We had to take to the canal in the course of the afternoon;
because, where it crossed the river, there was, not
a bridge, but a siphon. If it had not been for
an excited fellow on the bank, we should have paddled
right into the siphon, and thenceforward not paddled
any more. We met a man, a gentleman, on the tow-path,
who was much interested in our cruise. And I
was witness to a strange seizure of lying suffered
by the Cigarette: who, because his knife came
from Norway, narrated all sorts of adventures in that
country, where he has never been. He was quite
feverish at the end, and pleaded demoniacal possession.
Moy (pronounce Moy) was a pleasant little village,
gathered round a chateau in a moat. The air
was perfumed with hemp from neighbouring fields.
At the Golden Sheep we found excellent entertainment.
German shells from the siege of La Fere, Nurnberg
figures, gold-fish in a bowl, and all manner of knick-knacks,
embellished the public room. The landlady was
a stout, plain, short-sighted, motherly body, with
something not far short of a genius for cookery.
She had a guess of her excellence herself. After
every dish was sent in, she would come and look on
at the dinner for a while, with puckered, blinking
eyes. ’C’est bon, n’est-ce
pas?’ she would say; and when she had received
a proper answer, she disappeared into the kitchen.
That common French dish, partridge and cabbages,
became a new thing in my eyes at the Golden Sheep;
and many subsequent dinners have bitterly disappointed
me in consequence. Sweet was our rest in the
Golden Sheep at Moy.
LA FERE OF CURSED MEMORY
We lingered in Moy a good part of the day, for we
were fond of being philosophical, and scorned long
journeys and early starts on principle. The
place, moreover, invited to repose. People in
elaborate shooting costumes sallied from the chateau
with guns and game-bags; and this was a pleasure in
itself, to remain behind while these elegant pleasure-seekers
took the first of the morning. In this way, all
the world may be an aristocrat, and play the duke
among marquises, and the reigning monarch among dukes,
if he will only outvie them in tranquillity.
An imperturbable demeanour comes from perfect patience.
Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but
go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private
pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.
We made a very short day of it to La Fere; but the
dusk was falling, and a small rain had begun before
we stowed the boats. La Fere is a fortified
town in a plain, and has two belts of rampart.
Between the first and the second extends a region of
waste land and cultivated patches. Here and
there along the wayside were posters forbidding trespass
in the name of military engineering. At last,
a second gateway admitted us to the town itself.
Lighted windows looked gladsome, whiffs of comfortable
cookery came abroad upon the air. The town was
full of the military reserve, out for the French Autumn
Manoeuvres, and the reservists walked speedily and
wore their formidable great-coats. It was a
fine night to be within doors over dinner, and hear
the rain upon the windows.
