xxiv WAYFARING NOTIONS 



in which the balance of the shoulders played a 

 considerable part ; and he said, truly, that both 

 were nuisances to carry and extremely liable to 

 get stolen or lost, especially at race meetings, and 

 then there you were, exposed to any chill that 

 might be going. So he made a study of suitable 

 underclothing and never sported more than one 

 coat at once. But he stuck up for the tall hat, 

 which he always declared to be really the most 

 convenient and hygienic headgear going, point- 

 ing out that it held plenty of air, and arranged 

 for ventilation, whereas the pseudo-athletic cloth 

 cap, which he never wore, was apt to become a 

 sort of hot poultice, and was stuffy at best. 



Owing to the exigencies of business, my 

 father could scarcely ever visit a district out of 

 short reach of the places where his work lay. 

 Thus much fair country that he would have 

 keenly appreciated — for instance, a great part 

 of Devonshire — he could never see. Moreover, 

 his *'off" and '* slack" times occurred simply and 

 solely when frost or fog rendered racing and 

 other sports impracticable. He never got a free 

 week in pleasant weather. Yet I never remember 

 his complaining of this, nor of the circumscription 

 of his areas of exploration. He acted up to his 

 own maxims : ** If your time's short, make the 

 most of it," and, " Take what you can get, and 

 be pleased with it." He varied his rambles as 



