CHAPTER 23 — Around a Spring

In Chap­ter 23 of “The Ways of Men,” titled “Around a Spring,” the author illus­trates how the dis­cov­ery of a mal­odor­ous spring in a Con­ti­nen­tal vil­lage can trans­form it into a flour­ish­ing tourist des­ti­na­tion. The pres­ence of such a spring is con­sid­ered a stroke of luck for the vil­lage, enabling it to cap­i­tal­ize on the new­found source of ther­mal water by attract­ing vis­i­tors seek­ing its med­i­c­i­nal qual­i­ties. The process begins with hav­ing the water ana­lyzed and endorsed by a notable fig­ure, then secur­ing gov­ern­ment approval to build a bath­house. This ini­tial phase sets the stage for the vil­lage to evolve into a bustling resort.

The locals, from offi­cials to cit­i­zens, unite in their efforts to entice tourists, cre­at­ing appeal­ing pam­phlets and embell­ish­ing adver­tise­ments with images of tra­di­tion­al local cos­tumes, though such attire had not been worn for decades. The first wave of vis­i­tors often includes Eng­lish tourists, known for their pen­chant for explor­ing new and afford­able des­tines. Fol­low­ing the influx of British guests, oth­er nation­al­i­ties and even pos­si­bly high-pro­file indi­vid­u­als arrive, prompt­ing fur­ther devel­op­ment includ­ing casi­nos and the­aters to enter­tain the vis­i­tors.

The nar­ra­tive con­trasts the indus­tri­ous and wel­com­ing approach of these Euro­pean vil­lages with the skep­ti­cism often observed in rur­al pop­u­la­tions towards tourists else­where. It empha­sizes the impor­tance of both phys­i­cal and men­tal reju­ve­na­tion offered by such resorts, detail­ing the array of enter­tain­ments and amuse­ments designed to appeal to every vis­i­tor. The munic­i­pal con­trol over pric­ing for var­i­ous ser­vices ensures a fair expe­ri­ence, free from the risk of extor­tion.

More­over, the chap­ter touch­es upon the sub­tle com­mer­cial­ism under­ly­ing the hos­pitable façade, sug­gest­ing that while the pri­ma­ry aim is to draw prof­it from the vis­i­tors, the mutu­al enjoy­ment and ben­e­fits should­n’t be over­looked. The nar­ra­tive con­cludes with a reflec­tive com­men­tary on the authen­tic­i­ty of such tourist des­ti­na­tions, pon­der­ing whether the metic­u­lous­ly craft­ed beau­ty and attrac­tions might some­times feel over­ly con­trived or insin­cere, rem­i­nis­cent of staged spec­ta­cles designed exclu­sive­ly for guests’ enjoy­ment, yet still retains the charm and appeal that con­tin­ues to draw peo­ple back.