"I wonder how you manage to keep the sirocco out?"
"By closing the windows, Bishop. English people will not believe that.
They open their windows. In comes the heat."
"If English people closed their windows they would die," said Don
Francesco. "Half the houses in England would be condemned by law in
this country and pulled down, on account of their low ceilings. Low
ceilings have given the Englishman his cult of fresh air. He likes to
be cosy and familiar and exclusive; he has no sense for broad social
functions. There is something of the cave-dweller in every Englishman.
He may say what he likes, but the humble cottage will always remain his
dream. You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements. This
country is pastoral. That is why our advertisements are so apt to
portray commercial conditions--enormous factories and engines and
chimneys; we are dissatisfied with our agricultural state. The
Frenchman's aspiration is woman; Paris hoardings will tell you that.
England is a land of industrial troglodytes, where every man's cavern
is his castle.
Pages:
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136