO much more cultivated than country Eng
iand-the reason why every acre is turned
10 account, not a square yard of earth left
untitled. It's only the magnificent roads
whlch aren't enough appreciated. apparent
ly, by the mobility and gentry" as the
.rauesmens circulars have 1t. And what
ROADS the Routes Nationales are
born for motor-carst-yaryina a littla
from department to department. but equal.
iy good almost everywhere. You come to
stone marking the boundary of a depart
menu. nor instance and. crossing an imag-
mary line, hnd yourself on a different kind
OF surface, each department being allowed
to make its road after the manner which
well. -
The Route Rationale from Paris to Raw
onne, along part of which we've lately
Travelled. is good nearly all the way From
Danse TO Poltiers is a splendid bit and up
to Poitiers one climbs q considerable hill
1t s cheerful town, with fine cathedral
and lively streets full of red-legged SOL
diers, rather weedy and stumbling fellows
like most French conScripts Beyond Pol
tiers the road is one long exhilaratinR
switchback-you rush down one Hill, climb
another, swoop again into a hollow and SO
on, the road unrolling itself like a great
white tape. You try to drive faster than
the tape unrolls but somehow you can
never beat 1T.
That We were getting into the south was
shown by the fact that the road was bor-
dered by endless lows of walnut trees
Under tumbled sky. and with an occa-
sional spatter of rain. we passed that day
through vast stretch Of rolling. cultivate
ed land, with obscure villages at long i'm
tervals. In a little town called Couhe-
Verac We lunched rather late. The regu-
liar deJeuner was over, as 1t was nearly
three in the afternoon; but in ten minutes
after q got into the hnnSe
| to this luncheon Boiled eggs. roast veal,
boeuf la mode, PURGE of potatoes. pheas-
ant. delicious pate. grapes. peaches.
pears. sweet biscuits. cream cheese. red
and white wine and bread ad libtum; all
fer two francs fifty per head. Think of it!
This was homely village inn, with no
prctensions. What would have happened
IL We had turned up unexpectedly at such
a house in England? We should have been
offered cold beef and pickles, with the al
tentative Of ham and eggs. or possibly
chop or steak, sir; take twenty minutes"
Truly in cooking We are barbarians. The
French dine; We feed.
The landlord was a man of character He
had delightful manners, and though he
was young his hair was grayish, and cut
low and straight across broad forehead.
Through gold-rfmmed glasses cleaned the
blue eyes OF an enthusiast. He went with
me to look at the car. and explained that
he was an inventor-that he had designed
a Few system Of marine propulsion moro
powerful than the screw. 1t followed the
irreg ularity," and, standing on his toes. he
flung out his arms and beat them rhythm-
ically in the air to illustrate his theory,
1t was hard, he conf1ded In me. to have to
keep an inn in a small town when he
ought to be in Paris, among engineers. per.
fecting his invention. Did l, by any chance,
know of a capitalist who would back himf
sympathized and regretted; but who
knows If he has not got hold of an ideaf
At Blois they have statue of Denis Pa
pin. who. the French say. invented the
steam engine. Perhaps. years hence, II my
grandchildren pass through Couhe-Verac.
they may see a statue to the blue-eyed
landlord of it's little inn.
Beyond Couhe-Verac We had our first
dog accident. Dogs, you know, are as
great a nuisance to automobiles as they
are to cycles, and they charge at ones
car with such vehemence that their Inn
petus almost carries them under the
wheels. Sometimes they show their strength
by galloping alongside the car for a cou-
pie of hundred yards, barking so furiously
the while that their bodies are contorted
by the violence of the effort. 1 was driv-
ing at a moderate pace (something under
thirty miles an hour when a beautiful coll
lie which had been standing by the road
side walked quietly out and planted him.
self with his back to me In front Of the
car. The fact was that he saw his master
coming along the road. and had gone for
ward to greet him. The whole thing hap
pened in an instant, SO that I had no time
to stop. 1 think the dog must have been
deaf not to hear the noise Of the car. I
shouted, but he took no notice. To swerve
violently to one side was to risk upsetting
the car: besides. there was no room to do
this another vehicle happened to be
vassing. If there had been only the car
to sacrifice. 1 would have sacrificed II to
save that collie; but 1 couldn't sacrifice
Miss Randolph. There was nothing for 1t
but to drive over the dog. With a sick
ening wrench Of the heart. 1 saw the nice
beast disappear under the front of the car.
Instantly slowing down. I looked behind
me expecting to see a mangied corpse But
there was the dog rolling over and over on
the road. Clearly some under part of the
car had struck him and sent him spinning.
The noise, the unexpected blow, the fierce,
hot blast Of the poisonous exhaust pour
ing into his face, must have made the poor
fellow think that he had struck a travelling
earthquake. But happily he was unhurt
AS looked he got on to his feet, and with
his tail between his legs. ran to his mas
ter for consolation. Our last glimpse
showed US that comedy had followed trag-
edy, for the master was beating the dog
with a cane for getting In our way. [
was afraid Miss Randolph would scream
or faint, but she did neither. only turned
white as marble and never looked prettier
in her life Aunt Mary yelled, OF course.
but more in fear for ourselves than for the
collie, I think. She says she would like
dogs hefter eff their hark could no ex-