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The Blog of Phileas Fogg : October 3rd 1872

From: Harry Hayfield <welshliberaldemocrat~at~yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2006 15:38:42 +0100
To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>

BlankHave I done something to upset somebody? I ask this because since I
wrote my entry on the train through Kent last night, there have been two
attempts to stop my trip or kill me. Let me start from where I left you last
night on the train to Dover. No sooner had I finished writing last night's
entry than Passepartout (who was looking wistfully out of the train window)
suddenly looked quite worried. It turned out that he'd forgotten to turn the
gas off in his room before we left. I tried to reassure him that he'd need
not worry about it as any expense would be deducted from his wages but I'm
not entirely sure that helped him. I then had a go at finding out what this
box of tricks could do and found to my surprise it contains a ledger of some
kind so I set about working out how much Passepartout would have to pay me
when we get back on December 21st. Passepartout's wage deal was 17s 6d a
week which means that each day he earns 2s, and based on the last gas bill I
got each day's gas is valued at 2s 6d so let's have a look and see how much
the shortfall is. Well, the most obvious route is to multiply the daily
shortfall by 80, which gives us a total of 480d, now clearly if I said that
to him he would probably throw himself off the train, so let's put it into a
context he would understand. 40 shillings is better, but he might not
entirely get the hang of that either. Got it, the good old British pound.
"Passepartout" I said, a few moments later, "I have worked out how much you
owe me. The sum of £2!". I thought that he actually took it quite well as he
howled in despair and set off to the buffet car!

After the crossing of the Channel, which I have to admit was a very pleasant
experience for me as it gave me a chance to do some stargazing (a little
hobby I picked up whilst reading a report about the 1870 solar eclipse over
Gibraltar) and to find out where the moon was for the penumbral eclipse on
November 15th this year and as I will be crossing the Pacific on that date
there should be a very good chance of me seeing it (provided the weather
holds fair), we arrived in France and Passepartout was busy telling me all
about the French people when the conductor opened the door of the carriage
and said something in French. Thankfully Passepartout was able to act as a
translator and he told me that a lady wished to travel with us. She
introduced herself as a Countess and said that she was on route to Brindisi
in Italy to tend to her ill mother. I offered my best wishes for her
mother's speedy recovery, and noted that we were heading in the same
direction and that if she wanted to she would be quite welcome to spend the
rest of the journey with us. She thanked us for our hospitality and asked if
it was possible to turn the lamps down. I have to admit I was feeling a
little sleepy myself and agreed. Passepartout offered to turn the lights
down but the lady was insistent that she should. What happened next I am not
sure, but the Countess turned the lights off by accident and I asked
Passepartout to relight them using some materials in the bag. Next thing I
knew, the woman screamed and ran out of the carriage. I stood up and relit
the lamps myself and then came down on Passepartout like a ton of bricks
demanding to know what he had done to make the poor lady scream like that.
He explained that the Countess' scream was due to him closing the bag on her
hand because her hand was in the bag and was holding onto several notes.
This struck me as being very odd indeed.

But not half as odd as what happened travelling between Paris Central and
Paris North train stations. We arrived in Paris at 7.20am this morning and
had 80 minutes to get to Paris North station to catch the train heading to
Brindisi. Passepartout tried his best to summon a cab, but clearly Parisian
cabs aren't as good as London cabs. Anyway, we started to walk and a few
moments later, a carriage pulled up and the owner asked if we would like a
lift to the train station. Passepartout gasped as he told me it was Lady
Marmalade (a very famous Parisian lady) so of course we couldn't refuse
could we?. After about 15 minutes, Passepartout noticed that we were heading
in the wrong direction and alerted her ladyship to this. She stopped the
carriage and went to speak to the driver. Next thing I knew, we seemed to be
going along (still in the wrong direction) at breakneck speed. Passepartout
showed off his gymnastic skills by climbing onto the roof to see what was
happening and two minutes later was hanging upside down outside the window.
When I asked for a reason for his undiplomatic entrance he stammered that
the driver had vanished and that he was involved in a fight. I peered out of
the other window and saw that he was right. I made a grab for the reins and
managed to bring the carriage under control just as Passepartout gave his
opponent the most vicious right hook I have ever seen followed by a large
splash in a nearby lake. As Passepartout took the reins, he explained that
the lady was in fact a man in disguise and as he turned the carriage round
and headed back to Paris, it became clear that someone was out to stop me.

So, here we are safely on the train to Brindisi and just travelling through
France and should be in Brindisi by October 5th. Trying to see if this box
of tricks could help identify the assailant, I asked Passepartout to
describe the person, but all he said was that he seemed a black hearted
soul. Well, blackguard or not, I have wagered £20,000 that I will complete
this journey and by Her Majesty, complete it I shall. Yours, Phileas Fogg
Esq.

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Received on Wed 04 Oct 2006 - 10:56:35 IST

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