The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-10-26
FORGET-ME-NOTS.

Oau luHes company, Wnlcn played at AL
baugh's last week, was out on the Avenue on
Friday having high old times with bicycle.
But wagon came along and had high old times
with the actor. The bicycle ,could head'straight
for the wagon, and the wagon couldn't get out
of the way; so the bicycle was smashed and so
was Mr.. Smiths nose. The incident goes to
show that there are two things which Mr..
Smith does not know, First, he doesn't know
how to ride and second, he doesn't know when
to ride. Mr.. Smith probably knows as much
about cycling as the majority of those theatri-
cal ladies and gentlemen whose principal desire
in visiting Washington is to frolic with
the flying wheel on the smooth pave
ment of Pennsylvania avenue. But then
they know that the time to go out for
practice is about midnight, or Just after the
opera is over. At that time there are not as
many wagons on the Avenue to run into you
and if you do meet with an accident you may be
hurt, but you will not have the modification of
being seen by everybody as in broad daylight.
In fact the partial security from personal identi-
fcation which is insured by the darkness is the
great advantage of bicycling and tricycling with
the theatrical folks at night. Many sedate
solid citizen who wouldn't for million dollars
be seen in daylight sharing a tandem with the
best of actresses feels perfectly safe in Joining
the boys and girls and going out at midnight for
n high old time on the Avenue.
X X
Mr. Harry Fisk, the able manager of AL
baugh's, is never, or hardly ever, seen bicycling
among the boys and girls on Pennsylvania
avenue. But once in the good old times of
long ago Harry thought he would learn to ride
the bicycle, and for that purpose he purchased
one. 1t was peculiar bicycle. 1t belonged to
transitional period in bicycle building. The
early period of the velocipede, which was dis
t1nguished by two heavy wheels-cart- wheels,
away, and the period of the two wire wheels,
the big one in front and the small one behind,
had not quite set in.
The bicycle which Harry bought had big
wheel in front and small wheel behind, bu.
Doth had wooden spokes and wooden felloes
There were possibly few spokes missing, but
enough remained to start business with The
saddle was little shaky and the brake was
there no more, but the backbone of the old ma
chine was in fine condition. Another slight de-
feet was that the axle turned out to be loose;
that is to say, you might get somebody to mount
you on the machine and you might tread and
tread and make the aXles revolve, but the wheel
wouldn't make motion and the machine would
stand STILL. But these difficulties were easily
got over. In the bright lexicon of youth there
is no such word as fail. Harry and his
playmates made combination. They
were all beginners. 1t took at least four
to run the machine, one to sit on, two to hold
him on and keep the machine straight, while
one ran behind and pushed. With a pushing
young man behind it was not much matter
whether the axle was tight or loose. By pretty
close practice Harry made such progress in
learning to ride bicycle that whenever he got
| the machine pretty well started on the run he
could manage the steering apparatus so well
! that he did not need his side supporters He
| could keep the machine from falling simply by
his superior skill in guiding the handles.
X Il Il
One day it occurred to him that he could even
dispense with the pushing man behind. So he
went out to a suburban road, and took his
bicycle with him. This suburban road had
long, steep hill, about quarter of mile in
| length. Harry's idea was that if he could only
! get started at the top of the hill the machine
would run clear to the bottom without stopping
and the experiment proved that his idea was
| correct. 1t wasn't difficult for Harry to get a
| boy to help him to mount at the top of the hill
| He realized that it was an untrodden path he
was starting upon, and he took all the precau-
tions he could think of. The road was a good,
broad, macadamized one, and fresh patches
OF broken stones lying here and there
along 1t showed that it had recently been re-
paired. The possibility of developing higher
speed than ne wanted occurred to the bold ex-
permenter, and he reflected that he had no
brake. But then he said to himself that he was
prepared for pretty fast ride; in fact, fast
| drive was what he wanted, and if brake were
needed he could guide the machine into the
patches of broken stones, which he had no
doubt would act as brake.
4
Finally he instructed the boy who was as
sisting him, and who was to push him off: he
instructed the boy say, to keep hold of the
talpiece and never let go, and in case the ma
chine should begin to go too fast, the boy was
to pull back. The word "Let go' was given,
and away the bicycle started down the hill. 1t
was like rock rolling down a mountain.
Harry thought he was mounted on a cyclone.
Pull, pull, pull her back,' he shouted to the
boy, but the boy was not within hearing He
was away back near the top of the hill, where
he lay down, as if the bicycle had
| given him a mules kick from behind
1T was a fayOrite summer evening walk that
suburban road, for the boys and girls of that end
of the town; and on this particular summer
| evening they were saunterng up this hill by the
hedgerow, when all of a sudden they were
frightened out of their wits by Harry's bicycle
breaking in upon them at such furious rate.
1T was a strange sight, an extraordinary phe-
nomenon, but Harry hadn't time to stop and
explain. Pedestrians threw themselves into
the hedges to get out of the path of the ava
lanche.
X Il
Harry was holding ON like grim death and
guiding his fiery steed well as he possibly
could but Tom O'Shanters ride with the devil
at his heels was nothing to that experiment in