SIDEWALKINGS
ThetimeoccupiedinwalkingtoandfrommybusinessIhavealwaysfoundtoyieldmeacertainmentalenjoymentwhichnootherpartofthetwenty-fourhourscouldgive。Perhapsthephysicalexercisemayhaveactedasagentlestimulantofthebrain，butmoreprobablythecomfortableconsciousnessthatIcouldnotreasonablybeexpectedtobedoinganythingelse——tobestudyingorimprovingmymind，forinstance——alwaysgaveajoyouslibertytomyfancy。I
oncethoughtitnecessarytoemploythisintervalindoingsumsinarithmetic，——inwhichusefulstudyIwasandstillamlamentablydeficient，——butafteroneortwoattemptsatperipateticcomputation，Igaveitup。Iamsatisfiedthatmuchenjoymentislosttotheworldbythisnervousanxietytoimproveourleisuremoments，which，likethe\"shininghours\"ofDr。Watts，unfortunatelyofferthegreatestfacilitiesforidlepleasure。Ifeelaprofoundpityforthosemisguidedbeingswhoarestillimpelledtocarrytext-bookswiththemincars，omnibuses，andferry-boats，andwhogenerallymanagetodefraudthemselvesofthoseintervalsofresttheymostrequire。Naturemusthaveherfallowmoments，whenshecoversherexhaustedfieldswithflowersinsteadofgrain。Denyherthis，andthenextcropsuffersforit。Iofferthisaxiomassomeapologyforobtrudinguponthereaderafewofthespeculationswhichhaveengagedmymindduringthesedailyperambulations。
FewCaliforniansknowhowtoloungegracefully。Businesshabits，andadeferencetothecustom，evenwiththosewhohavenobusiness，giveanairofrestlessanxietytoeverypedestrian。Theexceptionstothisruleareapttogototheotherextreme，andwearadefiant，obtrusivekindofindolencewhichsuggestsquiteasmuchinwarddisquietandunrest。Theshiftlesslassitudeofagamblercanneverbemistakenfortheloungeofagentleman。EventhebrokerswholoiteruponMontgomeryStreetathighnoonarenotloungers。Lookatthemcloselyandyouwillseeafeverishnessandanxietyunderthemaskoflistlessness。Theydonotlounge——theylieinwait。Nosurersign，Iimagine，ofourpeculiarcivilizationcanbefoundthanthislackofreposeinitsconstituentelements。
YoucannotkeepCaliforniansquietevenintheiramusements。Theydodgeinandoutofthetheatre，opera，andlecture-room；theypreferthestreetcarstowalkingbecausetheythinktheygetalongfaster。ThedifferenceoflocomotionbetweenBroadway，NewYork，andMontgomeryStreet，SanFrancisco，isacomparativeviewofEasternandWesterncivilization。