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Lot of clots! Today round about midday (goodness it was hot, just as well I'd put
odorono under my arms otherwise my little cretonne summer dress that my little
dressmaker who makes things specially cheaply for me made for me would have had
it) near the Parc Monceau (it's nicer than the Luxembourg where I send my son, the
idea of getting alopecia at his age) the bus came, it was full, but I made eyes at the
conductor and got in. Naturally all the idiots who'd got numbered tickets made a fuss,
but the bus had got going. With me in it. It couldn't have been fuller. I was terribly
squashed, and not one of the men who had a seat inside dreamed of offering it me. Illmannered lot! There was a man beside me who was quite smart (it's the latest thing, a
plait round a felt hat instead of a ribbon, I'm sure Adam must have written up this new
fashion), unfortunately his neck was too long for my liking. Some of my friends claim
that if one part of a man's body is bigger than the average (for instance a nose that's
too big) it's a sign of marked capacities in another direction. But I don't believe a
word of it. In any case, this gentlemanly creature seemed to have the permanent
fidgits and I was wondering what he was waiting for and when he was going to say
something to me or extend an exploratory hand. He must be shy, I was thinking. I
wasn't so wrong at that. Because all of a sudden he started to pick on another man
who looked horrible anyway and who was purposely treading on his toes. If I'd been
that young man I'd have punched him on the nose but instead he quickly went and sat
down the moment he saw a vacant seat and what's more it didn't occur to him for a
single moment to offer it to me. The things that happen in the country of Gallantry!
A bit later, as I was passing the gare Saint-Lazare (this time I had a seat) I caught
sight of him arguing with a friend (quite a nice-looking boy I must say) about the cut
of his coat (extraordinary idea to wear an overcoat on such a hot day but it does make
you look correctly dressed of course). I looked at him but the idiot didn't even
recognise me.