Instructions in All Kinds of Gymnastic Exercises (extract)

4 minished in a surprising degree, and, at length, very great distances may be passed over on foot without any failure of the strength at the end of the walk, or painful exertion in the course of it. The true pe­ destrianwill come in after a walk of twenty miles to breakfast with freshness on his countenance, healthy blood coursing in his veins, and vigour in every limb, while the in­ dolent and inactive man painfully creeps over a mile or two, and returns to a dinner which his stomachcannot digest. And this, to say nothing of the independence which a power of walking great distances confers upon the pedestrian; he is tied down to the time of no stage-coach, and indebted to no friend for a carriage, or a horseunwillingly lent; and at the same time he not only en­ joys the beauties of the country through which he passes with a greater relish, but also sees infinitely more of it than the man who thinks an hour's walk a great achieve­ ment. In one of Mr. Wordsworth's poems there are some lines on the Pleasures of the P EDESTRIAN, SO beautiful in themselves, and so applicable to the subject of this chapter, that we shall make no apology for quoting them.