That was indeed a day in the woods, and I believe every
one there knew how to enjoy it. How different it is from people in a
town here, who go out to the country for a pic-nic! A citizen thinks
the pleasure of gipseying, as they call it in England, consists solely
in the abundance and variety of the viands, the quality and quantity
of the wines, and as near an approach to a city dinner as it is
possible to have, where there are neither tables, chairs, sideboards,
nor removes. He selects his place for the encampment in the first
opening adjoining the clearing, as it commands a noble view of the
harbour, and there is grass enough to recline upon. The woods are
gloomy, the footing is slippery, and there is nothing to be seen in a
forest but trees, windfalls which are difficult to climb, and boggy
ground that wets your feet, and makes you feel uncomfortable. The
limbs are eternally knocking your hat off, and the spruce gum ruins
your clothes, while ladies, like sheep, are for ever leaving fragments
of their dress on every bush. He chooses the skirts of the forest
therefore, the background is a glorious wood, and the foreground is
diversified by the shipping. The o-heave-o of the sailors, as it rises
and falls in the distance, is music to his ears, and suggestive of
agreeable reflections, or profitable conversation peculiarly
appropriate to the place and the occasion.
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