The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-05-15
Incidents and ions
THE MOTOR PASSION
BY R. L. GRAY.

grit their teeth ana they win have -
thank you in the end.
me other day / saw him 90 out and
U.s. fortunate enough to see him come
BACK. thug, chug. chug. chlIg h.
went up the ~fayorlte stree, yar arfy-
ing, power in every exhaust OF U{s en-
giHe. Il horse gave ~Svrnuram4 of
wanting 10 stand on his hind legs. The
not"rist was both law-abIding and
ieIihed III ms cruelty. He stopped and
sat SfhlliHB while the young man ma
.'noeuVred his roadster past tho OBJ
StIuclloh. chug, chug" NJ went. little
chlidreh stopping to gaze after him.
men, pop, pop pop, pop" as he
speeded up ana his back was lost in
q cloud Of dust ana ne whirIed around
the corner, the White road slipping
nike a ribbon beneath the wheels out
10 the green fields and the woods.
across the river bridge. on ana away
from the city ana its noise ana traffic.
out among the beauties Of nature ana
but you have seen it al in the adver-
.tisements.
hours afterwards. he came back,
around the same corner but not So
last. Instead Of Il glittering monster
Of grunts ana dust and fire the ma
cflhe followed q rope like any scow
OF the river fronts. In place of tug
was Il mule with Mapping ears ana pa
tieht steps. In the buggy behind the
mule sat Il man who ftickcd him with
a "nlp. In the seat by the driver
OF the mule reposed Il pair Of c~rutches.
1T was a satisfying spectacle. The
tlfcS or the machine had been taken
OF and the broad flanges coaxed onto
the rails of the car track. Down his
the procession went, rescuer and sal
wage, the motorist tugging desperately
at his steering gear, the iron fianges
grating on the rails. the buggy wheels
crying Shfllly, the man with the
crutch looking back occasionally to
advice or shout encouragement.
Along the sidewalks ran a crowd OF
children, yes still wide but let in
on terms OF intimacy. They houtad
gleefully. They laughed and were
glad. The monster had deteriorated
into junk.
Did you ever see or perchance par
ticipate in the merry sport of balloon
batting? There is Il county fair. Sailing
proudly over the crush at the table
with the prize punkins, at the board
where you are supposed to ring the
knives, i'll front of the tent of the
lady, everywhere in fact
where there are sights to see float the
red and blue balloons which vie With
the tatfy that never wears out as l,ay-l
ment for the torture of the very young
whose fond parents are giving them
the pleasure Of a day at the fair. airy
bubble, rainbow hued, Little boys and
girls. dragged hither and yon Gluten
their sticks with estasy. Red-faced in
the crush they still nave the balloon. !
They gaze upon it with consuming
Even the fore-knoWledge of its
tiatulenCy on the morrow is pOWerless
to dash their joy. BObbing overhead !
the balloons give the one touch of in
accent gayety to the solemn business
of the Sight-Seer. |
Thcn observe the boy with the reed. !
Never did an Indian stalk his victim
with more logged steps. Cautiously
be approaches his prey. The chubby
legged, red-faced little girl ~pcrspires
With enthusiasm. FOndiy, when she
breathe, or when her hurried feet
are allowed for q to drag, =
gazes aloft at the balloon above -;
head. The boy observes these !
With a delight that is fiend-
ish. He glOats over the power that is
Finally, he pauses, inserts a pin
in the reed, the reed in his mouth,
his jaws, gives the fatal puff.
and beauty, shrivels to a limp
black mass upon it's stick. The little
girl is unconscious. Her mother is
Juggling at her wrist. Her face redder
With eXertion she pushes on, safe in
he possession of her balloon, clutching
Sllch Will pllIIul dtleI lhllldlloI'
The average boy under these cir (
cumStances stays to see the tragedy
acted out. At q safe distance or saunt-
by with a benign Indifference, he
observes the parOXysm of the discoV-
cry. The deep-lunged sob is music
to his ears. He h~eSitateS to observe
he little group bending over the
h~eart-broken child gazing at the end
Of the stick and seeks another victim.
the Indian he counts his scalps.
It is only occasionally that an imagina-
i've genius creates the havoc and re-
tires without the actual exhibition of
grief. For him it is enough to be GER
ain of the result. He wastes no time,
wins the certainty Of safety and, re-
firing without the wait for the end,
1ccumulates more Victims. /
1t would be easy to say that the
OF a boy for theeefinement
If cruelty affords his highest happi-
in the ability to pain. Yet in the
matter of the balloon the reason is q
leeper one. Pride will not permit that
ne himself own q similar toy. Yet its
.cdness and it's r~OundnesS and its any
boise still speak to him with the lure
IF past delights. With manly assertion
ne resents the intrusion of the weak
ness. Hence destruction. Behind de-
,truction is desire. Now the boy is
lothing less than the mob in little. \
And the moi is nothing more than so
,ietv in breech-clouts. Neither boy
OF bnnyt =