Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-07-15
A COMFORTABLE COUNTRY AM
MUCH ENJOYED.
Rambles in Epping Forest


London Letter in Boston Herald. n.
summer Saturdays, on Sundays and an
holidays thousands of trippers On =
Epping forest. They come down ~
train loads and wagon loads. and ma.
Of them bring the days provendar 4
/ hampers, baskets and bags and b,n
dies; from which as t.re custom NJ A..
country is, the jovial jug and the fos
tive bottle are not wanting, and tba
alluring cask is often conveyed undo.
! the coachman's seat But no na4+o.
how many thousands of holiday-makar.
go to Epping forest, there are alwars
hooks enough for quiet and for graa
dom from intrusion. The best placas
in the woods have, like the best pIacs,
elsewhere, to be searched for. and
when found, they should be noted for
| further use.
1 went down the other day to visit
| William Westall, the novelist. wbo
lives in a cozy cottage at High Beech
with the loveliest portion Of the for.
est in front of his windows and tho
whole range of it, as he says. for his
private park. 1t was like being In
some remote place in the AIidlands. or
some pretty isolated spot in rolling
Devon. We trudged in the forest half
a day and we were ever coming uDon
new beauties of woodland and surprises
of landscape The whole thing was
revelation. l had previously shared the
usual notions of London with regard 10
Epping forest, but this first visit dis
persed them all When a day or two
later I heard a friend say that ne had
driven through the forest and had seen
| no tree larger than a sapling. and no
wilderness beside scrubby underbrush.
I nfolded to him a tale Of my own
tramping there which he could not
reconcile with his own experience on
the top Of a coach. But it was easy
then to understand how it Is that the
average Londoner knows so little about
the place. / vent here on a Saturday.
The trains We're well laden, and the
roads are well ground under the heels
and wheels Of hglf-hOlday Cockneys.
1 There must have been several thou.
sands picnicking in the forest. In some
places we could hear them, and
at some places we could see them
But few strides would take us out
Of sight and out of hearing, and we
might have been so or 100 miles away
from any living creatures-except the
birds, the insects, or an occasional
Strolling COW.
Epping itself Is = curious little town
with an inn, | should think, to every
inhabitant. 1t is a droll, sleepy place
where nobody goes and where nothing
is done. Waltham pronounced wal
tam'O abbey is not in the forest, but
/ you get a glimpse of it from High
Beech, and somebody reminds you that
the dust of Harold, the last of the
Saxon kings lies buried there. Then
there is the fiat land Of Wanstead,
and the pretty land of Woodfori.
4 But one does not care a button for
the villages The forest is our concern.
1t was wise on the part Of the city
fathers to leave the forest in a state
Of nature. But it is a pity since they
made roads that they did not make
good roads. The only bad roads have
seen in England are in the forest, But
/ they are bad only by comparison with
the other English roads. They would
I be thought amazing fine in the rural
4 parts Of most of our states.
There Is any amount of delightful
woodland scenery in Epping forest It
/ is old -y,orId f,ros+rr~ oItnro+ba,, 1nlfkn
our own. There are glades here like
/ old Noman churches, and groves like
gothic cathedral nayes As for foliage
there were never such masses Of shift
ing green outside Of these inlands. And
tn forest is alive with singing birds
There are great populations Of night
ingales, and from the neighbOring fields
the larks mount clamoring.
The forest is set in a pretty country,
and you can reach it in half an hour
by the train. East Enders though
are fond Of going down by road one
does not see innumerahle wagon loaos
of hard listed, STR .5-voiced towns
people moving countly-ward from our
American cities for a days outing. BuI
here the sight is common enough. Part
Of the pleasure of living in Englanu
comes in these road jaunts winch
everybody takes, In one way O. anOlliel'
In America we would prefer elecu'o
cars, and by so much miss the run o.
the fair. But then we have not the
good roads, and if we had them W.
should still be without the snug INNS
In England there is always the I'M
and the meat and drink; and one OF d
hundred and one, can jaunt without
taking thought where he may mul-I
and rest. 1t is a very con- 'ortable coun
try, and you would think so Il yo-
could see the East Enders making tut
Epping forest.