Chapter VIII 



Roads and Paths 



ROADS and paths should be, above all, firm, 

 and as dry as possible. Were I writing this 

 book for English readers I could pass over this 

 point entirely, since the construction of the roads 

 there is fairly adequate, but, as w^e are still very 

 much behind in this respect, a few words on the 

 technical aspect of this question will not, I think 

 be superfluous at the end of this chapter. Good 

 roads and paths are, of course, expensive, and 

 this, as I was frequently told, is the chief reason 

 why there are so few roads and paths in English 

 parks and a drive entirely round the estate so 

 seldom to be found, and often, where a path 

 leads from the " pleasure-ground " into the park, 

 it stops suddenly at the iron fence which encloses 

 the former and from that point one has to wade 

 painfully through wet grass and other disagree- 

 able features. We could, considering the differ- 

 ent value of mqney in the two countries, get 

 much more from the outlay if we should follow 

 different methods. For what is the good of a 

 park that presents the same recurring picture 

 from a few points of view, a park where I am 

 never led, as by an invisible hand, to the most 

 beautiful spots, seeing and comprehending the 



