When the traveler goes alone he gets acquainted with himself.

Bailey’s line links solitude with self-knowledge: travel strips away familiar roles, routines, and social expectations, leaving the traveler to confront his own habits of mind. Going alone removes the constant mirroring and negotiation that comes with companions, so attention turns inward—toward one’s fears, desires, patience, and resilience. The quote also implies that movement through new places is not merely geographic but psychological: the unfamiliar world acts as a catalyst for introspection. In Bailey’s broader ethos as a naturalist and educator, it resonates with the idea that direct experience—unmediated and attentive—cultivates independence and a clearer sense of one’s identity.