This morning, Mlle. de Guerre summoned me to her study. This was unusual in itself, as she generally does not enter the study until evening. "Miss Angleterre," she said in a very serious voice, "this situation will never do." Upon inquiry, I learned that yesterday Mlle, in the course of her civic duty as a voter, encountered yet another friend who is off to England for the summer. At last count, I believe she has five, or possibly six, who are abroad, mostly in the British Isles. Not only is Mlle now quite lonely, but her innate wanderlust has been stirred to an unbearable degree. As regular readers will recall, an earlier trip to Paris was postponed due to a lack of suitable luggage. I should hasten to add that while Mlle does have a large and rather fluffy wardrobe, much of her excess luggage contains gifts for her many cousins. You have no idea how many of them have a passion for grits and for Jody's little scalloped cheese crackers. Anyway . . .
We have been busy procuring extra suitcases, and packing is underway. I shall not be going along on this trip, and neither will Dervish. I shall be monitoring the board and will keep Mlle. apprised of any important events on the USM front.
Mlle has recently learned, and loves, the word "bodacious" and so is thinking of hosting a "bodacious" gathering at the end of the summer for the travellers and their friends. Take plenty of pictures, one and all, and have a glorious time. We will see you in August. I would ask for someone to bring me a packet of Twining's Assam tea, but I have recently discovered their website. Thank you anyway.
Sincerely,
Hermione Angleterre, Social Secretary to Monique de Guerre
Does this mean we will not be hearing from these two lovely ladies, Hermione Angleterre and Monique de Guerre, until just before school begins? We will miss you. Au Revoir, Monique.
Oh no, I just meant that Mlle will not be seeing some of her friends until then; Dervish, Dominique, and I plus the other staff will be holding down the fort. I'm sure if anything interesting happens, we will hear from Mlle. Of course, due to the time difference, one will never know just when . . .
H.A., after de old lad.... err...Mlle leaves just let me and Thibodeaux know and we can havede most bodacious fay-do-do ya ever seen, ya. I assume ya will have de keys to dat vette. Just tink ya'll could drive down here and we show you a good time on de bayou. Don't bring dat attack poodle, no.
M. Boudreaux, you never give up, do you? I would not dream of taking the 'vette out, much less allowing you to drive it. Besides, isn't crawfish season almost over? So what's the point?
Travelling companion, while Mlle. de Guerre would no doubt enjoy your company, you might find that accompanying her could be , um, challenging. Keeping her organized and on schedule is quite a feat. As I shall not be along, one of her cousins, who is German on the mother's side, will undertake that task. Perhaps you remember the expedition to the country house a few weeks ago, and the trail of shoes and other accoutrements? Enough said.
M. Boudreaux, you never give up, do you? I would not dream of taking the 'vette out, much less allowing you to drive it. Besides, isn't crawfish season almost over? So what's the point? H. Angleterre
Thibodeaux and I understand, but we have one more question. Didn't you say you were British? But "Angleterre" is not a British name, no. You must have an interesting history.
Not to seem rude, but my personal history is probably not of interest to this board. I am named for both a person and a nation, as our dear Mlle is named for a concept.
Please ask Mlle. de Guerre to give my regards to Monsier Professor Polk (ah, Noel'), since I understand that he will be there with Monsier and Madams McMillen and Stringer. Perhaps Mlle. and Monsier Polk can, shall we say, "hook up?"
Francophile wrote: Please ask Mlle. de Guerre to give my regards to Monsier Professor Polk (ah, Noel'), since I understand that he will be there with Monsier and Madams McMillen and Stringer. Perhaps Mlle. and Monsier Polk can, shall we say, "hook up?"
Does Mlle. de Guerre prefer the works of Mr. Faulkner to the novels of Mrs. Gaskell? Do tell. I'm sure she would prefer a gentleman who can use the word "minions" as well as Prof. Polk does.
Mlle and I began re-reading The Lord of the Rings recently, as alert readers will recall. She does not travel with the boxed edition, but will purchase paperbacks en route, unless she is distracted by something new. As for Mrs. Gaskell, she began those as part of some self-improvement scheme, and then felt obligated to read them in honor of dear Professor Wallace. I don't believe she has made very good progress, but is reluctant to admit defeat. I believe she reads Jane Austen as an antidote. While we recognize that Mr. Falkner is your native son, neither Mlle nor I have had much success reading him. I personally do not have the patience, and find those Snopes people quite unnerving. Mlle also reads French novels, which I, alas, do not, and could not tell you the titles of any. (I should mention to our friends that Mlle is somewhat given to enthusiams, and things get picked up and then laid aside, so do not look for great consistency in her interests. This does not apply to people, however. Once you are her friend, you are always her friend unless you do something truly dreadful.)
I see that I neglected the question about minions. Or is it a question about gentlemen? One is not sure. At any rate, Mlle. does not, herself, have minions. She has employees. I doubt that she would respect anyone who would allow themselves to be minion. It is a choice, you know. And a not very honorable one, at that. As to Professor Polk, I am not certain that Mlle even knows him, although I'm sure they would find a great deal to discuss. She prefers gentlemen who know their own minds, whether she agrees with them or not, and she prefers gentlemen who are honest and kind. Beyond that, well, the rules for gentlemen callers were posted sometime ago and I am not reprising them tonight.
Good evening to all,
H. Angleterre, Social Secretary to Monique de Guerre