It Happened That On The Following Day, Spent In Idling In The
Forest And About The Hamlet, Conversing With The
Cottagers, we
were told that our old man was a bit of a humbug; that he was
a great talker,
With a hundred schemes for the improvement
of his fortunes, and, incidently, for the benefit of his
neighbours and the world at large; but nothing came of it all
and he was now fast sinking into the lowest depths of poverty.
Yet who would blame him? 'Tis the nature of the gorse to be
"unprofitably gay." All that, however, is a question for the
moralist; the point now is that in walking, even in that poor
way, when, on account of physical weakness, it was often a
pain and weariness, there are alleviations which may be more
to us than positive pleasures, and scenes to delight the eye
that are missed by the wheelman in his haste, or but dimly
seen or vaguely surmised in passing - green refreshing nooks
and crystal streamlets, and shadowy woodland depths with
glimpses of a blue sky beyond - all in the wilderness of the
human heart.
Chapter Four: Seeking a Shelter
The "walks" already spoken of, at a time when life had
little or no other pleasure for us on account of poverty and
ill-health, were taken at pretty regular intervals two or
three times a year. It all depended on our means; in very
lean years there was but one outing. It was impossible to
escape altogether from the immense unfriendly wilderness of
London simply because, albeit "unfriendly," it yet appeared to
be the only place in the wide world where our poor little
talents could earn us a few shillings a week to live on.
Music and literature!
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