Gents Mag 1868 part 1 p.640

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	Gentleman's Magazine 1868 part 1 p.640 father of a family would soon be a candidate for the lunatic asylum. Happy is the man who has the determination and the power of leaving no address behind him, so that letters, and what are still worse, telegrams, cannot be sent after him to poison his pleasure and disturb his mental recovery; though in the complicated relations of the present day, very few can afford thus to isolate themselves for a whole month. Some day a future Macaulay will point out the extraordinary effect that this travelling habit has had, not only upon our domestic matters, but upon society at large: and the work has yet to be written which treats on this particular phase of English locomotion. The present generation has little conception of the changes that have taken place since the day when the mail-coach was the only medium of communication between town and country. To the bulk of quiet villages, the arrival of a Londoner was a thing to talk about, while few members of a family ever looked upon the metropolis as a place of resort, except for a state visit once or twice in their lives. But now London is identical with the country, as far as the intercourse of society and public opinion go; and, au contraire, the country is too often London. The great cause of this change is the facility of locomotion, which, like the effects of the penny postage on correspondence, has induced people to leave their homes so much, that it has now become a confirmed habit. We learn from Mrs. Manley's journey in 1725, that the stage coach between London and Exeter occupied four summer days in the trip; and that the passengers had to get up at 2 A.M., left the inn at 3, and dined at 10 A.M. each day. Under such circumstances travelling would certainly have remained a proceeding only dictated by dire necessity, the due accomplishment of which was thought worthy of a public prayer in church, as in Ralph Thoresby's case. But, even with improved roads and excellent coaching, the Englishman, except when bent upon business, was a fixture at home; and it was not until after the full development of the railway system, that the excursionist became a person of importance, and a class to be conciliated. With the excursionist came the guide-book; but whether the former was instrumental in the appearance of the latter, or whether improved guide-books helped to create the excursionist, is immaterial; no doubt the one influenced the other. There is the same difference between the handbook of the present day and the old post-chaise companion, as there is between an express train and the carrier's waggon. Amidst the cloud of local guides that beset the traveller to any place of general resort, it is often perplexing which to choose; but taking the country as a whole, it may be said that there is but one handbook, and "Murray" is its name. Not that we mean to ignore the claims of others, but simply to express an opinion as to the consistency and value of the twelve red volumes that at the present time form Mr. Murray's British series. For years they have had on the continent a sway which no other works pretend to rival, and now we are glad to see that the British Isles have not only been invaded, but are in a fair way of being successfully conquered. It was until of late years a reproach to the English that they knew foreign countries better than their own. Nor was it underserved, for, with the exception of those districts which from beauty of scenery or fashion were sought
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