Is a certain forerunner of Sorrow.
With the experience gained in our walk the previous year, we decided to
reduce our equipment to the lowest possible limit, as every ounce had to
be carried personally, and it became a question not of how much luggage
we should take, but of how little; even maps were voted off as
encumbrances, and in place of these we resolved to rely upon our own
judgment, and the result of local inquiries, as we travelled from one
great object of interest to another, but as these were often widely
apart, as might be supposed, our route developed into one of a somewhat
haphazard and zigzag character, and very far from the straight line.
We each purchased a strong, black leather handbag, which could either be
carried by hand or suspended over the shoulder at the end of a stick,
and in these we packed our personal and general luggage; in addition we
carried a set of overalls, including leggings, and armed ourselves with
stout oaken sticks, or cudgels, specially selected by our local fencing
master. They were heavily ferruled by the village blacksmith, for,
although we were men of peace, we thought it advisable to provide
against what were known as single-stick encounters, which were then by
no means uncommon, and as curved handles would have been unsuitable in
the event of our having to use them either for defensive or offensive
purposes, ours were selected with naturally formed knobs at the upper
end.
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