72 With Feet to the Earth 



dated to the slowest man, the weak or fat 

 one orders the wayside halts, the hungriest 

 fixes and prolongs the hours for meals ; so 

 the party is not likely to overwork. There 

 is always good nature, chaffing, story-tell- 

 ing, singing, and skylarking, with reading 

 aloud or card-playing in the evening, and 

 a trip like that will be pleasant in the reali- 

 zation, pleasant in the memory. If there 

 is a crank or obstructionist among you, he 

 drops out or submits to the wishes of the 

 rest. 



Ah, but suppose you are the crank? 

 Then flock by yourself. Really, there is 

 not half so much to fear in walking alone, 

 or being alone, as the untried think there 

 is. The social habit has such a grip on 

 most of us that the idea of separation from 

 our kind carries with it a sort of terror. 

 If you have inner resources, however, you 

 find pretty good company without any one 

 to talk to. As you are sure to meet people 

 at the taverns and other stopping-places, 

 the hours of solitude on the highway are 

 hours of self-knowledge and self-develop- 

 ment ; you will laugh less than in company, 





