New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-10-10
THE BICYCLE IN ENGLAND.
From The Telcgrdph.


II was not very long ago that q young man was
descending a steep hill IN the neighborhood OF Lon
dOn and came to grief before he reached the bot
tom Either he ran away with the bicycle or the
bicycle ran away with him; at all events he lost
control, and rode violently own the steep place.
only to find himself pulled up at the bottom by
policeman for furious and reckless driving. Then
a notable decision was announced by the Judge,
who had to determine the question whether
was not a carriage, then it could not DC properly
proceeded against under the statute which forDlds
carriages to be driven at reckless pace. mo
argument of the rider was, that really you couid
not call thing consisting OF two wheels only. win
q little bit of saddle, carriage; WINE, on the
other Sd a was ses ts and seat and That Was nsed
for carrying people. snbtle dilemma TINS, IKE
the great dispute in Alice in Wonderland " about
the " Cheshire Cat y in the tree which was always
grnning-in fact was entirely grin and nothing
else We know that the King of Hearts waxed
angry and ordered his executioner to behead that
cat while the executontr replied that he couldn't
behead a creature that had no body: to which the
King answered that anything that had q head
could be beheaded, and he wasn't TO talk nom
sense Mr. Justice Lush soon settled the analo-
gnus bicycle case, ana now it stands recorded IN
all our law books that a yeloeipede is carriage;
and nothing but it," as Mr. Weller remarked, and
must he ridden or driven at reasonable pace so
as not to cndanger the lives of her Naiestys sub
jects. ,.
in England several new inventions have lately
come out for making the amusement safer Elderly
gentemen-yes, and ladies TOO elderly or n9h-can
armchair lean back. work their feet mp and down
as if they were at sewing -Inachlne, and glide
along the ground easily and safely. This Is the
modern tricycle.. Nothing, however, quite comes
up to the two wheeled phantom, the dainty and
delicate racer" on one of which Dir. Cortis, an
amateur rider, has inst accomplished the astonish-
ing feat of ten miles in less than thirty minutes
rather faster than twenty miles an hour For com
bined and speed OF lOcomotion nothing can
beat the old bicycle with its many modern iih-
provements. except railway train IL is perfectly
easy nova young man from the merry Midiands
has Just done ito mount at birmingham, ride
through charming English scenery to Dover, take
steamer and mount again on the opposite coast,
visit all the scenes OF the Franco-G erman war,
Sedan. Metz, Strasburg. and roll home again
through Paris arriving at his English haoita'
after u fortnights holiday CT good al-round ex'
ercIse and keen enjoyment.
BICYCLES have to a certain extent taken the place
of coaches; they frequent ali great main roads,
and gladden. the hearts of innkeepers who look
out for the tinkling bells which herald the advent
of a clubn of wandering velocipedlsts, Just as
they anticipated of yore the gladstone tootling OF
the horn that bespoke the approach of the Enter
prise the IIighayer. or some other wel-known con-
yeyance of the old coaching days.