Explore "Nerves" by Guy De Maupassant on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The diners slowly entered the big hotel dining room and took their places. The waiters refrained from hurrying, so as to give the latecomers a chance, and avoid the trouble of handing the dishes round a second time. The old bathers, the habitués, whose season was almost over, looked intently at the door whenever it opened, to see what new faces might appear.
That is the chief amusement of watering-places. One goes to dinner to inspect each day's new arrivals, to guess what they are, what they do and what they think. We all have a vague wish to meet pleasant people, to make agreeable acquaintances, even to meet with a love adventure. In this jostling life, neighbours, strangers, assume considerable importance. Curiosity is aroused, sympathy awaits its opportunity, and the desire to make friends is always alert.