Page:A protest against the extension of railways in the Lake District - Somervell (1876).djvu/29

 judicious use of their opportunities, and by varying the point of entrance, see a great part of the district.

The imputation of selfishness is always an easy and popular mode of attack, and so it is hardly surprising that the old cry should be raised, that our object is to keep the district 'select,' and to bar the way against the crowds of 'excursionists.' Such charges cannot be too warmly repudiated. For my own part I cannot help thinking that it would add greatly to the comfort and pleasure of the humbler classes of society if our benevolent Railway Companies would grant them special facilities for making cheap excursions at any time, by the regular trains, instead of packing them closely in old rolling-stock, and shortening the time of their enjoyment by an irregular and often tediously prolonged journey. But upon the present system—indeed, perhaps, upon any system, on public holidays—crowds are inevitable; and we bid them very heartily 'Welcome.' As has been said elsewhere, 'It is not to guard that district in the interest of a small section of society, but to preserve it for those—and they are found in every rank—who can enjoy its unsullied natural loveliness, that this movement has been set on foot.'

There are no doubt places which a pedestrian, starting from the railway station, can scarcely visit in a day of nine or ten hours. But, of the persons who have only such intervals at their disposal, those who