DOI Heft:
September 27, 1884
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17757#0155
148
[September 27, 1884,
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
VERY MUCH ABROAD,
(Notes of a First Visit to La Bourboule-les-Bains, Puy-de-Dbme.)
No. Y.
Starting—Cells — Treatment—Costume —Pulverisation—Analysis.
Haying settled what is the matter, we (Chivers and myself) com-
mence our traitement.
Chivers still doesn’t entirely believe in it. Hopes for the best.
He is, however, far better inclined towards everything than he was
at first, and, while standing on one of the bridges, and surveying
the scene, be goes so far as to admit that “ it seems to be a friendly
little country; ” which, coming from him, is a great tribute to the
local beauties of nature.
Dr. Probite has given me a letter of introduction to the Director
o:' the Baths, who receives me with the utmost politeness, and puts
me au courant with all the ways of the place.
We take our tickets. Being offered my choice of hours, I have to
At the Etablissement.—Maitre de Service, or Clerk of the Course
(traitement), entering the names of the Starters.
elect either 5'30 a.m. for my bath, or 9'30, or the afternoon 3'30. I
take 9'30, and a “ bain locale,” consisting of “ pulverisation ” at 9, to
begin with. Chivers takes 3'30. But there being two baths vacant
at the present moment, we commence at once, as the course is for
twenty-one days, and we shall have saved a day by beginning imme-
diately ; and then,” says Chivers, astutely, “there will only be
twenty days to work out.” Committed, with severe treatment, for
twenty-one days—that is our sentence.
The construction of the baths is quite different from that of the
baths at Aix-les-Bains and
Aix - la - Chapelle, where
they are of a depth and size
that you cau stand upright
in them, and very nearly
have room to swim. Here
it is an ordinary cell (quite
in keeping with the twenty-
one days’ sentence), with a
metal bath in it, somewhat
of the shape of a boat that
a child makes out of a
newspaper, only without
the peak in the middle.
The accompanying sketch
gives a fair idea of one of
the Cellules de Bain d la
Bourboule.
The Etablissement des
Bains is a very fine place,
with three domes to it (out
of compliment to the de-
partment where it is situ-
ated, the Puy de Dome),
bearing a strong family resemblance to those which are the
crown and glory of the edifice in Trafalgar Square. From a
distance the Etablissement might be taken for a Cathedral; coming
nearer, the traveller might possibly set it down as a caserne, or, if
he were of a sporting turn, lie would come to the conclusion that it
was a pretty big training stable; and, having come quite close, he
would feel certain that it must be an International Exhibition of
some sort, until he found himself inside, and saw the industry
practised there. Ho mistake as to what it is when you ’re once within.
(Notices to Baigneurs and Baigneuses everywhere ; people drinking at
a fountain; jieople waiting their turn for a bath ; some coming,
others going; some in corners, gargling ; others disappearing into
mysterious departments labelled “Pulverisation” and “Massage.”
' Tallin
at La Bourboule.
The Maitre de Service, decore, serious, but courtly, at a table,
entering names, and disposing of tickets. Everything done with
military punctuality. You must be there exactly to your time, or
you ’re out of it for the day, unless chance favours you. If you ’re a
minute or so late, the Maitre.
de Service shakes his head
reprovingly at you ; if five
minutes late, he remon-
strates with you on your
laxity ; if later than that,
it is only by cringing and
obsequious jioliteness that
you can obtain your ticket.
One hour is allowed you for
a bath, undressing, drying,
and re-dressing included.
If you occupy more time
than this, you must pay
extra for it. A Baigneur
can have a Bain de luxe,
which consi-ts of dressing-
room, a bath-room, and_, I
believe, extra towels, and extra time. Some invalids are carried
in sedan chairs to and fro; but these chaises-a-porteurs are not so
coquettes as at Aix-les-Bains; for Aix is patronised largely by
trifiers who go there pour s'amuser et pour se distraire : but there’s
nothing of that sort here. La Bourboule is a Station Thermale
serieuse, and we are all very much in earnest. For amusements and
distractions we may at first yearn, but after a while the patient
succumbs to fate, and abandons all hope of amusing himself, content
to take life listlessly so long as he takes
his baths and waters regularly. A lotos-
eater is a joker to a drinker of the waters
of La Bourboule.
At La Bourboule.—Business is busi-
ness here, and the Treatment is every-
thing. At 6 a.m. I rise, and take my
chocolat complet. Lovely air, fresh,
coldish, and the mist disappearing over
the tops of the mountains. Then I write
till just on nine, when it is Vheure du
bain et je me rends a V Etablissement,
when I respectfully salute the Maitre de
Service at his desk, obtain my ticket for
“pulverisation,” and off I go to be
“ pulverised.”
To undergo this, you have to put on a
white robe, a napkin round your throat,
as if you were going to be shaved, and
then a waterproof “ bavette,” or baby’s
bib. Thus attired, you are shown into a
chamber fitted up with a series of little
marble washing-places, in front of
which are seated several persons arrayed
similarly to yourself, all, apparently,
waiting to be shampoo’d. It looks at
first sight like a haircutter’s establish-
ment full of customers, but with no one
to attend upon them. At the second
glance, however, you see that each little
marble division, which you had mistaken
for shampooing places, but which you now see more nearly resemble
the compartments in marble, and in miniature, of a telegraxih-offiee,
is fitted up with a small apparatus not unlike a microscope, only
that as the persons
seated at each mar-
ble desk is applying
not his eye but his
mouth to the appa-
ratus, it suddenly
occurs to the stran-
ger that he is in a
room full of lunatics
who have gone mad
about telephones,
and. they are being
kept quiet by pre-
tending to send
messages. They are
not lunatics, of
course; and the
apparatus is not
telephonic, but is a
small machine for
This is not a Priest of some
strange Rite in sacrificial
vestments, but an Invalid
at La Bourboule, arrayed
for “ Pulverisation.”
“ Pulverisation ”—is vexation.
Motto.—“Let us spray.”
shooting out a fine strong spray into the mouth and down the throat, or
wherever you have to attack the local suffering. The sketches will
[September 27, 1884,
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
VERY MUCH ABROAD,
(Notes of a First Visit to La Bourboule-les-Bains, Puy-de-Dbme.)
No. Y.
Starting—Cells — Treatment—Costume —Pulverisation—Analysis.
Haying settled what is the matter, we (Chivers and myself) com-
mence our traitement.
Chivers still doesn’t entirely believe in it. Hopes for the best.
He is, however, far better inclined towards everything than he was
at first, and, while standing on one of the bridges, and surveying
the scene, be goes so far as to admit that “ it seems to be a friendly
little country; ” which, coming from him, is a great tribute to the
local beauties of nature.
Dr. Probite has given me a letter of introduction to the Director
o:' the Baths, who receives me with the utmost politeness, and puts
me au courant with all the ways of the place.
We take our tickets. Being offered my choice of hours, I have to
At the Etablissement.—Maitre de Service, or Clerk of the Course
(traitement), entering the names of the Starters.
elect either 5'30 a.m. for my bath, or 9'30, or the afternoon 3'30. I
take 9'30, and a “ bain locale,” consisting of “ pulverisation ” at 9, to
begin with. Chivers takes 3'30. But there being two baths vacant
at the present moment, we commence at once, as the course is for
twenty-one days, and we shall have saved a day by beginning imme-
diately ; and then,” says Chivers, astutely, “there will only be
twenty days to work out.” Committed, with severe treatment, for
twenty-one days—that is our sentence.
The construction of the baths is quite different from that of the
baths at Aix-les-Bains and
Aix - la - Chapelle, where
they are of a depth and size
that you cau stand upright
in them, and very nearly
have room to swim. Here
it is an ordinary cell (quite
in keeping with the twenty-
one days’ sentence), with a
metal bath in it, somewhat
of the shape of a boat that
a child makes out of a
newspaper, only without
the peak in the middle.
The accompanying sketch
gives a fair idea of one of
the Cellules de Bain d la
Bourboule.
The Etablissement des
Bains is a very fine place,
with three domes to it (out
of compliment to the de-
partment where it is situ-
ated, the Puy de Dome),
bearing a strong family resemblance to those which are the
crown and glory of the edifice in Trafalgar Square. From a
distance the Etablissement might be taken for a Cathedral; coming
nearer, the traveller might possibly set it down as a caserne, or, if
he were of a sporting turn, lie would come to the conclusion that it
was a pretty big training stable; and, having come quite close, he
would feel certain that it must be an International Exhibition of
some sort, until he found himself inside, and saw the industry
practised there. Ho mistake as to what it is when you ’re once within.
(Notices to Baigneurs and Baigneuses everywhere ; people drinking at
a fountain; jieople waiting their turn for a bath ; some coming,
others going; some in corners, gargling ; others disappearing into
mysterious departments labelled “Pulverisation” and “Massage.”
' Tallin
at La Bourboule.
The Maitre de Service, decore, serious, but courtly, at a table,
entering names, and disposing of tickets. Everything done with
military punctuality. You must be there exactly to your time, or
you ’re out of it for the day, unless chance favours you. If you ’re a
minute or so late, the Maitre.
de Service shakes his head
reprovingly at you ; if five
minutes late, he remon-
strates with you on your
laxity ; if later than that,
it is only by cringing and
obsequious jioliteness that
you can obtain your ticket.
One hour is allowed you for
a bath, undressing, drying,
and re-dressing included.
If you occupy more time
than this, you must pay
extra for it. A Baigneur
can have a Bain de luxe,
which consi-ts of dressing-
room, a bath-room, and_, I
believe, extra towels, and extra time. Some invalids are carried
in sedan chairs to and fro; but these chaises-a-porteurs are not so
coquettes as at Aix-les-Bains; for Aix is patronised largely by
trifiers who go there pour s'amuser et pour se distraire : but there’s
nothing of that sort here. La Bourboule is a Station Thermale
serieuse, and we are all very much in earnest. For amusements and
distractions we may at first yearn, but after a while the patient
succumbs to fate, and abandons all hope of amusing himself, content
to take life listlessly so long as he takes
his baths and waters regularly. A lotos-
eater is a joker to a drinker of the waters
of La Bourboule.
At La Bourboule.—Business is busi-
ness here, and the Treatment is every-
thing. At 6 a.m. I rise, and take my
chocolat complet. Lovely air, fresh,
coldish, and the mist disappearing over
the tops of the mountains. Then I write
till just on nine, when it is Vheure du
bain et je me rends a V Etablissement,
when I respectfully salute the Maitre de
Service at his desk, obtain my ticket for
“pulverisation,” and off I go to be
“ pulverised.”
To undergo this, you have to put on a
white robe, a napkin round your throat,
as if you were going to be shaved, and
then a waterproof “ bavette,” or baby’s
bib. Thus attired, you are shown into a
chamber fitted up with a series of little
marble washing-places, in front of
which are seated several persons arrayed
similarly to yourself, all, apparently,
waiting to be shampoo’d. It looks at
first sight like a haircutter’s establish-
ment full of customers, but with no one
to attend upon them. At the second
glance, however, you see that each little
marble division, which you had mistaken
for shampooing places, but which you now see more nearly resemble
the compartments in marble, and in miniature, of a telegraxih-offiee,
is fitted up with a small apparatus not unlike a microscope, only
that as the persons
seated at each mar-
ble desk is applying
not his eye but his
mouth to the appa-
ratus, it suddenly
occurs to the stran-
ger that he is in a
room full of lunatics
who have gone mad
about telephones,
and. they are being
kept quiet by pre-
tending to send
messages. They are
not lunatics, of
course; and the
apparatus is not
telephonic, but is a
small machine for
This is not a Priest of some
strange Rite in sacrificial
vestments, but an Invalid
at La Bourboule, arrayed
for “ Pulverisation.”
“ Pulverisation ”—is vexation.
Motto.—“Let us spray.”
shooting out a fine strong spray into the mouth and down the throat, or
wherever you have to attack the local suffering. The sketches will