Pedestrian

“ From the fact that he was walking in that land where the distances are such that men most commonly ride, and from the many marks that environment and training leave upon us all, it was evident that the pedestrian was a stranger. He was a man in the prime of young manhood—tall and exceedingly well proportioned—and as he went forward along the dusty road he bore himself with the unconscious air of one more accustomed to crowded streets than to that rude and unpaved highway. ”

“ The teeming tenements open their doors, and out into the dark passageways and courts, through foul alleys and over broken sidewalks, flow ever renewed streams of playing children. Under the feet of passing horses, under the wheels of passing street-cars, jostled about by the pedestrian, driven on by the policeman, they annoy everyone. ”

“ I, for one, often longed to dismiss our waggon or barouche, and to follow his example.
One peculiar advantage of pedestrian travelling is the pleasure of a gradual approach to celebrated or beautiful places. Every turn of the road gains in interest; every object that meets the eye seems to have some initiative meaning; and when the object itself at last appears, nothing can surpass the delight of flinging one's self on the ground to rest upon the first impression, and to interpose a delicious pause before the final attainment. ”

“ The difficulties of locomotion kept the pedestrian’s eyes upon the ground, and the inconveniences, in making calls, of crossing ditches and stiles, and walking alternately upon grass and pavement, and striking across fields to reach a street, were more noticeable than the noble trees that lined the avenues. ”

“ Nothing remains but the centre, and that is constantly swarming with carriages, and carts, and barrows. The pedestrian must either wind himself through among their wheels, or clamber over successive piles of wood, or patiently wait till the centre of the street becomes passable for a few yards. ”

“ On the return trip, when portly gentlemen ascend on foot this very steep zigzag they pause occasionally to contemplate the beauties of nature and estimate the advantages of pedestrian exercise. Perhaps, also, when they have made the same observation two or three times, they begin to think it possible to carry pedestrian exercise to excess, and that a wire tramway would be convenient. ”

“ Early and constant practice gradually forms the pedestrian for the accomplishment of the greatest undertakings: but even in the common intercourse subsisting in society, facility of walking is requisite for individual conveniency and comfort. It should, therefore, be the study of people of all ranks, to adopt the best method of performing either short or long journies, by imitating the GAIT and MANNER of those celebrated men, who, of late years, have so eminently distinguished themselves in the annals of the sporting world. ”

“ You ask for your bearings of a member of the famous guardia civil, and the pair will solemnly march you to your destination; or the first pedestrian you meet proceeding in the opposite direction, faces about on the instant, and retraces his steps through the length or breadth of a town to put you on the right road. ”

“ A stern and pitiless prospect for the amateur pedestrian, to be sure; for devotees of the staff and pack have come to associate pedestrianism with the idyllic, and the idyllic nourishes only in a land of frequent showers. ”

“ That unhampered, vitally playing piece of anatomy is [Pg 222] the type of the pedestrian, man returned to first principles, in direct contact and intercourse with the earth and the elements, his faculties unsheathed, his mind plastic, his body toughened, his heart light, his soul dilated: while those cramped and distorted members in the calf and kid are the unfortunate wretches doomed to carriages and cushions. ”

“ Still, the pedestrian has need to keep a good lookout on the road, for where, in the absence of footways, men, women, children, vehicles, and horses move about in an inextricable jumble, it is a matter for wonder that accidents are not more frequent. ”

“ It is not to be denied that besides the mere exercise, pedestrians at home have great advantages over those who are too indolent or aristocratic to leave their equipages, because they can cut across green and quiet fields, enter rural by-ways, and enjoy a thousand little patches of lovely scenery that are secrets to the high-road traveller. But still the Calcutta pedestrian has also his gratifications. ”

“ In the meantime, the rider is getting closer and closer and is in a-351- study equally as profound as to what the person is going to do. The pedestrian takes a step forward, takes another glance up the street, stops, starts back, makes an effort to reach the pavement, stops again, starts forward, stops. ”

“ WOODS WALKING WITH A PACK THERE is a certain trick in learning the technique of walking outdoors. Unless one takes up pedestrianism to make the most of it he is not apt to perfect himself in an art universally practised in a slip shod fashion and yet which is one of the simplest functions of the human body. Just this careful attention to details is what distinguishes the pedestrian from the mere stroller. Indeed one must walk with the head as well as with the feet, studying to eliminate the faults of gait. ”

“ Quite often a pedestrian will notice, on going along one of our side streets, a young child, its eyes bubbling over with tears, and red from irritation and inflammation, who has strayed from its parents' residence. ”

“ The roads are certainly far from good, and anything in the shape of a walking tour is out of the question, for the strongest pedestrian would have all his pleasure spoilt by the hard-going of the long, straight causeway. ”

“ This celebrated pedestrian was born in the year 1736, at Horsforth, near Leeds, in Yorkshire. He was bred to the profession of the law, and was clerk to an attorney in New Inn, London. He was beat by West of Windsor, in walking forty miles on the western road, for a wager of forty guineas. He was, however, [48] a first-rate walker for either a long or a short journey; and his stature was no more than five feet eight inches; but his legs and thighs were stout, and well calculated for performances of this kind. ”

“ At all elevations of from 6000 to 11,000 feet, and not unfrequently for even 2000 feet more, the pedestrian enjoys a pleasurable feeling, imparted by the consciousness of existence, similar to that which is described as so fascinating by those who have become familiar with the desert-life of the East. ”

“ As one rides along in an automobile ascending an incline, if he closely observes at the moment the line of sight is just on the level of the pavement, he will often be rewarded by the sight of a mirage. An approaching pedestrian may have no feet (they are replaced by a bit of sky) and the distant pavement will appear to contain pools of water on its surface. ”

“ He started from the Angel Inn at Macclesfield, at twelve o’clock on Wednesday night, and arrived at the Swan with Two Necks, Ladlane, London, at twenty minutes past one on Saturday morning. This performance is remarkable from the age of the pedestrian, who walked at the rate of three miles, three furlongs, thirty-five perches, and 11/74ths feet per hour.
Long journies have been frequently performed at the rate of from fifty to eighty miles a day, for four, six, eight, ten, or more successive days, which have evinced the great strength and perseverance of the pedestrians. ”

“ That is, the pedestrian should be conscious that he is going in the direction in which he desires to go, and is not making a detour for the simple purpose of following the walk. Convenience should be the first thing to be considered. ”

“ When the object in view is the accomplishment of a pedestrian match, his regular exercise may be from twenty to twenty-four miles a day. He must rise at five in the morning, run half a mile at the top of his speed up-hill, and then walk six miles at a moderate pace, coming in about seven to breakfast, which should consist of beef-steaks or mutton-chops under-done, with stale bread and old beer. ”

“ Lay's achievements in pedestrianism, a mode of travel which he doubtless adopted partly because of the vigorous pleasure it afforded, partly because it was the only way in which to visit some sections of the country. A man who had walked from Fort Erie to Montreal, to say nothing of hundreds of miles done under pleasanter circumstances, would naturally take an interest in the pedestrian achievements of others. ”

“ In the mist the two were like the flitting figures of a fantasy. The road was still well filled with wains and pedestrians, following after those who had gone on ahead. The wains stopped; the pedestrians halted and gaped and gasped. ”

“ The great tide of human beings that have during the day thronged the thoroughfares, has partially subsided; but thousands of pedestrians are still bustling to and fro; while the din of carriages are heard on every street. ”

“ On and on we tore, slicing against the sidewalk, curving and jibbing, clattering and careening—now going on two wheels and now on four—while the lunatic shrieked curses of disappointment at the pedestrians who scuttled away to safety from our charging onslaughts ”

“ When the pedestrians emerged from the path on a very pretty country road the first objects that met their view were three stout waggons, drawn by strong horses and driven by bleary eyed men, noisy and profane of speech. ”

“ The avenue and the shops were brilliantly lighted, the street swarmed with vehicles, and the walkways at the level of the second stories were crowded with pedestrians.
We drove twice the full length of the avenue, enjoying the life and beauty of the scene; then we drove into one of the parking places, to which all of the ground floors on the main arteries are devoted, and were lifted by an escalator to the walkway on the level above. ”

“ The spacious roadway was filled with people from end to end--an eager, curious, excitable crowd. There were men, women, and children; but though it contained a sprinkling of persons of higher social rank, it was recruited mostly from that class which sees nothing objectionable in a crowd as such. Vehicular traffic was stopped. The police kept sufficient open space upon the pavement to permit of pedestrians passing to and fro. ”

“ Trees should be planted in all roads, and the chief roads should be arranged on the boulevard plan, allowing the utmost freedom to the pedestrian. A few spaces might be reserved for shelters, and the site for a bandstand might be timely chosen. ”

“ Edward Millen, in July the previous year, accomplished the same distance in twenty-three hours and twenty-five minutes.—But we shall have occasion afterwards to record more difficult performances than these; [56] and, in the meantime, shall take notice of the feats of such pedestrians as have evinced uncommon strength and agility, and who have been distinguished by walking a long distance in a short time.
In September this year (1812) , Jonathan Waring, a Lancashire pedestrian, performed one hundred and thirty-six miles in thirty-four hours, for a wager of one hundred guineas. ”

“ The pedestrian alone, of all travellers, is thus taken by the hand by Fortune. Your extra post, with a courier on the box, interferes sadly with the current of all those little incidents of the road which are ever happening to him who takes to the ‘byways’ of the world. ”

“ Here are no side walks for pedestrians who with an indifference born of long practice walk habitually in the middle of the roadway, moving leisurely to one side in obedience to the warning cries of the drivers, or patiently waiting and flattening themselves against the shop doors if two vehicles desire to pass one another. ”

“ All this is very ingenious; and we know one tolerable pedestrian who is also a Pedometrist. But no Pedometrician will ever make a fortune in a mountainous island, like Great Britain, where pedestrianism is indigenous to the soil. A good walker is as regular in his going as clock-work. He has his different paces—three, three and a half—four, four and a half—five, five and a half—six miles an hour—toe and heel. ”

“ Also keep your toes nearly straight when walking and expand the chest. In crossing a street, always look both ways, especially in a crowded thoroughfare, before attempting to cross. Most of the accidents to pedestrians are caused by people in a hurry, or impatient, and not obeying the traffic laws. When one is mindful of law one is always protected and safe. Now I wonder how many of you know the meaning of the coloured lights on the street lamps, or other places? How many girls are familiar with the signals of policemen, particularly the traffic squad? ”

“ There is a part of the day, between one and six, when it is actually a matter of risk for a pedestrian to cross the [119] streets. I live near Piccadilly, which is not wider than Broadway, if quite as wide, and I have occasion to cross it frequently. You know I am no laggard, and am not deficient in activity, and yet I find it convenient to make my first run towards a stand of coaches in the middle of the street, protected by which I take a fresh departure for the other side. ”

“ With all the care that had been observed in taking nothing with them that was not absolutely necessary, the poor pedestrians were heavily laden, and their burdens added to the fatigue of their rugged road. ”

“ After this happy and enviable stage of affairs has been reached the work becomes mechanical, and the pedestrian from time to time is enabled to put on spurts and dashed that would astonish himself at any other time when not up to thorough concert pitch. ”

“ The people were all in the streets, moving about, but no one moving rapidly; all active, but no one very active. As there are no vehicles, pedestrians occupy the whole street, which is covered with grass. ”

“ In the month of December 1808, Cross walked one hundred miles in nineteen hours and seventeen minutes on the Aberdeen road, near Stonehaven. He stands five feet and eight inches, is well made, and active, and may be considered a first-rate pedestrian. ”