A Frenchman’s London

I would finally like to thank God…that the English have known how to use money, and have not let money use them; that they do not bear their hand on their heart, but their heart in their hand; that they grow old without wrinkles, with the eyes of children, with that suppleness got from sport and without the contraction born of athleticism; that they are the oldest free men in the world, and that, in spite of it, they know how to say thank you; that they indulge in few compliments, but no rudeness; that it is all the same to them if they are not up to date; that with them it takes ten years to make a technician, but ten centuries to make a gentleman; that they do not try to transform dogs into grown-ups or gardens into drawing-rooms, and that they have accomplished that masterpiece that is called London. — PAUL MORAND (1888-1976)