"It was all too easy to lose oneself in a past half real, half imaginary, and so be blind to the present. In the cities that I knew best, Tours, Blois, Orleans, I lost myself in fantasy, seeing other walls, older streets, the crumbling corners of once glittering facades, and they were more live to me than any real structure before my eyes, for in their shadows lay security; but in the hard light of reality there was only doubt and apprehension."
--John, The Scapegoat, by Daphne du Maurier
First off, let me just say: I loved the Scapegoat. It reminded me of why I love Daphne du Maurier so much. The plot, the characters, and--above all--her style. When I read this passage, my immediate thought was, "me, too." I don't think anyone else could have better summed up my love/feelings for history. I only wish I could say Tours, Blois, and Orleans were the cities I knew best. Unfortunately, I've only been to Bitsch, France. Someday.
It's funny, I tend to think of myself as an anachronism. I wonder if I was born a few centuries ago if I would feel the same way.
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