The
French, too, are not addicted to perpetual wool-gathering. Nor can
I conceive of a Frenchwoman endeavouring to make herself
attractive by representing herself as so hopelessly "vague" that
she can never be trusted to remember anything, or to avoid losing
all her personal possessions. Idiocy, whether genuine or feigned,
does not appeal to the French temperament. The would-be
fascinating lady would most certainly be referred to as "une dinde
de premiere classe."
The French are the only thoroughly logical people in the world,
and their excessive development of the logical faculty leads them
at times into pitfalls. "Ils ont lesdefauts de leurs qualites." In
this country we have found out that systems, absolutely
indefensible in theory, at times work admirably well in practice,
and give excellent results. No Frenchman would ever admit that
anything unjustifiable in theory could possibly succeed in
practice--"Ce n'est pas logique," he would object, and there would
be the end of it.
The Substitut informed me one day that he was making a "retreat"
for three days at the Monastery of La Trappe d'Aiguebelle, and
asked me if I would care to accompany him.
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