Introduction

Henri Matisse

Some years ago now, leaving familiar French pathways, I stepped into the hall of an abandoned wine-maker’s house in the Languedoc, and because it was near my friends and the light was so good I decided to stay – it was a step into a new country.

Near the house is a river called the Argent-Double – Double Silver or, as some people call it, Double Your Money. This runs at two levels. On the surface there is a clear stream, full of little grey fish, gliding over smooth rock. In a drought, it appears to dry up, it stops and then magically restarts a kilometre or so further on. But it has not stopped. A second, secret underground stream runs beneath, through the rock, in a hidden channel.