THE EXHILARATIONS OF THE ROAD. 37 



Of those gleesome saunters over the hills in spring, 

 or those sallies of the body in winter, those excursions 

 into space when the foot strikes fire at every step, 

 when the air tastes like a new and finer mixture, 

 when we accumulate force and gladness as we go 

 along, when the sight of objects by the roadside and 

 of the fields and woods pleases more than pictures 

 or than all the art in the world, those ten or 

 twelve mile dashes that are but the wit and effluence 

 of the corporeal powers, of such diversion and 

 open road entertainment, I say, most of us know very 

 little. 



I notice with astonishment that at our fashionable 

 watering-places nobody walks ; that of all those vast 

 crowds of health-seekers and lovers of country air, 

 you can never catch one in the fields or woods, or 

 guilty of trudging along the country road with dust 

 on his shoes and sun-tan on his hands and face. The 

 sole amusement seems to be to eat and dress and sit 

 about the hotels and glare at each other. The men 

 look bored, the women look tired, and all seem to 

 sigh, " O Lord ! what shall we do to be happy and 

 not be vulgar?" Quite different from our British 

 cousins across the water, who have plenty of amuse- 

 ment and hilarity, spending most of the time at 

 their watering-places in the open air, strolling, pic- 

 nicking, boating, climbing, briskly walking, appar- 

 ently with little fear of sun-tan or of compromising 

 their " gentility." 



It is indeed astonishing with what ease and hilarity 



