Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-12

the conventions which have been set
up as the standard of proper conduct.
may be called lawlessness. When II
breaks away from the conventions
but does not otherwise make war
upon them. it is sometimes called
vagabondage. When 1t breaks away
from conventions. argues against
them. scorns them and seeks to per-
suade other people that conventions
are a set Of rusty letters it may be
called revolution, heterodoxy. icono-
clasm or what not. If man breaks
away from some conventions but from
not enough OF them to divorce him.
self from the fellowship of ordinary
men he may have applied to him sew
eral epithets, II his trousers are
frayed. his coat ragged and his
pockets empty he may be called a
crank or an addlepate; If his clothes
are not very seedy but need pressing
he may be only a visionary; If his
clothes do not show too much wear
and tear he may be looked on as an
advanced thinker and herald of re-
form, and IL his trousers are creased
his hair long, and let's his eyes shine
with dreamy and prophetic light he
may be called genius:
One manifestation of the spirit off,
uSVOtiOIl 10 the Wllu, Tree ire Is INC
call Of the great outdoors. If man
listens too intently to that call, heeds
It and forgets his work. he is mere
tramp. IL he heed 1t only when his
indoor work is done he may call him
self lover of nature" That is a
phrase sadly Incorporated by some
persons whose love OF nature extends
20 further than their desire to talk
About 1t. The call Of the outdoors
sounds loud and clear to some men
And thew III Snrinp daVa
And winter days. The call merely
whispers to some men. They do not
hear 1t unless the sun shines genialIy
end the air is balmy. They would
Tough trail. They would have the
rude old rocks, the fallen logs and
the briars taken from the path.
The Rambler has heard wise men
say that those to whom the call of
the outdoors comes only on pleasant
days in May are the most persistent
persons in speaking Of their love OF
nature. their fondness for the fields.
their worship Of the woods and their
rapture for the rocks. rills, ravines.
roads, rivers, rhododendron and all
that sort of thing. The Rambler has
met people who are eloquent on the
subject of birds and wild howNrs
who cannot distinguish between
buxzard and a turtle dove, or be>
tween the gentle pansy and the fetid
purple blossom of the jimpson weed.
dote on long vistas, tall scenery and
such. and am perfectly crazy over
walking" yet who will not let their
feet stray two blocks from trolley
car. 1t is conversational habit with
some Of our friends. to talk about
what they like or what they would
have others think they like. And it
sounds so much more impressive to
say that they dote on nature, music.
paintings. etchings.. books and new
are perfectly crazy about nut sun
daes. cream puffs. bonbons. dill pick
les or pigsfeet.
The day on which the Rambler
narrative Is based was a cold, rainy,
played around the shoetops and
rushed up the sleeves Of an over
coat which, like so many persons,
has seen better days. The wind wind
and ears. Shoes may be made water
proof, but they cease to have that
virtue when Maryland or Virginia
roads wear holes in them. 1t was
and wind through that part Of the
Goose creek country. in Loudoun
county, few miles west of Wash
fngton, still called 1.-The forest"
though not so worthy of it's name
as 1t was a century ago. The word
'.forest" was much used by our an
cestors There was a good deal more
of it to talk about than there is now.
we moderns have come to use for
est In rather a poetic sense, but to
our ancestors "the forest" stood for
danger, loneliness. Indians, outlaws.
hard travelling and rough living. To
them there was nothing suggestive
If poetry in "the forest"
At one time all the wild country
north of the st. Marys river, in Mary.
land, and north. south and west or
Jamestown Island, in the James. was
called ,"the forest" The wilderness
receded toward the north and west
as the sturdy pioneers chopped out
big clearings for their farms. But, Gu
rfously, the words 'the forest" per-
sist in relation to two tracts OF coun-
try near Washington. One is In Prince
Georges county, Nd, between Wash
1ngton and Marlboro. and one of the
hamlets in that tract is Forestville,
which sprawls itself along the pike
over which so many Washington peo-
pie dash In their fast cars while trav-
cling between the capital of the ma
tion and the capital of old Prince
Georges county.
No one can mark the bounds of the