There is hardly anything that shows the short·—sightedness or capriciousness of the imagination more than travelling does．With change of place we change our ideas；nay，our opinions and feelings．We can by an effort indeed transport ourselves to old and long-forgotten scenes，andthen the picture of the mind revives again；but we forget those that we have iust left．It seems that we can think but of one place at a time．The canvas of the fancy iS but of a certain extent，and if we paint one set of objects upon it，they immediately efface every other．We cannot enlarge our conceptions，we only shift our point of view．The landscape bares its bosom to the enraptured eye，we take our fill of it，and seem as if we could form on other image of beauty or grandeur．We pass on，and think no more of it，the horizon that shuts it from our sight，also blots if from our memory like a dream．In traveling through a wild barren country I can form no idea of a woody and cultivated one．It appears to me that all the world must be barren，like what I see of it．In the country we forget the town，and in town we despise the country．“Beyond Hyde Park，’’says Sir Fopling Flutter，“all is a dese~．’’All that part of the map that we do not see before US is a blank．The world in our conceit of it is not much bigger than a nutshell．It is not one prospect expanded into another，county joined to county，kingdom to kingdom，lands to seas，****** an image voluminous and vast；——the mind can form no larger idea of space than the eye can take in at a single glance．The rest is a name written in S map，a calculation of arithmetic．For instance，what is the true signification of that immense mass of territory and population known by the name of China to us?An inch of pasteboard on a wooden globe，of no more account than C China orange!Things near us are seen of the size of life；things at a distance are diminished to the size of the understanding．We measure the universe by ourselves，and even comprehend the texture of our being only piece-meal．In this way，however，we remember an infinity of things and places．The mind is like a mechanical instrument that plays a great variety of tunes，but it must play them in succession．One idea recalls another．but it at the same time excludes a11 others．In trying to renew old recollections，we cannot as it were unfold the whole|web of our existence；we must pick out the single threads．So in coming tO a place where we have formerly lived，and with which we have intimate associations，everyone must have found that the feeling grow more vivid the nearer we approach the spot，from the mere anticipation of the actual impression，we remember circumstances，feelings，persons，faces，names that we had not thought of for years；but for the time all the rest of the world is forgotten!To return to the question I have quittedabove： I have no objection to go to see ruins，aqueducts，pictures，incompany with a friend or a party，but rather the contrary，for theformer reason reversed．They are intelligible matters，and will beartalking about．The sentiment here is not tacit，but communicable andovert．Salisbury Plain is barren of criticism，but Stonehenge will bear adiscussion antiquarian，picturesque，and philosophical．In setting out ona party of pleasure，the first consideration always is where we shall gotO，in taking a solitary ramble，the question is what we shall meet with bythe way．“The mind iS its own place”：nor are we anxious to arrive atthe end of our journey．I can myself do the honours indifferently well toworks of art and curiosity．I once took a party tO Oxford with no meaneclat—shewed them that seat of the muses at a distance，“With glisteringspires and pinnacles adorned…’’
Descanted on the learned air that breathes from the grassy quadrangles and stone walls of halls and colleges was at home in the Bodleian；and at Blenheim quite superseded the powdered Cicerone that attended US，and that pointed in vain with his wand to commonplacebeauties in matchless pictures．As another exception to the above reasoning，I should not feel confident in venturing on a journey in aforeign country without a companion．I should want at intervals to hearthe sound of my own language．There is an involuntary antipathy in the mind of an Englishman to foreign manners and notions that requires the assistance of social sympathy to carry it off．As the distance from homeincreases，this relief,which was at first a luxury，becomes a passion and appetite．A person would almost feel stifled to find himself in the deserts Of Arabia without friends and countrymen there must be allowed to be something in the view of Athens or old Rome that claims the utterance of speech；and I own that te Pyramids are too mighty for any single contemplation．In such situations，SO opposite to all one’S ordinary train of ideas，one seems a species by one’S self,a limb torn off from society，unless one can meet with instant fellowship and support．Yet I did not feel this want or craving very pressing once，when I first set my foot on the laughing shores of France，Calais was peopled with novelty and delight．The confused，busy murmur of the place was like oil and wine poured into my ears；nor did the mariners’hymn，which was sung from the top of an old crazy vessel in the harbour，as the sun went down，send an alien sound into my soul．I only breathed the air of general humanity．1 walked bver“the vine covered hills and gay regions of France，’’erect and satisfied；for the image of man was not cast down and chained to the foot of arbitrary thrones：1 was at no loss for language，for that of all the great schools of painting was open to me．The whole is vanished like a shade．Pictures，heroes，glory，*******，all are fled，nothing remains but the Bourbons and the French people!There is undoubtedly a sensation in traveling into foreign parts that is to be had nowhere else，but it is more pleasing at the time than lasting．It is too remote from our habitual associations to be a common topic of discourse or reference，and，like a dream or another state of existence，does not piece into our daily modes of life．It is an animated but a momentary hallucination．It demands an effort to exchange our actual for our ideal identity；and to feel the pulse of our old transports revive very keenly，we must“jump’’all our presentl。comforts and connexions．Our romantic and itinerant character is not to be domesticated．Dr．Johnson remarked how little foreign travel added to the facilities of conversation in those who had been abroad．In fact，the time we have spent there is both delightful，and in one sense instructive；but it appears to be cut out of our substantial，downright existence，and never to join kindly on to it．We are not the same，but another，and perhaps more enviable individual．all the time we are out of our own counttff．We arelost to ourselves，as well as our friends．So the poet somewhat quaintlysings，“Out of my country and myself I go．’’Those who wish to forgetpainful thoughts，do well tO absent themselves for a while from the tiesand objects that recall them；but we can be said only to fulfill our destinyin the place that gave US birth．I should on this account like well enoughto spend the whole of my life in traveling abroad，if I could anywhereborrow another life to spend afterwards at home!solitude n．孤独，孤寂，单独emerald n．翡翠，翠绿色，绿宝石synthetical adj．合成的；综合性的；人造的didactic adj．教诲的；说教的
’gypsy n．吉普赛人，吉普赛语；像吉普赛人的人metaphysical adj．形而上学的，抽象的，纯粹哲学的drenched adi．湿透的；充满的flutter n．摆动；烦扰；鼓翼
v．摆动，烦扰，鼓翼；拍；使焦急instructive adj．有益的；教育性的