The Opelousas courier., 1899-12-30
THE AUTOMOBILE CRAZE.
CoMicAL MiSAAPS WITH THE MA
CHINE IN NEW YORK,

The style Of Dressing for the New Car.
rage Calls for Clothes Trimmed with
Leathsr-Grest Success or the Horseles.
In England and Other places.
The automobile is getting to be q
familiar sight upon the streets of New
LORE slipping II and ont among the
BUSY traffic at an easy pace, writes
. correspondent from Gotham. MANY
OF the big stores employ them to carry
packages, they are used a great
dea 9 cabs and q few private ones
are seen on Fifth avenue
A we'll known young man OF wealth
started out to run his new automo-
bile; at the top of a hill he reversed
the brakes, or pulled the wrong lever.
or something, with the most surpris-
ing results. The machine gave a leap
IN the air and few down the hill.
turning complete s~omersaults, by the
way. Fortunately the young man was
not seriously hurt. The story is told
OF . New York lady who took her first
lesson IN running q private automo-
bile the other day.. She thought it
better to try it in her own private
grounds before endangering life or
limb on the public highway. She was
shown how to work the various brakes
and did very well Is long as her in
struetor remained ON the machine.
When he stepped of, however, and
she tried to run it herself, she lost
her head, and the automobile dashed
through garden beds, went over q
fancy roekery. sweryed into the veg
etable garden and gIass-houses, and
finally dashed up the steps and broke
down the front door before it was
stopped.
At downtown r~estaurantthe other
day, that has out-of-door tables in the
garden, down a few steps from the
sidewalk, an automobile swirled up
the street. and beng unable to stop,
surprised aud alarmed the diners big
humping down the steps AMI almost
into the front door before the man
succeeded in pulling it up. Another
incident hefell a wedding couple. A
group of friends and relatives con-
gregated at the door to see them off,
throwing the customary rice ID old
slippers. The young couple entered
an automobile, but thu motorman vas
so agitated that he could aot manage
the machine, which-went round. and
round in . giddy waltz Crowds coll
lected and cleered the exciting spec
tacle, women screamed and policemen
gathered, but still the automobile,
seemingly in the highest spirits. went
on its mad piroustting. II. Was brought
to q standstill in time, however, but
the bride and groom got out, ordered
q carriage and two horses, and pro-
ceeded on their wedding journey in
the good, old-Eashioned way.
In Paris the latest thing is Q very
small machine, not much larger than
3 tricycle., with room for two in front
and . round seat at the back. The
business men going to their Offices in
the morning take their wives with
them on the round seat. They have
9 driver who conducts madame home
again. BY the way. it is
hard to suit the English Ian
guage to the new machine. No
one yet knows what to call the man
who runs the automobile; also one can
not say, Fl went for a drive in my
motor" for there is nothing to drive.
and to say II went for a ride" is not
elegant Then. II thes.owner Of one of
the new-fangled things speaks Of il,
can he say, II was out motoring this
morning." The machine is here to
stay, SO I suppose the language will
soon ADJUST itself
The style Of dressing for the auto-
mobile is in clothes trimmed with
leather, with caps Of the same ma
ter iaI; that is the lead given by Paris,
which is far ahea.1 Of the rest of the
world IN using the antomebi.e. It is
also considered verv bal form to
fancy pins ornamented with q horses
head or horseshoe cuff buttons with q
motor cosIume. a young New Yorker
was much criticised for having his
photograph taken in an automobile
suit, with . small riding whip in gold
stuck into his coachman's white neck
Tie. It was refernd to Us being
painful to the thorough dresser than
tan shoes and q silk hat.
News comes from England OF the
great success there of the horseless
truck. They havs no accidents, and
the machines seem to behave with the
utmost decorum. But there is one
trouble. So many rich people are
buying automobiles that experienced
drivers, or m~otormen, are in great de-
mand. AZ soon IS q big company edu-
Gates i number of Non to run their
trucks they ara offered high wages
and bought up for private con-
Germs. For this reason alone there
has been . serious delay in London
IN starting the horseless cabs for
hire.
Returning Americans from Paris
complain Of the high rate Of speed
that ii allowed To the various motor
machines IN Paris. They are Of all
sorts and kinds, from the heavy truck
and the handsome open barouche to
the little t~ricycle-like thing. They
I'll 10 flying along the street utterly
regardless Of pedestrians. Especially
B this the case on the Champs-
Elysees, by the Arch a. Triomphe,
where there II q broad, smoothly
paved rpad, and ! slight declirity. IL
il particularly annoying. IS in Paris,
they say, il you are run over il is not
the driver who ii arrested, but your
self q III obstruction in the streets.
The c1bs that ply for hire Hpoa
Fifth svenue are clumsy. sheayy ve-
hicles. but they ( exrren1tly e0In-