the ways of men-第15章
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nsider it a necessity to desert their husbands？
It's rather inconsistent； to say the least； for not one of those deserters but would 〃kick〃 if the theatre or church they attend fell below that temperature in December。
It is impossible to go into our banks and offices and not realize that the air has been breathed again and again； heated and cooled； but never changed； … doors and windows fit too tightly for that。
The pallor and dazed expression of the employees tell the same tale。 I spoke to a youth the other day in an office about his appearance and asked if he was ill。 〃Yes；〃 he answered； 〃I have had a succession of colds all winter。 You see； my desk here is next to the radiator； so I am in a perpetual perspiration and catch cold as soon as I go out。 Last winter I passed three months in a farmhouse； where the water froze in my room at night； and we had to wear overcoats to our meals。 Yet I never had a cold there； and gained in weight and strength。〃
Twenty years ago no 〃palatial private residence〃 was considered complete unless there was a stationary washstand （forming a direct connection with the sewer） in each bedroom。 We looked pityingly on foreigners who did not enjoy these advantages； until one day we realized that the latter were in the right； and straightway stationary washstands disappeared。
How much time must pass and how many victims be sacrificed before we come to our senses on the great radiator question？
As a result of our population living in a furnace； it happens now that when you rebel on being forced to take an impromptu Turkish bath at a theatre； the usher answers your complaint with 〃It can't be as warm as you think； for a lady over there has just told me she felt chilly and asked for more heat！〃
Another invention of the enemy is the 〃revolving door。〃 By this ingenious contrivance the little fresh air that formerly crept into a building is now excluded。 Which explains why on entering our larger hotels one is taken by the throat； as it were； by a sickening long…dead atmosphere … in which the souvenir of past meals and decaying flowers floats like a regret … such as explorers must find on opening an Egyptian tomb。
Absurd as it may seem； it has become a distinction to have cool rooms。 Alas； they are rare！ Those blessed households where one has the delicious sensation of being chilly and can turn with pleasure toward crackling wood！ The open fire has become； within the last decade； a test of refinement； almost a question of good breeding； forming a broad distinction between dainty households and vulgar ones； and marking the line which separates the homes of cultivated people from the parlors of those who care only for display。
A drawing…room filled with heat； the source of which remains invisible； is as characteristic of the parvenu as clanking chains on a harness or fine clothes worn in the street。
An open fire is the 〃eye〃 of a room； which can no more be attractive without it than the human face can be beautiful if it lacks the visual organs。 The 〃gas fire〃 bears about the same relation to the real thing as a glass eye does to a natural one； and produces much the same sensation。 Artificial eyes are painful necessities in some cases； and therefore cannot be condemned； but the household which gathers complacently around a 〃gas log〃 must have something radically wrong with it； and would be capable of worse offences against taste and hospitality。
There is a tombstone in a New England grave…yard the inscription on which reads： 〃I was well； I wanted to be better。 Here I am。〃
As regards heating of our houses； it's to be feared that we have gone much the same road as the unfortunate New Englander。 I don't mean to imply that he is now suffering from too much heat； but we； as a nation； certainly are。
Janitors and parlor…car conductors have replaced the wicked fairies of other days； but are apparently animated by their malignant spirit； and employ their hours of brief authority as cruelly。 No witch dancing around her boiling cauldron was ever more joyful than the fireman of a modern hotel； as he gleefully turns more and more steam upon his helpless victims。 Long acquaintance with that gentleman has convinced me that he cannot plead ignorance as an excuse for falling into these excesses。 It is pure； unadulterated perversity； else why should he invariably choose the mildest mornings to show what his engines can do？
Many explanations have been offered for this love of a high temperature by our compatriots。 Perhaps the true one has not yet been found。 Is it not possible that what appears to be folly and almost criminal negligence of the rules of health； may be； after all； only a commendable ambition to renew the exploits of those biblical heroes； Shadrach； Meshach； and Abednego？
Chapter 12 … The Paris of our Grandparents
WE are apt to fall into the error of assuming that only American cities have displaced their centres and changed their appearance during the last half…century。
The 〃oldest inhabitant；〃 with his twice…told tales of transformations and changes； is to a certain extent responsible for this； by contrast； we imagine that the capitals of Europe have always been just as we see them。 So strong is this impression that it requires a serious effort of the imagination to reconstruct the Paris that our grandparents knew and admired； few as the years are that separate their day from ours。
It is； for instance； difficult to conceive of a Paris that ended at the rue Royale； with only waste land and market gardens beyond the Madeleine； where to…day so many avenues open their stately perspectives； yet such was the case！ The few fine residences that existed beyond that point faced the Faubourg Saint…Honore； with gardens running back to an unkempt open country called the Champs Elysees； where an unfinished Arc de Triomphe stood alone in a wilderness that no one ever dreamed of traversing。
The fashionable ladies of that time drove in the afternoon along the boulevards from the Madeleine to the Chateau d'Eau； and stopped their ponderous yellow barouches at Tortoni's； where ices were served to them in their carriages； while they chatted with immaculate dandies in skin…tight nankeen unmentionables； blue swallow…tailed coats； and furry ‘beaver〃 hats。
While looking over some books in the company of an old lady who from time to time opens her store of treasures and recalls her remote youth at my request； and whose SPIRITUEL and graphic language gives to her souvenirs the air of being stray chapters from some old…fashioned romance； I received a vivid impression of how the French capital must have looked fifty years ago。
Emptying in her company a chest of books that had not seen the light for several decades； we came across a 〃Panorama of the Boulevards；〃 dated 1845； which proved when unfolded to be a colored lithograph； a couple of yards long by five or six inches high； representing the line of boulevards from the Madeleine to the Place de la Bastille。 Each house； almost each tree； was faithfully depicted； together with the crowds on the sidewalks and the carriages in the street。 The whole scene was as different from the effect made by that thoroughfare to…day as though five hundred and not fifty years had elapsed since the little book was printed。 The picture breathed an atmosphere of calm and nameless quaintness that one finds now only in old provincial cities which have escaped the ravages of improvement。
My companion sat with the book unfolded before her； in a smiling trance。 Her mind had turned back to the far…away days when she first trod those streets a bride； with all the pleasures and few of the cares of life to think about。
I watched her in silence （it seemed a sacrilege to break in on such a train of thought）； until gradually her eyes lost their far…away expression； and； turning to me with a smile； she exclaimed： 〃How we ever had the courage to appear in the street dressed as we were is a mystery！ Do you see that carriage？〃 pointing in the print to a high…swung family vehicle with a powdered coachman on the box；
