Z 69 ] 



July 23, 1851. On such a road (the Corner) i I 

 walk securely, seeing far and wide on both sides, as 

 if I were flanked by light infantry on the hills, to rout 

 the provincials, as the British marched into Concord, 

 while my grenadier thoughts keep the main road. 

 That is, my light-armed and wandering thoughts 

 scour the neighboring fields, and so I know if the 

 coast is clear. With what a breadth of van I advance ! 

 I am not bounded by the walls. I think more than 

 the road full. 



Journal, ii, 339. 



' Thoreau would hardly apostrophize the Corner road, (i.e., the road 

 to Nine-Acre Corner) to-day, for it has been carefully graded and mac- 

 adamized; the root fences, the little brook crossing the road, and other 

 features so attractive to him have disappeared, and there are plenty of 

 "No Trespassing" signs on either hand. Instead of walking securely, 

 his "grenadier thoughts" would be chiefly occupied in the effort to avoid 

 disaster from the frequently passing automobiles ! H. W. G. 



