Motorist

“ The peaceful motorist who has no motor trouble or weather trouble or road trouble has a pleasant enough time, but after all he gets the least out of it in the way of recollections. Not that our one disappointment about our chicken dinner is meant to serve as a backbone of character for this trip, neither do I hope we shall run into any serious misadventure, but I really quite honestly hope [45] that everything will not be so easy as to be entirely colorless. ”

“ Up the road was coming a racing car, going at high speed. The man, crouched almost under the steering wheel, if he saw Mollie's car at all, probably imagined that a motorist of experience was guiding it. But Paul was on the wrong side of the road, and there was no telling at what moment he might shift the course. ”

“ Even the escaping motorist, leaving his responsibilities and his smell behind him, cannot be entirely unaware of the miles of dreary side streets down which he glances for an oncoming bicycle or milk cart before he reaches the open country. ”

“ On the other hand, a motorist, though tied to a roadway, makes his twenty-five miles an hour because he sticks to that well-surfaced track instead of trying to wander through bushes, potato-fields and gravel banks. ”

“ Noticing an advertisement of a book entitled "The Complete Motorist," an angry opponent of the new method of locomotion writes to suggest that the companion volume, "The Complete Pedestrian," had better be written at once before it becomes impossible to find an entire specimen.
Maxim for Cyclists.—"Try-cycle before you Buy-cycle."
[Pg 169]
Motorist (a novice) has been giving chairman of local urban council a practical demonstration of the ease with which a motor-car can be controlled when travelling at a high speed. ”

“ Practised drivers achieve this difficult accomplishment with much skill and the minimum of jolting, but even so, the car often takes flying leaps. So we started on an apparently breakneck career, holding tight on to48 the sides of the motor, and dashed up and down hills that an English motorist would have hesitated to look at, red and rutty as a Devonshire lane in winter. ”

“ Each year the road books distributed free by this firm, piled one upon the other, would reach to a height of more than five miles. They cover about all the countries, and are simply priceless to the motorist. ”

“ I am quite aware, my dear Mr. Challis, that the motor-car is at present an object of execration to the public. But I sympathize so keenly that I feel bound to spend as much time as possible in the only place in which I am not tempted to forget myself and use bad language against motorists. I refer to the motor-car itself. Believe me that the only thing that can reconcile a well-constituted mind to any practice essentially [51] damnable is the practice itself. ”

“ If every woman and man who drove a car followed these suggestions there would not be an outcry against the motor-car. Unfortunately the great majority of motorists have to suffer for other people’s faults—the disgraceful driving of the few. ”

“ The two occupants of the car were courtesy itself. They not only assisted me in lifting Lizzie over the pièce de résistance, but also showed considerable interest in me. Out here, where friendship between motorists is much more marked (almost as a matter of necessity) , there is seldom any need for anxiety, and it is remarkable how potent a thing is this roadside courtesy. Practically every town I stopped at afterwards had heard of the strange traveller who was coming along on a 10 h.p. motor-cycle, and awaited my arrival with interest. ”

“ You may not lose your presence of mind, but how about the cyclist? Don’t cut corners on the wrong side of the road and there will be no need to worry about the answer to my query.
That one can show a great deal of courtesy to other cars and to general traffic on the road is assured, but that few people do is also a fact. Here is a case worthy of attention. Every motoriste has or will experience it. On the road in front of you is a covered car with noisy engine. It is a landaulette or limousine which rattles more or less. The noise of the engine is also magnified by being closed in. ”

“ At cross streets or roads and when approaching corners sound the horn and slacken speed by throttling.
There are numberless little things which, after you have graduated to the ranks of the experienced motoriste, you will buy, not because they are absolutely necessary, but because of their convenience. ”

“ The Butterfly. "Of course. How absurd you are! Motor-cars require more attention than children."
[Pg 143]
SOUR GRAPES
First Scorcher. "Call that exercise?"
Second Scorcher. "No. I call it sitting in a draught!"
[Pg 145]
Not to be Caught.—
Motorist (whose motor has thrown elderly villager into horse-pond) . "Come along, my man, I'll take you home to get dry."
Elderly Villager. "No, yer don't. I've got yer number, and 'ere I stays till a hindependent witness comes along!"
[Pg 146]
Pedestrian. ”

“ Never again vith the Muggleton Motor! Vhy, it vorse than a hortomatic vheelbarrow, ain't it, Mr. Pickwick?"
"Ah, Sammy," assented Mr. Weller, Senior, hugging his whip, affectionately. "Vorse even than vidders, Sammy, the red-nosed shepherd, or the Mulberry One hisself!"
A bear in a motor-car attracted much attention in the City last week. It had four legs this time.
The Motor Car declares, on high medical authority, that motoring is a cure for insanity. We would therefore recommend several motorists we know to persevere.
[Pg 139]
Gentle Satire—"I say, Bill, look 'ere! ”

“ The Glidden Tours showed conclusively that motor cars were mechanically capable of traveling long distances if the roads were reasonably good, and they fueled a rising demand from motorists for motorable long-distance roads, even a coast-to-coast highway. ”

“ Locomotive driving at a hundred miles an hour is but mild exhilaration as compared to the feelings of the motor-car driver who travels at fifty miles an hour on the public highway.
Gigantic motor trucks carrying tons of freight twist in and out through crowded streets, controlled by one man more easily than a driver guides a spirited horse on a country road.
Frail motor bicycles dash round the platter-like curves of cycle tracks at railroad speed, and climb hills while the riders sit at ease with feet on coasters. ”

“ The driver of the motor should then talk soothingly to the horse, and the groom should also encourage it as much as possible. The horse will follow with his eyes the movements of the car, and, as a rule, in a little while will allow it to be driven close by without any further signs of fear. The horse should then be harnessed and taken out on the road, the motor-car driven out to meet it, and sent a number of times past it until the animal takes little or no notice. ”

“ A boulder now and then or rough ledge cropping across the road would tilt the old lady at an uncomfortable angle. Heights and climbs over dangerous switchbacks had become commonplaces of travel by now, and we had gained confidence from learning the tremendous flexibility of which a motor car is capable. We were willing, without taking credit for extraordinary courage, to undertake almost any road wide enough for our tracks. People who confine their driving to perfect boulevards and city roads have no idea of the exhilarating game motoring really is. ”

“ The motor-cycle of to-day is fast taking the place of the ordinary bicycle, and the automobile, or auto, as it is commonly called, is taking the place of our horses. This being so, it has occurred to the writer to prepare a line of stories, telling of the doings of a number of lively, up-to-date lads who at first own motor-cycles and later on become the proud possessors of a touring car.
This tale before you, “The Motor Boys,” is the first volume of the series, telling of the doings of Ned, Bob, Jerry and their chums in and around their home town. ”

“ The motor-car triumphed. It grew rapidly more reliable, more silent, more pleasing to the eye; and to-day it glides in thousands along our roads, a pleasure to those who occupy it, a nuisance neither to pedestrians nor to other wheeled traffic; more under control when it is well driven, and more ready to stop quickly when required, than any horsed vehicle which it may have replaced. At one time the papers were full of such headlines as: "Another Motor-car Accident." ”

“ Think of the English roads and lanes, of the pretty girls and decent men one meets on horseback or in smart dogcarts, the dowagers in victorias, the crowds of cyclists, the occasional fine motor-car, knickerbockered men walking for the pleasure of exercise! Here, though one knows there are more motors than at home, one rarely comes across them out of towns; and as for ladies and gentlemen, or, indeed, any sort of people out solely for enjoyment, they're as rare as black opals. ”

“ Before the advent of the motor-car, Society, though tired of “biking” and craving for a novelty, could not tolerate the notion of being seen in any other than a well-horsed vehicle. Society now thinks differently, as evidenced by a stroll in the Park during the season. There, in the midst of graceful landaus and other equipages drawn by the most splendid horses in the world, may be seen endless electric and steam barouches, broughams, victorias, and cars, all perfectly noiseless, and magnificent petrol motor-cars (not noiseless!) ”

“ The motor-car, when in the hands of a careful and experienced driver, is admittedly the safest form of vehicle on the road, the chief reason for this being the rapidity with which it can be stopped, even when travelling at high speeds, and also the ease with which under the same conditions it can be diverted from its course into the direction desired by the driver. ”

“ These, in driving, must always be a walk or a trot—never a canter, which, owing to the draught, would be equally injurious to the horse and to the carriage. Either of these paces, moreover, should be suited to the nature of the road. Rapid driving, on the stones especially, exposes a carriage to injury, both from shocks against others, and from those which attend its own motion. However, it is sometimes for a moment necessary, in order to get out of the way of carts, waggons, &c. ”

“ We live on the roads, and they are part and parcel of our daily lives. We look down the road for the home-comer, or the new-comer. Our gates open on the road. The road is always with us. The motor-car and the bicycle have restored to us a full remembrance of the fact. While railway travelling was so immeasurably quicker and easier than road travelling, we were forced to give up the pleasure our fathers had taken in the road, for mankind in general cannot or will not lose time. ”

“ After all there is nothing like motoring. We would roll smoothly down the street, with Millington frowning like a pirate all the way, and then suddenly he would hear the noise he was listening for, and he would stop frowning, and jerk a lever that stopped the car, and hop out with a satisfied expression, and begin to whistle, and open the car in eight places, and take out an assorted hardware store, and adhesive tape, and blankets, and oil cans, and hatchets, and axes, and get to work on the car as happy as a babe ”

“ Seeing beautiful things when you travel by rail consists mostly on getting half a glimpse, beginning to exclaim, "Oh, look there!" then plunging into the black gulf of a tunnel, and not coming out again until after the best bit has carefully disappeared behind an uninteresting, fat-bodied mountain. But travelling by motor-car! Oh, the difference! One sees, one feels; one is never, never bored, or impatient to arrive anywhere. ”

“ In passing such a light the eyes should be kept on the road and shielded, if possible, from the glare of the other machine. The precaution of driving slowly under such circumstances goes without saying.
Unlighted Vehicles. —Unlighted, horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles, and animals driven or walking in the street frequently give the automobile driver palpitation of the heart. ”

“ When driving on greasy roads it is always well to keep as far away as possible from any vehicle in front, whether it be a motor-car, a horse-drawn vehicle, or a cycle, as this allows plenty of time to pull up slowly and gradually. ”

“ The bush through which they travelled did not interest him; a motor-car was, in his view, a means of moving swiftly through space, and to crawl along a mountain track at the pace of a bullock-waggon failed to appeal to him in the least. ”

“ To sum up, the perfect motorman, though he should possess as much knowledge of mechanics as possible, should, above all, be a considerate driver, well versed in the manners and courtesies of the road and the habits of traffic. And in addition, he should try to be well mannered, as more and more motor-car owners are becoming convinced that, besides knowledge, “Manners maketh the Motorman.” ”

“ The next day, if possible, more driving should be undertaken, but this time on the second speed, first directing the steering with one hand and then with the other, so that perfect control can be exercised with either hand, the hand that is more or less at liberty being engaged in taking articles out of the pocket, &c., adjusting the lubricators, pumping oil into the cylinders, and other small details of this sort, which at times it is expedient to do when actually on a journey. ”

“ On our fears, then, as you gloat
(Ours who neither "bike" nor "mote") ,
Just to tell us where you are—
Tinkle, twinkle, motor-car.
"Motor Body."—"One man can change from a tonneau to a landaulette, shooting brake, or racing car in two minutes, and, when fixed, cannot be told from ANY fixed body."—Advt. in the "Autocar."
The disguise would certainly deceive one's nearest relations, but as likely as not one's dog would come up and give the whole show away by licking the sparking plug.
[Pg 117]
Chauffeur. ”

“ The hotter the sun the more agreeable the fanning of the air through which we pass, and the cold of winter, guarded against in proper fashion, carries with it its own exhilaration. To my mind the greatest pleasures and the greatest advantages derivable from the motor-car are the power of traversing large areas of the beautiful country in which it is our happiness to live. The use of motors in town is increasing and, doubtless, will greatly increase. ”