be a flageolet, whence the _Cigarette_, with cunning
touch, should draw melting music under the stars; or perhaps, laying
that aside, upraise his voice--somewhat thinner than of yore, and with
here and there a quaver, or call it a natural grace-note--in rich and
solemn psalmody.

All this, simmering in my mind, set me wishing to go aboard one of these
ideal houses of lounging, I had plenty to choose from, as I coasted one
after another, and the dogs bayed at me for a vagrant. At last I saw a
nice old man and his wife looking at me with some interest, so I gave
them good-day and pulled up alongside. I began with a remark upon their
dog, which had somewhat the look of a pointer; thence I slid into a
compliment on Madame's flowers, and thence into a word in praise of
their way of life.

If you ventured on such an experiment in England you would get a slap in
the face at once. The life would be shown to be a vile one, not without
a side shot at your better fortune. Now, what I like so much in France
is the clear unflinching recognition by everybody of his own luck. They
all know on which side their bread is buttered, and take a pleasure in
showing it to others, which is surely the better part of religion. And
they scorn to make a poor mouth over their poverty, which I take to be
the better part of manliness. I have heard a woman, in quite a better
position at home, with a good bit of money in hand, refer to her own
child with a horrid whine as "a poor man's child." I would not say such
a thing to the Duke of Westminster. And the French are full of this
spirit of independence. Perhaps it is the result of republican
institutions, as they call them. Much more likely it is because there
are so few people really poor that the whiners are not enough to keep
each other in countenance.

The people on the barge were delighted to hear that I admired their
state. They understood perfectly well, they told me, how Monsieur envied
them. Without doubt Monsieur was rich; and in that case he might make a
canal boat as pretty as a villa--_joli comme un chateau_. And with that
they invited me on board their own water villa. They apologized for
their cabin; they had not been rich enough to make it as it ought to be.

"The fire should have been here, at this side," explained the husband.
"Then one might have a writing-table in the middle--books--and"
(comprehensively) "all. It would be quite coquettish--_ca serait
tout-a-fait coquet_." And