第 27 节
作者:青词      更新:2021-08-14 15:19      字数:9292
  material   situation;   whom   they   support   with   their   slowly   earned   wages;
  what claims they have on them from outside。 If she will also reflect on the
  number   of   days   in   a   year   when   she   is   〃not   herself;〃   when   headaches   or
  disappointments         ruffle   her   charming      temper;    she   may     come    to   the
  conclusion that it is too much to expect all the virtues for twenty dollars a
  month。
  A little more human interest; my good friends; a little more indulgence;
  and you will not risk finding yourself in the position of the lady who wrote
  me that last summer she had been obliged to keep open house for 〃'Cook'
  tourists!〃
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  CHAPTER 22 … An English
  Invasion of the Riviera
  WHEN sixty  years ago Lord Brougham; EN ROUTE for Italy; was
  thrown from his travelling berline and his leg was broken; near the Italian
  hamlet of Cannes; the Riviera was as unknown to the polite world as the
  centre of China。 The GRAND TOUR which every young aristocrat made
  with his tutor; on coming of age; only included crossing from France into
  Italy by the Alps。 It was the occurrence of an unusually severe winter in
  Switzerland that turned Brougham aside into the longer and less travelled
  route   VIA  the   Corniche;   the   marvellous   Roman   road   at   that   time   fallen
  into oblivion; and little used even by the local peasantry。
  During the tedious weeks while his leg was mending; Lord Brougham
  amused himself by exploring the surrounding country in his carriage; and
  was   quick   to   realize   the   advantages   of   the   climate;   and   appreciate   the
  marvellous   beauty   of   that   coast。   Before   the   broken   member   was   whole
  again;   he   had   bought   a   tract   of   land   and   begun   a   villa。   Small   seed;   to
  furnish   such   a   harvest!   To   the   traveller   of   to…day   the   Riviera   offers   an
  almost unbroken chain of beautiful residences from Marseilles to Genoa。
  A Briton willingly follows where a lord leads; and Cannes became the
  centre   of   English   fashion;   a   position   it   holds   to…day   in   spite   of   many
  attractive rivals; and the defection of Victoria who comes now to Cimiez;
  back of Nice; being unwilling to visit Cannes since the sudden death there
  of the Duke of Albany。 A statue of Lord Brougham; the 〃discoverer〃 of the
  littoral;   has   been   erected   in   the   sunny   little   square   at   Cannes;   and   the
  English have in many other ways; stamped the city for their own。
  No other race carry their individuality with them as they do。 They can
  live years in a country and assimilate none of its customs; on the contrary;
  imposing      habits   of   their  own。    It  is  just  this  that   makes    them    such
  wonderful   colonizers;   and   explains   why   you   will   find   little   groups   of
  English people drinking ale and playing golf in the shade of the Pyramids
  or near the frozen slopes of Foosiyama。 The real inwardness of it is that
  they   are   a   dull   race;   and;   like   dull   people   despise   all   that   they   do   not
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  understand。 To differ from them is to be in the wrong。 They cannot argue
  with you; they simply know; and that ends the matter。
  I   had   a   discussion   recently   with   a   Briton   on   the   pronunciation   of   a
  word。 As there is no 〃Institute;〃 as in France; to settle matters of this kind;
  I   maintained       that   we    Americans      had    as   much     authority     for   our
  pronunciation   of   this   particular   word      as   the   English。   The   answer   was
  characteristic。
  〃I know I am right;〃 said my Island friend; 〃because that is the way I
  pronounce it!〃
  Walking      along    the  principal    streets   of  Cannes     to…day;   you    might
  imagine yourself (except for the climate) at Cowes or Brighton; so British
  are the shops and the crowd that passes them。 Every restaurant advertises
  〃afternoon tea〃 and Bass's ale; and every other sign bears a London name。
  This little matter of tea is particularly characteristic of the way the English
  have imposed a taste of their own on a rebellious nation。 Nothing is further
  from the French taste than tea…drinking; and yet a Parisian lady will now
  invite you gravely to 〃five o'clocker〃 with her; although I can remember
  when that beverage was abhorred by the French as a medicine; if you had
  asked a Frenchman to take a cup of tea; he would have answered:
  〃Why? I am not ill!〃
  Even     Paris    (that   supreme     and    undisputed      arbiter   of   taste)   has
  submitted to English influence; tailor…made dresses and low…heeled shoes
  have     become     as  〃good    form〃    in  France    as   in  London。     The   last  two
  Presidents of the French Republic have taken the oath of office dressed in
  frock…coats instead of the dress clothes to which French officials formerly
  clung as to the sacraments。
  The municipalities of the little Southern cities were quick to seize their
  golden   opportunity;   and   everything   was   done   to   detain   the   rich   English
  wandering down towards Italy。 Millions were spent in transforming their
  cramped;   dirty;   little   towns。   Wide   boulevards   bordered         with   palm   and
  eucalyptus      spread    their   sunny    lines   in  all  directions;    being   baptized
  PROMENADE   DES ANGLAIS   or   BOULEVARD   VICTORIA;   in   artful
  flattery。 The   narrow   mountain   roads   were   widened;   casinos   and   theatres
  built and carnival FETES organized; the cities offering 〃cups〃 for yacht…
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  or    horse…races;     and   giving    grounds     for  tennis    and   golf   clubs。   Clever
  Southern   people!   The   money   returned   to   them   a   hundredfold;   and   they
  lived to see their wild coast become the chosen residence of the wealthiest
  aristocracy in Europe; and the rocky hillsides blossom into terrace above
  terrace of villa gardens; where palm and rose and geranium vie with the
  olive and the mimosa to shade the white villas from the sun。 To…day; no
  little town on the coast is without its English chapel; British club; tennis
  ground; and golf links。 On a fair day at Monte Carlo; Nice; or Cannes; the
  prevailing   conversation   is   in   English;   and   the   handsome;   well…   dressed
  sons     of  Albion     lounge    along    beside    their   astonishing     womankind        as
  thoroughly at home as on Bond Street。
  Those   wonderful   English   women   are   the   source   of   unending   marvel
  and amusement to the French。 They can never understand them; and small
  wonder; for with the exception of the small 〃set〃 that surrounds the Prince
  of Wales; who are dressed in the Parisian fashion; all English women seem
  to be overwhelmed with regret at not being born men; and to have spent
  their time and ingenuity since; in trying to make up for nature's mistake。
  Every masculine garment is twisted by them to fit the female figure; their
  conversation;   like   that   of   their   brothers;   is   about   horses   and   dogs;   their
  hats and gloves are the same as the men's; and when with their fine; large
  feet   in   stout   shoes   they   start   off;   with   that   particular   swinging   gait   that
  makes      the  skirt   seem   superfluous;      for  a   stroll  of  twenty   miles     or  so;
  Englishwomen          do   seem    to  the   uninitiated    to  have    succeeded      in  their
  ambition of obliterating the difference between the sexes。
  It is of an evening; however; when concealment is no longer possible;
  that the native taste bursts forth; the Anglo…Saxon standing declared in all
  her plainness。 Strong   is the contrast here; where they  are placed side by
  side with all that Europe holds of elegant; and well…dressed Frenchwomen;
  whether   of   the   〃world〃   or   the   〃half…world;〃   are   invariably   marvels   of
  fitness    and   freshness;     the  simplest     materials    being    converted     by   their
  skilful   touch into   toilettes;  so   artfully  adapted   to   the  wearer's   figure   and
  complexion; as to raise such 〃creations〃 to the level of a fine art。
  An   artist   feels;   he   must   fix   on   canvas   that   particular   combination   of
  colors or that wonderful line of bust and hip。 It is with a shudder that he
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