THE WING-FOOTED 



man does well to snatch at such compen- 

 sation as this, for there is little of mere 

 physical delight in a day's travel on 

 those roads which le bon Dieu arrange. 



The happy phrase, for which I am 

 indebted to a philosopher of the high- 

 way, does not always apply, for the 

 government is apt to interfere with the 

 processes of nature on the eve of an elec- 

 tion. At the moment, I do not call to 

 mind any other useful by-product of 

 those political spasms which lead to so 

 much job and place hunting, and cause 

 such bitterness even in a quiet country- 

 side ; but it is at least something that the 

 honest fisherman travels more comfort- 

 ably. 



Unfortunately for us, no recent need 

 had arisen to educate the minds of the 

 electors upon those great questions 

 which divide the Ins and the Outs, and 

 every one of our forty-seven miles de- 

 manded full credit for each constituent 

 rod and furlong. When, with twelve 



74 



