The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-11-25

~ HE BICYCLE is queer instru-
ment You think you know all
about it. then suddenly you find
IL there are still things to learn.
= The other evening / got on my
bicycle and worked my way for five
or six miles through one of the pret-
test lanes in England to a country
village where a friend of mine lives
he Iane which leads to this village
IL one in which l did a good deal of
practicing when l first took to the
bicycle, some months ago. 1t is bor-
dered by hedges and trees on each
side and looks like a long green tun-
nell, through which the sun sends
some fltering, flickering rays down
on the excellent roadway, making a
sort of dancing carpet of light and
shade. eternally weaving themselves
together, and mimicking in shadow and
sunshine the interlacing of the trees
above.
But there Is. alas, along the side of
this lane a ditch with which l have
before now made acquaintance while
teaching myself how to ride. 1t is al
ways a pleasant experience for BIZ
cycler to revisit a spot where he has
had his conflicts with the machine. 1t
gives him a sense of having accom-
plished something. l recognized all
the places where l had been thrown
in the ditch and where ! had been
thrust through the hedge. 1t was
nice to know that these exciting days
were past, and that l now rode the
machine as if l were a part of it.
The lane is a lonely place at any
time of the day; broader roads and
more direct ones lead to the little viii
lage have spoken of, but whose name
need not mention. My friend proved
so entertaining that i stayed on and
on. / was invited to stop for dinner
and did. / was afterwards censured
for this when l ultimately did reach
home. People in the country, ] was
told were not always prepared to re-
ceive unexpected visitors to dinner. 1t
was not the thing to drop down with
my bicycle upon a helpless man in
the country and then hang around the
premises until / was invited to din
ner. l am always putting my foot in
1t in this way. 1t makes me feel
guilty afterwards, but what is a man
to do? 1 was interested in my
friends talk, and I stayed on for that
reason. I wasn't thinking about din
ner at all, and 1 am sure by the
very good dinner they gave me, they
were prepared for a visitor to drop
down from anywhere, and, besides, IL
/ had taken my sandwiches in my
pocket and sat out on the veranda
to eat them my friend might have
been offended, imagining that 1 thus
sighted his hospitality; as it. was
left there thinking l had been most
l,al .nft IN
invitation to stay all night. I was
told when l reached home that I was
invited to stay the night because they
lad despaired of getting rid of me,
and so made a virtue of necessity.
Society is a complex machine, and a
man never knows what to do--at
least, I never do, and when people
talk the kind of talk l like l am apt
to hang on and on longer than I
should. But all that has nothing to
do with my bicycle experiences.
1t was pitch dark when I left the
house, and when ! came - the en-
trance of the lane it was even darker
than pitch, if such a thing be possl-
BILE. 1 lit my bicycle lamp for the
first time in my life. The lamp had
cost me a lot of money and was said
to be the best in the market, but
when II tried to compete with the ap-
palling darkness of the lane l saw
what a futile thing it was. 1t shed a
dim circle of light a long way ahead,
that didn't seem to me to be of much
practical use 1 pushed the machine
along and sprang lightly on its back,
Now, / thought / knew how to ride
perfectly; but 1 was to find out that
riding in the broad daylight ana rid
ing in the darkness are two entirely
different things. The machine gave a
wobble first in one direction and then
in the other, and my heart came into
my mouth when l found that unless
/ was the wheel I did not know how
to balance the concern. Sitting down
a moment afterward, fortunately not
on the side where the ditch was,
had some time to mediate on the sit
uation. The wheel was on top of me
and the lamp was out. This was old
times over again, and had not even
the chance in the darkness to select
the spot on which to fall. / did not
like the idea of trundling the machl az
all the way along the lane when
ought to be able to do so much better
on it's back, so l rose slowly, placed
the machine upright again and relit
the lamp. The lamp hung on a couple