The _salon_ of the casino,
at the height of the season, is said to show at once the most animated
and diverting assemblage of Somebodies to be seen in the world.'
DEAUVILLE, separated only by the river Touques, is a place of
greater pretension even than Trouville. It is, however, quite in its
infancy; it was planned for a handsome and extensive watering-place, but
the death of the Duc de Morny has stopped its growth,--large tracts of
land, in what should be the town, still lying waste. It is quiet
compared with Trouville, select and 'aristocratic,' and boasts the
handsomest casino in France; it is built for the most part upon a sandy
plain, but the houses are so tastefully designed, and so much has been
made of the site, that (from some points of view) it presents, with its
background of hills, a singularly picturesque appearance.
No matter how small or uninteresting the locality, if it is to be
fashionable, _il n'y aura point de difficulte_. If there are no natural
attractions, the ingenious and enterprising speculator will provide
them; if there are no trees, he will bring them,--no rocks, he will
manufacture them,--no river, he will cut a winding canal,--no town, he
will build one,--no casino, he will erect a wooden shed on the sands!
But of all the bathing-places on the north coast of Normandy the little
fishing-village of ETRETAT will commend itself most to English
people, for its bold coast and bracing air.
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