94 



CHAPTER IV. 



BOGTROTTINC;, ETC. 



This is indeed almost a hopeless art to 

 attempt to teach anyhow but practically. 

 The accomplished bogtrotter is, like other 

 artists, usually born, not made. Some men 

 will at their very first essay trip over rotten, 

 shaking marsh as safely as if it were a pave- 

 ment, whereas to others a boi^ will never 

 appear anything but a floundering perspiratory 

 terror. The whole gist of the thing is of 

 course the necessity of progressing at a fair 

 speed without looking at the feet at all, or 

 seeking (except unconsciously) a firm landing- 

 place for the next step. Theoretically it may 

 seem impossible to traverse a bog of which 

 every inch is rotten, and at the same time 

 keep the eyes alert for springing snipe and the 



