Of all the creatures of commercial enterprise, a canal barge is by far the most delightful to consider. It may spread its sails, and then you see it sailing high above the tree-tops and the wind-mill, sailing on the aqueduct, sailing through the green cornlands; the most picturesque of things amphibious. Or the horse plods along at a foot-pace as if there were no such things as business in the world; and the man dreaming at the tiller sees the same spire on the horizon all day long. It is a mystery how things ever get to their destination at this rate; and to see the barges waiting their turn at a lock, affords a fine lession in how easily the world may be taken. There should be many contented spirits on board, for such a life is both to travel and to stay at home. —Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 - 1894