They are less Savoyard, but not yet French. The native
of Savoy has a very marked individuality. He is both
rugged and gentle like his mountains; his character is
rather diflScult; he is alive to his own interests, proud,
susceptible, obstinate, rebellious to progress. There is
thorny brushwood to lift, but underneath a generous,
idealistic and intuitive soul, a refined nature. Many of
these distinctive traits are to be found among the people,
particularly among the bathing men and women.
Formerly the latter were simple peasants, the women
were unaware of the power they had in their fingers,
but they instinctively exercised it, thanks to their
atavism. Now-a-days they call themselves professors,
and fancy they are superior to the doctors. The
massage under water which constitutes the douche at
Aix is really unique. I realise now what an art there
is in that gentle, and yet firm pressure which makes our
muscles flexible again. I am grateful to Providence,
and I have the utmost respect for the hands of these
humble people, which are neither more nor less than
the instruments of Providence, and which give me a



806 ON THE BRANCH

littie of their strength and their life. Nearly all these
bathing*women have intelligent faces. However mer-
cenary they may be, the gratuity alone does not suffice
to make them like their patients, but when they do
like them they put something more Into the massage.
When they are resting, they put on a picturesque cloak
of rough, black cloth with a cape, which they cut out
for themselves, and, curiously enough, this is now the
latest fashion. The bathing establishment has now
beccMne very grand. Tliere is quite an army of attend-
ants, and a very smart hall^porter who speaks English.
