Castles -- France; Touraine (France) -- Description and travel
Polly has learned some English phrases from the numerous guests of the
house, and cordially greets us with "Good-by" when we enter and "How do
you do?" when we are leaving, which, you may remember, was just what Mr.
Monard, who had the little French church in Philadelphia, used to do
until some person without any sense of humor undertook to set him
straight. We trust that no misguided person may ever undertake to
correct Polly's English or Miss Cassandra's French, for as Walter says,
"To hear those two exchanging linguistic courtesies is one of the
experiences that make life and travel worth while, and the most amusing
part of it is that the Quaker lady is as unconscious of the humor of the
situation as the parrot."
"And, after all," said Miss Cassandra, returning to her argument after
Polly's interruption, "when a woman is so beautiful at fifty that a
young king is at her feet, giving her jewels from morning until night,
it is not strange that her head should be turned. And you must remember,
Zelphine," added Miss Cassandra in her most engaging manner, "that your
favorite Henry James said that he would rather have missed Chinon than
Chenonceaux, and that he counted as exceedingly fortunate the few hours
that he passed at this exquisite residence."
After this Parthian shaft Miss Cassandra left us to put on her hat for
Chenonceaux, for to Chenonceaux we decided to go, of course. Miss
Cassandra's arguments were irresistible, as usual, and as Walter added
philosophically, "Her choice is generally a wise one, and where
everything is so well worth seeing one cannot go far astray." We took a
train that leaves, what our local guidebook is pleased to call the
monumental railway station of Tours, between ten and eleven o'clock and
reached the town of Chenonceaux in less than an hour. All of these
jaunts by rail are short and so conveniently arranged that one always
seems to have ample time for the inspection of whatever chateau and
grounds one happens to be visiting.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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