Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-09

doing nothing and he ALL He encouraged me
In my Ignorance, too. for when asked him as
glided gracefully around how much of that 1
was doing and how much he, he replied. know
ing that my enchantment would soon enough
be dissipated. You're doin' most all Of IT,
Miss You see. they buckle wide leather belt
tightly around your waist, on the back of which
Is handle like the handle OF basket
This the teacher takes hold Of with one hand,
while with his other he grasps the handle bar
Of the bicycle. you simply working the pedals.
Al the second lesson. though, he gives the
handle bar into your trembling custody, he
merely keeping hold Of the handle attached to
the belt, and then is the time that your discour-
spite Of the fact that your instructor has given
you brief predatory lecture on the philos-
ophy of bicycle riding, after which you are
supposed to be converted to the heretical doc
trine that when you see yourself plunging into
the fence you must turn the wheel directly
toward the fence and then quickly back again,
and that in making curve you must lean as
the wheel leans. When you begin to put this
theory into practice you find the education of
a life time too great to be discarded in a mo-
ment and SO go quite contrariwise to his direc-
tons, and, as q result, have hairbreadth es-
capes enough to completely shatter your ner-
vous system. The reason you do not entirely
demolish the fence or fall inertly to the earth is
because the teacher still has hold of the belts
handle, those catastrophies being reserved for
the time that you begin TO ride alone. But one
gets quite discouraged even at this early period.
1t seems as if one never would be able to &C.
complish the feat
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PUPILS
"At this juncture / remember asking my
teacher how long it usually took to learn to
ride and he answered: "A young lady here day
before yesterday rode right of at the first
lesson. but there was another that taught
while ago who looked like she never could
Il mi t1 hA. h4,,, IL
month and then every time I'd even let 90 the
handle bars she'd yell A bit Of history about
as encouraging as when q nurse given to
"reminiscences assures nervous patient that
people afflicted with his particular malady in
variably die If they do not recover the first
day. did not 60 to the next lesson with the
joyful enthusiasm that had gone to the first
two. for l had . private opinion, which, Of
course, ! wouldn't have made public for the
world, that was going to prove to be like that
to teach. and 1 donned that old leather belt
with something the feeling that l experience
when l get into . dentists chair. When 1
finally did succeed In learning to ride alone
did not know how funny looked until one day
went up to the riding school, where q girl lust
at that very stage OF proceedings had the floor
The teacher stood in the center of the Enclosure
like the riding master at circus,
while that ambitious young woman pur-
suing her deviating course round and round
educated circus horse. Although she managed
to get around without a fall or a collision with
the fence, she was not without fear Of these
disasters. In the second Of time that she would
feel herself going, she would run the whole
gamut OF emotion from despair to joy ex.
claiming in tones that became more crescendo
as she approached nearer and nearer, oh!
ah-h !! Fee !!p and then, as she just missed
the fence by the skin Of her teeth, triumphantiy
calculate. There l did it, didn't II 1 knew
tr1sfh pxu aho al npa, 1uc
that form Of locomotion doesn't realize the
horrors that are concealed in so innocent q
looking thlng as a high board fence. 1t con-
fronts you like your doom.
LEARNING TO pIsMouNr.
"And after you have learned to ride" con-
tinued the pretty wheelwoman, "the next thing
is to learn how to get of. That sounds easy,
but it is by no means SO easy as it sounds The
teacher tells you, of course, that il you desire
to dismount from the left all you have to do is
to wait till the left pedal il at its lowest posi-
ton and when just coming up again, and then
simply step off, Well, you try it, and you find
you can't make up your mind to step Off and
as the pedal Is coming higher and higher you
will have to wait till it gets around in position
again. In dismounting from a bicycle it is a
clear case of he who hesitates is lost be-
gan to think that had solved the problem of
perpetual motion, for l simply couldn't get
of. When once on it was with me as with
Tennysons 'Brook'-'Men may come and men
may 90, but go on forever. After had
summoned up courage to make the attempt
few times, though, it was not long before it
became easy enough.
FOUR STAGES
"There are four stages, you know, in learn
ing to ride bicycle" she went on, looking
earnestly at the pedestrian. The pedestrian
did not know, but he endeavored to assume a
look OF intelligence as she proceeded to
enumerate the stages: First riding, includ-
ing turning to the left; second, dsmounting;
third, riding to the right and fourth, mount
ing; and the funny thing about it all is that at
each stage you feel as il you would not possibly
be able to learn that particular movement
After l had learned to ride to the left and to
dismount it seemed As if I did not know
thing when began to try riding to the right,
for all my first experiences in running into the
fence and falling OF the machine were gone
through with again. And then when you learn
to mount!' And the look in her eyes spoke
volumes for the process. well, although my
progress at that point was very discouragin2
l wasn't going to give up riding simply be-
cause could never learn to mount as then
implicitly believed to be the case. OF course,
it was going to be humiliating to always get ON
made up my mind.so put up with that for the
sake Of the pleasure to be got from the mere
riding.
bat, dear me! SEQ what time II it," said
she, touching her tiny chatelaine watch,
and added as she turned her wheel: "Now re-
member. cannot bid you a lingering farewell
lou mustn't forget that bicycles are decisive
things. Just like balky horse-you cannot
stand on the order Of your going. but must
go at once" And giving with this very
graceful object lesson In mounting, in another
second she was flying down the avenue like .
feminine Mercury, while the pedestrian, who
was also q book worm, quoted meditatively, as
his eyes followed her fight, billiards. descrip-
tion of . gondola. which runs: mo form Of
locomosion ever gratihed 80 well the two war
ring tendencios Of the human soul, the love Of
movement and the love Of repose. There ID no
noise, no danger, no dust 1t il managed with
such skill and 80 apparent httlo effort that it
really seems to glide and turn BY its own will"
After which he soliloquixed: ''Strange how .
description Of one thing will sometimes at
another object that II totally different In all
particulaEs''
Meeting - ne Local Division L. a ".
An important meeting Of the local division Of
the b l. ". vas held this week in the red par
ior Of the Ebhitt HOUSE and there VA large
attendance. vies Consul Churchill presided
Tho reports Of various committees were ~