74 With Feet to the Earth 



is difficult, it is not so hard to find one 

 companion. If only the women would 

 stop wearing corsets and tight shoes and 

 carrying inordinate quantities of dry goods, 

 how much health and pleasure they would 

 gain from walks with their husbands and 

 brothers ! In England I have met mother, 

 father, daughters, and sons trudging along 

 the road together ; the men, to be sure, a 

 little unhappy, as they had to carry packs 

 for the women, but bearing up with smiling 

 fortitude. Agreement between two is 

 kept by little compromises and sacrifices, 

 whereas the difficulty of agreement among 

 more than two grows in geometrical ratio 

 as each new member is added to the party. 

 In a family outing it is different : the 

 daughter orders that. 



After the trip is arranged comes the 

 question of outfit, and here a rigid economy 

 of weight must be practised. No black- 

 ing, no linen shirts, no frills, furbelows, or 

 superfluities. Supplies must be cut down 

 to the last ounce, always remembering that 

 they weigh four times as much at night as 

 in the morning. The knapsack was once 



