Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-06-01
WALKING.
The Folly of Stunning Pedestrian
Exercise.


and more expeditions than tn walk. Time and
shoe leather are both economical. and the ma
tural desire Tor ease Is gratlfed. What won
der, then, that walking has fallen into almost
complete deSuetude amongst Us? that is,
amongst civilians and people engaged in the
ordinary business of life. Even the common
laborer proceeds TO his daily toll by horse car.
He certainly is excusable, because, as the very
nature of his employment invOlveSa cOltinu u
and strenuous expenditure OF vital force he
is right in huSbandingit in eund0 ct redeuadO,
to and from tine scent of his laborS. He does
not need the exercise of walking, as he gets
more than enough OF that in earning his
bread. Horse cars are in his case most ad
mllabe and justitaele device for lOcOmOtiOn
As a ne1us between business centres and very
remote suburbs enabling the jada I'd m 9rchant,
ia"yer, broker, banker and clerk, to immense
himself at the close Of each day in the quietude
and every way salutary environment OF the
country, horse-cars are admirable and promo
tive of health.
But when business, distance, and health
will permit, when there is SaRuni corpus and
an employment in which the brain is prnci-
pally active. and where the distance is not
preferred to riding. For be it remembered
that we are not yet spiritual creatures purely
in this state of existence. We are spirits served
by organs and those organs require constant
exercise to deyelope them properly aud keep
them in fitting condition. Soul and body are
so mySteriOuSly and intimately intercOnnected
in tins life that if they are not exercised and
developed pdri pdsSu, the man deterora eS.
The brain, the material condition of mental
phenomena, with It's delicate involved and
labyrinthine structure, wants below it full
chest, buOyed and distended by well-iniated
lungs, and highly aSSimilative stomach and
sturdy cOlumnar legs, thewy and sinewy. To
be constantly sitting on chairs, stools and
cushioned car SeatS-in other words to relieve
the legs constantly from duty, is to finally un-
tit them entirely for the performance of their
natural functions: and as each member of the
body acts upon every DINER and is reacted Up
on in turn, the disuSe and inertia of one inn
pair all The rest. 1t is said that our atmJS-
phere is unfavOrable to walking, that
whereas in the moist air of the British
islands ten or twelve miles stretch is followed
by little OF no laSSitude and exhaustion, here
II Is otherwise: 1t may be So but non cOnStdt-
1t is not probable Sherman'S army, after their
long circuit through the south, came in fresh
and strong, with their muscles wonderfully
developed and strengthened. The talk about
the exhaustive quality of the American atmo'-
pherc Is weak invention of the enemy. Oar
atmosphere is the finest in the world, equal 10
that most pure and brilliant air of Athens,
native TO famous wits. OF hOSpitable," of
which the ancient Attic poet sings. 1t is inst
the thing wherewith to initiate The lungs and
feed the brain with sparkling and eXhiiarating
blood. Indeed, dui ing the greater part of the
year we may be said, ike the Old Athenans to
be always walking lin our case however. it
Should be riding through most luminous at
mos. here The experience of our soldiers,
and their fine and vigorous physical condition
after marches of almost unpara leed length
sufficiently dispose of the Islander agains
American air as unfavorabe to walking. This
being so, what excuse Is there for so much
riding, where walking wOu be every way
more conducive to our health and general
well being?
The reader of Rousseau's Confessions will
remember with what guS;O and lingering de
light ne dwells upon his many pedeStri IN ram
bles in youth amongst the inspiring scenery
OF Savoy and Switzerland. To read his glow
ing. account of his youthful and hayward
roslngs on loot Is enough to make one try the
experiment OF similar excursion. Rousseau
represents himself during his pedestrian
rambes as glowing with physical and mental
excitement, his mind inspired by the charm
ing rural scenes through which he was pas,
ing; being full of reveries or actively eng ged
in building castle in the air. In fact, one of
his works iSenti'led The Rereries Of q Wd,ker
Walking is indeed most exciting exercise, and
soon kindles glow in the hood, which i'm
parts delightful eXhilaratiOn to the mind
IN fact, the practiSed walker feels no sense of
"earineSs When his blood is fairly warmed up
but a pleasant excitement pervading MAD
and body both. We believe that our scholars
artists and writer's are getting to be grea
va ktrs, fully aware of the pleasure and
healihtuineSS OF the natural method OF LOGON,
ton. Thoreau set a good example in this
RESPECT. He was walker, an accom-
plished pedestrian, otherwise he coul.
never have become so Familiarity a.
quainted with Our natural scenery, and hi
writings would never nave been so thorough,
imhued with is spirit. If we are not mistaken
1t is getting to be fashionable for the SUDDEN
OF our academies. colleges and other seminal
d.
travel long distances to the mountains AMI
stashOre on foot, camping out at night, gipSy
like. This mode OF travel brings mel intD
close communion with nature and is m st
salutary in its effect. The readers of thu ife
OF Professor Wilson, by his daughter, viii re-
member with pleasure her account of the long
wife through the Highlands OF SEQ land, and
tlelr varied and sometimes ludicrOus expe-
riences. Wordsworth, the high priest of ma
ture, was great walker, so was De Q iincey,
q IL npnV md inSir ifoo fro r.,
George Sands C0nsueIO there is a most CHI nm
ing account of a journey on foot of the he
roine in company with Haydn, then a poor
and unknown youth, from Castle Rudolstadt
to Vienna There is a description of a similar
journey in ROuSSeau'S Confessions, made by
him in n company With b, Merceret, maid ser
to Fryburg in Switzerland.
From June to Indian Summer New England
is a fairy land to ramble over on foot. In the
height OF summer there Is portion of the d i,
when the wayfarer will find it convenient to
Shun the fervid heat, either under the shelter
OF a roadside roof or some wide spreading tree:
but even In midsummer there are many cool,
deWy hours, both at morning and at evening,
when a sufficient length of way may be ira
versed to answer every purpose of the Pc les
TRAN. HerOdOtus calls an accomplished walker
"a welcomed man" and expresses distance
by the length OF time it would occupy such
one to traverse them. Among the other iuci
cents OF foot travel Is most yoraciOus appe
tite; which is of i'self blessing in our own
land. Thirst can be quenced at short intervals
rom old Oaken buckets hanging in the
shadow of mighty elm trees. A draught
OF COenac is not interdicted to the pedes
trian, when he has drawn somewhat ex
tenSIvely upon his legs in climbing noun
talnS and performing other arduOuS exploits
Professor Wilson, who was giant in body AZ
well as in mind, after most exhaustive four
ney Oh foot, relates how he drank, to quench
the THU st caused by heat and travel, a whole
pan Of milk, dashed with bottle of Mountain
Dew, This was Cyclopean feat ndica ing
the vigorous nature of the man. To put your
self properly in communion wi h natural
scenery you must traverse it on foot Seen
from the window of a railcar, mountains
rivers, lakes, meadows and valleys form
sort of inrlistinguishable and flying panorama.
Unsatisfactory, mOmentary gimpSes are only
Afforded such as Faust caught i'm his wild gal
Top with Mephistopheles to the witch festival
in the HaIZ:
The limits If the sphere 81 dream
the bounds OF tue u d false past;
Lad us on, thou wandering glea IL,
Lead us onward far and fast.
To the wide, the desert waste
Blu, see hO~ swift advance and Shift,
TIees behind tree, row by row,
And cliff by eff: rOc6 q bend and lift
TheiI frcwDiDg fOreheads go:
Tire giant shouted crags no! h..
How they snort and how they blow!
Boston Courier
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