Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1896-02-20
R,oycIes ard eloomers.

by mail, but the fair writer forgot to
trust me with her address, and the
post mark so dimly stamped one could
not tell whether it was Barlow, Bever.
ly, Bagdad or Balloochistan, ergo. per-
init the answer through the Leader.
PROF. VERDAN,
Shiny brother has promised
me a bicycle. and will you kindly ad-
wise the kind I should have; the proper
care of it, and instructions IN learning
to ride? Will they be popular with
young ladies, and will the bloomer be
adopted as the costume? Please favor
me with an answer at your earliest
convenience and oblige
Yours resp. NJ ~ " A. NJ y &*% 4
Certainly, Maud, with the greatest
pleasure and some dubiousness. Bi.
cycling is gaining in favor, and becom-
ing very popular exercise and enter
tanning amusement for ladies, and
there is no reason why you may not
become quite proficient and eminent,
may be, in the use and management OF
the utensil or become an incurable
CIlpplt. IL SuCCCCo LII ih5 viz
desired accomplishment successfully
will necessitate unlimited assurance,
patience, persistence and indiscretion.
The species of wheel should be what
is known as "the ladies Wheel" so
styled because more gentle, or some
thing, than we use; and you should be-
gin the trouble with one that has been
used, | should think, broke in," bride
wise; new machine fresh from the
factory might be frisly and fre,ful,
with tendency to lie down anywhere
regardless of propriesy, place day or
date. You should secure a ten acre
field, free of stumps, to cut up in, and
moonlight and also, a congenial valet
de cycle to gather up things and be in
the way. OF course he will be satisfied
to participate in the perpleXity and
risk his life for the pleasure of your
society, and be ready how and when
to steady the vehicle, and, make glad
the waist places, and refrain from un-
due levity. Suppress chewing gum
while indulging in your prelusive ex-
ercises; it will require all your energies
concentrated on the job; you will soon
enough enjoy an opportunity to gum
it while contemplating, loving your
brother and thinking it all over while
getting we'll. When tackling the ma
chine exhibit no timidity, grip the
thing by the horns and mount the sad
die with bold determination to con-
quer or kick the thing to pieces.
Should the concern have a tantrum
and lie down during the melee with
your foot through wheel, don't ven
ture to crawl through after it; your
valet de cycle will amputate it with
hatchet or something. Should your
valet become derelict and the whole
outfit be landed in promiscuous heap,
see that your roll in the program is
executed gracefully and on time.
Don't loll out and hump like a sick
frog as we do, sit up straight on the
saddle as nature designed and--good-
by. AS regards costume, the bloomer
is it, with lady cyclists; they concede
it the best all round costume for real
comfort, freedom of motion, and evad-
ing a show when so situated Honi
soft NAL Y peuse Susan Il. Anthony
told the last convention that convened
that the bloomer is the proper costume
and must be universally adopted for
cycling, also during the sem-annual
epidemic of house cleaning, scrubbing
the kitchen, veranda and front steps,
and hanging pictures from a step lad
der; she knew lady who somehow
got her feet tangled among her skirts
on step ladder while trying to hang
a picture, fell to the floor and hurt her
self. Susan is authority, sometimes
quite often. Directors to the costume
conduct wheel if they had
a hundred of them, and several more.
BY the way, you should be prepared
for any sized event and have an oyster
can or two of embrocations, arnica and
the like, and n yard or two of court
plaster, such things come handy.
Your wheel, if you ever get one, will
require a good deal of care to be kept
in a healthy state of mind; the nova
BILE parts thereof should be cleaned
and oiled. Sewing machine
oil is much superior and more nutriti-
Gus as lubricant than lard, butter or
even fried meat gravy.
BY following these few suggestions
implicitly you will doubtless become
proficient as cyclist sometime, ma ybe,
and receive the usual congratulations,
and the like chestnuts, un-
less your admirers are busy with your
obsequies Vive vale.
DAN VERDAN
Huntington, w. Va.
IT is said that the daughter of the