Bicycles. 227 



The country swarms with these fellows. I saw fifteen 

 hundred in Bushy Park one day at a meet. I think 

 seventy-five clubs were there, each in a different uni- 

 form. Bicycles are also growing in use for practical 

 purposes, and many post-routes in the country are 

 served by men who use these machines. But it takes 

 roads like the English, and a level country, to do much 

 with them. 



Our evening was spent in visiting the ruined castle 

 and admiring a pretty Japanese kind of garden, so much 

 in so little space, which attracted our attention as we 

 passed. The owner, Mr. T., a solicitor, kindly invited 

 us in, and afterward showed us his house. We are 

 always receiving kindnesses from all sorts and conditions 

 of men. 



Next day, July 12th, our objective point was Grass- 

 mere, eighteen miles away. Such a lovely morning ! 

 but, indeed, we are favored beyond measure with superb 

 weather all the time. This stage in our progress intro- 

 duced us to the scenery of the lakes, and we all felt 

 that it deserved its Wordsworth ; but were we ever to let 

 loose and enter the descriptive, where would it lead ? 

 This is the rock upon which many a fair venture in 

 story-telling has suffered shipwreck. Great mountains 

 always carry one upward, but those of the Lake 

 District are not great, nor is there anything great in 

 the region. All is very sweet and pleasing and has 

 its own peculiar charm, like the school of Lake Poets. 



