|
Matilda Betham-Edwards - East of Paris
Paris markets is a leading feature of local commerce.
There is no more graceful foliage than that of this plant, and gratefully the eye rests upon these waves of
delicate green under a blazing, grape-ripening sky. Making gold-green lines between are vines, a
succession of asparagus beds and vineyards separating our village from its better known and more
populous neighbour, Marlotte. In the opposite direction we see brown-roofed, white-walled houses
surmounted by a pretty little spire. This is Bourron. To reach it we pass a double row of homesteads,
rustic interiors of small farmer or market gardener, the one, as our French neighbours say, more
picturesque than the other. Each, no matter how ill kept, is set off by an ornamental border, zinnias,
begonias, roses and petunias as obviously showing signs of care and science. Oddly enough the finest
display of flowers often adorns the least tidy premises. And oddly enough, rather perhaps as we should
expect it, in not one, but in every respect, this French village is the exact opposite of its English
counterpart. In England every tenant of a cottage pays rent, there, not an inhabitant, however poor, but
sits under his own vine and his own fig-tree. In England the farm-house faces the road and the premises
lie behind. Here manure-heap, granary and pig styes open on the highway, the dwellings being at the
back. In England a man's home, called his castle, is no more defended than the Bedouin's tent. Here at
nightfall the small peasant proprietor is as securely entrenched within walls as a feudal baron in his
moated chateau. In England ninety-nine householders out of a hundred are perpetually changing their
domicile. Here folks live and die under the paternal roof that has sheltered generations. Nor does
diversity end with circumstances and surroundings. As will be seen in another chapter, habits of life,
modes of thought and standards of duty show contrasts equally marked.
Bourron possesses twelve hundred and odd souls, most of whom are peasants who make a living out of
their small patrimony. Destined perhaps one day to rival its neighbour Marlotte in popularity - even to
become a second Barbizon - it is as yet the sleepiest, most rustic retreat imaginable. The climate would
appear to be not only anti-asthmatic but anti-everything in the shape of malady. Anyhow, if folks fall ill
they have to send elsewhere for a doctor. Minor complaints - cuts, bruises and snake bites - are attended
to by a Fontainebleau chemist. Every day we hear the horn of his messenger who cycles through the
village calling for prescriptions and leaving drugs and draughts.
A post office, of course, Bourron possesses, but let no one imagine that a post office in out of the way
country places implies a supply of postage stamps. English people are the greatest scribblers by post in
the world, whilst our wiser French neighbours appear to be the laziest. An amusing dilemma had
occurred here just before my arrival. One day my friends applied to the post office for stamps, but none
were to be had for love or money. Off somebody cycled to Marlotte, which possesses not only a post and
telegraph, but a money order office as well - same reply, next the adjoining village of Grez was visited
and with no better result - "Supplies have not yet reached us from headquarters," said the third
postmistress.
Perhaps instead of smiling contemptuously we should take a moral to heart. The amount of time, money,
eyesight and handcraft expended among ourselves on letter writing so-called is simply appalling. Was it
not Napoleon who said that all letters if left unanswered for a month answered themselves? Too many
Englishwomen spend the greater portion of the day in what is no longer a delicate art, but mere
time-killing, after the manner of patience, games of cards and similar pastimes.
Bourron is a most orderly village; within its precincts liberty is not allowed to degenerate into licence. As
in summer-time folks are fond of spending their evenings abroad, a municipal law has enforced quiet
|
