The Press., 1899-11-23
suffice, and these must be reduced to the

suffice, and these must be reduced to the
smallest possible compass. Whatever is
added to these will ere long be dropped
by the way, and the cycler's course, like
the soldiers ON the march, will be mark
ed by discarded inspedinsentG.
We have lived on our wheels from the
day we landed In Rotterdam, where our
trunks were stored; we have had no re-
course'to baggage sent forward to await
our coming. Discomfort and inconven-
ience? Yes, from the standing point of
the sybarite; not from ours. We have
by experience put new meaning into
that line of the old hymn, "Man wants
but little here belowl" We sympathize
as never before with the tramp whose
worldly belongings are all tied up In a
red bandanna. We look at life from
new point of view, and trust are not the
worse for 1t.
Haven't your wheels troubled you?
Yes, and no. Happily theres is but one
scrub wheel in the outfit, and that by
common consent was soon dubbed "the
kicking mule, e,"-docile and meek as q
lamb one moment, standing on its head
the next. We never know where to find
It, 1t Is always the unexpected that hap
pens. Some Of Its tantrums have been
chronicled In preceding letters. One Of
its last capers was kick, q rear and a
plunge. Result-a broken neck, and its
rider sprawling In the mud across the
road-ten miles from any wherel The
party are all dumb with astonishment
The rider, without stopping to wipe the
mud from his bespattered clothes, meekly
walks beside his headless steed every inch
of the ten miles, utterly oblivious OF the
consolatory (?) remarks Of his compan-
ions. That mule has been q means of
grace to US all At the end of the ten
mile walk new head was put on him,
and he seems Of better mind ever since.
We trust he has been truly converted.
The rest of our wheels are new and OF
standard make, and have behaved well.
Now and then tire is unsvoidably pune
tured, but easily mended. Little mishape
by the way are pleasant diversion for
the time, and are soon forgotten From
our wheels we have seen new world,
have enjoyed it, and shall perhaps profit
by the seeing. We have kept away from
the thronged lines of tourist travel. and
have Stunned the hotels frequented by
tourists.
In the great currents Of travel hotels
and conveyances are much the came ir
all civilized countries. All things are
provided for and ordered to suit the trav
eler. Things distinctive of the country
and people,-their dress, customs, con
duct, foods, deformities, ell indecenciel
with slight exceptions, as, for instance
some offensive, immodest concomitant,
of the general use Of intoxieants, as wit
ness some indecencies In the streets o
Paris, the most beautiful city of the mos
polite () people In the worldly, anything
that may offend or give rise to unfavor
able COMMENT these as far as possible
are In all countries hidden from the pry
ing eyes OF foreigners. To see countr,
as 1t really is-its deformities as well q
its beauties, its defects as we'll as it's ex
cellencies, the traveller must often turl
into the by-ways. The working peopl
OF any country are In many lnstructiv
ways far better worth knowing than tn
idle rich.
BY preference In our long journe
awheel we have sought entertainment L
unpretentious hotels, patronized by mid
die and lower class natives Of the countr
we we're In, and after !, 500 miles Of trave
In three important countries Of wester
Europe, we congratulate ourselves on th
plan adopted. We have spent less fo
entertainment than does the middle-claa
tourist, even II he frequents the NOR
modest hotels for tourists. Wehave Ofte
Q seen the working people In their gal
dress at play, and 90 revealing unoor
sciously their real taste and character
We have seen them too In their daily o.
equations, in their fields and shops s-som
OF them grinding hopelessly In the Low
lest, hardest, most brutalizing mills {
toll; we have seen "the man with th
hoe" and alas, too, the woman with th
hoe! We have seen how ignorance an
hunger and hardship may deform 'the h'
man face divine," where selfish ruler,
who should have been the fathers of the
people, have been cruel taskmasters; ar
. we have not been thoughtless spectator
~ Of all this.
'I We have invariably found good, clea
beds, and good, we'll cooked food
abundance, courteous treatment ar
prompt, willing service, as our needs r
quired, and to our surprise very seldo
any manifest expectation Of fees on.tl
part OF the servants. We have had con