Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-05-13
TRAVELLING.
The Benefits Resulting from Change of
Surroundings.

Ane BeneHGs Resulting from Change OF
Surroundings.
AS boy is pleased with whistle or
knife, and in youth finds delight with
either horse or a bicycle, SO in man
hood come the change of taste and ann
bition. The pleasures of twenty are
outlived at thirty, and at forty we are
looking through the tunnel to the light
at the other end, and not until very
much older, l believe, do we long for
the lost days of boyhood.
The years that seemed slow in pass
ing at twenty go by like fast coaches
before forty, and startle us like night
express at fifty.
The longing to keep young is an aver
age desire in SO many, that one who
could tell of land where youth is re-
newed would be hailed as leader with
a splendid following. And yet, to one
Injured to bleak and inclement eli
mates, a simple change to the milder
weather of Southern Missouri, Kansas,
New Mexico or California, will work
wonders III the renewing of youth
An air bath by travel and a new sur
rounding, provided one is employed
and cOntented, is one of the surest
means of reviving lost energy and in
creasing vitality. The wine-like winds
of travel-for nothing is so much like
it, in stimulating vigor, as the swift
draughts of air one inhales by contrast
of climates-is of all things intoxicat-
ing to the senses. We feel the world
10 10
full, and of all things to the debilitated,
travel is the key to happiness.
Travel breaks up our narroWness,
enlarges our love of enjoyment, in
creases our belief in improvements,
revives our recollections and enlarges
our views of others. It does more. It
adds new life to the old one, and
brings to the newer the right to live
over the other, and fulfills the longing
to be boy again, for travel in a
strange and romantic country is to be-
gin life anew; and settling for season
in some fair valley ("where the smile
of the Creator is crystalized on the
landscape'') or in some city of refine
ment, is world that before was un-
discovered.
AS an aid to conversation and a
theme of general use in business or
pleasure, it is broad and Instructive; as
means OF learning history it is be-
yOnd all books, maps and teachers; for
acquiring knowledge it is rare expert
ence. ''He is a wise man who has
known many men, seen many cities.''
The influence of travel on reading,
love of learning and general advantage
over information gained in books, need
not be urged to enforce its meaning.
We all know that the more one learns
the more he will learn, and fact once
last all descriptions.
From 3fhe chances of trade and the
changeSfo of business, we often meet men
andWomen who have seen better days,
whose ample fortune once afforded the
luxury of ease and comfort. Notably
is this true of the once wealthy planters
at the South, who have lost in the vor-
tex of commerce, and the tide of affairs,
the means that had furnished many
feast Of enjoyment whose present
chief solace is the fond recollection Of
what was theirs so long in reality and
is now only cherished in memory.
From these we may learn that next To
our nearest friendships will ever be ths
gain and profit Of strange lands visited,
fortunes enjoyed and fond scenes rs-
membered.
And what, after all, is life but littIs
journey IN a strange land, with a few
companions, less friends, a flying train,
a halt at the little stations, rest and.a
recollection of what we have seen,
known and enjoyed most as we Travelled,
even though they may be unpossessed Of
like impressions and surroundings.
The chief gain Of travel is that means
of making one at home with the many
classes of associates who read from tEfB
start that one Of easy manners has 3
least some superior knowledge of tks
world. Then, too, the pleasures Of
contemplation must ever be a soure9
of companionship, and one that has
travelled many miles with attention VIII
have mind well stored with natural
paintings and pleasant places to recall
at leisure and enjoy when alone.
The enlargement of the mind on see
ing the growth of great cities, the pro
gress of vast Improvements in mechap-
ism and arts, with the still greater
wonder at the works of nature as seen
in rivers and mountains, valleys i$a
Harper's Ferry and the Yosemite, faIh
like Niagara, the grander sights of the
Yellowstone, are all themes to contem-
plate, enlighten and inspire. BooRI
and paintings can never wholly define
them. w. DonoUa7a, IN Current.
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