Along France's river of romance: . English peoplesurely had visited it or could possibly be found there !I arrived by train on a heavy, airless afternoon, andwas too hot and tired to search the town for theperfect hotel, and took almost the first that happened to be one which I had overheard twotravellers in my compartment commending on thescore of cleanliness and good cooking, and I rememberit had a big porte-cochere, and the bureau was thecomptoir in the big indoor cafe by its side. For itwas from the cafe, entering by the side door, that Ieventually disinterred the patron. He was a
Along France's river of romance: . English peoplesurely had visited it or could possibly be found there !I arrived by train on a heavy, airless afternoon, andwas too hot and tired to search the town for theperfect hotel, and took almost the first that happened to be one which I had overheard twotravellers in my compartment commending on thescore of cleanliness and good cooking, and I rememberit had a big porte-cochere, and the bureau was thecomptoir in the big indoor cafe by its side. For itwas from the cafe, entering by the side door, that Ieventually disinterred the patron. He was a large manwith a black, walrus moustache, seamed face, andperplexed eyes, and I asked him in my purest Parisianif he had a room of the kind I wanted. Oh, yes, sir, he replied, to my great consternation, certainly, sir, this way, sir ! It had a wide verandah. IN THE FOREZ 87 the room, and was extremely comfortable. From it,I looked at the line of red sky over the undistinguishedroofs, pressed down by a grey weight of cloud ; watched. Near Roanne, St. Maurice the motionless leaves of the chestnut trees in half ahundred back gardens all standing waiting for therain; observed a tall chimney lift its brick head intothe unwilling sky ; and finally read on the side of a 88 THE LOIRE house, in big white letters, the mystic words Roanneries,Cotonneries. Then I went out to explore the town. It was my own fault, after all, that I was disappointed ;the guide-book (when it is a Baedeker) cannot lie, andI had had ample opportunities of discovering theimportant fact that the place is given over to the cottontrade. It is an increasing place situated at the headof the lateral canal which joins the Loire with the Loing(via Briare), and so with the Seine. The Loire itself,too, below the great barrage, a kilometre downstreamfrom the bridge, becomes navigable for barges, thoughfew, if any, at the present day are to be seen upon , all things considered, at Roanne more than any-where one might ha
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidalongfrances, bookyear1913
