London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
A JOURNEY ABROAD.-PARIS FOR CHOICE.
If you have been very hard pressed, and have not had leisure to leave your native country for some time, there is no better place for a complete change than foreign parts. I think I may say that the golden rule for the overworked is And the regulation (like a similar decree in the game of whist) will usually resolve into trumps. Yes, there is no place like the capital of France for the weary journalist whose ears are deaf to any sound but echoes. When a man has become a burden to himself and a nuisance to his neighbours he had better go to -he will find the journey there beneficial, and pleasanter than a trip either to Bath or Coventry. Then there is the way of going: | |
306 | the Newhaven-Dieppe route is very pleasant, especially in the summer; the boats are now always excellent, and the passage takes only half-a-dozen hours; but if you are very pressed for time I think you cannot do better than to trust yourself and your fortunes (represented by a small Gladstone bag) to the South Eastern and Chatham and Dover Railways. If you are single, there is no reason why you should not travel by night; but if you are to be accompanied by your wife, you had better make your journey in the daytime. There is nothing like sunlight for facing your enemy-and by the foe I do not mean your better seven-eighths, but the sea. And at all times you will find the after-effects of the night travelling rather trying. The shadow of the lights will cast a gloom over your , and the long journey between and the will spoil the pleasure of the afternoon walk on the boulevard s, the dinner (say) at Bignon's and the at the Vaudeville. So make up your mind to a daylight voyage and a good night's rest. You will not regret your decision, although you may possibly sigh as you think of the time when packing at five, eating at six, starting at eight, and in the dawn of the following morning, were matters of course. |
