CHAPTER ONE

Phineas Fogg and Passepartout Accept Each Other, the One as Master, the Other as Man

In 1872 Mr Phineas Fogg lived at No. 8, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens. He was a member of the Reform Club, but he did not attract attention. Little was known about him, except that he was a man of the world.

He was certainly an Englishman, but it wasn't known whether Phineas Fogg was from London. He had no public occupation; no ships came with his name, and his voice was never heard in a court. He was not a manufacturer, nor was he a merchant or gentleman farmer. He did not belong to any of the many London societies.

Phineas Fogg was a member of the Reform, and that was all.

Was Phineas Fogg rich? Undoubtedly. But those who knew him had no idea how he made his fortune. He did not show off his wealth, but he wasn't stingy. He was the quietest of men.

Had he traveled? It was likely, since he seemed to know the world. He often corrected, with a few words, the guesses of other members of the club. He must have traveled everywhere, at least in spirit.

It was certain that Phineas Fogg had not left London for many years. His only hobbies were reading the papers and playing whist, a card game. He often won, but he never kept the money. He always gave his winnings to charity.

Phineas Fogg was not known to have a wife or children, nor relatives or close friends. He lived alone in Saville Row, and no one visited. A single servant worked for him. He ate breakfast and dinner at the club, always at the same time. He never ate with other members, and he went home at exactly midnight.

If to live in this way is strange, it must be said that there is something good in strangeness.

The house in Saville Row was very comfortable. The owner asked little from his only servant, but Phineas Fogg required him to be extremely regular. On this very 2nd of October he had dismissed James Forster, because that youth had brought him shaving-water at twenty-eight degrees instead of thirty. Phineas Fogg was waiting for his new servant.

There was a knock at the door, and a young man of thirty entered and bowed.

"You are a Frenchman, I believe," asked Phineas Fogg, "and your name is John?"

"Jean, if monsieur pleases," replied the newcomer, "Jean Passepartout. My family name suits me because I often go from one business into another. I've had several trades. I've been a singer, a circus-rider, a professor of gymnastics, and a fireman in Paris. I left France five years ago to come to England, and I heard Monsieur Phineas Fogg was the most exact gentleman in the United Kingdom. I have come to monsieur in the hope of living a calm life, and even to forget the name Passepartout."

"Passepartout suits me," replied Mr Fogg. "You are well recommended to me. You know my conditions?"

"Yes, monsieur."

"Good! What time is it?"

Passepartout took a very large silver watch from his pocket. "Twenty-two minutes after eleven," he said.

"You are four minutes too slow," said Mr Fogg. "No matter. Now from this moment, twenty-six minutes after eleven, a.m., this Wednesday, 2nd October, you are in my service."

Phineas Fogg got up, took his hat, and left without a word.

Passepartout remained alone in the house in Saville Row.

(end of section)