708 FINAL JOURNEYS AND WORK. [1880, 
Roman foundations, extended and modernized by the 
father of St. Louis, and the finishing touches by St. 
Louis himself. 
Here endeth the epistle. The rest is simply getting 
back to Paris. I had counted on returning by way 
of Nimes, Clermont-Ferrand, and a little détour to see 
the cathedral of Bourges. But the winds from the 
mountains made Narbonne and Carcassonne cold, the 
few trains from Nimes were unseasonable, my wife 
declared she had so many cathedrals mixed up in her 
head that she could not endure another, and so, leay- 
ing Narbonne in early morning, we reached Cette ten 
minutes after the express train for Paris had left, 
and we came on in omnibus train in unbroken jour- 
ney, through Montpellier, Nimes, and Avignon 
(which we had visited, in former years), and via 
Lyons to Paris. And here we are. 
Two months of play, delicious play, are up: we 
landed two months ago to-morrow. e have had our 
share, and I have now an appetite for work. I can be 
usefully busy in Paris for a fortnight, hardly longer. 
Then what? Much depends on what you can see 
your way to. The traditional “three courses ” seem 
to be before us, each with its advantages and disad- 
vantages; and we are so balanced that we shall be 
likely to incline as you push the scale. . 
Course 3. Bear the English winter, Z we can’t 
avoid it, on the principle that “ what can’t be cured 
must be endured.” And with your good fires and 
snugness it is not so bad. Secure our lodgings, and 
we will come over to you about the first of the coming 
month ; and I get a solid piece of work done. 
If I can utilize the long evenings nothing can be 
