136 DOVE DALE REVISITED 



In 1902 he ventures to put forth the preceding 

 and following remarks. 



Perhaps it is not sacrilegious to say that we 

 saw within also a modern split-cane fishing rod 

 and other utensils which suggested the desirabi- 

 lity of keeping the door locked. I was sorry to 

 see, however, that not only was the door locked, 

 but the wicket gate which leads to the enclosure 

 has just now had a new lock attached to it ; it 

 did not appear quite finished, and so luckily for 

 us it was not locked, and we had the pleasure of 

 sitting on the seats that surround the two lime 

 trees that guard the entrance to rest our weary 

 limbs and to eat our luncheon in peace and 

 contentment. 



I suppose there is something to be said in 

 favour of locking this approach, and so exclud- 

 ing excursionists on the ground of possible 

 damage to the property. My own impression 

 is that excursionists are generally very harmless, 

 and damage is far more likely to arise from re- 

 sentment caused by too rigid exclusiveness than 

 by letting things remain as they were. I own I 

 should have felt myself wronged, and I should 

 have been cruelly disappointed, had I found 



