The Open Air 



stepped hastily forward from the shadow of some 

 sculpture (beasts of prey abide in darkness), snatched 

 up the umbrella and hat, and rudely dashed them 

 on the floor. In a flow of speech he explained that 

 nothing must be placed on the seats. The man, who 

 had his handkerchief in his hand, quietly dropped it 

 into his hat on the floor, and replied nothing. This 

 was an official " jogger." I felt indignant to see and 

 hear people treated in this rough manner; but the 

 provincial was used to the jogger system and heeded 

 it not. My own jogger was coming. Three to four 

 hundred country-folk had gone by gently and in a 

 gentlemanly way. Then came an English gentleman, 

 middle-aged, florid, not much tinctured with art or 

 letters, but garnished with huge gold watchchain and 

 with wealth as it were bulging out of his waistcoat 

 pocket. This gentleman positively walked into me, 

 pushed me literally pushed me aside and took my 

 place, a place valuable to me at that moment for 

 one special aspect, and having shoved me aside, 

 gazed about him through his eyeglass, I suppose 

 to discover what it was interested me. He was a 

 genuine, thoroughbred jogger. The vast galleries of 

 the Louvre had not room enough for him. He was 

 one of the most successful joggers in the world, I feel 

 sure; any family might be proud of him. While I 

 am thus digressing, the bathers have gone over 

 thrice. 



The individual who had sat himself down by me 

 produced a little box and offered me a lozenge. I 

 did not accept it ; he took one himself in token that 

 they were harmless. Then he took a second, and 

 a third, and began to tell me of their virtues; they 

 cured this and they alleviated that, they were the 

 greatest discovery of the age; this universal lozenge 



