YOUNG PEDESTRIAN.--Your Picnic Club is a capital idea. Of course the
excursions will be principally on foot, although, as New York is such a
large city, you will often want to travel out of it either by rail or
boat. The elevated railroad will take you as far as the Harlem River,
and there you can change cars and go by the New York City and Northern
as far as Tarrytown. A pleasant excursion, and an easy one, is by train
to One-hundred-and-fifty-fifth Street and Eighth Avenue, thence on foot
to High Bridge, and thence to King's Bridge, about two and a half miles
further on, returning by Washington Heights, which overhang the Hudson,
and afford magnificent views. The road running along by the private
houses is not private. At Fort Washington you will be almost opposite
Fort Lee, which is on the Jersey shore, and which is reached by boat
from foot of Canal Street. The country all along and back from the river
is delightful, and the woods are rich in ferns and wild flowers. A
little higher up the river the Palisades begin, and their steep sides
need some climbing. Only pathways, however, should be attempted, as all
the members of the club may not be expert mountaineers.
A delightful mountain and woodland walk for a long day is from
Montclair, New Jersey, along the Orange Mountain to South Orange, or
beyond, as far as Millburn. From Eagle Rock, which overhangs Orange and
Montclair, you will have a magnificent view in almost every direction.
By following the ridge of the mountain you will come to South Orange,
whence you can take train to New York. Millburn is three miles beyond.
When walking through wooded country it is well for the party to keep
together; otherwise some may lose their way, and cause delay and anxiety
to the rest. Railroad fares for this trip will be about seventy cents
each. Staten Island and Long Island (with Bay Ridge and Bath to the
south, and Whitestone, Garden City, and Roslyn to the east) are within
easy reach.
It will be best to make the nearest excursions first, as on every trip
you will gain experience in travelling, and so be enabled to save time
and expense. Before starting study out the proposed trip with the aid of
a map and a railway guide, and if you are going to take the train back
at the same place where you leave it, be sure to buy excursion tickets.
The more you know about the place you are visiting, the more you will
enjoy it. If, therefore, you can consult a guide to the suburbs of New
York, and "post" yourselves thereby, you will not be likely to overlook
any object of interest. If the walking and the scenery are your only
objects, and not flower-collecting, etc., it will not do for you to miss
whatever there is to be seen.
Be sure that your shoes are stout and yet comfortable, and your clothes
warm enough--at least in this spring weather; in midsummer you need have
no fear about "the cool of the evening." A good lunch is important, and
this you should take with you, as suburban hotels are either very poor,
or, if good, very expensive; and then walking is hungry work, and not
pleasant work on a very empty stomach. As regards a name for your club,
some of you or your friends ought to be able to think of a good one, and
if you have a badge, it might represent the name. Such names as the
"Grasshoppers," "Butterflies," "Woodchucks," etc., would do. Whatever
your name, and wherever you go, the Postmistress envies you the good
times you will have.
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We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to the
article entitled "Easter in Jerusalem." Of all the joyous weeks of the
year this should be the brightest and most radiant. Two days ago we
celebrated an event more important than that which gives us the
happiness of Christmas. The Christ-child, who came to us then all lovely
in his helpless infancy, comes now from his open grave with his work
accomplished. Death has been conquered; the promise is fulfilled; He is
the Saviour of the World. While you are spending the bright hours of
Easter-week in gladness and rejoicing, you will like to read how the
same great festival is being celebrated by the little folks whose home
is in the Holy City where our Lord himself once dwelt. From this article
we would like to have you turn to Mrs. Sangster's sketch of "The Cobbler
who kept School in a Workshop," learning from it, if you will, the sweet
and noble lesson that such a life ought to teach each one of us. Then,
boys and girls, for an imaginary ride on "Jumbo," and the biggest kind
of a kite! The boys must whittle the sticks, while the girls mix paste
and tie on tail. Then no quarrelling as to who shall hold the string
when she's well up!
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