Let any one compare the time required for
registering a letter or a parcel in England, with the time a
similar operation in France will demand. M. David showed me the
lithographed sheet giving the special forms of numerals, 1, 2, 3,
and so on, which French postal officials are required to make.
These differ widely from the forms in general use.
I have my own suspicions that similar sheets are issued to the
cashiers in French restaurants. Personally, I can never read one
single item in the bill, much less the cost, and I can only gaze
in hopeless bewilderment at the long-tailed hieroglyphics,
recalling a backward child's first attempts at "pot-hooks."
The infinite capacity of the French for taking trouble, and their
minute attention to detail, tend towards unnecessary complications
of simple matters. Thus, on English railways we find two main
types of signals sufficient for our wants, whereas on French lines
there are five different main types of signal. On English lines we
have two secondary signals, against eight in France, all differing
widely in shape and appearance.
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