The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-09-10
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Brief Reviews of Important and Interesting
New Publications.

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New Publications.
Il seems az though some one was always
scoring of the Alps. Hannibal. II the vener-
able Titus Livlus told us no lies, got over them
with the aid OF elephants and q large supply OF
vinegar; Napoleon rode across them on q
white horse, according to the Century poster,
and on q mule. II NJ. Theirs was not mistaken,
and not so very long ago the hardy hunter Tar
tarin immortalized himself by falling over them /;
while every year adventurous gentlemen with
alpenstocks festoon themselves on ropes and
hang In picturesque attitudes from the various
peaks-sometimes falling over-but happily
more often coming back to write papers which
are read and discussed with interest and spirit
by members Of the Alpine Club. But now the
Alps have had a blow that is calculated to
make any self-respecting range Of noun
tains look smaller than II was. A woman has
pushed and pedalled and coasted on her bicycle
over ten Of the highest passes, and has written
the story OF her labors in q small book
published by tho Century Company, Mrs.
Elizabeth Robbins Pennell, who wrote over
the Alps on a Bicycle" doesn't seem to think
much OF the Alps. Wherein she agrees
with another distinguished writer-Mr. LIE
Gallienne. II we remember r~lRhtly-who has
also alluded to them somewhat contemptu-
ously. It was in one OF his immortal contrlbu-
lions to polite literature that they were de-
| scribed as greasy from having been climbed 80
often. Which seemed to some persons TO be
unnecessarily hard upon the Alps.
Mrs. Pennell begins her record in a merry
vein. ITO 90 over the Alps on a bicycle" she
says In O burst Of bold Righteousness. you
must first have your bicycle. and then get it to
Switzerland. Like most people, j. and 1 have
wheels. Unlike most people. when we want to
travel we ride" At this point It is probable
that the intelligent and inQuiring reader will
say to himself: Now. who the deuce is UP
and what has he to do with the story any way '
~" seems to be O mysterious sort OF chap. who
doesn't say much. but who is able. on occasion.
to make himself useful by blowing up a tire. or
by taking Mrs. Pennell's bicycle to the nearest
repair shop, and from one OF the pictures
with which Mrs. Pencils husband has illus
trated his wife's book. -" appears to have
a we'll developed bicycle back" He also
seems to be O somewhat reckless rider.
II ran into the gutter and sat down In the
bushes" says Mrs. Pennell at one point. Il
picked myself up and looked over the side.
Half a dozen zigzags below was j.. coasting
like mad, foreshortened 30 I could only see the
top OF his head. He approached a curve. AS
he turned It he leaned right out over the preei-
pice. He took his hands off. Heavensl was
he falling2 No, he was lighting his pipe.
II he could get down. SO could !. IL
is true / rode for a while In o most ladylike
manner. but after half a dozen turns. by keep
ing my pneumatic on and by back pedalling for
all I was worth. by turning as short as possible
at the curves. there was no trouble. l actually
caught up to J.; he was sitting on the bank at
the time. smoking" There is q great deal more
like that in the book. Mrs. Pennell tells us how
she pushed and pedalled and perspired. where
she stopped for meals, how che once ate two
breakfasts in order to climb an exceptionally
steep hill, and how, once. when she was think
ing out what she describes as IAN elegant
phrase for my notebook" she ran into a cart
and buckled her wheel. She seems to have
had q heap Of trouble. and In spite
OF the vivacious beginning OF her story
she soon develops q fine. healthy scold-
ing capacity. which she exerts to the end.
with hardly a lapse into cheerfulness. She
scolds the Swiss hotels and hotel keepers. the
roads, the customs officers. the peasants. the
tourists, and the wandering goats. She scolds
| the mysterious and unobtrusive j." who. ON
| one occasion, got veto the skin and was foolish
enough to feel unwell. He always collapses
| somewhere. somehow. on these trips" she
says. She even administers q mild scolding to
| Mont Blanc because she couldn' see 1t from her
window In Geneva. As for that comparatively
armless and often mildly amusing individual
that some writer's speak Of 80 contemptuously
as the tourist-he moves her to much wrath.
She describes him as eating and drinking like
a pig, and she solemnly assures us that In
Switzerland he meyer sees further than his W
| nose, always walks in the middle Of the road
and is stone deaf. She finds that the
German becomes q public nuisance when he
travels, and that the Englishman is forever
trying to speak some language which he does
| not understand: WHILE. worse than all. is the
| American who actually takes his coat OF and
shows his braces" when the weather is I'M
pleasantly warm. Then. too. tourists Will in
sIst upon asking absurd and unnecessary
questions, and will even speak to per-
sons to whom they have not been for
mally presented. Once two English women.
who wished to find out the distance
to their destination. said" Combien Ar0enti6re?'
| to Mrs. Pennell. But she had no information to
| give away. Not having heard that the place
was for sale I was compelled to reply that
1 did not know" On another occasion the
elusive u" was even more humorous.
Presently I saw toillng up on his bicycle
and he had not yet got on to the pass.
poor mana lone black figure. his hat in
his hand. AS he came near he raised his head.
and in well-known accents l heard: Say.
how's the road fur Shamminy ? You'll see.'
said j. 1t seems to us that there was a touch
OF the lightness OF Gibbon In that repartee.
when 1 grumble.'' says Mrs. Pencil. "peo-
pie think it is because l am not enjoying my
self. But they do not understand. " "
l hated to walk. to push the machine.
to be sweltering In July sunshine and
smothered in dust. But after 1t was over
1 knew l should be immensely proud of my
achievement. and l was game to the end. ].
said that was the way you felt when you were
climbing the high peaks-it was the true sport
ing spirit-and 80 we did what we could to
make the best of my temper" The discomfort
involved in pushing a heavy machine over a
stiff pass is doubtless trying to nervous sys-
TENS. and apt to make one take q gloomy view
OF things. W. cannot help thinking that Mrs.
Pennell might have written in q more cheerful
vein II she had taken q ride in the ordinary
common or garden diligence now and then and
we wish she had enlightened us as to the
identity OF the mysterious -" Some OF Mr..