30 ON THE ITHON 



dun flies an awful pest I was stung by nettles, 

 pricked by standard tall thistles, which must be 

 gone through thistles, I mean, such as the Wye 

 farmer used to climb up every morning to look 

 for his cattle. My hands were scratched all over 

 with thorns, and I finally emerged into a field 

 which had no stile and no gate, and, as far as I 

 could discover, was entirely surrounded by treble 

 rows of barbed wire. I did force myself over this 

 accursed fence somehow, but not without scratches 

 and tearings, and very bad language. 



Jtdy 9. Early to bed and early to rise is the 

 rule here, so I rose early and took my walk with 

 scores of others up to the Pump-room, which is 

 hidden away from the town, about an eighth of a 

 mile, behind a fine clump of trees. 



In the middle of the grove I have generally 

 found a band playing at seven o'clock a.m. At 

 the pay-gate sixpence fee was demanded by the 

 manager. I demurred, as I only wanted to taste 

 by taking a single glass of saline. " One glass ! " 

 says he, " that will never do ; you must drink deep 

 or touch not this aperient spring. From five to 

 seven or eight large tumblers of hot saline will be 

 the proper thing, a single glass will only upset 

 you and do no good." 



You take, say, two large tumblers full of saline, 

 and off you trot for a mile run round the beautiful 

 lake, and then back for more tumblers till the full 

 dole has been swallowed, then home to breakfast. 



Invigorated thus by a few tumblers of this 



