The William Jurian Kaula Diary - April 18-21, 1897
18 Apr 1897
I am not so pleased with the country outside of Moret. Most all of the picturesque spots seem to be in the immediate vicinity. A long walk up the canal did not reveal any new desirable material. I have enough work in progress to keep me busy all the day for over a week to come and will remain with Hazard. The rest of the party left for Paris this afternoon. This is Easter Sunday and a most beautiful day. The little town presents a more enlivened appearance since the arrival of numbers of visitors who are here to spend the day. There was a good prospect of a good late-afternoon effect of sunlight and as I walked in the direction of the forest of Fontainebleau. I walked some few miles and on the road into the forest, overtook two droves of sheep that had passed through Moret during the afternoon, and then retraced my footsteps to see the last rays of the sun bathe the house tops and towers of the town. The cathedral was a glory and shone with a resplendent yellow light, the little stone houses were now golden palaces, even the stone viaduct that spanned the valley that always looked so cold and bleak with its multitude of arches now suddenly transformed in a dazzling spectacle. The sun is now so low that its rays pass under the arches and stretches in long bands of golden light that radiate like the spokes of a wheel over the meadows. There is a glitter like the mellow foliage of autumn over the treetops and long shadows run up the hillsides and are lost in a vague confusion of the chalk cliffs. There was no cloud scenery, the effect was entirely in the landscape.
21 April 1897 - Petit Cochon
It is very quiet here since our party left. There is one American at the hotel besides one Frenchman who is painting the apple-blossoms. Since the arrival of a gay model from Paris there is something to look at. She has been engaged to pose for an artist who will be here in a few days. Like a great man of her class she is arrayed in clothing of the most striking kind and a most gorgeous hat.
Among the characters of the town there are two who will attract attention to a visitor. One is a half-witted fellow of small stature who goes under the cognomen of “Petit Cochon.”* He occupies his spare time in making and selling coarse brooms made from brush. These fetch the price of two sous.** He is very fond of cigarette and cigar stubbs and the patron of our hotel collects a cup-full each morning to deliver to this creature on his daily rounds. He eats them with great relish. The other character is a blind man and his dog. The latter appears to be the chief object of interest as it is an animal of remarkable intelligence. The man holds a cord which is attached to the dog and the animal pilots the whole route and stops at the houses where the people have given alms before. The old man can scarcely know where he is until he hears a familiar voice. The patron said that the dog always passed by a certain house where they never gave anything and one day someone came out with a sou. After that the dog always stopped at the house on each weekly journey around the town. They always took the middle of the road and when a vehicle came along the dog drew off to the side and waited for it to go by.
*Petit Cochon translation – little pig
[Today, 1 USD = 1,904,989.996 sous. $1 in 1897 is worth $34.18 today.]
Note: No diary entries for April 17, 19, 20
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