Algernon Blackwood

“ So many turns of the paddle are necessary before the bows answer. Perhaps the current meanwhile is sweeping you sideways, or a whirlpool jumps up under the boat, or you strike a back-eddy, or something strange happens to complicate the impetus and direction of the boat, and, lo! she does not answer to your stroke. You have to lift the huge paddle and strain every muscle again to repeat your stroke and bring her round. In the end she always comes round, but if a rock, or a bridge, or a rapid is close upon you, this loss of time is a serious matter! ”

“ The subject of tents, of course, is a big one, and the result of my own experience in many kinds is that the gipsy tent, which can be made by any boy himself, is the best, cheapest, and most comfortable one in the world. ”

“ In narrow parts they are a real danger, for they are not on the look out for small craft, and, besides, have all they can do to steer themselves. The barges in tow make big waves, and once, when we were caught in a narrow sideway, the old punt jumped about in a way that amused us vastly until we took a wave in over the side and ran the risk of soaking our bread and potatoes before we were ready for them. ”

“ It is the net result of generations of camping out by the gipsies, and gipsies know their business. It gives more room than any other kind, for the sides bulge outwards, and it is less likely to blow down. On this particular occasion, however, having to start at a day’s notice, and having the little A tents ready to hand, we elected to lose no time making new tents, but to start with what we had.
At Ulm, the sight of the Danube tearing and foaming along in its great sweep through the town filled us with delight. ”

“ We bought our tents in London⁠—ordinary little A tents, with pegs and poles to cut wherever we happened to be in camp⁠—and cork mattresses, and mackintosh groundsheets to put under them, and good warm blankets to put over ourselves, and then took the train for Ulm. Our boat we hoped to buy in Ulm. These purchases were not very expensive. Cork mattresses, that ought to last a careful man a lifetime, cost about 8s., and ground sheets, with holes round the edges to pass string through when using them to wrap up kit in, can be bought for a few shillings. ”

“ The sight of two tents and four foreigners without passports was often too much for their equanimity, and they would threaten to arrest us and hold our baggage till we could prove who we were and show that our intentions were not dangerous to the great German Empire. ”