five
to seven o'clock
Yesterday , on the beach I was forced to go away from the place where I sat in order not to be any longer the involuntary confidante of an obscene anecdote , told in such immodest language that I felt just as much humiliated as indignant at having heard it . Would not the most elementary good-breeding have taught them to speak in a lower tone about such matters when we are near at hand . Etretat is , moreover , the country of gossip and scandal . From five to seven o'clock you can see people wandering about in quest of nasty stories about others which they retail from group to group . As you remarked to me , my dear aunt , tittle-tattle is the mark of petty individuals and petty minds . It is also the consolation of women who are no longer loved or sought after . It is enough for me to observe the women who are fondest of gossiping to be persuaded that you are quite right .