So Mr. Symonds departed, promising to set all possible wheels to work,
and to inform me of the earliest opportunity for a start, the first
_desideratum_ being, of course, a reliable guide.
I cannot say that the hours of my detention hung heavily. The social
attractions of the place were ample enough to fill up afternoons and
evenings right pleasantly. In the mornings, whenever the weather was not
pitilessly bad, I rode or drove through the country round.
I think no one understands the full luxury of rapid motion without
bodily exertion, till they have sat behind a pair of first-class
American trotters. The "wagon," to begin with, is a mechanical triumph.
It is wonderful to see such lightness combined with such strength and
stability. I have seen one, after five years' constant usage over
fearfully bad roads. It was owned by a man noted for reckless pace,
where many Jehus drove furiously; not a bolt or joint had started, the
hickory of shafts and spokes still seemed tough as hammered steel. These
carriages are roomy enough, and fairly comfortable, when you are in
them, but that same entrance is apt rather to puzzle a stranger. The
fore and hind wheels are nearly the same height, and set very close
together; even when the fore-carriage is turned so that they nearly
lock, the space left for ascent between them is narrow indeed; this same
arrangement renders, of course, impossible a sudden turn in a contracted
circle.
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