Chapter 2 Chapter II Passepartout thinks he has finally found the ideal job

Passepartout felt a little strange at first, and said to himself: "Really, the nice gentlemen I saw at Mrs. Dussau's house are not a little different from my present master!" It should be explained here: those "nice gentlemen" in Mrs. Du Cauer's house are made of wax, and there are often many people in London to admire them.This kind of wax figurine is made to look real, the only difference is that it can talk. During the few minutes he had just seen Mr. Fogg, Passepartout had had a quick and careful look at his future master.It seems that this man should be about forty years old, with a handsome and dignified face. Although his tall stature is a little fat, it does not detract from his elegant demeanor.Blonde hair and beard, smooth forehead, not even a wrinkle visible at the temples.The complexion is fair, not rosy, and the teeth are neat and beautiful.His personal cultivation is obviously very high, and he has reached the point where "although he is moving, he is still" as the fortune-tellers say.He has all the characteristics of people who "do more and talk less".Serene, calm, with unblinking eyelids and bright eyes, he is simply the most standard type of calm British.Such people are commonplace in the United Kingdom.Ang Goffman's wonderful pen often paints them as more or less pedantic figures.Judging from Mr. Fogg's daily life, people have an impression that every action of this gentleman is neither important nor important, impartial, and just, just like Leroy or Ian Shaw's chronometer. precise.In fact, Fogg himself is accuracy personified, as is evident in the movement of his hands and feet.For the limbs of man, like those of other animals, are in themselves organs of expression.

Mr. Fogg is such a kind of person who lives step by step, moves precisely and accurately, is never in a hurry, is always prepared for everything, and even has a certain degree of restraint in taking a few steps and moving a few movements.Mr. Fogg never took an extra step, and the aisle always copied the shortest one.He never glanced at the ceiling for no reason, never made a gesture for no reason, he was never agitated, he was never distressed.He is the least hasty person in the world, but he has never missed an appointment by being late.As for the fact that he lived in solitude, even in isolation from the world, people will understand that.He feels that in life he always has to communicate with others, and there will always be disputes, which will delay things. Therefore, he never communicates with others and never argues with others.

Speaking of John, he was also called Passepartout, and he was a native of Paris.He had been in England for five years, and had been working as a servant in London.But he never found a suitable owner. Passepartout was by no means the first-class people like Frondin and Masgaril.They were nothing more than shrugging, condescending, pompous, staring scumbags, and Passepartout was not of that sort, he was a very decent fellow, and he had a very pleasant appearance.His lips were slightly raised, as if he was about to taste something, to kiss someone.The round head on his shoulders gave people an impression of amiability, and he was really affable and gentle.In his ruddy face was a pair of blue eyes.His face was so fat that he could see his own cheekbones.He was tall, broad-shouldered, round-chested, muscular, and powerful.His vigorous physique was the result of his youthful exercise, and his brown hair was always disheveled. If the ancient sculptors knew Minerva's eighteen arts of hair treatment, Passepartout only Know one thing: pick up a coarse-toothed comb, brush, brush, brush!Three strokes, and you're done.

No one, on second thought, would have said that the young man's jovial and carefree character would go well with Fogg's.Does he have the 100 percent accuracy his master demands?This can only be seen when he is called upon.People know that Passepartout had experienced a period of wandering life in his youth, and now he hopes to stabilize and rest.He heard people praise the English people for their orderliness, meticulousness and typical calm gentlemanship, so he ran to England to try his luck.But so far, fate has not helped him, and he can't take root anywhere.He changed ten families one after another, and the people in these ten families were all people with strange temperaments, eccentric tempers, adventurous people everywhere, and their homes all over the world.This was not to Passepartout's taste.His last employer was the young MP Sir Rumsferry.The jazz lord frequented the oyster bar in Hay Market in the evenings, and often had the police carry him back.Passepartout, in order not to lose his respect for his master, had ventured to make a respectful and measured opinion to his lord.But Sir Sir became very angry, and Passepartout quit.At this time, he heard that Mr. Fogg was looking for a servant. He inquired about this gentleman and learned that his life was very regular. He neither stayed outside nor traveled, even for a day Never been far from the house.Passepartout was too well suited to be on this man's errand.He therefore visited Mr. Fogg, and settled the business as we have said.

Half-past eleven struck, and Passepartout was alone in the house in Rue Saville.He immediately began to walk around the whole house, from the cellar to the attic.The house appeared to be neat, clean, dignified, modest, and very comfortable and convenient.Passepartout was happy now.The house was a snug and comfortable snail shell to him.But this snail shell is lit with gas, because all the lighting and heating needs here can be met with gas alone.Passepartout had no trouble finding the house assigned to him on the third floor.The house was just what he wanted.There are also electric bells and microphones inside, which can communicate with the various rooms in the basement and the second floor.There was an electric clock above the mantelpiece, which kept time with the clock in Mr. Fogg's bedroom.The two clocks struck exactly at the same time, not missing a second.

"This is wonderful, and my country is as it should be!" said Passepartout to himself. In his room he saw a dos and don'ts sheet taped to the top of the clock.This is the project he works on every day—from the time Mr. Fogg gets up at eight o'clock in the morning until Mr. Fogg goes to the club for lunch at half past eleven—all the details of the work: Tea delivery and roasting at 8:23 Bread, hot water for shaving at 9:36, haircut at 9:40...and then from half past eleven in the morning until twelve at night—all while this orderly gentleman sleeps Everything about it is written on it, and it is clearly explained.Passepartout went over the work-sheet happily.And keep all kinds of things that should be done firmly in mind.

Mr. Fogg's closet was full of clothes of every kind, just about everything one could expect.Each pair of trousers, each jacket, and even each vest is marked with a sequential number.These numbers are likewise written in the register of access and storage of clothing.As the seasons change, the register also indicates: which outfit to wear on which day, and even what shoes to wear, also has a strict set of rules. In short, the house in Severe Street, which was a rambling place in the days when the famous and dissolute Siridon lived there, is now so gracefully furnished as to give a lighthearted feeling.There is no library here, not even a book.This was unnecessary to Mr. Fogg, since there were two libraries in the club, one for literary books and the other for legal and political books, which he could read at will.In his bedroom, there is a small safe, which is made very strong, which can prevent fire and thieves.In his dwelling there was no weapon at all, either for hunting or for fighting.Everything here marks the quiet character of the owner.

After Passepartout had inspected the house carefully, he could not help rubbing his hands together, and with a smug smile on his broad face, he repeated cheerfully: "That's very good. It's my job. Mr. Fogg and I. We'll get along. He's a man who doesn't like to go out, and he works as if he's a machine! Wonderful! Waiting on a man." machine, I have nothing to complain about."