The Morning herald., 1875-09-06
THE HILLS AROUND.

ii
THE AUTUMN DRIvEs-ovER THE HILLS
AND FAR AWAY.
Bayard Taylor, the poet-traveller once told
a party of young student vagabonds who
thrust themselves upon his acquaintance in
the fair old town of Kcnnett, that among the
hills of New Castle county some of the soft
est, brightest landscapes his extensive wan
dering has ever broug t to bis eyes and
heart. The fine roll of Chester hills reaches
down to Iron Hill on the West, and the am
bilious little new born city fthe urbane
New Castilians to the East. Mr.. Taylor
wondered "that tourists never toss their
satchels from the trains that hourly pass
on the P. W. y B. road to tramp for aweek
among them, drinking buttermilk like pec-
tar from the prosperous Kine."
"That kline O. thing wouldn't work.
said an irrevercnt and inartis-
tic listener, fellow gets tired and dirty in
half day, for my part give me two
in hand with fair weather, and I'll find the
hills pleasant enough" And to most peo-
pie the latter remark ripples very soothing
ly. If one can pitch on a September day
with just enough sunlightto alternate with
huge cloud-shadows in point of time and
just enough breeze to blow away all laziness
of spirit, he find its truth. In fortunate
moment the HERALD man mounted his car,
uttered menace to his waiting steeds,
bowled off to the Northwest, and on the
furthermost hilltop of the environs waved
half-day's adieu to the "populous (and why
not Dsmoky city" lying in the ancient grasp
of the Christiana and Brandywine. Costly
athletes surrounded by couple of thousand
enthusiastic friends getting beaten like the
mischief by club of the Keystone State;
and surely, thought the HERALD man, hath
the "Weeping Willow" not its complement
of forty-dollar politicians this golded after
nOons And continuing in this strain, with
the shadow-barred meadows and smooth
roads around it was difficult to keep from
wondering why the lazy townsmen do
not appreciate their surroundings more, why
they pack horse and wagon in an express
box and run off into Jersey, when such
drives as these are convenient It can be
accounted for by current spirit among
Delawareans to depreciate everything with
in their bounds. Apropos, the anecdote of
Sydney Smith and the equator: Jeffrey, Of
he Edinburgh Revie,o, was so bothered by
man whose hobby was the North Pole, and
who kept teasing him SO much about it that
the.jurist broke out one day with, '.Damnthe
North Pole" Whereupon the lobbyist told
Sydney Smith of the uncourteous treatment
from Smith S colleague. The statesman and
divine, ri bbing his hands, said: "Why,
my Lord, don't mind Jeffrey, he's given to
such things, would you believe it, that man
has actually been known to speak disre-
spectfully ofthe Equator" Ard Whining
tonians actually speak about New Castle
county out of the corners of their mouth.
"Gimme lift," said a tall man in a
clean shirt, and who, consequently, could
in the census-taker manner, "where were
you born, when, where live, how, wherefore
busting over the hills, how many children,
is your grandfather living, &C." Answer
ing all satisfactorily, he leaped into the
chariot and told me that it was hot, and
that there would be very good crop. of
corn round about.
With this communicativeind individual along,
it was an easy matter to accumulate artistic
data of the surrounding country.
'ln an aesthetic sense" quOth /, "what
think you of the hundreds that stretch out
above here?" j'' -i
every good crops. Yes, indee'l; all, very
good corn in Brandywine Hunder and Mill
Creek, and all through"
So went into ecstacies over the undula-
ting hills, quaint old bridges, etc., and he
into dissertations upon potato bugs until,
with "thank, YER" the old fellow made
his exit. &.