Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 458, by Various

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Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 458
Volume 18, New Series, October 9, 1852

Author: Various

Editor: William Chambers
Robert Chambers

Release Date: December 31, 2007 [EBook #24084]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL

CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.

No. 458. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2_d._

A SWIM EXTRAORDINARY.

I have been all my life a sort of amphibious animal, having, like many
an old Roman, learned to swim long before I had learned to read. The
bounding backs of the billows were my only rocking-horse when I was a
child, and dearly I loved to ride them when a fresh breeze was
blowing. I rarely tired in the water, where I often amused myself for
hours together. I grew up with such a liking for the exercise, that I
have never been able to forego the opportunity for a swim when it
offered; and a daily bath has been for a long course of years as
necessary to me as my daily food. The exercise of swimming has been
through life my chief pleasure and my only medicine--a never-failing
restorative from weakness and weariness, and, what may appear strange
to some readers, from the effects of irritation, anxiety, and
mortification as well.

This accomplishment, however, once led me into a strange adventure. I
was engaged in a rather extensive commercial tour through the central
kingdoms of Europe. I had crossed the Hungarian frontier about the
middle of the day, after being much annoyed and chafed by a
multiplicity of delays and extortions; and at length, hot and wearied,
arrived at B---- late in the evening. As soon as I caught sight of the
Danube in the distance, I resolved that the first thing I would do
after getting housed and refreshed by a few hours' slee