Loup if there were many more like him? Then again,
he will not keep abreast of the times, and thus he
condemns our new methods of building. He forgets
that we do not build castles these days, that is why he
so much disapproves of my villas. But, bon Dieu, we
must give people what they require, and what they
require are villas not castles. Yet I sympathize with
him for I also love strength, and beauty, and timber
the size of an oak tree. I also love spending a very
great deal, but I do not love asking exorbitant prices
and thus driving the tourists away from a town whose
future is solely dependent upon them. Later on when
Saint Loup has become better known, I shall aim
at building commodious mansions with terraces
leading right down to the beach. But we must not
run before we can walk; patience, I say; that shall be
for the future. And meanwhile let me build a few
small, summer homes and sell them to people who
come here from Paris; to people who will go back
and talk of this place, for, believe me, their tongues
will make all our fortunes. I explained this to Jouse
but he grew very angry, so angry that he did not
pause to consider; he behaved as though his hatred
of me had made him blind and deaf to all reason.
I will not dwell on his final insult — as you know he
ordered me out of his house, and why? Because I
wished to employ him! His goodwill would have
greatly assisted us all ... ah, well, there it is, we
must get on without him. But my deepest regret
is the fact that my workmen are not, as I wished, the
men of this district; the money which I am about to
spend must now find its way into strangers' pockets.
I am all for spending our money at home; why, I
ask you, should we benefit men from Menton?5 In
this manner spoke the soft-voiced Anatole Kahn to
all who would listen, and they were many.
So now those who had recently spent on repairs
285