Exchange of Letters

Dear Mr. Harrington,

I saw your name on a list of teachers of French who wish to spend their holidays in France this summer. I am a teacher of English in Saint-Simon, a charming little village in the Loire valley, just south of Saumur. I should very much like to spend some time in England, because it is many years since I had an opportunity to practise my English. Perhaps we could exchange houses for three weeks in late July or early August. I have heard a lot about Cumbria and the Lake District. I have been keen to spend a holiday in Cumbria ever since I first saw pictures of the foxhunting, and read about the fine hunting dogs that you have in your part of the country. I am very interested in fox-hunting and I take my dogs out hunting in the local forest whenever I can. I shall tell you more about Saint-Simon and the surrounding countryside when and if you express interest in my plan. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

JEAN BAPTISTE FOUCAULT

Dear Mr. Foucault,

I was very interested to receive your letter of 3rd March. You are right in thinking that I should like to spend some time in France. I am sure my French is as rusty as your English! You are also right in thinking that Cumbria is famous for its foxes and its hunting dogs, but there are many other things for which Cumbria is famous. Barrow, for example, is famous for its shipbuilding industry; I live just across the road from the docks where ships from Ireland and elsewhere load and unload. In fact, on days when the Irish Sea is not under a blanket of fog, I can see the hills of Northern Ireland in one direction, as clearly as I can see the Cumbrian hills in the other. In short, I am afraid Barrow might not have been what you had in mind when you thought about a holiday in Cumbria. Instead of being able to offer you the dog and the fox, I can only offer you the fog and the docks!

Yours sincerely,

ROBERT HARRINGTON