Fit as Fiddles and as Hard as Nails

the shade, that they avoid the reflected glare, escape the whirling dust. So the desertphiles contend with the palmophiles and each is satisfied.
But one argument on which all are unanimous is the struggle with the river. Every effort must be exerted to keep it within bounds. Its ominous trickles through the embankments; its rushing, almost overhanging floods; the lapping of its swirling waters at the summit of its banks; the visible erosion of its barriers; the frequent alarms of leaks and breaches all keep continually before us the dangers of the swollen river. All hands are hard at work raising embankments, repairing places that leak, strengthening those that are wearing away. Every day the whole garrison labours at the banks. Each inch rise