THE GOLDEN ARROW 728 Unable to speak or move, I could higher she never stopped regarding me. only follow her eyes. The whole sky Mounting rapidly, she presently reached became confused. All the constella- the roof of heaven itself. Lightly tions bowed as if they were about to crossing the Milky Way and passing execute a ballet. She raised her arms. the zenith, she began to descend on the Was it a salutation, an invocation, or other side. The trembling constella- did she want to raise herself aloft? I tions gave place to her, and she glided saw the blackness of her body softly gently among the stars without touch- trembling as she rose from the ground. ing them. Descending into the black Before my eyes she was wafted into vault, she headed for a free space of the air, and a halo of light surrounded sky near the Great Bear. her. Then all the stars in the sky stopped Suddenly the darkness absorbed her in their places, and I saw the little pale black dress and nothing was left of her cloud halt and vanish, absorbed by the but a cloud of diffused light. She as- blackness of the heavens. Nothing re- cended still higher; and her girdle, too, mained but five points of light, be- rose aloft, glistening in a light, pearly cause her silver girdle had broken up mist. As she continued to rise I saw into three little stars, and above it that she was looking back at me and shone two brighter points of light that had soon turned completely toward me. were Adeline's eyes. And all the firma- Her eyes began to glow, and as she rose ment now glowed in peace. THE GOLDEN ARROW1 BY GEORGE POPOFF NOWHERE in Europe, perhaps nowhere golden, because the trip costs many in all the world, is there such a fashion- gold ducats and only the extremely rich able, smart, and distinguished trip as can afford it. The name of the de luxe the journey from London to the Riviera train that carries these happy, enviable and back. And no wonder. When people from inhospitable England to foggy autumn and half a frosty winter the friendly South of France has a have swept over England, everyone in significant name —1 'The Golden Ar- the world of high society or high finance row,' La Fleche d'Or. feels irresistibly impelled to hasten There it stands in the Victoria Sta- south where sunshine and blue skies tion— first-class Pullman cars, a bag- seem to last forever. A steady stream, gage car, and a locomotive; nothing a golden stream of exclusiveness, pours more. All eight cars are painted golden south across the Channel, through the yellow, and a golden arrow ornaments lovely plains of France, to the lovely each wagon. Every passenger has a Cote d'Azur. This human stream is movable club seat to himself, and a pri- 1 From Pester Lloyd (Budapest German- vate table in front of him laid with a Hungarian daily), February 22 real English breakfast, rich and appe- PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED ,724 THE LIVING AGE tizing. Lazily and unhurriedly, the leafless, are thick and widespreading; passengers saunter down the platform. and the little houses to the right and There are old, powdered ladies whose left of the tracks are ancient, snug, and peculiar elegance consists in wearing cosy. But eternal gray fog overhangs the most expensive kind of clothes that the whole countryside, and suddenly were fashionable at the turn of the the rain begins to fall. Turning away century and that lend them a peculiarly with a shiver, the passengers attack distinguished air. The older men, with their hot breakfasts, served by polite, their bright-red faces and snow-white speedy waiters. moustaches, look like members of the Here is an opportunity for social House of Lords. They are clothed in observation. The service of the Golden heavy Scotch tweeds, and their inde- Arrow is flawless, resembling in no way structible shoes are brilliantly shined. thie usual restaurant car where each There are young women, too, painted numbered passenger has his food hast- to the eyes, and it is hard to tell ily and automatically thrown in front whether they are duchesses or famous of him. Here everything is done po- variety stars. And last but not least, litely, carefully, and individually. How the young sons of Albion, obviously polite these proletarian waiters are. If looking forward to the moment when they were serving bourgeois travelers they will reach the longed-for soil of in second class or the poor people in the Continent and be able to sow their third, they would be gruff and uncivil, wild oats far from all Anglo-Saxon but here they are courtesy personified. restraints. ' Why, then, complain of the inequality It is a gay, elegant company, like a of classes if the lower classes themselves garden party in Buckingham Palace. help to emphasize matters? People bow and greet each other, The same manifestation can be dis- laughing and reveling in this atmos- cerned throughout the entire journey. phere of golden superfluity. Others Everywhere and by everybody are yawn and seem indignant at having to the rich, distinguished passengers of get "up so early. But soon something the. Golden Arrow more cordially re- happens to entertain them. Led by a ceived than any other passengers. The smooth-shaven groom, a pack of forty customs inspectors go through the or fifty greyhounds suddenly appears. train only asking one brief, simple They, too, are loaded on board the question: 'Have you anything to de- Golden Arrow for France. The dogs clare?' are all of the same size, all slender, all 'No.' yellowishrgold in color. They jump 'Thank you; it's all right.' about nervously, and their handsome, To the English passport officials, who bejeweled bodies are incredibly grace- treat other travelers so strictly, the ful. And what a fascinating picture of passengers on the Golden Arrow hardly breeding, laziness, and golden, over- seem to exist, and the officials almost flowing beauty it is as the passengers expire with humility. The raw, gruff of the Golden Arrow, all these elegant sailors on the Dover-Calais line are ladies and gentlemen, swarm about turned into well-brought-up, gentle them. Sunday-school children in the presence Southern England, through which of the rich, well-clothed ladies and the train now dashes, is a charming gentlemen whom the Golden Arrow country. The grass is soft and green has emptied into their boat. Even the even in winter, and the trees, although waves in the Channel seem to abate PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED THE GOLDEN ARROW 728 and act in the most mannerly way I wake an hour before we reach when the Golden Arrow crowd crosses. Cannes. A scene of wonder greets my It is an amusing sight, well worth ob- eyes. Spring, sunlight, and blue — serving, and it brings home once more heavenly blue, endless and unbroken. the fact that elementary truths are How well I understand now the eternal undeniable — 'Money talks.' yearning of the inhabitants of the In Calais a second Golden Arrow British Isles to go south, to go to that stands ready. This train, like the one country where good sunny weather in England, is composed of eight golden- always prevails. On account of the yellow first-class Pullman cars, and the speed with which the Golden Arrow little tables before the chairs are all and the Blue Train take the traveler laid. The only difference is that an from the banks of the Thames to the opulent French dejeuner will be served banks of the Mediterranean, the con- here instead of an English breakfast. trast between the monotonous, wet, A waiter from the bar, who speaks gray dampness of the London fog and every language, flits lightly from car to the eternal blue skies and sunlight in car taking orders for cocktails and this heavenly country is especially whiskey-and-sodas. The golden-yellow overwhelming. This is indeed an azure slender greyhounds dance past on the coast, and all the superlatives coined platform. The sea trip has agreed with by the tourist agencies fail to do justice them and they are all in 'good form.' to its beauty^ 'Le MatinI Le Matin!' shouts a news- The charm of the Cote d'Azur is so boy. The mustachioed French chef du great that nothing can spoil it, not gare, with his red Bordeaux nose and even the eternal presence of thousands his slovenly, ill-fitting uniform, gives of demimondaines, old and young, the signal, and the Golden Arrow de- powdered gigolos, enthusiastic and pro- parts southward, seaward, and sun- fessional gamblers, adventurers great ward. and small, and all those weary men, In Paris the travelers face a difficult half-crushed by the machine of life, who choice. Those who wish to spend the are here in search of rest and recreation. night in Paris can take the Golden Far from depressing you, these people Arrow the next morning for the Medi- almost become bearable. The enchant- terranean, but for those who are in a ing background of the sea, the all- hurry another train stands ready, pervading warmth of southern sun- composed of first-class sleeping cars. light, make them agreeable, and one These cars are not golden-yellow, but accepts them unthinkingly as part of dark blue, and for that reason this is this pleasure resort, just like the low; known as the 'Blue Train.' For my murmuring pines on the seacoast or part, I feel that the Blue Train is the the many-colored mussels in the golden, appropriate train in which to go to the endless sands.