The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-04-04

| rily behind tho back door. AS Tor myseI, ]
took to the nomad life as naturally as II
had never in my life been in n civilized habl
tation. To DO able to go where one pleased
to dawdle as ono plcases, to stop and SLEEP
where one pleased, was certainly new sen
sation. Ny friends, observing my sluggish
WAYS, had often compared me to that inter
esting creature, the snail; now the reSem
blance was complete, for was snail lndeei
with my house comfortably fixed upon my
shoulders, crawling TRANQUILITY along.
"Of course the caravan has its inconveni
ences. Inside, to quote the elegant sinnle Of
our progenitors, there is scarcely room enough
| TO swing cat in; and when my bed is made
| and Tins hammock is swung just inside the
door, tho place forms the tiniest of sleeping
chambers. Then our cooking arrangements
are primitive, and, as Tim has no idea what
ever in the culinary art, beyond being able to
boil potatoes in their skins and make very
doubtful 'strabout, there is certain want
Of variety in our repasts.
"Bcsiles the Inconvenience which have
mentioned, but which were, perhaps, hardly
worth chronicliug, the caravan has soclal
drawbacks, more particularly embarrassing
to a modest man like myself. 1t is confusing,
for example, on entering town, or good
sized village, to be surrounded by the entire
juvenile population who cheer us vociferously
under the impression that we Constitute a
show and afterward, on ascertaininS their
mistake, pursue us with opprobrious Jeers
and it is distressing to remark that our mode
Of life, instead of inviting confidence, causes us
to be regarded with suspicion by the vicar OF
the parish and the local policemen. We are
exposed, moreover, to ebullitions OF DucoAc
humor, which have taken the form OF horse
pay on moro than one occasion. Inn mas
lad several fights with the Welsh pcasantry,
and has generally come Off victorious, though
on one occasion he would have been over
powered by numbers if had not gone to his
assistance. Generally speaking, nothing Will
remove from the rural population an idea
that the caravan forms an exhibition OF some
sort. When | airily alight and stroll through
a village, sketchbook in hand, / have inva-
riably at my heels u long attendant train of
all ages, obviously under the impression that
nm looking for suitable pitch, and am
going to perform
"To avoid these and similar Inconvenience,
we generally halt for the night in some Sc
cluded spot-some roadside nook or outlying
common. But there is q fatal attraction in
the caravan; it seems to draw spectators, "a
it were, out OF the very bowels of the earth.
No matter how desolate the place we have
chosen, we have scarcely made ourselves
comfortable when an audience gathers, and
stragglers drop in, amazed and open-mouthcd.
found It irksome at first to paint in the open
air, with gazing crowd at my back making
audible comments on my work as it pro-
gressed but soon got used to it, and, hay
ing discovered certain good Subjects here
and there among my visitors, take the pub
licity now as q matter Of course. Even when
busy inside | am never astonished to see
strange noses flattened against tho windows
strange faces peeping in at the door. The
human temperament accustoms itself to any
thing.
II begin this record in the Island Of Angle
sea, where we have arrived after our fort
nights wanderings in the more mountainous
districts Of the mainland. Anglesca, am in
formed, is chiefly famous for its pigs and
its wild ducks. So far as have yet explored
il find it fiat and desolate enough; but /
have been educated in Irish landscapes, and
don't object to fatness when combined with
desolation. l like these dreary meadows,
these bleak stretches of melancholy moor
land, these wild lakes and lagoons.
"At the present moment am encamped in
spot where, in all probability, l shall re-
main for days. came upon it quite by &C
cident about midday yesterday, when on my
way to tho market town of Pencroes; or,
rather, when imagined that was going
thither, while had, in reality, after hesitat-
ing at three cross-r roads, taken the road which
led in exactly the opposite direction. The
way was desolate and dreary beyond meas
ure-stretches Of morass and moorland on
every side, occasionally rising into heathery
knolls or hillocks, or strewcd with huge
pieces Of stones like the moors Of Cornwall.
Presently the open moorland ended
and we entered region Of sandy
hillocks, sparsely ornamented here and
there with long, harsh grass. If one
could imagine the waves of the ocean, al
some moment of wild agitation, suddenly
frozen to stiffness, and returning intact these
tempestuous forms, it would give some idea
of the hilocks | am describing. They rose OF
every side of the road, completely shutting
out tho view, and their PALE livid yellow
ness, scarcely relieved with a glimpse OF
greenncss, was weariSome and lonely In the
extreme. AS we advanced among them, The
road we were pursuing grew worse anc
worse, till it became SO chOked and covered
with drifted sand as to be scarcely rccogniz
able, and | need hardly say that it was hare
work for enc horse to pull the caravan along
eve had proceeded in this manner fol
some miles, and | was beginning to realize
the fact that we were out of our reckoning
when, suddenly emerging from between two
sandhillS, saw wide stretch of green mca
dow land, and beyond it a gloritied piece OF
water. The sun was shining brightly, the
water sparkled like a mirror, calm as glass
and without breath AS we appeared q
large heron rose from the spot on the water
side where he had been standing
Still as a stone, without a sound,
Above his dim blue shade
and sailed leisurely away. Around the lake
which was about mile in circumference, tn,
road ran winding, till it reached the farther
side, where more sandhills began; but be
tween these sandhills l caught sparkling
glimpse of more water, and, guided to my
conclusion by the red sail of fishing smacl
Just glimmering on the horizon line, l knew
that farther water was-the sea.
1.-THE spot had all the attraction OF com
plete desolation, combined with the charm
which always, to my mind, pertains to lake
and lagoons. Eager ms boy or n loosenet
retriever, | ran across the meadow and founC
~ a