23 OCTOBER 1926, Page 29

Travel Notes

1.,OND experience in travelling over Europe has convinced me of this : that English people do not realize the value—indeed the necessity, if they would be comfortable--of knowing the, language of the country they travel in. If one goes dumb and helpless, one must be definitely prepared to limit one's acti: -vities to the Well-knoWn tourist places, and even then one will generally have to put up with second best. Disappointment is bound to result if one tries to " do as the Romans do " without speaking their tongue, and it is usually the too adventurous -spirits that come back with tales of native incivility and arrogance. In short, to enjoy a country one must take the ;trouble to talk a little of its language.