UP THE LINE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2762, 20 February 1907, Page 79

UP THE LINE.

By W. R. Sinclair.

«» THE WEEK-END TRIPPER.

I '' Idly busy rolls their world away." — Goldsmith. When the Tuggses, expansively newrich, went to Margate their confidence in . the ingenuousness of their fellow-man, and more particularly their fellow-woman in the guise of the dashing captain's soulful lady, received a woeful shock and a costly, ' and the guileless Cymon Tuggs learned ■ that they who at the seaside place their trust — yea, even their platonic trust — in other men's wives shall be mulcted in much dollars. Up the line it is different : our watering places, though aspiring, have yet to attain the dignity of supporting a real live adventuress. Meanwhilej despite this deficiency, our wayside resorts thrive and attract their moiety of town folks. Time was when the seaside or country i residence, with all its suggestion of I luxury and leisure, was regarded as one j of those privileges which, because of the tarrying of the Socialist's millenium, were denied to all save the wealthy and — consequently — undeserving. That this idea has been exploded may be verified any Saturday between the months of November and April. During that period the penny-a-mile Dunedin to Palmerston excur- ! sion train carries every Saturday a full I complement of week-end trippers who for , the most part may claim to be at least ' part proprietors of country residences, although they might — with exceptions — ' find it difficult to support a claim to be j wealthy. Like the trippers themselves these residences furnish a motley assortment, ranging from the tautly-pitched i "eight by ten" and the one-roomed "crib" lined with bunks to the wellequipped six-roomed villa on a snuglyhedged and nicely cultivated section. At the beginning of the school vacation the married tripper transports the household to his seaside quarters, where the younger members say farewell to shoes and hose, and, as far as permitted, soap and other inflictions of civilisation especially designed for the discomfiture of children. During the week "the pater" dines in town and, incidentally, spends his evenings in the varied and interesting ways suggested by his personal tastes and the absence of lestraint. But on Saturday, weighted with sundry purchases for the replenishing of the larder, and bearing mother's garden hat and gossamer (forgotten in the hurry of packing)* likewise Tommy's second best pantaloons, to replace Tommy's third best pantaloons, no longer capable of a bullseye, likewise a supply of fruit and sweets, he makes his | dash for the 1.50 train, to rejoin his family until Monday morning. At comparatively sniitll cost tbe head of the , family is thus enabled to give his wife and children the benefits and delights of at least six weeks' change every year, and at the same time participate in the outing. The healthful effect of such annual vacations can readily be imagined. But there are trippers much more interesting than the merely married. A host of young bachelors and older ones ha\e "cribs" or tents of their own or lent cottages along the line, and many of them ha\ c been familiar figures on the week end excursion train for years. It io not that thc^e young men are longer in pmse than the maob of their fpllows who do Saturday and Sunday in town. | Indeed, it is alleged against some tliat the seaside excursion is an expedient to escape tlio Saturday night expenditure, although wh'ther oi not this escape is accounted to I hem for righteousness is iiot made clnar. I Then there is tlie female week-ender in oMights >nic vaiiety. During G'hiistmas time ••he is Diost in e\idence, asserting the 'pn/Kiple of equality In- conducting; a camp, with companions like-minded, in the same way as does her brother. The daughter w hose employment in the city im- ' poses hS limitations in' the matter of leisure ' mmes up with the Saturday train, and,] th.irgcd with the absorbing dotails of the social happenings of the week, is a welcome diversion to iho pleasant monotony of the family. The visitor, who is ' being tieated by the lord — or part lord — ' of the country manor to an occasional outing, is always apparent. With startling candour, and in that hightoned public manner of speech which is ! at once .in evidence of social stand- I ing, she informs her neighbours and all others who may without effort become I listeners, that she loves the country, the green fields, and all that, but she simply detests living there for more than a day. ( Mostly, however, the visitor is made , conspicuous" without his own effort. He provides an excellent subject upon which his host may \entilate his intimate know- . ledge of the wayside and the people. At the direction of his guide the guest j must remark sagely upon the progress of operations at the new dock site; he must express the delight he would fain be content to silently enjoy as the train ' winds above beautiful veidant gullies, [ where exquisite seascapes are disclosed at every bend ; and he must listen to tiresome details concerning the lineal measurements of " the long tunnel." j But he has compensation in the way I of personal gossip, which is poured into ' his private ear at convenient and appropriate intervals. The group of men, j whose intensely earnest faces and grave converse afford reasonable excuse for your erroneous supposition, are not the members of the Defence Council discussing the international situation, but merely a party of bowlers theorising as they journey to enjoy the hospitality of an ardent brother whose country house at Warrington is equipped with a bowling green as well as a tennis court. The young man. whose solemn featuies are in ill nn-ord with the instrument of music he beais. and Lhe ample young»man in the well filled iiiey tweeclg have been.

Sunday residents of Puketiraki for years ; the bright girl with the vivacious, merry eyes knows most of the regular travellers, and is irresistibly popular ; the youth, with the cigar and the incipient moustache provokes the reflection that his enjoyment would be less keen! J were he deprived of his aggressive' ! assurance of the effectiveness of his ! swagger Norfolk suit. Putting to the best account the offices of his guide, the newcomer rapidly " evolutes " and in a> few weeks is as merciless towards the next novice as though there had been no chastening experience. There is surely absolution for us ifi we sometimes grow aweary of the eternaff reiteration anent the Britisher taking hi* pleasures sadly. At the least, whether, sadly or otherwise, he takes his pleasures, and it may not be a cardinal offence thatf he should feel exhilaration without* whooping or hurtling his hat skywards On our train the absence of boisterous mirth is not in the least depressing. Am. air of quiet and reasonable pleasure andf anticipation is prevalent. But to-dayi there is an illuminating interlude. Ash the moment of departure is approached! two persons Tush wildly in and depositij themselves in separate heaps on eithe<y side of the disturbed compartment. The^l man, a spare insignificant figure, a straggling side whisker, immediately^ commences, with all the unconventionality. of established wedlock, to publicly up-} braid his dame for having almostj travelled by the wrong train. The good] lady, also unconventional, and nothing, awed, debates with some spirit, though mi better taste than her lord. The unwed} gaze in pained concern ; the married pas-* senger in the corner throws an indifferent^ glance and returns to his paper, and thq( belligerents subside without retreat oii either side. Each wayside station has its little knopi of folk awaiting the arrival of friends*.. i and as the train draws placidly in (ark expression more vigorous would malign)) the conscientious officials) wives greeti husbands, children greet parents, anco maidens greet young men — each mi] manner appropriate to the age and rela-2 tionship, — and as the group melts awayw I parcel-laden and chattering gaily, the! train moves off. and the remaining pas 4 sengers settle down pending the repeti-^ j tion of the interesting little scene when)/ the next stopping-place is reached. Ata I one station a farmer's cart is in waiting j to convey the week-enders to their house} nearer the beach ; at another a picA , turesque little brown donkey with pack baskets crops the wayside grass and ( winks knowingly with alternate ears afi the through passengers. Further on it is a coal-cart that is backed in to received the excursionists' luggage. „ How does the tripper pass his time 5 Boating, fishing, spearing, shooting, foot* ball, cricket, golf, tennis, bowls — all are( included in the forms of re-creation ins dulged in up the line, and from such aj wide selection it is not difficult to fin<3| something congenial. At one beach a/ party had mapped out a lawn tennii , court on the hard smooth sand, and en-4 t joyed their pastime for several hours in] j the day. Bathing is one of the most popu-i i lar attractions. There being no one to ap-i ' portion the hours for ladies and gentle-Y men respectively, the sexes are discreetlw separated by an imaginary line on the( , beach, and although most have to con-;-trivc a furtive disrobing in the illusive' J shelter of a sandhill, simultaneous bathing} lis largely indulged in. The more sea-) soned and less vigoious tripper provides^ hui'-self with books, and is more thanfj -content to lounge i" the shade in company^ ; with his favourite authors. The literature of the camps is according to the tastes ofs J tlie dwellers. On the" train I have seen 1 Scott, Mrs Bezant, CoreHi, DickensJ Reado, Doyle, Shakespeare, ChurchiPJ Dumas, the Bulletin, magazines, coiniuj (papers, and so on — a mixture wild an* ' t diverse enough in all conscience, ifaeckcfi, and Darwin may aleo have been there „^ | although I did * not happen to observe^ them. I In most of the villages up the linp thei'M is but one religious service each Sunday, , and if the chapel lie within reafonabl^i distance many of the trippers aie found 'therein. Sundaj r in these holiday districts^ is not the boisterous and ungodly day thafcV m?ny good people imagine it to bo. The! , t>ervk.e may be Anglican, PresbyterLm, oi4 Wejsleyan in turn, but the same peoploj may be found in attendance no matter^ under what sect the service is con-, ducted, and doubtless the true worbhippen finds the God 6pirit in either communior.jj Open-air services on the beach are pr->*j jected by some folk, but so far no plat* has been put into operation. Does the tripper not grow weary of h'^ constant peregrinations to the seahide.j and lose the sense of change? A discreet? railway management provides against the] latter possibility. Each Saturday the week-ender's train is- dispatched one , carriage short of actual requirements, and' tlius the tripper, as he stands on the" platform, or 6its wedged uncomfortably^ with his fellow beings, cannot disassocia'3 his circumstances from the holiday spirit., On Monday morning the early traveller, is treated to an exciting series of sprint?' runs as the train approaches the vaiious 1 resorts, and many excellent performances wculd be recorded if time and distance 1 could be adjusted a.s the camper, colh>r in one hand and sausage in the othc-r, makes his desperate effort for the tiain. Yet the tripper embaiks ■cheerfully, n.aJ:-' ing merry over his exertions, and goes to his daily giind the moie gaily and contentedly that he has tasted, for e\en n, brief space, the delights of life dote to Natme, where " Sweet 13 all tie land about, and all the flowers that blow."