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By Alfred D. Chandler.

University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.

BICYCLE TOUR

ENGLAND AND WALES

MADE IN 1879, BY THE PRESIDENT, ALFRED D. CHANDLER, AND

CAPTAIN, JOHN C. SHARP, JR., OF THE SUFFOLK

BICYCLE CLUB, OF BOSTON, MASS.

WITH

AN APPENDIX

GIVING INFORMATION ON THE USE OF THE BICYCLE, BOTH IN
EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES.

%Im jfonr ^VLTfB anh Sitbtntnn lUnstrations.

BOSTON:

A. WILLIAMS & CO., 283 WASHINGTON STREET.

LONDON:
CROSBY LOCKWOOD & CO.,

7 Stationer's Hall court, Ludgate Hill, e. c.

i88r.

CONTENTS.

APPENDIX.

-♦-

Page

I. Practical Bicycling Advice .... 109

II. Hints on Continental Touring . . . 118

III. Increase of Bicycle Riding .... 130

IV. Table of the Fastest Times by English

Professionals 131

V. Table of the Fastest Times by English

Amateurs 132

VI. Road Riding. Long Distances in 24

hours. With Table 133

VII. Bicycle Riding in the United States . 138

VIII. Is Bicycle Riding Healthy ? .... 140

IX. Where Bicycles may be obtained in the

United States 152

X. Maps 161

•

Index 163

ILLUSTRATIONS.

ALBBRTYPES BY THE FORBES COMPANY OF BOSTON.

PAGE

I. Canterbury Cathedral 7

II. Road Scene, Bonchurch, Isle of Wight 15

III. Carisbrooke Castle . . 21

IV. Stonehenge 28

V. Salisbury Cathedral Spire .... 28

VI. Banbury Cross 36

VII. Kenil WORTH Castle 44

VIII. Chatsworth 52

IX. Peacock Inn 60

X. Warwick Castle 60

XI. Haddon Hall 68

XII. Scene at an English Race-Course . . 73

(From Frith*s celebrated painting in the National Gallery,

London ).

XIU. York Cathedral 80

XIV. South Stack Lighthouse 86

XV. Rocks at South Stack 93

XVI. Conway Castle 99

XVII. Carnarvon Castle 106

MAPS.

I. Skeleton Map of England, showing Route of
Tour.

II. Road Map of Southern England, reduced from
the Ordnance Survey, — Counties of Kent,
Surrey, Sussex, and parts of Essex, Middle-
sex, Buckingham, and Berkshire.

III. Same. Counties of Hampshire (Isle of Wight),

Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, and parts of
Devon, Monmouth, Gloucester, Berkshire,
and Oxford.

IV. Road Map of Eastern Massachusetts.

A BICYCLE TOUR IN ENGLAND

AND WALES.

In a month we were to return to America.
My affairs on the Continent had been ar-
ranged, and I had just reached our rooms
on Duke Street, St. James, London. My
companion had in my absence been coach-
ing with Keen, and had covered the track
at Lillie Bridge in unusual time. We were
both in the mood for it (though I was
hardly in form), and we concluded to pass
the month before our departure in a bicy-
cle tour through England : not a tour cut
out with mathematical precision, arranging
the precise hour of arrival and departure at

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 9

Letts, 72 Queen Victoria Street, London,
E. C. These maps are reduced from the
Ordnance Survey, and are on a scale of
four miles to an inch ; they are safe guides ;
by them we never lost our way, and could
depend almost entirely upon their aid for
the selection of our route from day to day.
They fold up in cloth covers of a conven-
ient size for pocket use. They cover all
England and Wales, the entire country
being divided into sixteen sections, the
section or two needed for immediate use
being taken. For machines we were at a
loss, though in London ; large as the stock
on hand was at various places, yet we could
not anywhere hire ju*t what we wanted.
At last J. selected a " Club," at Peake's,
No. 14 Princes Street, Leicester Square,
and from the same establishment I took
a " Royal," — a machine just then coming
into notice, and so named because specially
produced to fill an order for the Prince of

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. II

kerchiefs, and sundry other articles, in our
travelling-bags. The map sections we used,
including Southern and Central England
and North Wales, were numbers 5, 8, 9,
II, 13, and 14, or as they are sometimes
, labelled, letters C, E, F, I, L, and M.

On Tuesday, the 19th of August, 1879,
we left Charing Cross by rail for Stroud,
near Rochester, in Kent. This was to get
well away from London for the start ;
though the run from London to Roches-,
ter, and beyond to Margate at the eastern
extremity of Kent, is often made on bicy-
cles in a day. As a rule we found the
railway officials very obliging about our
bicycles ; the machines were either put into
one of those very narrow luggage compart-
ments, where two bicycles just fit in side
by side, or they were placed with ordinary
luggage, but always carefully handled. All
over England a charge for the carriage of
bicycles is made by the railroads, varying

12 A BICYCLE TOUR

With the distance. The rates were then :
under 12 miles, i^. ; under 25 miles, i^. 6d.\
under 50 miles, 2^.; under 75 miles, 3^.;
under 100, 4^.; and i^. for every additional
50 miles, — provided a passenger accom-
panies the bicycle, otherwise double these
rates are charged. Here is a copy of a
receipt not collected, given by the London
and North Western Railway. The receipt,
like a check in this country, is usually taken
up when you claim the machine.

LONDON AND NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY.

(314) EXCESS LVGGAGW:.

No. 10069 -5^.//. IS, 1879.

CHESTER to BIRMINGHAM.

Name _ Passenger.

Total weight lbs.

Pass*^- allowed 2 Bicycles.

Weight charged lbs. at £0 6s.

Clerk.

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 1 3

Mounting at the Stroud station, we rode
across the Med way River bridge to Roches-
ter, and then turned south for Maidstone.
This is near the heart of Kent, famous for
its hops, and during the season of 1879 —
which was very wet — one of the most suc-
cessful counties in all England for crops.
Just out of Rochester is a hill which we
had to walk up, and from which we had a
view of Chatham, one of England's great
naval stations. From the hill-top it was
fair riding all the way to Maidstone. When
about five miles out we began a long de-
scent to the valley of the river Medway, hav-
ing a fine view over the fields to Aylesford
and the river. We dismounted, when part
way down, to walk a few steps to " Kit's
Cotty House," a singular Druidical ruin of
huge stones, standing close by in a quite
unaccountable way. J. commenced his
sketches here, and before our trip was
over he had two books full of ruins, land-

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 1 5

have used shorter cranks, and can now
ride almost any hill about Boston with as
much ease as formerly with long cranks.
Short cranks appeared to be the rule in
England, unless over very rough or very
hilly roads.

J. now had a mishap within a hundred
feet of the inn. The rain made the road-
bed very slippery. The soil of the roads
throughout a large part of England is
oolite, or limestone, and, when wet, is
treacherous. I well-nigh lost my balance
before discovering what a surface we were
riding over, and called to J. to take care ;
but it was too late, and down he came,
bending his bicycle crank out of shape.
In less than half an hour a blacksmith
hard by had the crank in order. The
charge was but a shilling, and I was sur-
prised at his skill as a workman. My turn
for a tumble on slippery roads came later
on in Derbyshire. On we then went with

"•■»+.

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 1 7

charm of a good English inn. Before leav-
ing London I had made out a list of inns
and commercial houses along our route,
it taken from various guide and bicycle
Waooks ; but we had often to depend rather
•n information obtained from persons met
as we entered a town or city. We were
rarely misled, — our greatest mistake being
at Burton-on-Trent, in Staffordshire; but
that was soon corrected.

The next morning we left Charing, in
a light rain, for famous old Canterbur3^
After climbing the hill near the inn, the
route was undulating on to the valley of
the river Stour, down which we rode, soon
reaching Canterbury, where we stopped at
the Falstaff, though we afterwards found
the Rose was better. Of course the cathe-
dral was the great attraction at Canterbury,
and we devoted all our spare time to it.
About four o'clock in the afternoon, as the
weather improved, we rode on towards the

1 6 A BICYCLE TOUR

great care, growing bolder as we became
wetter. It poured so hard that at last w^e
took shelter under some oak-trees. Two
Englishmen in waterproofs drove by in a
dog-cart, and smiled at us compassionately.
We rallied each other at the series of inci-
dents that in the last hour seemed to dis-
pel the poetry of bicycling in England.
However, we soon mounted and pressed
on, stopping again at a little wayside inn,
till the rain fell less, when we rode through
to Charing, arriving at the Swan at half
past six, after a ride of twenty-one miles
from Rochester ; the first part pleasant and
interesting, the last part hard and nasty.

I cannot forget the courtesy and kind-
ness shown us at the Swan, kept, as we
had been told, by "a good family from
London." Our wet clothes and shoes were
nicely dried, our machines cleaned, and
every comfort thoughtfully provided. It
was as if we were at home, and this is the

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 1 7

charm of a good English inn. Before leav-
ing London I had made out a list of inns
and commercial houses along our route,
taken from various guide and bicycle
books ; but we had often to depend rather
on information obtained from persons met
as we entered a town or city. We were
rarely misled, — our greatest mistake being
at Burton-on-Trent, in Staffordshire; but
that was soon corrected.

1 8 A BICYCLE TOUR

northeast, over a good road, and in two
hours arrived at the White Hart, in Mar-
gate, after a day's run of thirty miles, in-
cluding several hours' stay at Canterbury
to examine the cathedral That part of
Kent called the Isle of Thanet suggested
our western prairies in miniature. Margate
was full of people, it being midsummer, and
the town thronged with visitors, though of
a different class from those met at Hast-
ings or Brighton. Here I first used the
public baths so common in England ; and,
though we passed through many an Eng-
lish watering-place, I always found it more
agreeable to bathe in the excellent salt-
water bath-houses, or natatoria, than in the
sea itself. From the White Hart Hotel we
looked over the little harbor which forms the
foreground of Turner's painting of Margate.
The next morning was fair, and we were
off at nine o'clock for the run to Dover,
across the Isle of Thanet, leaving Rams-

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 1 9

gate on the left, by the shore of Pegwell
Bay, and so on through Sandwich and by
Deal. We developed enormous appetites,
and I recall the immense relief we had oh
coming up to the little Swing-Gate Inn,
three miles or more out from Dover, where
we ordered bread, cheese, and beer, about
all the inn afforded, and which was served
to us on a little balcony over the inn door,
where we enjoyed the view over the fields,
and were entertained by the arrival of a
coach-load of passengers, many of whom
got off to drink; and afterwards by the
appearance of a young lady driving with a
gentleman in a phaeton, and who appeared
to be persons of superior station, the gen-
tleman calling from the vehicle for brandy
and water, with the request to " let me see
the brandy before you put the water in."
The whole was but another illustration of
the constant proofs we saw of England's
" national vice."

20 A BICYCLE TOUR

From Swing-Gate Inn to Dover was the
most extraordinary bit of road we had met
with. The mud, a whitish compound of
limestone and water, was so deep that we
were forced to dismount and walk on a
ridge by the fence at one side for a long
way; it was with difficulty that vehicles
were dragged through. For such neglect
of a road a New England town might be
indicted ; but before our tour was over we
found that English roads are by no means
as fine as popularly supposed. Not only
in Kent, but in Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, and
elsewhere, we passed over miles of execra-
ble roads, on which, if we kept in the saddle,
we suffered from side-ache and could ride
only by great exertion and skill, and where,
indeed, we often had to dismount and walk.
Yet it is true that for touring on bicycles
England offers facilities such as can by no
means be obtained generally in New Eng-
land ; and for many a score of miles have

CARl-^l!ROUK.E CASTLli, ISLE OF WIGHT.

inv3Bion The p[i5on □( Charles I. in 1647-f

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 21

we ridden over superb English roads, pass-
ing mile-stone after mile-stone quickly and
easily.

The descent into Dover by the castle is
dangerous ; it is not safe to ride down ;
many even get out of their carriages and
walk'. Before descending we stopped of
course at Dover Castle, and then, after
bathing at the natatorium in the town
below, and watching a tremendous thun-
der-storm, which flooded the streets, we
passed the night at the Lord Warden
Hotel by the pier.

From Dover to Folkstone is all up-hill,
excepting the last mile, which is so dan-
gerously precipitous that the Dover Bicy-
cle Club have a painted notice, or " Danger
Board," placed conspicuously at the top,
worded as follows: —

"CAUTION TO BICYCLISTS.
"It is dangerous to ride down this hilL

" Dover Bicycle Club.
"May, 1878. W. Fletcher, Captain,^^

22 A BICYCLE TOUR

It seems that this idea of putting up
danger boards originated with Captain
Jawlette, of the Dover Bicycle Club, and
has since been carried out generally in
England.

I asked the proprietor of a little bar at
the hill-top what the favorite drink of the
bicycle riders was, and he answered, " Soda
and milk " ; adding, that sometimes thirty
or forty riders passed there in a day, most
of them moving toward Dover to take ad-
vantage of the four-mile coast and of the
prevailing southwest wind. We found that
this southwest wind was a power ; it seemed
to be the prevailing wind all over England
at that season, so much so that on com-
pleting our tour of the Isle of Wight we
no longer struggled against it, but stood
away for the north, and ran all the way up
into Yorkshire with the wind on our backs
for about three hundred miles. In arrang-
ing an English tour it is perhaps well to

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 23

regard this wind, and try to move generally
from south to north or from west to east,
rather than the other way. It is said that
when young Appleyard made his wonder-
ful ride from Bath to London (loo miles
in 7 hours, i8 minutes, and 55 seconds), he
had this wind blowing almost a gale behind
him. As for the soda and milk, I found
that it had staying qualities, without the
heaviness of bitter beer or ale. Soda is
sold everywhere in England in small bot-
tles ; and I well remember how satisfactory
was the mixture of this that a young gen-
tleman from Dorsetshire prepared, as we
were about to part after a swift fourteen-
mile run side by side out of Chichester.

After leaving Folkstone, the next place
of special interest was Hastings, in Sussex,
where I saw the Duke and Duchess of
Edinburgh for a few moments. They were
travelling in a special train, which stopped
at the station. Their car was arranged in

24 A BICYCLE TOUR

part like an American drawing-room car.
The Duke appeared at an open window,
returned the recognition of those observ-
ing, and conversed with some one await-
ing him. The ladies of the party remained
seated in full view through the large win-
dows. A few quiet directions, a careful
examination of the wheels, and the train
moved away as quietly as it had ap-
proached. Even those who examined the
grease-boxes were dressed in neat uni-
forms; and the locomotive, with its im-
mense driving-wheels, the cars, — indeed,
the entire train with its occupants, — made
an interesting study of English railroad
travelling at its best. ^ A few days later, at
the Isle of Wight, the Queen crossed in the
royal yacht to Gosport, and took a special
train through to Balmoral, or rather Balla-
ter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, a ride of about
six hundred miles. The expense to royalty
for special railroad service seems great; for

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 25

I have read that the cost to the Queen is
;^8,ooo, or about $40,000 a ye2Lr.

After Hastings was Brighton, the famous
watering-place, where we stopped at the Old
Ship Hotel, facing the sea ; but it rained
so violently that we soon longed to be off.
We went about enough to get a distinct
idea of Brighton externally, but we were
growing to like the country more than the
town. I enjoyed the swimming-bath there,
and had the novelty of floating about while
I tried to interpret the Greek and Latin
inscriptions which encircled the interior.
At npon we rode on through the rain to
New Shoreham, stopping there to lunch.
In the coffee-room of the inn were several
scrap-books filled with entertaining novel-
ties. From there our ride to Arundel was
through mud and water with flooded roads ;
but the beauty of Arundel checked us. Our
dinner at the Norfolk Hotel was relished,
and we stopped there for the night. While

26 A BICYCLE TOUR

at dinner, there was a noisy demonstration
without, and we were told that a travelling
circus was announcing its exhibition for
that evening, so to the circus we went ; but
I hope the Duke of Norfolk will provide
a better place for such exhibitions in his
neighborhood hereafter. There was a mot-
ley throng in attendance, with a few re-
served seats where some persons of quality
sat with us, watching the performance with
but little emotion. The ground in the ring
was soon a mass of sticky mud, the tent
being pitched in a field soaked with the
recent rains. The poor performers were
unable to get about with ease, save where
carpets were spread. The principal feat-
ures of the circus were advertised as Ameri-
can. We came away before the crowd left,
and had to stumble across the soggy field
and grope in the dark to the highway
leading to the town.

The old and new castle of the Duke of

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 2J

Norfolk are close to the hotel, and there
can here be seen one of the most splendid
baronial mansions in England ; the castle
dating back nearly two hundred years be-
fore the Norman conquest, and enjoying
the peculiar privilege of conferring the
dignity of earl on its possessor, without
any patent or creation from the crown, —
a privilege not enjoyed, it seems, by any
other place in the kingdom.

On Sunday, the 24th of August, at ten
in the morning, we left picturesque Arun-
del. It was a fine day; the road was very
good. We were to run to Portsmouth,
stopping some time at ancient Chichester,
and were congratulating ourselves on the
fair weather and an easy, peaceful run after
the storms of the past ; but when just south
of Slindon Park, five miles out, J.'s machine
snapped in two where the backbone joins
the head, and became useless. Our bicycle
map showed that the nearest railway station

28 . A BICYCLE TOUR

was Barnham Junction, two miles south. In
a few moments I had ridden there and re-
turned with word that a Sunday train went
up to London that afternoon ; and London
was only about fifty miles away. We at
once arranged that J. should go up to Lon-
don, replace his broken machine, and meet
me at Portsmouth the next day. This he
did, getting another bicycle at Peake's and
joining me at the George in Portsmouth,
where I had telegraphed to him my arrival
the day before. I mention this especially
to show how such an accident can be man-
aged in England, where, from almost any
county, either London or Coventry (the
headquarters for bicycles) may be reached
in a few hours or less, and a return made
as quickly.

It was unnecessary for me to go to Lon-
don too, so I rode on to Chichester, where
I was surprised at the beautiful octagonal
cross, fifty feet high, at the junction of four

STONEHENGE, DRUIDICAL RUINS, HAMPSHIK.

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, HAMPSHIRE.

Spire fini.shed a century la

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 29

roads, one of the finest structures of the
kind in Great Britain.

My dinner that day was a solitary affair
without J. I had sole possession of the
coffee-room, and was at liberty to appro-
priate the entire copy of the " Times," in-
stead of a fractional part, as the custom is.
My reading had but commenced, when a
slight though muscular young gentleman
entered the room in bicycle dress, and or-
dered his dinner. In a few moments we
became acquainted. It seemed that he
was returning after a week's holiday on
his bicycle through the South of Eng-
land. He had ridden about forty miles
that morning, and had about sixty more
to do that afternoon and evening before
reaching his home. This would be about
one hundred miles for the day's run, of
which he made light. He expected to
reach home quite late, his route being to
Southampton, thence across the New For-

30 A BICYCLE TOUR

est (using a lantern), and so to Wimborne-
Minster in Dorset. I asked him whether
he had any scruples about riding on Sun-
day. He said he had not; that riding on
Sunday in England was customary, and
that his father was a clergyman who had
accomplished his sixty miles a day on a
tricycle. Later on in our trip, when at
Warwick, we met a clergyman and his
son who were "doing" England on tricy-
cles at the rate of forty miles and more a
day, his son being only about fourteen
years of age. I rode with them part way
to Kenilworth Castle, and observed the
respect with which they were treated on
the road, every one recognizing the clergy-
man by his cloth. They were sun-burned
and well ; and by using tricycles carried
with them plenty of clothes, umbrellas, and
articles a bicycle rider dispenses with.

My route from Chichester to Ports-
mouth was that of my new acquaintance

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 3 1

as far as Cosham in Hampshire ; so we
rolled along together over a very fine road,
conversing as we went. It was a delightful
ride ; my companion was very pleasant.
After passing Havant, he pointed out the
batteries at the north side of the road,
which, though five miles or more from
the sea, were, as I understood, heavy
enough to throw shot over Portsmouth in-
to Spithead beyond. At Cosham I turned
to run into Portsmouth, four miles to the
south, while my companion kept on to the
west, and I hope reached his long journey's
end in safety that night.

Our time for the entire trip was limited
to one month. This was not enough.
We were often obliged to hurry on, when
a longer stay would have been as instruc-
tive as pleasant. One can spend a month
in almost any of England's forty counties
with profit and pleasure, and to allow but
a month for all is insufficient. But we

32 A BICYCLE TOUR

travelled as far as we could in the time,
on bicycles, on foot, on coaches, and in the
cars, and the aggregate of our English and
Welsh travel was about seventeen hundred
miles, the route for only a portion of which
is shown on the map accompanying this
account ; several long rides in the cars,
our ride on the coach to Windsor Castle,
and other trips, being omitted as not strict-
ly pertaining to this bicycle tour.

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 33

II.

I AM no longer one of those who sup-
pose that on a bicycle tour the uppermost
thought must be to accomplish the great-
est possible distance each day, that the
average may run up into the fifties or
eighties, and the total be large. This de-
lusion seizes upon almost every rider of
spirit at first; but it will be found that
more comfort, enjoyment, and knowledge
are had if distance is made a secondary
consideration, unless one cares only to fly
through a country without time for obser-
vation or reflection, in which case he will
be apt to have but a very stupid passage.

Portsmouth is a point of departure for
the Isle of Wight. But there is so much
of interest to be seen in and around Ports-
mouth itself, especially of a naval and mili-

34 A BICYCLE TOUR

tary kind, that one can afford a day or two
less for the Isle of Wight to study the
sterner subjects war and self-defence have
developed in this, the chief naval arsenal
and the most perfect fortress in Great
Britain.

The weather holding fair, and J. not
having come down from London, I en-
gaged a sailor to row me out to H. M, S.
" Victory," one hundred and five years old
(on which Nelson fell in action seventy-
five years ago), and to other objects of in-
terest in the harbor. It was at the time
when England was touched by the mur-
der of young Louis Napoleon. The huge
steam transport for troops, which brought
back Captain Cary from the Cape, had
just arrived in Portsmouth. Cary's part
in the affair with the Zulus and the death
of young Louis were the common talk.
Of all the remarks I heard on this, that
of the bluff old sailor impressed me the

IN ENGLAND AND WALES,

most, when, regretting the death of Louis,
he said : " But better that one mother's
son should die than a thousand." For
had the French Prince Imperial lived, the
sailor feared that he would have caused
another of the sickening wars which Eu-
rope periodically endures. I could not but
contrast the aversion this old British tar
had for war, with the zeal shown by the
young Prussian soldiers I had, a fortnight
before, seen eagerly crowding up with their
sweethearts to the great battle paintings in
the National Gallery in Berlin,

In the " Bicycling World " of November
12, 1880, is an interesting account of a
trip to the Isle of Wight by " London
W." His party landed at Cowes, and
made a thirty-five mile run by Newport,
Carisbrooke Castle, Blackgang, Ventnor,
Shanklin, and Ryde. Our trip was quite
different, for we left our bicycles at Ports-
mouth, crossed to Ryde by steamer, and

36 A BICYCLE TOUR

took seats on top of the four-in-hand there
for Sandown, the coach stopping a quarter
of an hour or more on the way to let pas-
sengers walk about at points of interest.
At Sandown we left the coach and went
on foot along the cliffs by Sandown Bay
to Shanklin, where we lunched in a cosey
little coffee-room, and then walked down
into Shanklin Chine, across the fields, and
so on by the rugged path of the Under-cliff'
into Bonchurch and Ventnor, where we
climbed a hill several hundred feet high,
just by the station, and enjoyed the rare
scene around and below. The weather was
exceptionally fine. The route we took was
impassable for bicycles, and one has hardly
seen the Isle of Wight unless he has tak-
en this walk. I regret that we could not
have seen more of the Under-cliff" toward
the west, but we found it prudent to go
from Ventnor by rail to Newport, where
we passed the night at the Bugle, first

;

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 37

walking out a mile to Carisbrooke Castle,
where J. was busily engaged till dark in
sketching, while I climbed in great delight
all over the old walls ; indeed, soon after
breakfast the next morning we went again
to the castle, after which we saw what is
left of the fine Roman villa near by, with
its tessellated floors, which is older than
Carisbrooke, and in its way, perhaps, a
subject for as much reflection.

Those parts of the Isle of Wight which
form its distinctive features are to be ex-
plored on foot. Some portions of the
interior, to be sure, afford fair riding on a
bicycle; but it is the south and southeast
shores that give the isle its character, and
to enjoy these in freedom one should be
on foot.

Returning to Portsmouth, we spent an-
other night at the George, a heavy rain-
storm having set in. If any suppose that
life at English hotels, or even inns, is uni-

38 A BICYCLE TOUR

formly satisfactory, they mistake. As with
English roads, so with the public-houses :
now they are excellent, now the very re-
verse. We frequently found that the " best "
hotels, commercial houses, and inns were
deficient ; and many that travellers seldom
hear of were at times superior. In Ports-
mouth, for instance, a town with more than
one hundred thousand people, the " best "
hotel was said to be the George. Now at
the George we had rooms which were fair,
but the service in the coffee-room was slow
to an exasperating degree. I at first thought
that the waiter — there was but one for the
entire room — deemed bicycle riders un-
worthy the usual attention, and for the
experiment I doubled the customary fees ;
but, finding that useless, then took the fel-
low to task, when in a most respectful and
apologetic way he explained that the du-
ties of the coffee-room were quite beyond
the power of a single waiter, and that diffi-

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 39

culties in the kitchen made it impossible
for him to serve us more promptly.

In the evening there occurred what is
common in Portsmouth, a hubbub of fifes
and drums, with soHiers thronging the
main street, some with a single sweetheart,
many with two such hanging on their
arms. I went to the front door to look
on, and an English traveller in middle life
stood watching with me. Suddenly he
broke into a tirade upon English hotels,
declaiming against the service at the
George and elsewhere. He said the Eng-
lish people did not know what a good
hotel was ; that he had enjoyed what he
considered the luxury of hotel life in Sa-
ratoga and other American cities, and he
gave vent to a good English growl on
what is the fact, that in many matters
England is very far behind the times. I
was at first surprised, then revealed my
nationality, and sympathized with him.

40 A BICYCLE TOUR

And so it was : we were often much an-
noyed at our inability to have a meal at
the desired time, even when ordered long
in advance; and I have more than once
arisen very early to repeat an order given
the night before for breakfast, to make
sure of having it on time, and even then
been disappointed, not by a few moments
only, but by half an hour and more. When
one wishes to take a particular train this is
vexatious. On the other hand, promptness,
attention, and comfort were the marked
characteristics of many of the public-
houses we stopped at in England.

Leaving the south coast, we now com-
menced our run to the north, through the
very heart of the country ; we scarce ever
knew where we were to pass the night, or
what was in store for us the next day ; it
was a succession of entertaining novelties
through some of the finest parts of the
kingdom. The first of England's great

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 4 1

cathedrals on our route was at Canterbury ;
the second was at Salisbury, where we ar-
rived at about one o'clock in the afternoon,
lunching at the Red Lion. All our spare
time at Salisbury was devoted to its unique
cathedral, which is Early English of the
purest type. The spire is the highest in
the land, being four hundred feet, or near-
ly twice the height of Bunker Hill monu-
ment. Charles Sumner, who saw more of
England and English society than any of
his countrymen, wrote in 1838 : " My hap-
piest moments in this island have been
when I saw Salisbury and Durham cathe-
drals. Much happiness have I enjoyed in
the various distinguished and interesting
society in which I have been permitted to
mingle ; but greater than all this was that
which I felt when I first gazed upon the
glorious buildings I have mentioned. . . .
It was with a thrill of pleasure that I looked
from the spire of Salisbury," etc.

42 A BICYCLE TOUR

Here J. added to his increasing stock of
photographs ; indeed, from time to time,
we had either to send or take up to our
rooms in London the accumulations of
successive purchases in the way of pho-
tographs, guide-books, and the like, and
sometimes our travelling bags and pockets
were stuffed to their utmost capacity.

From Salisbury we ran that afternoon
out to Amesbury, and then two miles west,
passing Vespasian's Camp, to Stonehenge,
" with its mysterious monuments, Druidical
or whatever they may be." There is some-
thing incongruous in riding up to those
rude and ancient stone ruins on a modern
bicycle. We heard the plausible explana-
tions given by the old man in attendance,
paid for them as usual (for at such places,
who in England opens his mouth or moves
a step for you without expecting his tip ?),
and then, with a last look at the cathedral
spire eight miles south, we hurried back to

IN ENGLAND AND WALES,

Amesbury, and turned north for the water-
shed of the Thames. Our run was up the
pretty valley of the Avon. There are at
least three rivers called Avon in England :
this one flowed into the English Channel ;
we came to a second farther north at Strat-
ford. The ride that afternoon was very
pleasant. We noticed how soon some Eng-
lish roads are dry after a hard rain. On
we went, with charming glimpses of the
little river and the villages dotting its
course, till at nightfall we came suddenly
into Pewsey, and sprang off at the Phcenix
for rest.

If the Swan at Charing had its special
merits, the Phcenix at Pewsey had greater.
Here was a good lady with her daughters,
who speedily arranged everything for our
comfort, and neither J. nor I can soon for-*
get that hot omelette with which we finally
satisfied our appetites. As for my cham-
ber, it was complete, and seemed to me the

44 A BICYCLE TOUR

finest of the kind I had occupied in Eng-
land ; the china especially attracting my
attention. In the morning we were kindly
pressed to stay, and, but for lack of time,
might have spent a charming day in and
around that little Wiltshire town. But we
had a long tour before us, and off we flew
to the east, by a circuitous route, riding
right through a flock of sheep on the way,
and coming out on the Great Bath Road at
a point near Froxfield, just above Hunger-
ford.

This Bath road is the famous racing
road for bicycles, the run from Bath to
London being a hundred miles {10^% to
Hyde Park Corner); and the great one-
hundred-mile straightaway races have been
over this route, the fastest time for the en-
tire distance being Mr. Appleyard's, June
10, 1878, in 7 hours, 18 minutes, and 55
seconds, or nearly 14 miles an hour for the
entire time, including stops. Three months

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 45

later, September 12, 1878, Mr. W. S. Brit-
ten rode from London to Bath and back
over this road, doing 220 miles in 23 hours
54 minutes.

From Hungerford we rolled along to
Newbury, in Berkshire, where we lunched
at the Chequers. I replenished my oil-
can at a druggist's here ; the charge was a
penny, but the man scowled so as I held
up the little tin, that I asked what was the
matter, when he answered that he was con-
stantly called on to fill bicycle oil-cans, and
he never could tell when they were full.
From Newbury to Reading is seventeen
miles, and we bowled along the fine road,
covering the distance in an hour and twen-
ty minutes, — J. arriving in advance, for
he could easily outride me. It was a fine
run; heavy rain-clouds chased us nearly all
the way, but we outstripped them. Men,
women, and children were seen hard at
work gathering in the crops. The season

46 A BICYCLE TOUR

of 1879 was a very severe one for farmers.
We flew through Theale at a racing speed ;
and, altogether, our run of forty-two miles
from Pewsey was very enjoyable. The
day, however, was by no means spent : we
stopped an hour or more in Reading; I
plunged into the Thames at the bathing-
house there, but got out at once, for the
water was too chilly for me, though it was
August. The constant rains and cold
weather kept the temperature of fresh-
water streams very low that summer.
While crossing the track at the station
there was a shout of warning, and we were
told to "look sharp," for the Irish mail was
coming; just then we heard a whistle, and
a moment later the Irish mail-train tore
through the Reading station and rushed
on to London at a tremendous speed, the
engineer crouching on his cabless engine.

One feature of the day's ride showed
how sensibly drivers of horses accept the

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

innovation of bicycles in England. A
short distance out from Newbury a vehi-
cle was seen rapidly approaching us, and
as we drew near, the driver raised his
whip. A glance showed a young horse in
the shafts ; he very naturally shied as we
passed, when down came the whip on the
horse, and the driver remarked that he
would " break him in to bicycles." So on
the day before, while riding out to Stone-
henge, we met a lady driving in a phaeton,
who, upon seeing us, got out to hold her
horse. We immediately dismounted -at a
safe distance, and on coming nearer, the
lady deemed it necessary to excuse herself
for driving such a horse, rather than accept
any apology from us.

It was during our run through either
Wiltshire or Berkshire that we noticed
public water troughs and drinking cups,
with notices warning the public not to in-
jure them, under heavy penalties! This

48 A BICYCLE TOUR

warning, it seems, was necessary to prevent
the powerful liquor-sellers from destroying
whatever might interfere with their inter-
ests ; so deep a root has the use and abuse
of liquor taken in England. Farther north,
in Derbyshire, we again saw a few such
wayside water supplies for drinking, but no
warning was attached. In London such
fountains and troughs are now very com-
mon, their introduction being such a nov-
elty, that I have read the precise number
of human beings and animals that quench
their thirst at these places ; the count being
kept and published to prove to the British
public, as I suppose, the utility of such
benefactions.

We had now been out eleven days, and
found it necessary to go to London for let-
ters, money, maps, and other things, intend-
ing to return to Reading' the next day and
resume our trip. We had already seen the
most interesting portion of the countr}^ be-

IN ENGLAND AND WALES,

tween Reading and London, on a four-in-
hand. So, leaving my bicycle in charge of
a porter at the Reading station, we tele-
graphed to our landlady in Duke Street,
and went by the next train to London, forty
miles distant, J. taking his bicycle with him
to be exchanged for a more serviceable one.
We arrived in time for dinner.

If one does not care to ride his bicycle
through the streets of London, it can
easily be carried in a hansom by standing
it between the dasher and your seat; it
just fits in. The driver does not object;
it does not interfere with him, for he is
overhead. Bicycles are often carried on
the tops of cabs.

The first portion of our intended tour
was now over. We had traversed the coun-
ties of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshire,
and Berkshire, and explored the more in-
teresting parts of the Isle of Wight. Oi
route had been to many of the best known

)ur ■

wn fl

50 A BICYCLE TOUR

watering-places, in full view of miles of
England's southern coast ; was over hills
and plains and valleys in the interior ; had
revealed to us a varied succession of coun-
try and city life, of hotels and of inns, both
good and indifferent; had enabled us to
examine two of England's greatest cathe-
drals, Canterbury and Salisbury, at least
three castles, Dover, Arundel, and Caris-
brooke, a Roman villa, and the most cele-
brated Druidical ruins in the kingdom.

But what, to me at least, proved of more
significance, was the health and superior
physical strength acquired. A stay of for-
ty-eight hours longer in America would
probably have found me down with a fever.
After the voyage, and after my return to
London from the Continent, whither I had
been on business, I was far from strong ;
but the effect of this tour in the open air,
accompanied by rational exercise, was to
bring health and strength, with a disposi-

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 5 1

tion to renew the trip through very differ-
ent but equally interesting counties in the
centre and north of England. For this
our preparations were quickly made, and
an account of our further experience will
be found in the next two chapters.

5^ A BICYCLE TOUR

III.

It will be remembered that at the end of
the first part of our tour we were in Lon-
don again, preparing to start off afresh.
We arrived there on Friday evening, Au-
gust 29, and on Saturday afternoon follow-
ing returned to Reading by rail, starting
at once on our bicycles up the valley of
the world-renowned Thames, then swollen
by the heavy rains. Though ascending
the valley, the grade was easy ; still we
rode along at our leisure, for the river
views were too attractive to be passed with
a mere glance. We dismounted occasion-
ally, and in one place sauntered along the
bank by a little inn, appreciating the full
extent to which the people utilize the river,
where boats of all kinds are kept in great
numbers. Our ride was only fourteen miles

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 53

before nightfall, but the weather was fine,
and the short run slowly made to enjoy
the rural views. At tea-time we came to
ancient Wallingford, in Berkshire, and
stopped for the night at the Lamb,

The next day was clear and cool, and
before night we had met with a varied and
instructive experience. After breakfast,
riding on, we crossed the Thames at Shil-
lingford bridge, entering Oxfordshire, when
a fine run through Dorchester and Nune-
ham Courtney brought us to classical
Oxford. In " Paterson's Roads " (which
reached at least eighteen editions as far
back as 1829, and which is still of value
to the English tourist) I find at the con-
clusion of the account of Oxford this sen-
tence : " Volumes written on this head
would be unequal to do justice to the sub-
ject, and, in a few words, the powers of the
pen are as inadequate to describe, as the
creations of the pencil incompetent to de-

54 A BICYCLE TOUR

lineate the resplendent beauties of the city
of Oxford."

We stopped at the famous old Mitre
Tavern, took lunch, and at once went on
a tour of the city with a guide, who ex-
pressed his pride in the number of distin-
guished persons he had conducted through
Oxford. I pass over details. We of course
saw all that was open to us, including the
several colleges, the gardens and grounds,
the river, and the boat-houses. We hope,
however, to visit Oxford again, and to study
the city more thoroughly.

Our route that afternoon was over the
highway to Woodstock, where we turned
to the left to see Blenheim Park, the mag-
nificent seat of the Duke of Marlborough,
with its princely mansion, the gift of the
nation to the Duke. Unfortunately the
palace was not open to visitors on that
day, and we lost the chance of seeing one
of the most valuable collections of pictures

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 55

in England. There were some fine speci-
mens of the little Blenheim spaniel playing
at the palace gate.

On approaching Woodstock we found
the road very rough and fatiguing. I
called for an explanation from some of the
inhabitants, and asked why they allowed the
road to remain in such a state. They ad-
mitted the bad condition of the roads in
all directions from Woodstock, affirming
that it was due to some difficulty in the
local governing boards, and regretted our
annoyance. The rough riding continued
as we kept on through Oxfordshire, a coun-
ty where I think we had harder work than
in any other in England. We were on
the highway to Banbury; and this I am
sure of, — that in the summer of 1879 it
was a very rough road to Banbury Cross.
What with Oxford and Blenheim Park,
and the bad road that day, we did not
reach Banbury till after dark, and then
stopped at the Red Lion.

56 A BICYCLE TOUR

In the morning we selected photographs,
including some of the Banbury Cross, —
not the ancient one of nursery rhyme,
which is destroyed, but the new one re-
cently erected, and which, though fine, is
small, and not to be compared, it seemed
to me, with the grand old cross at Chiches-
ter, in Sussex.

When about a mile out of the town, we
overtook a pack of foxhounds driven along
the highway by the first and second whips,
both nfiounted. The hounds obeyed the
whips admirably, promptly moving from
side to side of the road as directed. This
was the second pack met, the first being in
the South of England. The returns for
1877 showed in the United Kingdom
about three hundred and forty packs of
staghounds, foxhounds, harriers, and bea-
gles, having not far short of ten thousand
couples. The expense of the hunting es-
tablishments is enormous, the stable being

IN ENGLAKD AND WALES. 57

a far more onerous burden than that of
a fashionable pack. The " Pall Mall Ga-
zette " of November 3, 1S77, estimated the
annual amount spent by the masters of
hounds out of their own pockets, or out
of the fund subscribed in the district for
hunting establishments, including stables
and kennels, at ^547,000, or over $2,500,-
000 a year. To this is to be added the
money spent by the people who hunt, from
the owners of well-appointed studs to the
modest proprietor of a steed called upon to
do its three days' work in a fortnight.

The pack we overtook was at once or-
dered on to one side by the whips to let us
pass, but I rode slowly behind a little while
to watch the movements and discipline of
the hounds. In this connection, it may be
observed that I cannot recall an instance,
throughout our tour, where a dog of any
kind gave us annoyance. Contrast this
with bicycle-riding in Massachusetts, where

58 A BICYCLE TOUR

it is an art to know how to manage the
various breeds, from a snapping mongrel
to the more dangerous Newfoundland.

We now pressed on to enter Warwick-
shire, one of England's most- charming
counties ; first riding along the ridge of
Edge Hill, where Charles I. engaged in
battle with the Earl of Essex in 1642, and
where five thousand men are said to have
been found dead on the field of battle.
The descent down the hill on to the plain
near Kineton was so steep that we had to
dismount and hold our machines back with
no small effort. It was one of the steepest
hills on the highway that we met in Eng-
land. Rapidly riding across Warwickshire,
by the way of Kineton and Charlcote, we
entered Stratford-upon-Avon about noon,
and stopped at the Shakespeare Inn, which
had by its door, on a well-painted sign,
" Headquarters of the Bicycle Touring
Club."

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 59

For a hundred and fifty miles or more
I had ridden my machine without having
it washed, and, as a consequence, it was in
a shocking state, though in good running
order. This had happened because, dur-
ing the first week or more of our tour,
when we scrupulously attended to the
cleaning of the machines at an expense of
a shilling a day for each, it either rained
regularly the next morning, or the roads
were so muddy that after a few minutes'
use the machines were as dirty as before.
At last I concluded that mine should not be
cleaned at all, whereupon fine weather set
in, which, to our delight, continued all the
way to Stratford ; but as I rode over the
bridge into that Shakespearian town, a
little urchin actually cried out, " Just look
at that bicycle ; it is dirty beyond descrip-
tion / " That child's remark had its effect ;
and in spite of J. s laughing protest, before
another hour had passed, my machine was

6o A BICYCLE TOUR

washed by the hostler at the inn, who
called out as we entered the stable yard,
" This way with yer 'oss, sir ; 'ere's a box
stall for yer 'oss, sir,"

It is said that more Americans make the
pilgrimage to Stratford than any other peo-
ple, and that they show more interest in
the town and its associations. However
this may be, we experienced the usual emo-
tions and made the usual tour of the place,
which, as a town, was by far the neatest
and cleanest I had yet observed. We saw
two other towns in England, and but two,
noticeable for their neatness, — Leaming-
ton, also in Warwickshire, and Doncaster
in Yorkshire.

From Stratford to Coventry, by War-
wick and Kenilworth Castle, has been said
to be the finest walk in England. We
passed over the greater part of the way
more than once. Leamin^on, England's
fashionable Spa, is only two miles from

PEACOCK ]SN, nEKBYSHIRE,

rt'AKWlCK CAiiTr.E, WARWICK.

62 A BICYCLE TOUR

a library inferior to some in New England
towns of half or even a fourth that number
of people. It brought to mind the speech
of young Lord Hamilton on education,
which we heard in the Commons in July,
and which helped to impress the English
people with the deficiencies and needs of
popular education.

Now we were in the very home of bi-
cycles. They were constantly seen in the
streets, the bells attached giving notice of
their approach. We used Challis Brothers'
white-metal stop bell, a small, neat affair,
obtained in London, which was fastened to
the handle bar, the tongue or ball inside
being provided with a cord and rubber
spring, by which it could be pulled into
quietude and kept so, or by a mere touch
of the finger be forced again into the
sphere to sound its melodious notes. Such
a bell was necessary, for in some towns
in England the local councils make the

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

Warwick. Thus, within a line of twenty
miles up and down the valley of the Avon,
are to be found what no traveller in Eng-
land should neglect, — all the Shakespear-
ian associations of Stratford, the extremely
interesting studies of old Warwick and
Kenilworth Castles, the comforts and re-
pose of modem Leamington, and the
churches as well as the important manu-
facturing interests of Coventry.

At Warwick we stopped at the Warwick
Arms, and in the morning rode over to
Kenilworth Castle, after which we made
the short but pleasant run to Coventr}',
passing on the way great numbers of men
and boys walking and riding to the War-
wick races. We stopped at the Castle,
in Coventry, which is conveniently near
the noble churches and other buildings of
interest. My attention was called to the
public library, but I was surprised to find,
in this city of forty thousand inhabitants,

64 A BICYCLE TOUR

Mr. Derkinderin, — a well-known rider, then
with Hillman & Herbert. It was difficult
to select from among these manufacturers ;
they were all worthy of patronage and had
high reputations. I can myself vouch for
the machines of at least three of them.
Finally, J. concluded to order two fifty-six-
inch " Club " machines, for home use, of
the Coventry Machinist Company. For
these he gave minute directions, which
were carried out while we continued our
tour; and on our way home from London
to Liverpool, some time later, we stopped
at Coventry, took a run out toward Kenil-
worth and back on the new machines, and
then had them boxed for the voyage. The
machines were the finest I have ever seen.
Riding bicycles abroad does not make
them free of duty at home ; for the prac-
tice in United States custom-houses has
of late been changed in this regard, and
duties must be paid on bicycles whether

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 65

they have been used or not. So when Mr,
James Gordon Bennett brought home some
vehicles used abroad by him, and which
he supposed were thus free from duty, it
seems that he was obliged to pay, because
the old rule to the contrary had been abol-
ished.

It was on one of our subsequent visits
to Coventry that we sat down to a. " com-
mercial dinner " at the Castle. This, as
explained by our host, was simply a dinner
of commercial gentlemen,' at about one
o'clock, and of daily occurrence in Eng-
land. There were, I believe, eight at the
table where we were invited to sit. The
dinner was substantial, though plain, — of
fish, a roast, one or two vegetables, and a
pudding or tart. The simplicity of the
ordinary English fare is noticeable. There
was, perhaps, a little insincerity on both
sides when, after some experience in vari-
ous counties of England, we would ask :

66 A BICYCLE TOUR

** What can you give us for dinner ? " and
would be answered : " What would you
like to have ? " It was either beef or mut-
ton, or mutton or beef, almost from one end
of England to the other. Eggs, to be sure,
were sometimes to be had, and occasionally
fish, but the great variety to which Ameri-
cans are accustomed is not ordinarily met
with in England. I noticed this peculiar-
ity in the bread : that in the southern half
of the country the loaves were always cir-
cular, with a small twist or top-knot on the
upper side ; while in the northern half they
were baked in the circular or rectangular
form, without the upper story.

About noon of September 3, a fine, clear
day, we rode out of Coventry, over the
great highway, toward Birmingham, and
when eight miles off, turned sharp to the
north at the Stone Bridge, riding away
toward Coleshill and Tamworth, stopping
a few moments at the former for a glass

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 6/

of beer and a biscuit, and at the latter
about two hours at the Castle Hotel, for a
substantial dinner, when J. opened a bottle
of champagne in honor of his brothers
birthday. Our ride to Tamworth was at a
very rapid rate, over a good road ; and the
run from there was through a level coun-
try to Burton-on-Trent, in Staffordshire,
where we arrived at six o'clock, and stopped
at the Queen's.

The entrance to the stable yards of pub-
lic-houses in England is often under an
archway, over and on both sides of which
the hotel is sometimes built. We rode
under the archway at the Queen's, as we
supposed, and put our machines in charge
of the hostler; but we were given such
questionable apartments, and had such an
unsatisfactory supper, that I was a little
mortified, and strolled out to see where we
were, when, to my amusement, I found we
had entered the Saracen's Head instead of

68 A BICYCLE TOUR

the Queen's, — the two being side by side,
and the mistake easily made in the arch.
In a few moments we were comfortably
established at the Queen's, whose landlord
took us that evening to some amateur the-
atricals in a public hal^, which were quite a
novelty.

Mention of the "Saracen's Head " re-
minds me of the many odd names given to
English inns. Much curious information
is to be had in the large city and county
directories found throughout England, and
I usually examined the directory of each
county we entered, for a better knowledge
of the various sections. As to the names
of inns, I had the curiosity to look through
a long list of them in the Yorkshire direc-
tory, and jotted down, as illustrations of
English fancy in naming public-houses, the
following : Cat i' th' Window (Halifax,
Yorkshire); Flitch of Bacon; Jug; Hen
and Chickens; Hole in the Wall; Hop

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 69

Pole ; Labour in Vain ; Malt Shovel ; Old
Dusty Miller ; One Tun ; Ring o' Bells ;
Shoulder of Mutton (common); Three
Horseshoes. If there is anything in a
name, which of these inns is the most sug-
gestive of a good dinner, a carousal, or a
sound night's rest ?

Before leaving Burton, we of course vis-
ited the breweries where the renowned
" India Pale " or " Bitter Beer " is manu-
factured, and which, it seems, owes its
favor at home to an accident. It was first
made about the year 1823 for the East, and
for several years India was its only market.
But a vessel carrying a number of hogs-
heads of India Pale was lost in the Chan-
nel ; its cargo was sold ; and in this way
bitter beer first became known as a bever-
age in England, and so rapid was its popu-
larity that since 1828 the pale-ale trade has
taken the lead in Burton. The marvellous
growth of the brewing trade has been more
especially since 1862. At Burton nearly

70 A BICYCLE TOUR

3,ocx),ooo barrels of ale, of 36 gallons each,
are produced in. a year, valued at $35,000,-
000. Bass & Co., and Allsopp & Sons,
have the largest of the thirty breweries
there. Bass & Co.'s business premises
cover over 1 50 acres, with six miles of rail-
way and six locomotives — their own ex-
clusive property.

We were introduced by the attentive
landlord of the Queen's to one of the firm
of Bass & Co., who kindly took us over
the more interesting portion of their enor-
mous breweries. Afterward we found our
way into one of the vast receiving cellars
or vaults, where an employe, appreciating
our motives and coin, led us on through
hidden recesses to a particular row of bar-
rels, one of which he pierced with a gimlet,
and drew into a tall beaker glass after glass
of ale unsurpassed in quality and appear-
ance. One learns here to appreciate all
the more that, in buying Bass's ale, care
should be taken to find out who bottled it.

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

IV.

No sooner had one county of interest
been left than we entered another. It was
a great satisfaction to know that, ride where
one would, new attractions were always to
be found. Derbyshire, the next county on
our route to the north, is famous for its
scenery, its waters, its Chatsworth, and its
Haddon and Hardwick Halls. The great
" Derby" races are not held in Derby,
but more than a hundred miles to the
south, at Epsom, in Surrey, fourteen miles
southwest of London. * To be sure, races
are held at Derby, the county town of
Derbyshire, but they are rather local, and
not to be mistaken for the " Derby " races
at Epsom. The great Epsom meeting is
on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday immediately before Whitsuntide, the

72 A BICYCLE TOUR

" Derby " being on Wednesday, the " Oaks "
on Friday ; called so after one of the Earls
of Derby, and his seat, the Oaks, which is in
the neighborhood. Next in importance to
the Epsom races are the Doncaster races,
at Doncaster, in Yorkshire, held (1879) on
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fri-
day, September 9, 10, 11, and 12. As the
" Derby " is the chief feature of the Epsom
races, so the " St. Leger " is that of the
Doncaster races ; named after Lieutenant-
General St. Leger, who originated it in
1776. Of the Doncaster races more will
be said later on.

Our morning examination of the great
breweries at Burton-upon-Trent, in Staf-
fordshire, and the proper sampling of
Bass's finest ale, prevented a very early
start ; but at last we were again in the
saddle, and pushed on to Derby, where we
found it advisable to take the train for
Matlock Bath, arriving there at 2.30 p. m.,

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 73

and stopping at the New Bath Hotel. Mat-
lock Bath is resorted to for its medicinal
springs, and the many interesting excur-
sions near by. The village lies in a dale
through which the river Derwent flows, by
steep and lofty rocks nearly three hundred
feet high. The Matlock waters . have a
temperature of about 68° Fahrenheit. In
the basement of our hotel was a large swim-
ming bath, between cemented walls, where-
in the natural waters constantly flowed ; so
that on arising in the morning, or at any
other time, without leaving the house, we
could descend and swim around at pleasure.
Our first afternoon at Matlock was spent
in paddling canoes on the river, rambling
along the shore and over the rocks, and in
having our tip-types taken, in riding cos-
tume, at the little stand by the highway.

The next morning we were off at a good
hour for Chatsworth, "the finest private
country residence in the world." Our ride

74 A BICYCLE TOUR

was up the Derwent valley from Matlock
for about eight miles. The Park at Chats-
worth is upwards of eleven miles in circuit
(equal to that of the whole town of Brook-
line, Mass.). As we rode through the park,
herds of deer were seen quite near on each
side of the avenue ; the bucks, with their
antlers erect, all on one side, the does scam-
pering off on the other. We dismounted
at the mansion, or palace, and resting our
machines upon the inner side of the great
gate walls, waited, as the custom is, for the
arrival of a sufficient number of persons to
make up a party for the ushers to conduct
through the residence and grounds. I am
not now sure of the number, but believe
about three thousand persons a week were
then visiting Chatsworth. Thirty years ago,
in 1850, Downing wrote that "upwards of
eighty thousand persons visited Chatsworth
last year." The crowd is greater, of course,
in summer. Long open coaches and con-

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 75

veyances of various kinds bring visitors by
the score from the stations at Rowsley and
Bakewell, and from all the country round
about.

To me the greatest attractions in the
interior of the mansion were the sculpture
and the marvellous wood carving ; the lat-
ter claimed to be largely by that master
artist of the seventeenth century, Grinling
Gibbons, whose subjects are chiefly birds,
flowers, foliage, fruit, and lace. It is even
said that "many of his flowers used to
move on their stems, like their natural pro-
totypes, when shaken by a breeze." In the
sculpture gallery, the usher, who had ob-
served our scrutiny, kindly remarked, as
the potent coin touched her palm, that we
might remain till the next party came
through; this we did, enjoying at our
leisure, and undisturbed, the fine pieces
by Canova, Thorwaldsen, and Chantrey.
Afterwards we found the grand conserva-

76 A BICYCLE TOUR

tory and the gardens attractive and justly
celebrated ; but for an interesting descrip-
tion of these, I refer the reader to Down-
ing's account of Chatsworth in his " Rural
Essays."

On the way back to Matlock we dis-
. mounted for a little refreshment, but were
told by the woman in charge of the place
that she had formerly " cut up as many as
Jive hams in a season," but of late, customers
were so few that she had given up keeping
supplies, and could not give us even a glass
of milk. On account of some peculiarity of
her landlord. This was the sorriest place
of the kind we met in the whole country.
It was true, however, that on account of
the hard times in England, travel was then
much lighter than formerly ; and as a rule,
even at well-established inns, bicycle riders
were welcomed for the few shillings they
left.

On arriving at Matlock we dined with

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 77

a hearty appetite, and concluded to go to
London by the evening train, to see on the
morrow the last day's riding of the great
six days' bicycle race at Agricultural Hall,
London, and to attend to other matters
there. We arrived at our rooms on Duke
Street at 1 1 p. m. that evening. This ride
by rail, from Matlock Bath to London and
back, is not indicated on the map.

We frequently took long as well as short
journeys by rail in addition to our bicycle
riding; most of our time in passing from
place to place, however, being s^ent in the
saddle. England has such a network of
railways, that one can dart hither and yon
in all directions from almost any point.
By taking advantage of these facilities for
travel, we saw a large portion of the coun-
try not covered by our route on the bicycle.
We travelled in our riding costume, either
first, second, or third class, as fancy or good
luck determined. The third-class accom-

78 A BICYCLE TOUR

modations are at times good and at times
bad. Thus, in 1879, the Midland was a
favorite road for third-class passengers,
while the London and South Eastern was
so unpopular that the " Times " published
several letters condemning the company.
The purchase of a second, or even a third-
class ticket, often resulted in a ride in a
first-class compartment. This happened
when all but first-class compartments were
full, or when the customary sixpence to
the porter induced him to open a first-class
compartment whether the others were full
or not. This is the every-day experience
in England.

English life on the railway trains is
quite a study. One day at Derby the
trains were all late, and the station crowded
with a motley throng from the local races.
We knew there would be a scramble when
the down train came, and tipped a porter
with particular instructions to get us a

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 79

seat ; but, just as the porter opened a door,
a rush of rowdies in regular English fash-
ion swept porter and everybody else away
from the car. I never came nearer plant-
ing my fist in somebody's eye, but it was
well I did not ; it would have been rash,
and a moment later our porter had us safe-
ly tucked into a fii-st-class compartment.
There were seven persons crowded into
that compartment, which was meant for
but six, and the chaff and abuse hurled to
and fro between some of his countrymen
and that seventh man were such as I
thought would lead to blows. At last the
situation was accepted, the conversation
turned pleasantly upon the races, and we
were made acquainted with the freshest
horse-talk of the day. On another occa-
sion, while riding out of London In a sec-
ond-class compartment, a man got in with
a large open basket filled with glassware,
which he rested upon his knees, and then

8o A BICYCLE TOUR

began to smoke, though it was not a smok-
ing car. The thought of being mixed up
with a basketful of lamp chimneys and
glass bric-a-brac^ in case of an accident, was
not pleasant ; altogether, the glass man was
a good subject for attack, and a fellow-pas-
senger who disliked smoking engaged with
him in such a bout of words that the guard
was at last called on to settle the mat-
ter. But for banter and raillery, or for
mockery and jeer, I suppose the London
cockney carries off the palm. We had
such a fellow on board the " Baltic " on the
voyage over, who was set upon one day in
the smoking-room by some sharp-tongued
Americans, and who gave in return an ex-
hibition of his powers of retort, which fully
sustained the reputation of his class. Of a
different type was the soldier we travelled
with in Wiltshire, who was just from the
Cape, having returned with Captain Cary,
and who took pleasure in exhibiting some

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

ostrich feathers from South Africa, and as-
segai or Zulu darts of the kind used in the
assassination of Louis Napoleon. While
riding through Staffordshire one evening,
the train stopped, and a man came tum-
bling into the compartment with his fish-
pole and basket, in a high frame of mind
over his day's sport, having lost his two
companions, and having a few little fish
which he exultingly showed for approval.
But to return.

The race at Agricultural Hall, London,
was won by Waller, a Newcastle man, who
accomplished the extraordinary feat of rid-
ing fourteen hundred and four miles in six
days of eighteen working hours each. Not
one of the contestants was a physical mod-
el. Keen, who probably rides in the best
form of any English rider of note, did not
enter this race, or at least was not riding
that day. Waller, Terront, and Cann were
the chief contestants. We saw Cann fall

S2 A BICYCLE TOUR

in turning a corner; it was pitiable: for-
tunately the other riders did not fall on
him. He was picked up by a policeman,
and, with damaged ankle and arm, was
helped hobbling to a dressing-room. Ter-
ront pressed close upon Waller, lap after
lap, but Waller held his own. They ate
and drank in the saddle, seizing food or a
mug of beef tea — or whatever it was — as
they passed an attendant, and tossing back
the mug empty on the next round. The
riders were tough and sinewy to a remark-
able degree, but wanting in athletic beauty
of form. It was not my fortune to see in
all England a single bicycle rider noticeable
for grace and ease in the saddle. Keen, to
be sure, is an exception, but I never saw
Keen ride till he came to America. This
want of form in riding, even among some
of the most extraordinary long-distance rid-
ers in England, was especially noticeable.
The next day (Sunday, September 7) we

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 83

left London, and returned to Matlock Bath
over the Midland Railroad, arriving at 7.30
p. M. On Monday morning we were off
again in the saddle over the road towards
Chatsworth. The rain of the day before
made the road very treacherous. We have
nothing of the kind in Massachusetts:
English roads with a limestone surface are,
when wet, exasperatingly slippery ; I felt
in my bones, as the phrase is, that I should
I fall, and I did, but no harm was done.
About three miles south of Chatsworth
we turned to the west, passing the cele-
brated Peacock Inn, well known to tour-
ists in Derbyshire, and in a few moments
rode up to Haddon Hall, which, perhaps,
gives the best idea of an ancient baronial
residence to be found in England, for it
is preserved as it was. We were shown
through Haddon by a pretty little maid of
about twelve years, who pointed out and
described the various rooms and mementos

A BICYCLE TOUR

with a precision and a charm that were
captivating. Her voice had that sweetness
and purity of tone for which so many of
the sex in England are noted the world
over.

Our route from Haddon Hall was over
Beeley Hill (nearly one thousand feet high)
and across Beeley Moor to Chesterfield.
A better way would have been by Bake-
well and Baslow. The hill gave us a hard
climb, and the road over the moor at the
top was too rough for bicycle riding ; it
was the hardest and longest tramp in push-
ing our bicycles that we had, and before
we reached Chesterfield a heavy shower
overtook us. After dinner at the Angel,
as the roads were too muddy to use our
machines with comfort, we took a hansom,
and were driven out to Hardwick Hall,
eight miles southeast. This hall is far-
famed and very interesting, and, like Chats-
worth, is the property of the Duke of

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 85

Devonshire. It was here that Mary Queen
of Scots passed several years of her captiv-
ity. The great picture gallery is one hun-
dred and ninety-five feet in length, ranging
along the whole of the east front.

From Chesterfield our route was to
Sheffield and Doncaster, — both in York-
shire. Our stop at Sheffield was short, to
examine the Hallamshire bicycle works ;
and we hurried on to Doncaster to attend
the races. That town was crowded with
visitors. We dined at the Royal Hotel,
but were told that a bed for that night
was not to be bad in Doncaster under two
guineas — ten dollars. As two guineas
was altogether more than we intended to
pay, we went to the races, and then, jump-
ing on our saddles, rode over to Thorne,
nine miles off, arriving at the White Hart
in ample time for tea, and paid for our
beds but two shillings.

After breakfast the next day we rode to

A BICYCLE TOUK

Selby by the way o£ Snaith, the latter half
of the way over an execrable road, badly
out of repair. At Selby we lunched at the
Londesborough Arms, and had opportuni-
ty to examine the beautiful church near by ;
then, leaving our machines, we took a train
back to Doncaster, arriving there in time
to attend the ten races of that afternoon,
including the great St. Leger. Thousands
of people go every year to these races.
They even tell you in Yorkshire that the
Doncaster races are not surpassed by the
" Derby " at Epsom. Doncaster is a neat
and attractive town, and the race-course is
close by, over a wide, flat plain ; not like
our race-courses, but spread over much
more ground, with room for many stands
and ample space for private coaches and
carriages, with the vast throng that surges
up and down. We studied the field and
scene from every available point, going out
to the starting-points, standing midway

IM ENGLAND AND WALES. 87

[own the course, and being close at the
finish. The first race was at 1.45 p, m^
and the last of tiie ten was at 5.30 p. m., so
that no time was wasted. The horses are
not always started where the race ends,
but at various places and distances, so as
to finish at the grand stands, after running
" five furlongs," " six furlongs," from the
" Red House Inn," " one mile, six furlongs,
and one hundred and thirty-two yards,"
" two miles and five furlongs," or as the
case may be. On the day before, Mr.
Pierre Lorillard, of New York, entered his
famous horse Parole for the Great York-
shire Handicap, but Parole was easily dis-
tanced by Dresden China and two other
horses. For the St. Leger stakes there
were twenty-two entries. Rayon D'or, en-
tered by Count F. de Lagrange, won ;
Ruperra came in second.

To see all the horses entered galloping
over l^e turf (the track is entirely of turf

88 A BICYCLE TOUR

and not gravel), now separate, now in a
clump as if to run over each other, and
goaded on by the jockeys in their bright
costumes, is a stirring sight. The din from
the shouting of the betting men and crowd
was extraordinary; at times there was a
lull, and then a roar of human voices again
came over the field. The men who sold
betting tickets were usually on short stilts
or shoes with soles perhaps a foot thick,
and they wore startling costumes with lofty
chimney-pots oddly labelled. They hailed
from London, Liverpool, Dublin, Edin-
burgh, and elsewhere. Mingling with
these were acrobats, — men who dislocated
their shoulders and twisted and bent like
snakes ; and as for the three-card-monte
men, they were everywhere, and as cun-
ning and successful as the craft can be.
When the lockers and hampers of the pri-
vate coaches were opened, there was feast-
ing enough. I saw a little urchin creep

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. Sg

under a coach for an empty champagne
bottle. All classes of society elbowed each
other; it was one of those days when all
England might jostle together with im-
punity. Here is one of the betting tick-
ets; the original, however, is printed in
four different colors: —

^^^<S^^%

ALL IN RUN OR NOT.
r. Smith, Printer Maiden Lane, Nottingham.

and here is a copy of one of the racing
cards, the entries being omitted for want
of space, except the entries for the St.
Leger Stakes, which are given: —

A EICVCLE TOUR

1 4S ^^^ CLEvEL-uiD Handicap of 20 sovs, each,
' 10 ft., and 5 only if declared, with 100 added ;

the winner of the Leamington Slakes, the Great Ebor
Handicap, or the Great Yorkshire Handicap to cany
gib, of two of these stakes iilb or of any other handi-
cap after August 21st, at 10 a.m., 51b extra ; the owner
of the second horse to save his stake, — The straight
mile (25 subs., 17 of whom pay 5 sovs. each).
O IC The Rufford Abbey Stakes (Handicap) of

■ 5 sovs, each, with 100 added, for three yrs old

and upwards; a winner after the weights are out to
carry ylb extra ; the owner of the second horse to re-
ceive 35 sovs. out of the stakes. — Five furlongs, (15
subs.)
O QR A Match of 200 sovs. each, h fl., colts 8st

lolb each, one to the post, — Six furlongs,
O A The Corporation Stakes (Handicap) of 10

* sovs. each, h ft., with 100 added, for two yre old
only ; a winner after Sept. 4th, at 10 a.m., to carry ylb,
twice or of 200 sovs. lolb extra ; the owner of the sec-
ond horse to receive 25 sovs. out of the stakes. — Red
House in. (16 subs.)

O on The St. Leger Stakes of 25 sovs. each, for
" three yrs old cohs 8st i61b, and fillies 8st 51b ;
the owner of the second horse to receive 200 sovs. and
the third 100 sovs. out of the stakes. — New St. Leger
Course, about one mile six furlongs and 132 yards.
(275 subs.)

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

1 — Lord Bateman's ch c PROTECTIONIST, by Palmet —

Delilah (H. Jeffrey).

Black and rose stripes, rose sleeves and cap.

2 — Mr. H. E. Beddinpon's b c ALCHEMIST, by Rosicra-

dan — Gold Dust (Rossiter).

Orange, chocolate sleeves.

3 — Mr. C. Blanton'schc EXETER, by Cathedral — Scamp's

4_Mr. W. S. Cartwright's ch c GEORGE ALBERT, by
Marsyas.

Scarlet, black cap.

5 — Mr. W. S. Crawfurd's br c GILDEROV, by Pell Mell —

Highland Lassie (Huxtable).

6 — Mr. W. S. Crawfurd's b or br c LANSDOWN, by Si.

Albans — Gentle Mary (Fordham).

Scarlet.

7 — Mr. Elam's b c MARSHALL SCOTT, by EthuB —

Baroness.

White, ted sleeves and cap.

8 — Lord Falmouth's b f LEAP YEAR, by Kingcraft —
ilack, white sleeves, red cap.

9 — Lord Falmouth's ch c MULEY EDRIS, by Wild Moor
Black, white sleeves, red cap.

-M. E, Fould's ch c SALTEADOR, by Verlugadin-

Wheat-ei

— Retty (F. Archer).

E, Fould's ch c !
Slapdash (Hunter),

Yellow and black hoops, black cap.

-Mr. Gee's b f WHITE POPPY, by Winslow — For-

Union jack, blue sleeves and cap.

92 A BICYCLE TOUR

12 — Duke of Hamilton's b c SQUEAKER, by Speaker —

Botany Bay.

Light blue, bronze sleeves and cap.

13 — Mr. J. H. Houldsworth's ch c RUPERRA, by Advent-

urer — Lady Morgan (C. Wood).

Green and gold, yellow cap.

14 — Mr. W. L Anson's b f MACCARONEA, by Macaroni —

Bonny Bell.

Turquoise, violet sleeves and cap.

15 — Count F. de Lagrange's ch c RAYON D'OR, by Flageo-

let — Arucaria (J. Goater).

Blue, red sleeves and cap.

16 — Count F. de Lagrange's ch c ZUT, by Flageolet — Regalia

(J. Morris).

Blue, red sleeves, blue cap.

17 — Lord Norreys' br c SIR BEVYS, by Favonius — Lady

Langden (T. Cannon).

Dark blue, yellow cap.

18 — Lord Rosebery's br c VISCONTI, by Parmesan — Lady

Audley (Luke).

Primrose, rose hoops and cap.

19— Lord Scarborough's b f ELLANGOWAN, by Strathco-

nan — Poinsettia.

White, red spots and cap.

20— Mr. James Snarry's d f JESSIE AGNES, by Macaroni

— Polly Agnes.

Crimson, straw sleeves.

21 — Capt. F. Thompson's b c ROBBIE BURNS, by Martyr-
dom — Auchnafree (J. Snowden).

Green, white seams, black cap.

22— Mr. J. Trotter's ch c PALMBEARER, by Palmer (J. Os-
borne).

Pink.

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 93

A A The Milton Stakes of 10 sovs. each, h !l.,
' with zoo sovs. added, for two yrs old 7St, three
8st gib, four gst 31b, five and upwards gst sib ; m. and
g. allowed 31b ; the winner to be sold by auction for 200
sovs. ; if entered to be sold for 100 sovs, allowed 7!b,
the overplus over the selling price to he divided accord-
ing to the new rule. — Five furlongs. (13 subs.)

4,20

Match for 500 sova., h ft. — Two miles.

h kr\ The Bradgate Park Stakes of 10 sovs. each,
■ h ft., with 100 added, for two yrs old 7st, and

three 8st lolb; f. and g. allowed 31b, the second to
receive 25 sovs. out of the stakes. — Red House in.
(19 subs.)

C 1A Her Majesty's Plate of 200 guineas, for three
yrs old 8st 31b, four gst jlb, five gst 131b, six
and upwards lost. — Cup Course, about two miles and
five furlongs.

C Ort The Muniqp-al Stakes of 300 sovs. each, h
ft., for two yrs old, colts 8st lolb, and fillies
8st 71b. — Red House in. {3 subs.)

Immediately after the races we returned .
to Selby by rail, and the next morning
rode on our bicycles to York, over a fair
road. York was the farthest point reached

94 A BICYCLE TOUR

by us towards the north. Whether to keep
on as far as Edinburgh, in Scotland, or
not, was considered ; but, owing to the
rougher nature of the roads in that direc-
tion and want of time, it was determined
to make York a turning-point, and con-
tinue our journey in a westerly direction
to Chester and North Wales. The oppor-
tunity of examining and admiring the great
York Cathedral was fully appreciated. Our
tour had now embraced the three greatest
of the English cathedrals outside of Lon-
don, — Canterbury, Salisbury, and York.

I pass over the details of the rest of our
trip. Enough has been written to show
how independently we travelled; how our
chief mode of locomotion on the line of
selected route was the bicycle ; how, when
occasion required, we journeyed by what-
ever other way was most agreeable, going
up to London, or off on side trips occa-
sionally, and so directing the main tour as

IN ENGLAND AND WALES,

to enable us to see those portions of the
country deemed most interesting and most
available in the short time at our disposal.

Apart from the attractive scenery of
Wales, to which we now turned, there was
a special reason for travelling in that direc-
tion. On July 28, 1879, at ten o'clock at
night, the steamship " Baltic," of the White
Star line, on which we crossed to Liver-
pool, ran directly into the rocks at the
South Stack lighthouse, on the northwest
extremity of Wales. The matter was hushed
up, for it is always policy to have but little
known either of steamship or of railroad ac-
cidents- About a month later, the "Brest,"
a Cunard steamer, was wrecked off the
Lizard, in Cornwall, and all on board might
have perished but for the bravery of Corn-
ish life-saving men, who rescued crew and
passengers. The Cunard steamer ran full
speed on to the rocks at the Lizftrd, at half-
past eight o'clock at aight, during a fog.

g6 A BICVCLE TOUR

The Lizard lights were not seen, nor was
the fog-horn heard. The only mention in
the London " Times " of our extraordinary
escape was in very small type, in the ship-
ping column, as follows : —

" The Baltic, st., from New York, arrived at Liver-
pool July 29. The master reports at 10 p. m. on Mon-
day night, during a fog, she touched the South Stack
and slightly damaged her stem,"

" Touched," indeed I On that voyage
the "Baltic" left Queenstown at about
eight o'clock in the morning, and, a fog
setting in, the run up St. George's Chan-
nel was made partly at half speed. About
four o'clock in the afternoon the steamer
just escaped cutting a large sailing vessel
in two; at ten o'clock in the evening the
crash came, and it being the last night at
sea, most of the passengers were up and
very social. There was a rush for the
deck ; ladies fainted ; all felt apprehen-
sion. The sight from the deck was terri-

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 97

bly grand. Two hundred feet above us,
glimmering through the fog, was the re-
volving light of the South Stack; rising
from three hundred to five hundred feet
from the water where the steamer struck
were dark, almost perpendicular rocks ; an
alarm bell and guns were heard from off
the shore. The steamer, having struck
head on In deep water, was backed off;
she at once listed heavily to starboard.
The blow had crushed the bow ; no one
knew how soon she would go down. The
boats stuck ; it was a quarter of an hour
and more before some were loosened. A
small boat forward was launched by sail-
ors and ordered back. The steamer listed
heavily again, and passengers moved to the
port side. The water was not rough; we
were near enough at first to swim to shore,
but we did not then know that the current
there was too strong for any swimmer, and
we did not know that the rocks were too

gS A BICYCLE TOUR

steep to climb, with a tide rising sixteen
feet to wash off any, perhaps, who got a
footing. It is a horrible place; many a
vessel has been lost on this shore. When
the " Arizona," of the Guion line, struck
an iceberg that fall, the ice crumbled
down by the ton ; when the " Baltic "
struck at South Stack, the solid rock
was unyielding : true, speed had been
slackened, because, a moment before the
steamer struck, the danger was seen, and
the engines reversed, but altogether too
late to stop the vessel. The strength of
modern steamers is thus shown:' their di-
vision into compartments is a great safe-
guard ; this saved the " Baltic." The
forward compartment filled with water;

1 of the " Arizona," when in
dock, showed that " about twenty feet of the iron work of
the bow, to within a few feet of the collision bulkhead,
had been completely carried away by collision with the
iceberg ; but, in other parts of the hull, every plate was in
its place, and not a single rivet had been started."

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

the Other six kept dry. The steamer was
backed off farther and farther, out of sight
of the hght, but within hearing of the guns.
Some thought it safer to keep nearer the
land, to make Holyhead, close by ; but the
captain kept her out to sea; the vessel
stopped Usting, and eventually we disem-
barked at Liverpool in safety. The acci-
dent was attributed to the tide and fog ;
the steamer should have been two or three
miles farther out. It seems that an Itahan
lady gave the first alarm, as the great re-
volving light suddenly loomed through
the fog ; and that the lookout's warning
followed after. Most of the passengers
sat up all that night, not knowing what
might occur; and, as sometimes happens
in such cases, almost every passenger on
board, including diplomats, lawyers, doc-
tors, merchants, and ladies, signed a
paper next morning, exonerating the cap-
tain, and gave him three cheers on leav-

lOO A BICYCLE TOUR

ing the steamer, so elated were they at
escape.'

On our arrival in bicycle dress at Holy-
head, a month and a half after this acci-
dent, we walked across the island to the
South Stack Light, to see from the land
where the " Baltic " struck. The coast
scenery there is magnificent. The ap-
proach and descent down the rocks and
across the suspension bridge, ninety feet

^ At three o'clock in the morning of March 13, 1880, the
" Montana," of ihe Guion Line, was stranded on the rocks
beyond South Stack Light. The passengers, mails, and
crew were landed and sent to Liverpool next morning.
The Liverpool stipendiary gave judgment to the effect
that the accident was " in consequence of the captain hav-
ing neglected to make due allowance for the ebb tide be-
fore and after passing the South Stack, which ihere runs
strongly, takes the ship on the port bow, and sets her in
toward the land. The court could not accept the excuse
put forward by the master's advocate, that he thought
himself so far out of the range of the Skerries as not to
necessitate the use of the lead. The court found the mas-
ter in default for not making due allowance for the tide,
as he was bound to do, and for not using his lead, and
suspended his certificate for six calendar months." — Ntw
York Maritime Register^ April 28, 18S0.

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

above the sea, to the little lighthouse islet,
is uncommonly grand. Men used to be
lowered over these rocks, which are hun-
dreds of feet high, by ropes, for birds' eggs.
The practice is now prohibited. There is
a zigzag path of stone steps from the sum-
mit above to the bridge below, and one
must ring a bell on the land side of the
bridge to communicate with the keeper,
before admittance to the rocky islet is
gained.

To our surprise, the lighthouse keeper
said he knew nothing of the danger the
" Baltic " was in till a day or two after the
event. He was up in the lighthouse at the
time, and the fog cut off any view of
the sea. A wager on this, as to whether
the lighthouse keeper knew of our danger,
had been made in London. The keeper
could have given no assistance, not having
a life-boat or crew; and he remarked that,
had we gone down that night, we " would

A BICYCLE TOUR

have known what the fishes had for sup-
per."

A travelling photographer, with his ap-
paratus, happened to arrive while we were
on the rock, and I directed him to take
several views of the scene of our accident
and escape. These were afterwards ob-
tained at Warwick, his headquarters ; and
they are the best pictures of that romantic
spot known to me.

During our short stay in North Wales
we examined Carnarvon and Conway Cas-
tles, — noble old structures and magnifi-
cent ruins ; and we also went up to
pretty Llanberris, stopping at the Victoria
Hotel, and walking from thence to the
top of Snowdon, the highest mountain
in England or Wales (thirty-five hundred
and seventy-one feet high), returning on
foot down by Llyn Llydaw and the grand
Pass of Llanberris. We had fine weather
in Wales, and our day at South Stack

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

103

Light was perfect : the air delightful, and
all peaceful and still.

While on the summit of Snowdon, we
took shelter from the driving clouds in a
small house, where some English travellers
joined us in conversation over a lunch of
bread, cheese, and ale. After a while an
allusion to the United States drew an as-
tonished inquiry as to whether we were
" from America, — really from the States " ?
They found it hard to believe that we were
not Englishmen, though I had supposed
that our talk was free from the peculiar
idioms, turns of expression, and intonation,
which stamp the Englishman the world
over. This was very different from my ex-
perience in Berlin, where, sitting for the
first time at a long hotel table alone among
strangers, an Englishman in the next chair
spoke to me in our common tongue, hav-
ing detected my nationality, as he said, by
merely overhearing the single word with

104 A BICYCLE TOUR

which I ordered wine. This man, how-
ever, was an exceptional observer, and one
of wide experience. He even alleged that,
by a few niinutes' chat, he could tell from
which of the forty counties in England
any of his countrymen were ; a matter not
so hard to determine where the dialects
are as pronounced as in Yorkshire, Berk-
shire, or Somersetsbire ; but, as to other
and contiguous counties, where the shades
of difference are slight, even if appreciable,
the possibility of such a performance ma)',
perhaps, be questioned.

The details of our journey back to Lon-
don, by the way of Chester, Birmingham,
and Coventry, I omit, for this account has
already been extended more than was de-
signed. We reached London without ac-
cident, in health and fine spirits, sunburned
and strong, and returned our hired bicycles
to Peake's, on Princes Street, within a mo-
ment or two of the precise time when the

IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 105

month expired for which they were en-

It must not be supposed that we passed
over all the choicest parts of England and
Wales on this tour. Many delightful trips
could be made without crossing our path.
There is a large portion of western and
southwestern England which we omitted
altogether. Then there is the ride through
the Lake country, — rather rough, how-
ever, — and so on over what I was told is a
very fine road, — the run from Carlisle to
Edinburgh. For crossing North Wales,
one may take either the more northerly
route from Chester to Bangor, or the
famous road from Shrewsbury to Bangor,
on the line of the old mail route between
London and Holyhead, which was im-
proved at great expense in the days of
Telford, under the direction of parliamen-
tary commissioners. But the runs are so
many and so interesting in all directions

io6

A BICVCLE TOUR

over England — excepting, perhaps, parts
of Norfolk and Suffolk in the east — that
no fixed line of travel can be prescribed,
but each tourist must choose for himself.
If a centre is to be chosen, take either
Coventry or London,

As to the expense of bicycle travelling in
England, it depends so much on the rider
himself, that perhaps no satisfactory answer
can be given. We did not travel under the
auspices of the Bicycle Touring Club, but
went to the best inns and hotels, so far as
we knew, and got the best of what we could,
at the same time travelling prudently. I
have before me hotel bills from different
parts of England ; but, not even with their
aid, can I tell accurately what our expenses
were. This, however, can be said, that it
is safe to allow four dollars a day ; the ex-
penses would often be less, — at times, per-
haps, more. Good food, and plenty of it,
is indispensable on such a tour, as well as

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

107

a good bed and plenty of sleep. Provi-
sion should be made for accidents to ma-
chine and person. The riding-suit should
be of a dark rather than light cloth. There
is more rain and mud in England than in
our country ; and, in riding, clothes are
more apt to be soiled there. Warm under-
clothing is needed ; for in summer it is much
cooler in England than here. In the mid-
dle of the day we often found it warm ;
and, while riding then, I used to take off
my blouse and strap it on to the handle
bar with a little shawl-strap, which I have
always found very convenient for that use.
Good riding-maps are necessary ; those re-
duced from the Ordnance Survey are the
best, and can be had as before mentioned.
Some advise taking a pair of serge trou-
sers, which pack small, " to enable one to
go about without attracting that attention
which is the lot of any one clad in polo cap
and knee breeches ; a costume, which, how-

I08 BICYCLE TOUR IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

ever appropriate near a bicycle, is objec-
tionable apart from it." However, variety
of costume, and dress adapted to the vari-
ous sports, is so common abroad, that it
seemed to me less notice is taken there
than here of one s apparel, provided it is
becoming.

In conclusion, let me say that a bicycle
tour of any length abroad is not all sun-
shine and delight, but means the overcom-
ing of many obstacles, making the best of
rainy weather and strong head winds, put-
ting up with the peculiarities of another
country, and, above all, the constant exer-
cise of pluck, patience, and consideration, —
traits which it was my good fortune to see
daily exhibited by my young companion
on this tour.

APPENDIX.

PRACTICAL BICYCLING ADVICE.

The following is from " The Bicyclist's Pocket
Book and Diary," published in London in 1879.
The suggestions are sensible, and for the most
part as applicable in America as in England : —

No. I. Its Value as an Exercise.

Bicycling has now lived down the prejudice which,
from a medical point of view, existed against it. It is
admitted that the idea of rupture being produced by it
is simply nonsense. Taken, as all exercise should be,
judiciously and in moderation, it is one of, if not the
best, exercise of the day. Its special benefits are, that
it increases the circulation ; works more muscles than
are worked in any other exercise ; amuses the mind by
the places which can be visited by its means ; gives the
lungs a greater change of air than could ordinarily be
obtained ; induces strength of nerve and powers of self-
possession; stimulates the appetite, and last, but not

no APPENDIX.

least, is an almost infallible remedy for a sluggish liver.
The art of riding can be easily acquired by any person
sufficiently active for the ordinary duties of life. There
is no limit to the age at which bicycling can be learnt ;
the only drawback to an elderly man acquiring the knowl-
edge is the fact that he cannot, as a rule, stand, with
impunity, the preliminary falls which every adult learner
must experience more or less. A boy of eight or nine can
be taught without falls, because he can literally be caught
when falling, if proper attention is given to the task ;
but it is different with adults. There is, perhaps, no
person who derives so much pleasure from bicycling as
the man who has been accustomed to active exercise on
the river, or in the cricket or football field, and who has
abandoned those pastimes on reaching " the thirties."
The only persons for whom it is undesirable to learn
are persons suffering from heart disease or consump-
tion ; all others may ride not only with impunity, but
with great physicd advantage.

No. 2. Choice of a Machine.

To say, as a hard and fast rule, that a roadster ma-
chine should be heavy or light; should never exceed
50 inches in the driving wheel ; or should be regulated
by a man's height, or even by his length of leg, is an
exploded theory, ist. A light machine, if well made,
will run as easily over a rough road as a heavy one ; it
only requires more careful riding ; /. e,, instead of sitting

FRACTICAL BICYCLING ADVICE. Ill

heavily on the saddle, as could be done on the heavy
machine, it is necessary, by leaning on the handles and
keeping the weight partially on the treadles, to humor
the light machine. The question between a 3g-pounder
and a ja-pounder is therefore merely one of the rider ;
but for the novice we certainly say unhesitatingly — -
" for the first year at least ride the heavy machine."
Nine men out of ten will eventually take to a light ma-
chine, which tells most favorably in comparison with a
heavy one on a long journey or a smooth road. A
novice, unless he is exceptionally active, should never
ride, at first, his full size of machine, because most of a
novice's tumbles and falls are in mounting. A man
should really be measured, so to speak, for his machine.
That is, his height is nothing to go by, as some men of
equal height are long in the body and short in the legs,
and viee versa. Thus a man of 5 feet 7 inches may
ride a s6-inch, while a 5 foot g inch man may be lim-
ited to a 52-inch. Nor is the length of leg an infallible
criterion, as, unless a tall man is well knit, his legs can-
not be utilized to their full length. In purchasing a
machine, therefore, the novice will do well to ride a
strong, heavy machine at first, and, when he becomes
an accomplished rider, to invest in a light machine by a
good maker, who has a reputation to lose. No machine
should be without a brake. The neatest, most powerful,
and only reliable brake is that applied to the front
wheel, and by far the safest front-wheel brake is the
" gi"!? brake," as the power of applying it can be used

1 1 2 APPENDIX.

with more delicacy than in any brake worked ,by re-
volving the handle of the bicycle. As the principle of
a bicycle is tension, not inward thrust, there is no extra
rigidity secured by spokes screwed direct into the hub
as against those simply nutted. This is entirely a mat-
ter of taste. It will be seen that there is no inward
strain on the wheel, when it is considered that, if there
were, the spokes in the felloe might occasionally pro-
trude and push the rubber off. The best bearings are
ball bearings. The bearings of a hind wheel must be
adjustable. On other points a purchaser must be guided
by his own judgment, but he cannot go far wrong if he
goes to a well-known and respectable firm.

No. 3. On Touring.

A companion is a very desirable adjunct to a tour,
but by no means a necessity. In fact, provided a man
knew that he would find genial companions at every
resting-place for the night, he might dispense with a
companion on the road, as that luxury frequently en-
tails delays when one is fresh and stem chases when
one is weary, the chance of meeting with a man of
equal speed being rare. If a companion be chosen,
however, he should be a man of even temper, and as
nearly equal tastes as possible, both as to sight-seeing,
expenditure, and speed. For the ordinary tourist, the
best " wardrobe " is a riding suit of blue serge, with a
straw or deerstalker hat, as the latter can be worn any-

PRACTICAL BICYCLING ADVICE,

where. A spare warm jeisey, flannel shirt, and a thin
pair of serge trousers (which pack up small), with comb,
tooth-brush, collars, handkerchief, and necktie, wnll be
found sufficient alike for comfort, and to enable one to
go about without attracting that attention which is the
lot of any one clad in polo cap and knee breeches, a
costume which, however appropriate near a bicycle, is
objectionable apart from it. Four is a better number
for a tour than two, for many reasons, the principal of
which are that one's companions can be changed, and
that a party of four are more likely to get attention in
the way of specially prepared meals, &c., than one or
two travelling alone. It should be remembered that
excessive fatigue, in most men, paralyzes the digestive
system, while exercise, moderated in proportion to one's
strength, increases the working of that organization.
Men who can ride, day after day, scathless, over give-
and-take roads, more than 50 miles a journey, are ex-
ceptional. The better system is to do 70 one day, if a
chance offers, and only 30 the next day. One clay's
rest in seven is not sufficient to thoroughly en]o\ a
tour; there ought to be two days' rest. Never cut) a
knapsack; it is unsightly, top heavy, and generally
worrying. Always remember that a few pounds extra
wheeled on a machine are not felt as compared to what
they would be if carried on one's back. The Multum
in Par\-o is unquestionably tlie best luggage
As "legs over the handles " is the safest manner of
resting those limbs downhill, it is undesirable, if possi-

114 APPENDIX.

ble to avoid it, to have any luggage on the steering bar.
A large "Multum" will carry the articles we have
already named. The way to thoroughly enjoy a tour
is to go exactly where one fancies, without reference to
roads. If walking has to be done, it is no more fatigu-
ing to walk and wheel a bicycle than it is to walk alone.
Beyond an occasional glass of ale, stimulants should be
avoided when on the road, as they cause the rider to
overtax his strength. In the evening, after the work is
over, they can be indulged in, — moderately of course.
The majority of men require good, generous diet under
exertion, if prolonged for more than one day. A small
box of powdered fuller's earth will prove a great boon
to the majority of bicycling tourists. It should always
be taken into consideration, before starting on a tour,
whether the main object of it is to see the places or
simply to fly over good roads. Never part with your
luggage or send it by train. Never ride at your top
speed when touring, or fatigue will result. Examine
your tyres every morning before starting, and touch up
the cement with a hot poker if necessary. Try all nuts
before starting. Keep the hind-wheel bearings carefully
adjusted, and never forget to tighten up the saddle
thumbscrews. Never ask any one but a bicyclist what
roads are like.

No. 4. On the Road.

After learning to keep a bicycle on end, and to pro-
pel it without fatigue, the rider's task is by no means

PRACTICAL BICYCLING ADVICE. II5

complete. He has to learn what may be called the
" coachmanship " of bicycling. It is a want of, or a
disregard of, this knowledge that usually brings riders to
grief. It may be divided into tivo parts, viz., that which
is required for one's oivn safety and that which is re-
quired for other people's. First of all, leara to keep to
the left [right in the United States] invariably, whether
the road be rough or smooth, when meeting a vehicle.
Always, in overtaking it, pass a vehicle on its right
[left] side, no matter how easy it may appear to con-
tinue your course to its left [right]. Led horses should
be given a wide berth, and always passed on the side
on which the man is walking or riding. Vehicles and
horses should never be passed by a party on both sides
at once. Never shout at pedestrians, but give notice
of approach either by a bell or by coughing, or in some
other inoffensive way. Always carry a bell and a lamp
[the lamp, if you are to ride at night, — not otherwise] ;
they are useful, and in many counties compulsory by
law. Whistles and gongs are almost useless. Bugles
are very effective, if well blown, but too noisy and ob-
trusive for single riders or small parties. Never ride on
the path [sidewalk]. Never take your feet off the
treadles until you can see the bottom of a hill, no mat-
ter how well you know it. Remember, if the wind be
fair, you will require more brake power at hills you may
have easily descended before. On greasy, newly-wa-
tered macadam, avoid close proximity to vehicles ; turn
in the knees, stick tight to the handles, and steer by

Il6 APPENDIX.

these means, carefully avoiding leaning over to either
side. Legs over the handles is the only safe way of
flying a hill. Never hold your breath in riding up hill ;
it has a tendency to develop heart disease, by closing
the lungs against the pumping of the blood. When
running suddenly into stones at night, stick to the ma-
chine, and keep it going; never give in till actually
down. Never needlessly chaff any one; it may be
only the exuberance of that vitality which athletic exer-
cise induces ; but outsiders will make no allowance for
such a feeling. Always remember that, whereas a bicy-
cle cannot be pulled up to a dead stand like an ordinary
vehicle [except by some experts^], it is incumbent on
every rider to dismount, under circumstances that ne-
cessitate a stoppage, and that, for not doing this in a
crowd, a rider at Battersea imderwent " a month's hard
labor."

No. 5. Things to be Remembered.

Never to stir out without a spanner [wrench] and
oil-can. Always to trim your lamp and provide matches.
To tighten up the saddle-screws with plyers or spanner,
and not to trust to the fingers. That buckled wheels,
by pulling, will generally spring all right again. That
nothing wears so well, if required to tie on a loose tyre,
as ordinary twine. That gravel roads should be chosen
for riding in dry, and macadam roads in wet, weather.

1 Mr. Owen, of Washington, stood still on his bicycle two
hours and twenty-two minutes, when he dismounted voluntarily.

PRACTICAL BICYCLING ADVICE. II 7

That india-rubber does not slip on ice. That a leather-
strip tyre does not slip on greasy macadam or stones.
That those who perspire freely should always carry a dry
flannel shirt for a change. That a little extra weight on
the machine makes very little difference. That an oily
rag rubbed over bright work in time will prevent rust.
That there should be no funking when mounting. That
the backbone is the safest mode of dismounting. That
good oil is the cheapest in the end.

Ii8 APPENDIX.

II.

HINTS ON CONTINENTAL TOURING.

The following extracts from an article with
the above title, printed in an English publication
called the "Wheelman's Year Book," for 1881,
may be of interest. The writer has explored on
his bicycle " about thirty counties in England
and Scotland, and the greater part of middle and
western Europe." .

If I were asked where one would be able to obtain
the most advantage from the use of a bicycle for a short
holiday of, say a month or three weeks, I should reply
in favor of Switzerland and the Black Forest. Should
expense be of little moment, the express train could be
taken right into Switzerland, a week or ten days spent
there, and then the train taken home again. The best
pieces of road in that district are between Sallanches
and Chamounix, Martigny and Lausanne, Lausanne and
Geneva, Yverdon and Neuchatel, Zweissimmen and
Thun, Interlachen and Lucerne, and Zurich and Schaff-
hausen. All the other roads which border the Swiss
lakes are generally in as good condition as an average
English road ; but in wet weather, where there is much
traffic (especially from Geneva to Sallanches), the

HINTS ON CONTINENTAL TOURING.

roads become very heavy, and, for a day or so after-
wards, have that roughness of dried mud which causes
such unpleasant jolting. With a very few exceptions,
wherever there is a service of diligences, there wi!l be
found a good road, and especially where the route is a
hilly one, for the mountain roads, being made at con-
siderable cost, are so constructed as to remain in excel-
lent condition for long periods.

I have often been asked how I manage about the
mountains, when in Switzerland, with a bicycle, and
cannot attribute such a senseless question to anything
but ignorance of the country. Where there is a road
good enough for carriages, of course the bicycle can go,
but, in cases of climbing, where all have to go on foot,
no sane person would wish to take a bicycle, any more
than he would ask to be driven in the Cliainounix dili-
gence to the top of Mont Blanc.

My rea.sons for first alluding to Switzerland are that it
is the place most generally longed for by those whose
time or means will not permit wandering in more dis-
tant parts ; that it is a country well laid out for tourists,
and therefore not presenting so many difficulties in the
way of language or such peculiarities as beset the inex-
perienced traveller in less frequented localities, and that
it so abounds with the glories of nature as amply to
repay ail efforts to see it. Next in order, perhaps, I
should put the Black Forest. Here we find a higher
average of quality for the roads, but less grandeur in
the scenery, and more need of acquaintance with the

1 20 APPENDIX.

language (Gennao), as the hotels are at greater dis-
tances from one another, and less visited by English-
speaking people. Three or four hundred miles of ex-
cellent bicycling may, however, be there obtained, with
a most adequate repayment of charming landscapes,
filled witli dark mountains, wonderful woods, and rich
gorges.

France is the land of racing paths. Here we have
roads on which twelve miles an hour can be made with-
out difficulty, and fifteen miles in a single hour is a not
very extraordinary accomplishment. Every one who
loves a good road and " making the pace," should try
a few hundred miles in France, But for myself, having
been across that country fi-om Dieppe to Strasburg, and
from Lausanne to Boulogne, I find that the attraction
of turning my wheel with exquisite ease has now ceased
to be sufficient compensation for riding on a road al-
most as monotonous as an interminable extension of
the broad track at Lillie Bridge, although my first hun-
dred miles on a Gallic highway will always be a pleasant
remembrance. The more hilly parts of France, how-
ever, must always furnish a very considerable amount of
enjoyment, such as the neighborhoods of Rouen, Mag-
ny, Poissy, Ligny, Nancy, Metz, Dijon, and Pontarlier,
while fi-om repute I might name the Valley of the Loire
and other districts of the South, where the roads are
said to be equally good.

The Belgian roads are rideable, but railway travelling
is so cheap and the country so much more noted for

HINTS ON CONTINENTAL TOURING. 121

particular spots of interest than for any beauty of
scenery, that it will scarcely reward a bicyclist unless
he is making a grand tour, and merely passes through
on his way to fairer lands.

The roads on the banks of the Rhine are good, but
the steamboat is inexpensive and affords a better view
of the celebrated surroundings, whilst above Mayence
the country is flat for a considerable distance, and
somewhat similar to the Thames Valley district.

Further eastward we have the Harz Mountains, where
several hundred miles of excellent roads may be found,
bearing in mind that here, as elsewhere, the finest sur-
faces are not in the plains, but among and over the
mountains. The road over the Brocken, for instance,
is one of the best, whilst towards Eisleben parts are
here and there unrideable.

For some distance south of Leipsic there Is a great
sameness of country, and unless the bicyclist should
have an insuperable objection to leaving the road, he
would do well to pay a few marks to the railway pro-
prietors, for visiting Dresden, Prague, Ratisbon, Nurem-
burg, etc. (I say proprietors, as the railways in these
regions do not always appertain to companies or the
state, but bear the names of archdukes, crown princes,
and other tremendous personages of that sort.)

The roads in the valley of the Danube are passable,
but between Passau and Buda-Pesth a ride in a steam-
boat is a good investment

Taking another strip of country to the south, we have

123

APPENDIX.

Styria, Carinthia, and the TjtoI. Here the roads are
very variable. Sometimes one can make ten or twelve
miles in an hour, and at others not fom' miles, the roads
being unrideable. For instance, from Vienna to Mod-
ling, there are ruts nine inches deep, on the bottom of
which, however, a bicycle wheel might run were it not
for stones and smaller sub-ruts (if I may so call them)
which break up the surface formed by numbers of
broad-tjTcd cart-wheels ; and in the neighborhood of
Eruck-am-Mur and Gtaz pieces of road will be found
with many loose stones and smaller nits, which do not
conduce to the stability of any machme, and most cer-
tainly jeopardize the springs and other delicate parts of
second-rate or lightiy-built ones. When I was in Aus-
tria I constantly came upon several miles of loose
stones ; once, notably between Mond See and Salzburg,
three hours were lost in traversing fourteen miles, the
sides of the road being marshy, and the road itself well
adapted for destroying the stoutest shoes. This is what
is called Kaiserstrasse, and corresponds to our King's
highway. On several occasions I was advised to take
a particular route, by which a Kaiserstrasse would be
traversed, the natives naming it as if the perfection of
road-making, and so alluring me to ray fate. The result
of my experiences in this respect is to make me warn
all bicyclists against such spoke-loosening, spring-break-
ing, tyre-cutting devices, and to advise them to take any
road but a Kaiserstrasse, if a choice be possible. Apart
from these drawbacks there are many good pieces of

HINTS ON CONTINENTAL TOURING.

road in Styria and Carinthia, and the country is wild
and grand.

The roads of the Tyrol are generally very suitable
for bicycling. Those in the northern portions are like
the Bavarian highways, whilst towards Imisbnick one
finds a tendency to improvement, until in some places
the quality of a good French road is attained. I gen-
erally found that from seven to ten miles an hour could
be averaged on the whole of some three hundred miles
which I rode in that district.

Just a few words on Northern Italy, and then I shall
have exhausted the localities which I have traversed by
bicycle, as I have not yet ventured into Russia, Turkey,

After rain the roads south of the Alps will generally
be in very good condition ; but in the summer a few
days of dry weather, where there is much traflic, will
provide two or three inches of dust. I do not remem-
ber finding it necessary to walk any portions in this
part, but certainly the Tuscan roads are rather better
than those more towards the centre of the great plain,
and westward to Cremona and Milan. In the Italian
lake district the roads are similar to those of Switzer-
land.

In concluding this part of my subject I can only
repeat that, as a rule, the roads of the continent are
much better in mountainous districts than the plains ;
and that if a bicycle rider is willing now and then to
push his machine for a considerable distance, and is not

124 APPENDIX.

desirous of such a high average speed as is made at
home, he wilt not regret taking his trusty steed for a
thousand miles or so in strange countries, I have three
times crossed the Alps with my bicycle, and have not
even then had at any time more than fifteen miles to
go on foot. The Brenner Pass could almost be ridden
without a dismount. I rode with two companions from
Innsbruck to the summit in three and a quarter hours,
a distance of twenty-three miles up-hill, and only walked
about half a mile, whilst the eighty miles' descent into
Italy was accomplished at about ten miles an hour, only
a few short steep pieces having to be walked. , , .

A very powerful brake is essential, and it is well if it
can be appEed with ease for half an hour at a time,
otherwise the machine may start off in the middle of a
twelve-mile hill. Two inches of rake to the machine
are absolutely necessary, as the most useful accomplish-
ment abroad is the careful descent of long sleep hills.
Those riders who seem to think that good bicycling
consists in being able to ride a serai-racing machine
with a perpendicular fork up a hill, will find themselves
and machines at a discount amongst the mountains,
for where there is a hill too steep for an ordinary road-
ster, it is generally too steep, and also too long, for any
other sort of machine, and ft'equent descents of several
(sometimes len or twelve) miles are not safely or com-
fortably made by back treadling.

As regards personal equipment, perhaps I had better
state what I take myself: one strong light jacket and

HINTS ON CONTINENTAL TOURING,

135

trousers to match, one pair of knee-breeches, a waist-
coat, one pair of shoes, one pair of thick stockings, two
pairs of thin stockings, one pair of socks, one muffler
or silk scarf, two merino vests, two pair thin cotton
drawers, one night-shirt, four pocket-handkerchiefs,
hair-brush, tooth-brush, tooth-powder, soap, and pass-
port. These articles I carry in a knapsack measuring
13 X 10 X 4 inches. The knapsack should be pro-
vided with canes, and not basket work, die latter con-
trivance, which appears to answer well enough for a
pedestrian, being, according to my own experience
and that of several friends, most uncomfortable for a
bicycle rider. The articles carried should be of light
material, especially the trousers, for reasons which will
now appear.

I have carried seven pounds on my back for many
hundreds of miles at home and abroad without incon-
venience ; but last season, in consequence of having
some articles thicker, the weight was increased, and
instead of ceasing to be a burden after the first two
or three days, it was felt during the whole trip, and a
friend of mine has since experimented in weight-carry-
ing, and finds that there is a certain weight which a
man can carry on a bicycle (it may, of course, be more
or less than my seven pounds, according to strength)
without feehng any inconvenience, but that an ex-
tremely slight increase is like " the last straw," which
we hear so much of, and will make the pack a burden
even to the end of the journey.

126

APPENDIX.

I may here again allude to a point which is touched
upon above, namely, that any one who has not pre-
viously carried weight will feel a strong inclination dur-
ing the first two or three days to pitch his knapsack on
the side of the road, and take his chance of a change
of apparel ; but that after a little perseverance he will
cease to notice the weight, and even find it a great
assistance in shifting his centre of gravity when neces-
sary.

Perhaps I may be pardoned if I state what is prob-
ably ob\'ious to some ; namely, the mode of procedure
with the prescribed outfit. When riding, the knee-
breeches, one pair of drawers and stockings are in
use, the socks and trousers inside the knapsack, the
waistcoat and muffler under the outside flap, so that
they may be handy to slip on when the temperature
changes, or wliilst making a halt. When staying in a
town, of course, the trousers and socks come into use.
It will also be found convenient to put on the spare
clean underclothing when located for the evening, and
hang the others (which are usually damp after a long
ride) in some airy place in the hotel bedroom. When
the journey is resumed, these latter can be used again,
and so on until in a few days they will require washing.
This accommodation is easily obtained where a. stay of
over twenty-four hours is made, and then the washed
garments come in for evening wear, and the others
take day duty until their turn for washing and promo-
tion comes round. . . ,

HINTS ON CONTINENTAL TOURING. I2J

If a very long period is to be occupied in the lour, of
course a portmanteau can be sent from place to place,
and the arrangements as to clothing considerably mod-
ified, but great delay frequently occurs in the trans-
mission, and, if a tourist intends to remain in a place
any time less than three days, he had better not risk
having his arrangements put out by looking for his
portmanteau, which may not have turned up as soon
as expected.

The head-gear is the only point now remaining in
this division of the subject. I wear a strong, broad-
brimmed, boating straw hat, and, when the heat is ex-
cessive, improvise an additional protection by first
placing a wet handkerchief (once folded) on my head,
so as to cover my neck. Others find a straw helmet
very comfortable ; and I have seen a polo cap, with a
Unen flap attached as for shooting, giving considerable
satisfaction. This last arrangement cannot, however,
afford any protection for the eyes, on whose behalf
tinted spectacles or eye-glasses will in most cases be-
come necessary when on the dazzling roads, and in the
bright atmosphere of Switzerland, Austria, Italy, or
Southern France. . . .

Still one point remains, which might more properly,
perhaps, have been taken at the commencement, name-
ly, — finding thi way. This is a very simple matter all
over France, but, as one proceeds further eastward,
reliable maps and a cyclometer will avoid much armoy-
ance. The natives of Germany, especially, have often

128 APPENDIX.

a very indistinct idea of where they are living, and the
unfortunate traveller may hear that a place is two stunde
(about six miles) distant, and, after proceeding another
mile, be told that it is five stunde (fifteen miles).
Where they have not reached the state of civilization
indicated by the metric system of measurement, they
only hazard the number of " hours," which they sup-
pose, or have heard, that it would take, or did take, a
person (evidently a great-grandfather in some instances)
to traverse the road on foot.

The maps given in Baedeker's guide-books will most-
ly answer all purposes (if the skeleton of the tour has
been previously well studied), the roads marked with
double lines, as a rule, being quite suitable for bicy-
cling. A reference to the parenthetical notes of the
altitudes of different points given in Baedeker's descrip-
tions of the routes will enable one to anticipate gradi-
ents. The boats of the General Steam Navigation
Company furnish the most economical mode of reach-
ing the continent, as the Company have reduced their
charges for the carriage of bicycles to a very reasonable
scale. On French railways the only charge for carrying
a machine is the booking fee of ten centimes ; else-
where, it is charged as luggage, but rarely at such a
high rate as in England.

Such as may have been sufficiently interested in these
hints as to read them, if they have not already had
practical experience in the matter, will have observed
that bicycling on the continent varies in several respects

HINTS ON CONTINENTAL TOURING. 1 29

from bicycling in England, and, moreover, they will find
that it affords opportunities for observations of native
life very far in excess of those obtainable by almost
any other means. The traveller by rail and diligence is,
to a great degree, compelled to go on the beaten track,
visiting only places that have lost their original strange-
ness through the constant influx of foreigners, whilst the
bicyclist combines a great part of the speed of this
class with the freedom of the pedestrian, and can rap-
idly move fropi one spot to another, at the same time
that he enjoys the charm of localities comparatively
undisturbed by the ordinary tourist.

1 30 APPENDIX.

III.

INCREASE OF BICYCLE RIDING.

The extraordinary increase of bicycle riding
in the past few years may be inferred when it is
known that : —

The amount of capital invested in the* manufacture
of bicycles and tricycles in England is estimated at be-
tween seven and eight millions of dollars, and in the
United States it is about five hundred thousand dol-
lars. There are over four hundred different kinds
of bicycles manufactured in England alone.

The number of bicycle and tricycle riders in Eng-
land is estimated at 250,000 ; in the United States at
8,000, and rapidly increasing.

The number of bicycle clubs, so far as known, is, in

England 360

United States 130

Scotland 34

France 20

Wales 9

Ireland 8

Other countries 9

Total 570

TABLE OF THE FASTEST TIMES. I3I

IV.

TABLE OF THE FASTEST TIMES

RECORDED AS HAVING BEEN MADE UPON THE BICYCLE

BY ENGLISH professionals.

Dis. in

Miles.

Time,
h. m. s.

Name*

Date.

Place.

2.46

F. Cooper

May 26, '80

Cambridge

5 -364

J. Keen

May 21, '79

((

8.54i

May 3, '^^

Wolverhampton

12.1

15.14

Oct. 23, '78

Cambridge

19-19*

Oct. 13, '79

Wolverhampton

22.364

((

25.48§

28.58J

32."«

48-19*

((

1-4-42*

1.24.2

D. Stanton

Aug. 9, '79

Cardifif

2.51.0

W. Phillips

Aug. 2, '80

Dublin

100

5-5'-7

G. W. WaUer

May 3, '80

Edinburgh

262

18.0.0

((

Sept. 1-7, »79

Agr'l Hall, London

1000

73.45-18

1404

107.0.0
(6 days.)

((

Two hundred and twenty-two miles on a bicycle, without a dismount^
was accomplished in eighteen hours by T. Andrews, in March, 1880, at
the Agricultural Hall, London. The greatest distance ever ridden in
six days on a bicycle was at Alexandra Rink, Derby, by S. Rawson, —
fifteen hundred miles. When David Stanton, an English professional,
commenced his bicycle ride of one thousand miles in six days, he started
at six o'clock in the morning and rode forty-four miles before breakfast.

TABLE OF THE FASTEST TIMES

RECORDED AS HAVING BEEN MADE UPON THE BICYCLE

BY ENGLISH amateurs.

s,i-

Nan..

D«e.

pr™.

a, 47

Hon. LKrith Falconer

May 26, '80

Cambridge

5-3H
8.54I

H. L. Cortia

May 21, '79
Aug. 23/79

Leicester

11.5.1

M.39I

Aug. 4, •&>

Stokeon-Trent

7
9
'S

■7-531
20.52
'3-57
26.591
29.541
+5-M
..038I

A....,,*

Sept, 2, '80
Sept 22,'8o

Surbiton

^■!4.35

J.F.

tiffith

July 17, ■80

ROAD RIDING.

Long Distances in Twenty-fouk Hours.

The following list of known performances on
bicycles, over tke highways of Great Britain,
for ever puts at rest any doubt as to the prac-
ticability of the bicycle, and reveals some of the
astonishing feats which are so common abroad
in the use of the bicycle as a mode of locomo-
tion. The list is compiled from " The Cyclist,"
published in London, March g, 1881, and in-
cludes only fifty performances out of five times
that number, as published, of a hundred miles
and over, all of which {with many not recorded)
are known to have been accomplished in less
than a single day : —

134

APPENDIX.

<^ U w

^ H Cs^

9
O

o
U

I I I

I I

■Ato
J?

eo M P P

8g 3 O

> c« O
0^

a
o

8 =

> c

9
O

B
O

^ 65

B43

a
o

4)
4)

4> B

U43

bO«Gno

4> U Q

•C M^

§§o8

;s^2o

Dis-
tance.
Miles.

^ §

!•

N W

•So.

C/3

• 00 S

S 9

B
9

00 •*

«^

^4>

^ s

•-»

ROAD RIDING.

|| III III I
«u S 1 5^ S^dH i

1«:e1 li

* -'" t J Tj I I'l^ ^ 1

APPENDIX.

1 Jiy ill iiiJ

- 1 TJl 12-

2 1 3 =12:=

til

f I =51 [-.:

... , ,...

HI' i
i \ 1 ,i

J 1

ir i If

11 1 lla

||!Ji

1 J 1 g

■^11

S a aaa %%%

ss s ? 1 tt t

H Im'i

*ii ^i 1 llr

I p

I |a II is I

sj si

ili 1 i

1 38 APPENDIX.

VII.

BICYCLE RIDING IN THE UNITED STATES.

It is a mistake to suppose that highways in
England are universally superior to those in the
United States. There are many roads in this
country equal to the very best English roads,
and there are roads in England quite as poor as
our worst roads. The following is from an article
on roads in an English publication : —

" The adjectives ' good * and ' bad ' are quite useless
in such conjunctions as these, since what a Yorkshire
rider might call good, a Surrey man would be very
likely to characterize as infamous, not to say unride-
able.''

Englishmen are well aware of the fact that Eng-
lish highways have not altogether that degree of
superiority which for some reason Americans will
claim for them. A lumpy English macadam is
abominable, and a slippery oolite is exasperating.
Nowhere in England or Wales has the writer
found roads superior to many of those in the vi-
cinity of Boston, Massachusetts. But there is

BICVCLE RIDING IN THE UNITED STATES. 1 39

this manifest advantage in an extended tour in
England, that there good roads are found more
or less all over the kingdom, whereas in Massa-
chusetts, for instance, they are in and near a
few large cities and towns, and not throngh the
State at large, so that one can, upon the whole,
do better in England on a tour than he can tn
New England ; yet for circular runs of from ten
to fifty miles, by selecting the route with care,
one can find roads about Boston equal to the
best in England.

In using the bicycle almost exclusively for hy-
gienic purposes, the writer has ridden over four
thousand miles through the following counties
in Massachusetts : Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex,
Norfolk, Worcester, Hampden, Bristol, and Ply-
mouth, and into the States of New Hampshire
and Rhode Island. In all the above the bicycle
can be ridden, although the roads in the eastern
part of Massachusetts are by far the best.

The use of the bicycle is now so well estab-
lished that the number of riders throughout the
United States increases at the rate of several
thousand a year.

IS BICYCLE RIDING HEALTHY?

It is said that four years ago a professor at a

neighboring university was prepared to demon-
strate the impossibility of maintaining one's
equilibrium on a bicycle. He was shown a bi-
cycle in use on Boston Common, and abandoned
his theory. At first the bicycle was regarded as
a toy, and supposed to be of little use save on
a smooth surface and level ground. The feats
which have now been performed on bicycles over
highways, taking the hills as they came, have
been pronounced by a London daily as the most
extraordinary accomplishments in the way of lo-
comotion in the history of man ; no animal, save
a bird, having the power to successfully compete
with a man on a bicycle. A few years ago the
attempt was made to drive a horse from Boston
to Portland (one hundred and ten miles) in a
day ; the horse dropped dead at Saco. In 1878
an attempt was made at Prospect Park to drive
a horse one hundred miles in ten consecutive

IS BICYCLE RIDING HEALTHY?

141

hours ; the poor animal fell from exhaustion on
the seventy-fifth mile. On previous pages of
this Appendix are the names of fifty men who
are known to have ridden from one hundred and
twenty-four to two hundred and twenty miles
in a day on a bicycle. Even now some to whom
bicycles are familiar do not understand how the
equilibrium is maintained in riding, and how it
is that such extraordinary performances on them
are so common with so little effort on the rider's
part.

The bicycle is a peculiar thing ; it is at vari-
ance with our preconceived ideas ; it sets at
naught what we believed. The general opin-
ion outside of bicycle riders is that the exercise
merely develops the legs, especially the calves,
and that it is injurious to men. These are un-
fortunate errors, because they deter many an
invalid from obtaining the health and strength
within his easy reach by bicycle riding.

But you say, " My physician tells me that it is
injurious." Then your physician is as ignorant
of the subject as the university professor who de-
clared it to be impossible to ride a bicycle. No
professional opinion is of value unless given with
a thorough knowledge of the case. No thorough
knowledge of the effects of bicycle riding was

142

APPENDIX.

I
I

attainable by any physician until recently. Ex-
perience has now settled the question in favor of
the bicycle, and it may well be doubted whether
an intelligent physician, informed on the subject,
can be found who will say that a judicious use
of the bicycle is injurious. On the contrary, the
testimony of medical men is now overwhelmingly
in favor of the bicycle, and in England it is com-
mon for physicians themselves to use the machine
in their daily practice.

That the exercise strengthens the legs follows
as of course ; this of itself is sufficient to justify
an encouragement of the bicycle ; for whatever
makes these members sound, straight, and strong
is a blessing. But the effect of bicycle riding
ranges far above the commonly received notions.
It is for the head, the heart, the chest, the back,
the lungs, and for all the upper and nobler parts
of man, that this exercise is of incalculable ben-
efit. "How can this be?" you say. "When
one rides he seems to move nothing but his
legs ; how, then, can other parts of his frame
be affected ,' " The answer is that experience
shows that it is the upper part of the body,
rather than the lower, which is acted upon, be-
cause the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, back,
loins, and waist are all at work in balancing.

IS BICYCLE RIDING HEALTHY?

guiding, and controlling the machine, so that,
after a long or swift run, it is not the legs which
feel the work, but rather the arms, shoulders,
and back. It is doubtful whether a man with
the legs of a Hercules or a Milo could ride a
bicycle half way up Milton Hill (near Boston),
unless his lungs were strong enough to endure
the strain upon them. On the other hand, a
man or boy with only a moderate leg develop-
ment, but with good lungs in working order,
could ride a bicycle up and down Milton Hill
with comparative ease. Many an aspirant in
bicycle races has given up, not because his legs
were weak or because his calves were insuffi-
ciently developed, but because he was " blown ; "
and has thus found to his astonishment that, in
using a bicycle, it is "wind" that is needed
rather than legs ; thai it is the upper part of
his body which gives out, rather than the lower
part. So complete and active is the circulation
of the blood throughout the system, when riding,
that it is common to ride comfortably for miles,
without gloves, when the thermometer is as low
as between io° and 20° Fahrenheit ; and yet
riders well know how often in winter weather
they are surprised with the question, " Is it not
cold up there ? " The writer has ridden twenty-

144 APPENDIX.

four miles on a bicycle in a snow-storm, and kept
warmer and enjoyed the ride more than if in a
carriage or a sleigh. In walking, three fourths
of the effort is said to be required in raising
the weight of the body (one hundred and fifty
pounds, perhaps) with each step, the other fourth
being used in putting forward the legs. This
three fourths is all saved on the bicycle, because
the body is comfortably supported by the saddle.
Hence, after an ordinary bicycle run of twenty
or thirty miles, a good rider dismounts with a
feeling of buoyancy, lightness, and activity, while
an eight or ten mile walk might leave him with
that dull, heavy, wearisome feeling so common
after walking. In this single fact that, while
riding, the body is comfortably supported, we
have the key to fhe great advantage a bicycle
rider has over the pedestrian or the horse.

Bicycle riding demands and develops self-
possession ; one's head must be clear and cool
to determine instantaneously and correctly the
precise movement needed for safety, however
sudden the emergency. It develops the chest,
and strengthens the lungs and heart ; for, when
riding fast or up hill, the full, deep breaths en-
forced, if tempered to moderation, are powerful,
invigorating agencies. It is invaluable for a

IS BICYCLE RIDING HEALTHY?

sluggish liver ; it benefits the kidneys ; and
for strengthening the digestive organs is unsur-
passed. Who knows of a good bicycle rider who
has a poor digestion ? and who knows of a man
with a poor digestion who is happy ?

To no class of men, perhaps, is bicycle riding
more beneficial than to those who lead sedentary
occupations in the manifold walks of life, — ap-
prentices, clerks, students, business men, profes-
sional men, physicians, teachers, clergymen, and
others. If such find their system weakened and
"run down" by over-work, anxiety, or other
causes, and are not incapable of riding a bicycle,
they will find that its use, instead of being inju-
rious, will give them strength, tone, and a manly
vigor from head to foot; in short, — health.
This statement could be substantiated by thou-
sands of bicycle riders, who have found, to their
surprise and gratification, that this exercise in
the sun and air, — the two greatest of tonics, —
instead of merely developing the calves of their
legs, has given them health and strength through-
out the body. A like result may doubtless be
attained in other ways, as by horseback riding,
yachting, boating, or canoeing. But all cannot
afford these, or live where such exercises are
convenient, without an interference with their

146 APPENDIX.

regular work. The bicycle adds to the list
of known agencies in obtaining and keeping
health.

He is a more than ordinary philosopher who,
on every walk taken for health's sake, can forget
that his walk is a duty effort. But with a bicycle
the greater range of objects within easy reach
offers a wide and varying field for observation.
The writer has found his runs through the State
made far more interesting and beneficial by
studying the history, the topography, and the
agricultural and manufacturing industries of
the several municipalities visited. There is no
easier and better way of getting acquainted
with the growth and possibilities of the old
Commonwealth. The artist, the botanist, the
ornithologist, the oologist, and other specialists
will find that the bicycle gives hitherto un-
known advantages in the out-of-door pursuit of
their studies.

President Eliot of Harvard University, in his
Annual Report to the Board of Overseers for
1877-78, said : —

" A singular notion prevails, especially in the coun-
try, that it is the feeble, sickly children who should be
sent to school and college, since they are apparently
unfit for hard work. The fact that in the history of

IS BICYCLE RIDING HEALTHY? 147

literature a few cases can be pointed out in which
genius was lodged in a weaJc or diseased body, is some-
limes adduced in support of the strange proposition,
that physical vigor is not necessary for professional
men. But all experience contradicts these notions.
To attain success and length of service in any of the
learned professions, including that of teaching, a vigor-
ous body is wellnigh essential. A busy lawyer, editor,
minister, physician, or teacher has need of greater phys-
ical endurance than a farmer, trader, manufacturer, or
mechanic. All professional biography teaches that, to
win lasting distinction in sedentary, in-door occupa-
tions which task the brain and the nervous system,
extraordinary toughness of body must accompany ex-
traordinary mental powers."

In Endymion, Chapter LXXXV., Lord Bea-
consfield puts into the mouth of the Prime Min-
ister (probably Lord Palmerston) these words :
" Health is one of the elements to be considered
in calculating the career of a public man, and
I have always predicted an eminent career for
Ferrars, because, in addition to his remarkable
talents, he had apparently such a fine constitu-
tion."

Lord Coleridge, the present Lord Chief Jus-
tice of England, told a Boston lawyer, In 1875,
that when at the bar, with a practice worth

148 APPENDIX.

$70,000 a year, and when in Parliament, and
Attorney-General, often working till past mid-
night, he made it a point to ride every afternoon
on horseback; but that in 1873, after lie be-
came Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas,
his rides were not so frequent, because the strain
upon both mind and body was then less severe.
In other words, the amount of out-of-door exer-
cise taken, regardless of the weather, was in
proportion to the extent to which his physical
and mental energies were taxed, increasing with
the growth of his business, and diminishing as
his labors became lighter. This was the custom
with men of his class in England. Lord Cole-
ridge was surprised when told that, notwith-
standing a brighter sky, the very reverse was
too apt to be the practice with professional men
in the United States.

The Right Hon. Robert Lowe, ex-Chancellor
of the English Exchequer, now seventy years of
age, is a well-known bicycle and tricycle rider. He
is the president of the West Kent Bicycle Club,
and in 1877, after distributing the prizes at bicy-
cle races, urged the general use of the bicycle,
and observed : " I am satisfied that if persons
who are not young would addict themselves to
the use of the bicycle, they would find it a very

IS BICYCLE RIDING HEALTHY?

149

good thing, and the best possible antidote against
the gout."

The Hon. Ion Keith-Falconer, second son of
the Earl of Kintore, and brother to Lord Inveru-
rie, is first among English amateur bicycle riders,
and at the Cambridge University examinations
carried off nearly the highest honors in the theo-
logical tripos, getting second, whilst in the He-
brew examination he was prominent, and was
awarded the Hebrew prize. Mr. E. Thornton,
of Trinity College, Cambridge, another amateur
bicycle rider of high repute, has carried off hon-
ors in the mathematical tripos. Mr, Thornton
is an American.

Four years ago, when the writer was out of
health, with the prospect of having to abandon
his profession for want of physical strength to
endure its labors, he was led by advices from
England to use a bicycle. It then took three
months to get a suitable machine, which was
secured through the only agent in America at
that time, — the British Vice-Consul at Balti-
more. The writer at once commenced a regu-
lar use of the machine, just as patients take
doses of medicine. He locked his office door
betimes, and (no instructors were then at hand)
struggled to master the thing; he was often

150 APPENDIX.

thrown, sprained and re-sprained his wrists, and
was supposed by many to have abandoned his
profession and to have lost due sense of pro-
priety. " To think that Mr. Chandler should
be seen riding about the town astride of a
wheel!" was one of the common remarks heard
in disapprobation of his conduct. But he found
that the exercise surpassed all others known to
him on land, for the benefits derived, and he
kept at it till his lungs (which were under the
care of the late Dr- Edward H. Clarke) became
strong enough to carry him on the bicycle over
many of the steepest hitls about Boston, and to
compete successfully with fast horses ; his mus-
cles became "like steel," his digestion perfect,
and, for aught he knows, complete health was
secured from head to foot, notwithstanding that
the method taken shocked some conservative
people. Finally, what practical men think most
of, instead of being forced to abandon his pro-
fession, his practice was, by the means taken,
not only maintained, but doubled. Hence, when
asked that perpetually recurring question, " Is
it healthy ? " the writer insists that it is, if
not carried to excess, and maintains that the
bicycle is a boon often of inestimable value to
those who are tied down to sedentary occupa-

IS BICYCLE RIDING HEALTHY? I5I

tions, especially to such as find the use of a
horse inconvenient, both on the score of expense
and the attention the animal requires, and to such
as do not live near enough to water to make row-
ing or sailing convenient.

152

APPENDIX.

IX.

WHERE BICYCLES MAY BE OBTAINED IN
THE UNITED STATES.

Four years ago, in the early part of 1877, the
only bicycle agent in America was Colonel T. W.
Lawford, the British Vice-Consul at Baltimore.
Now, in May, i88r, bicycles may be obtained of
the following persons, among others, in the
United States, from Maine to California, and
from Minnesota to Texas : —

Appleton, Wis.
Auburn, N. Y.
Ashtabula, Ohio
Adrian, Mich. .
Augusta, Ga. .
Attleboro', Mass.
Amherst, **
Ashland, Ohio
Andover, Mass.
Albion, N. Y
Arcade, "
Avon,
Albany,
Akron, Ohio

Benoit & Bleser.
A. E. Swartout.
M. G. Dick.
C. B. Ackley.
Robt. W. Robertson.
David D. Nevins.
George F. Fisk.
W. V. B. Topping.
John L. Smith.
Frank L. Bates.
W. I. Masten.
George W. Holmes.
W. G. Paddock & Co.
C. D. Miller.

WHERE BICYCLES MAY BE OBTAINED. 1 53

Bos ton. Mass Cunningham & Co., 6 and 8

Berkeley Street.
« " LP. Lord & Co., 48 Union

Street.
" " Charles R. Percival, 96

Worcester Street.

" " Pope Manufacturing Co.,

597 Washington Street.

(Manufactory at Hartford,

Conn.)
" " Stoddard, Lovering, & Co.,

10 Milk Street.

Biddeford, Me R. A. Fairfield.

Brattleboro', Vt A. W. Chllds. .

Burlington, " . . . . George Styles.
Bridgeport, Conn. . . . Hincks & Johnson.

Buffalo, N. Y Charles Schladermundt.

Bradford, Pa H. A. Marlin.

Baltimore, Md S. T. Clark.

Brainerd, Minn Z. C. Thayer.

Boone, la Reed D. Smith.

Belief on taine, Ohio . . . H. H. Good.
Binghamton, N. Y. . . Crocker & Ogden.

Beloit, Wis Goodall & Emerson.

Bay City, Mich Gedney & Avery.

Brockton, Mass Fred. H. Johnson.

Belfast, Me George T. Read.

Bethlehem, Pa W. D. Packard.

Cherokee, la Allison Brothers.

Chicago, 111 J. M. Fairfield (cor. State

and Van Buren Streets).

154

APPENDIX.

Cincinnati, Ohio
Cleveland, **
Council Bluffs, la
Columbus, Ohicy
Cedar Rapids, la.
Clyde, N. Y. .
Chillicothe, Ohio
Camden, S. C.
Charleston, " .
Carroll, la. . .
Cambridge, Md.
Cleburne, Tex.

B. Kittredge & Co.

T. B. Stevens & Brother.

C. H. Judson.
Waggoner & Krag.
£. Bliss.

A. J. Denison.
A. Dump.
J. A. Young.
L. M. Beebe.
Ed. M. Wayne.
Kemp & Co.
W. P. Richardson.

Detroit, Mich.
Danville, Ky. .
Dayton, Ohio .
Des Moines, la
Dubuque,

W. W. Seymour.
J. N. Richardson.
J. W. Stoddard & Co.
Gilcrest & Miirphey.
H. E. Tredway.

Elmira, N.Y. . . .
Easton, Pa. . . .
Erie, ** . . .
East Saginaw, Mich.

Frank N earing.
J. Hay & Sons.
W. B. Vance & Co.
H. L. Shaw.

Farmdale, Ky. . .
Fulton, N. Y. . . .
Fostoria, Ohio . .
Frankfort, Ky. . .
Fond Du Lac, Wis. .
Framingham, Mass. .
Fort Wayne, Ind.

C. W. Fowler.
S. B. Mead.
N. Portz & Co.
W. C. Macklin.
C. S. Corn well.
W. D. Wilmot.
C. W. Edgerton.

WHERE BICYCLES MAY BE OBTAINED. 1 55

Grand Rapids, Mich.

Green Bay, Wis. . .

Galveston, Tex. , .
Greenwich, N. Y.

Galva, Kan. . . .

Greenville, S. C. . .
Goldsboro', N. C.

Foster, Stevens, & Co.
F. W. Basche.
J. E. Mason.
George E. Dorr.
George F. Haskins.
F. W. Davis.
J. Holt.

Helena, Mont W. E. Norris.

Hartford, Conn Weed Sewing Machine Co.

" " .... Billings & Spencer Co.

Hornellsville, N. Y. . . . G. A. Griggs.

Hannibal, Mo C. P. Heywood.

Halifax, N. S J. D. Shatford.

Houston, Tex J. O. Simpson.

Hingham, Mass Arthur L. Whiton.

Haverhill, " . . . . S. Frank Woodman.

Hillsboro*, Ohio . . . . N. Rockhold & Son.

Hill, N. H Charles F. Adams.

Hudson, Mich F. H. Goadby.

Indianapolis, Ind. . . . Charles Mayer & Co.

Iowa City, la Pryce & Schell.

Independence, la. . . . Tabor & Tabor.

Jamestown, N. Y. . . . Frank Merz & Co.

Jeffersonville, Ind. . . . M. G. Main.

Jackson, Miss B. W. Griffith.

Kenton, Ohio Shanafelt & Kuert.

Kansas City, Mo. . . . H. B. Martin.

156

APPENDIX.

Louisville, Ky.
Lockport, N. Y. .
Lima, Ohio . . ,
Lancaster, Pa. .
Los Angeles, Cal.
Logansport, Ind. .
La Fayette, "
Lawrence, Mass. ,

Mankato, Minn. .
Minneapolis, Minn.
Milville, N. J. . .
Medina, N. Y. . .
Meriden, Conn. .
Milwaukee, Wis. .
Murfreesboro', Tenn
Muncie, Ind. . .
Memphis, Tenn. .
Manchester, N. H.
Madison, Ind. . .
Marion, Ohio . .
Marshalltown, la. .
Macon, Ga. . . .
Marietta, Ohio . .
Mansfield, " . .
Montgomery, Ala.
Martin's Ferry, Ohi
Morrow, Ohio .
Marlboro', Mass
Milford,

«(

New Haven, Conn.
New Orleans, La.

Horace Beddo.
H. C. Hoag & Son.
Gale Sherman.
Mardn Rudy.
W. C. Funey.

F. M. Tipton.
Perrin Brothers.
Dyer & Co.

Samborn & Wabz.
Shafter & Clement.
J. B. Rose.
C. F. Hurd.
Dr. T. S. Rust.
L. M. Richardson.
J. H. Nelson & Co.
Stewart & Foster.
S. T. Carnes & Co.
J. B. Varick.
Wm Sibley Truax.
H. G. Welty.
McQuiston & Burnell.

G. W. Stratton.
G. W. Gale.

F. E. Morris.
C. B. Wilkins.
L. F. Oxley.
J. C. Hart.
Lewis T. Frye.
H. E. Nelson.

American Bicycle Co.
Fred N. Thayer.

WHERE BICYCLES MAY BE OBTAINED. 1 57

New York, N. Y. . . . Wm. M. Wright, 160 Fulton

Street.

" " ... Schuyler & Duane, 189

>B roadway.

New Albany, Ind. . . . Frank C. Nunemacher.

Norfolk, Va J. B. Piatt, Jr.

Newburgh, Ohio .... Healy Bros.

Norwich, Conn C. R. Butts.

Nashville, Tenn V. L. Cunnyngham.

Northboro', Mass. . . . A. E. Wood.

Norwalk, Conn S. K. Stanley.

Newburgh, N. Y J* T. Joslin.

New London, Conn. . . . C. F. Chaney.

New Britain, ** . . . John A. Williams.

Nashville, 111 Lorenzo C. Liversay.

Norwalk, Ohio N. S. C. Perkins.

Niles, Mich John A. Montague.

New Brunswick, N. J. . . Elliot Mason.

New Cumberland, Pa. . . George F. Shoop.

Nunda, N. Y W. Y. Robinson.

New Castle, Ind L. A. Jennings.

Ogden, Utah C. C. Richards.

Omaha, Neb N. I. D. Solomon.

Ottawa, Ont A. E. Wilson.

Opelika, Ala. ..... Renfro Bros.

Orange, Mass Underwood & Tenney.

Oshkosh, Wis Benjamin B. Hooper.

Oxford, Miss E. Hustace.

Philadelphia, Pa H. B. Hart, 813 Arch Street.

Pittsburgh, " . . . . E. J. Waring.

158 APPENDIX.

Plainfield, N. J Curtiss & Griff en.

Portsmouth, Ohio . . . Lodwick & Dunlap.

Poughkeepsie, N. Y. . . A. N. Shaffer.

Providence, R. I. . . . C. F. Handy, 135 Broad

Street.

Peoria, 111 George W. Rouse.

Portsmouth, N. H. . . . C. A. Hazlett.

Pittsfield, Mass L. L. Atwood.

Portland, Me Charles H. Lamson.

Portland, N. Y W. L. Smith.

Parkers burg, W. Va. . . G. W. Gale.

Princeton, N. J Wm. Chester.

Port Huron, Mich. ... A. Dixon.

Painesville, Ohio .... C. J. Pratt.

Paterson, N. J Wm. T. Cole.

Palmer, Mass E. S. Gibbons.

Pueblo, Col E. P. Jordan.

Rochester, N. Y F. A. Griswold.

Russell ville, Tenn. . . . H. G. Rogan.

Richmond, Me J. H. Odiorne.

Richmond, Ind C. P. Buchanan, Jr.

Red Wing, Minn. . . . Arland H. Allen.

Rockport, Tex G. W. Fulton, Jr.

Randolph, N. Y C. J. Brown & Co.

Raleigh, N. C J. C. Brewster.

Rutland, Vt M.J. Francisco.

Salt Lake City, Utah . . Day & Co.

San Antonio, Tex. ... Ed Stevens & Sons.

San Francisco, Cal. . . . Osborn & Alexander.

" « . . . F. T. Merrill.

WHERE BICYCLES MAY BE OBTAINED. 1 59

St. Louis, Mo C. & W. McClean.

Springfield, Ohio. . . . D. E. Barnum.

Selma, Ala. ..... Woolsey & Sons.

St. Paul, Minn. . '. . . C. R. Smith.

Spartanburg, S. C. . . . T. J. Trimmier.

Sedalia, Mo O. Kernodle.

Sidney, Ohio W. M. Johnston & Bro.

Somerville, N. J I. Van Eps.

Springfield, 111 Smith Bros.

Susquehanna, Pa. ... T. A. Hay^ard.

Salem, Mass A. J. Philbrick.

Stevens's Point, Wis. . . Earl F. Phillips.

Saint Peter, Minn. . . . Jas. Danby.

Schenectady, N. Y. . . . Avery, Snell, & Co.

Syracuse, N. Y Chas. C. Smith.

Somerville, Tenn. . . . J. H. Dorth,

San Saba, Tex W. W. Hackworth.

South New Market, N. H. . Jas. A. Spead.

Southington, Conn. . . . Brooks & Barnes.

St. Johnsbury, Vt. . . . C. H. Knapp.

Toledo, Ohio M. F. Richards.

Terre Haute, Ind. . . . Chas. Baur.

Tucson, Arizona . . . . C. W. Risley.

Titusville, Pa J. H. Isham.

Trenton, N. J J. Y Clark.

University, Va J. L. Keller.

Utica, N. Y Jas. H. Gilmore.

Vincennes, Ind H. J. Foulks.

Versailles, Ky B. A. Norris.

i6o

APPENDIX.

Washington, D. C.
Wilmington, Del.
Wilkesbarre, Pa. .
Worcester, Mass.
Wheeling, W. Va.
Williamsport, Pa.
Westfield, N. Y. .
Willimantic, Conn.
Winnsboro', S. C.
Warren, Ohio . .
Waltham, Mass. .
Wilmington, N. C.
Washington, Ohio
Woburn, Mass. .

H. I. Carpenter.
Wm. A. Bacon.
J. G. Carpenter.
Hill & Tolman.
Hoge & Co.
J. Howard.
Samuel Crandall.
Horace A. Adams.
A. W. Brown.
W. D. Packard.
Wm. Shakspeare.
W. J. Gordon.
Frank Clugston.
F. B. Richardson.

Xenia, Ohio Trader & Co.

MAPS. 1 6 1

MAPS.

At the beginning of this book will be found
an outline map of England, drawn to accompany
the description of the tour.

At the end of the book will be found two bicy-
cle riding maps of Southern England, giving in
detail all that part between the Thames Valley
and the English Channel, extending as far west
as the river Severn, and including the Isle of
Wight and the principal watering-places on the
coast. These maps are reduced from the Ord-
nance Survey, and are not only of value for
the tourist, but are of use in the library for
references.

A third map is given of the eastern part of
Massachusetts, reduced from the map specially
prepared by the State authorities for the Cen-
tennial Exhibition.

Of course these maps will be found of use
as well in horseback riding, or in driving and
walking.

INDEX.

Accidents, 15, 27, 28, 8i, 82, 83, 107.
Agricultural Hall, London, great race

at, 77, 81, 82.
Ale, 23, 69, 70, 114.
Alps, 119, 124.

Brenner Pass, how far rideable,
124.
Amesbury, 42, 43.
Appleyard, feat by, 23, 44.
" Arizona," the, accident to, 98.
Arundel, 25-27, 50.

Castle, 26, 27, 50.
Austria, 121-123, 127.
Avon, river, 43.
Aylesford, 13.

Baedeker's guide-books, 128.

Bakewell, 75, 84.

Ballater, 24.

Balmoral, 24.

*' Baltic," the, accident to, 95-102.

Banbury, 55.

Cross, 55, 56.
Bangor, 105.
Barnham Junction, 28.
Baslow, 84.
Bath Road, 23, 44.
Baths, public, 18, 21, 25, 46, 73.
Bayliss, Thomas, & Co., 63.
Beaconsfield, Lord, 147.
Beeley Hill, 84.
Belgium, 120, 121.
Bells. See Bicycle.
Berkshire, 45, 49, 53, 103.

Bicycle, bells on, 62, 63, 115.
brakes on, iii, 124.
capital invested, 130.
charge on railways, 11, 12, 128.
choice of machine, no.
cleaning, 59, 117.
cranks, short, 14, 15.
duties on, 64.
effect of riding on health, 50, 104,

109, 140-15 1,
fastest times on, 131, 132.
headquarters for, 9, 28, 62-64, 15a-

160
hints on continental touring, 118-
' 129.

increase in use of, 130.
its value as an exercise, 109, 140-

151.
long road rides, 29, 33, 44» 4S» "3.

133-137-
number of clubs, 130.
number of riders, 130.
on the road, 114-116.
riding in the United States, 138,

^ 139-

riding on Sunday, 27, 30.
six days' race, 81, 82.
things to be remembered, zi6, 117.
touring, 1 12- 1 14.
varieties of, 130.
where to buy in England, 9, 28,

62-64.
where to buy in the United States,
152-160.
Bicycle Touring Club, 58.

]64

INDEX.

Birmingham, 66, 103.

Bitter beer, 23, 69, 70.

Blackgang, 35.

Black Forest, 118, 119.

Blenheim Park, 54.

Blood, circulation of, in riding, 109,

143-
Bonchurch, 36.
Boulogne, 120.
Brakes. See Bicycle.
Brenner Pass, 124.
" Brest," the, wreck of, 95.
Brighton, 25.

Britten, W. S., feat by, 45, 134.
Brocken, 121.
Bruck-am-Mur, 122.
Buda-Pesth, 121.
Burton-on-Trent, 17, 67, 69, 72.

Cabs, carrying bicycles on, 49.
Cann, accident to, 81, 82.
Canterbury, 17.

Cathedral, 17, 18, 41, 50.
Carisbrooke Castle, 35, 37, 50.
Carinthia, 122.
Carlisle, 105.
Carnarvon Castle, 10 1.
Cary, Captain, 34, 80.
Castle, Arundel, 26, 27, 50.

Carisbrooke, 35, 37, 50.

Carnarvon, loi.

Conway, loi.

Dover, 21, 50.

Kenilworth, 30, 60, 6f.

Warwick, 60, 61.

Windsor, 32. •

Cathedral, Canterbury, 17, 18, 41, 50,

94.

Durham, 41.

Salisbury, 41, 42, 50, 94.

York, 94.
Chamounix, 118, 119.
Charing, 14, x6.
Charing Cross, n.
Charlcote, 58.

Charles I., 58.

Chatham, 13.

Chatsworth, 71, 73-75, 83, 84.

Chest, effect on the, 109, 144.

Chester, 94, 103.

Chesterfield, 84, 85.

Chichester, 27, 28, 56.

Circus at Arundel, 26.

Clergymen, 30.

Clothes. See Dress.

Clubs, 130.

Coleridge, Lord, 147, 148.

Coleshill, 66.

" Commercial Dinner," 65.

Commercial Houses. See Inns.

Conway Castle, 10 1.

Cosham, 31.

Coventry, 28, 60, 61-66, 103.

Machinist Co., 63.
Cowes, 35.

Cranks. See Bicycub.
Cremona, 123.

Danger Boards, 21, 22.

Danube, Valley of, 121.

Deal, 19.

De Lagrange, Count F., 87.

Derby, 71, 72.

" Derby" races, 71, 86.

Derbyshire, 48, 71, 83.

Devonshire, Duke of, 84, 85.

Dialects, 104.

Dieppe, 120.

Digestion, effect on the, 145.

Dijon, 120.

Dogs, 55-58.

Doncaster, 60, 72, 85, 86.

Doncaster races, 72, 85-93.

Dorchester, 53.

Dorset, 30.

Dover, 19, 21.

Dresden, 121.

Dresden China, 87.

Dress, 10, 11, 107, 112, 113, 124-127.

Drink, favorite, 22, 23, 114.

INDEX.

165

Drinking, 19, 47, 48.
Druidical ruins, 13, 42, 50.
Dublin, 88.

Durham Cathedral, 41.
Duties on bicycles, 64.

EoGB Hill, 58.

Edinburgh, 88, 94.

Edinburgh, Duke and Duchess of, 23,

24.
Education, 62.
Eisleben, 121.
Eliot, President, 146.
Endymion, 147.
Epsom, 71, 86.
Essex, Earl of, 58.
Expenses, 106, 118.
EyeS| 127.

Fastest Times, 23, 44> '3x» 132.
Folkstone, 21.
Food, 65, 66, 106.
Foxhounds, 56, 57.
France, 120, 127.
Froxfield, 44.

Geneva, 118.
Gosport, 24.
Graz, 122.

Haddon Hall, 71, 83, 84.

Hallamshire Works, 85.

Hamilton, Lord, 62.

Hampshire, 3 1 , 49*

Hansoms, carrying bicycles in, 49.

Hardwick Hall, 71, 84.

Harrietsham, 14.

Harz Mountains, 121.

Hastings, 23.

Havant, 31.

Health, effect on, 50, 104, 109, 140-

Heart, effect on, 142, 144.
Hillman & Herbert, 63.

Hills, 21, 58,84.

Holyhead, 99, 100.

Horses, 46, 47, 115. See Races*

Hotels. See Inns.

Hounds. See Docs.

Hungerford, 44, 45.

Hunting establishments, 57.

India Pale, 69.

Inns, 14, 16, 17, 50, 67, 76, 85.

life at, 37-40* 43> 44-

odd names, 68, 69.
Innsbruck, 123.
Interlachen, 11 8*
Irish mail train, 46.
Isle of Thanet, 18.
Isle of Wight, 33-37» 49-
Italy, 123, 127.

Kaisbrstrassb, 122.

Keen, John, champion, 7, 81, 82.

Keith- Falconer, 132, 149.

Kenilworth Castle, 30, 60, 61.

Kent, county of, 11, 13, 18, 20, 49.

Kidneys, effect on, 145.

Kineton, 58.

Kit's Cotty House, 13 .

Lausanne, 118, 12a

Leamington, 60, 61.

Legs, effect on, 141-145.

Leipsic, 121.

Lenham, 14.

Library at Coventry, 61, 62.

Ligny, 120.

Liver, effect on, no, 144, 145*

Liverpool, 64, 88.

Llanbems, 102.

Llyn Llydaw, 102.

Loire, Valley of, 120.

London, 7, 23, 28, 48, 49, 52, 77, 81,

83, 88, 104
" London W.," 35.
Lorillard, Pierre, 87.

1 66

INDEX.

Lowe, ex-Chancellor, 148.
Lucerne, ij8.
Luggage, 11, 114, 127.
Lungs, effect on, 142-144, 150.

Magny, 120.

Maidstone, 14.

Maps, 8, 9, II, 107, 127, 128, 161.

Margate, 11, 18.

Marlborough, Duke of, 54.

Martigny, 118.

Mar>, Queen of Scots, 85.

Matlock Bath, 72, 73, 76, 83.

Mayence, 121.

Metz, 120.

Milan, 123.

Modling, 122.

Mond See, 122.

*' Montana,'* the, accident to, 100, n.

Mont Blanc, 119.

Nancy, 120.

Napoleon, Louis, 34, 35, 81.

Natatoria. See Baths.

Nelson, Admiral, 34.

Neuchatel, 118.

Newbury, 45.

Newport, 35, 36.

New Shoreham, 25.

Norfolk, 106.

Norfolk, Duke of, 26, 27.

Nuneham Courtney, 53.

Nuremburg, 121.

Ordnance Survey, 9.
Oxford, 53, 54-
Oxfordshire, 20, 53, 55.

Palmerston, Lord, 147.

Parole, 87.

Passau, 121.

" Palerson's Roads," 53.

Peacock Inn, 83.

Peake*s bicycle emporium, 9, 28, 104.

Pegwell Bay, 19.

Pewsey, 43.

Poissy, I20'

Pontarlier, 120*

Portsmouth, 27-29, 31, 33-3 5» 37'

Prague, 121.

Prince of Wales's son, 9, 10.

Queen ; Her Majesty orders a tricy*
cle, 63.
cost of car service for, 24, 25.

Races, bicycle, 23, 44, 81, 82.

horse, 71, 72, 85-93.
Railroads, 11, 12, 77-81, 118, 128.
Rain, 14, 16, 21, 25, 37, 46, 83, 84.
Ramsgate, 18, 19.
Ratisbon, 121.
Rayon d'Or, 87.
Reading, 45, 46, 48, 49, 52.
Roads, 20, 43, 94, 138.

Austria, 121, 122.

Belgium, 120, 121.

England, bad, 20, 55, 84, 86, 138.
good, 21. 43, 44» 67, 138.
hilly, 13, 17, 21, 58, 84.
slippery, 15, 83.

France, 120.

Germany, 121.

Italy, 123.

Massachusetts, 138, 139.

Switzerland, 118, 119, 123, 124.

United States, 138, 139.
Rochester. 13.
Roman Villa, 37, 50.
Rouen, 120.
Rowsley, 75.
Ryde, 35.

Salisbury, 41, 42.
Sallanches, 118.
Salzburg, 122.
Sandown, 36.

INDEX.

167

Sandwich, 19.

Schaifhausen, 118.

Scotland, 94.

Selby, 86, 93.

Self-possession developed, 109, 144.

Shakspeare Inn, 58.

Shanklin, 35, 36.

Sheffield, 85.

Shillingford Bridge, 53.

Shrewsbury, 105.

Singer & Co., 63.

Sketching, 13, 14, 37.

Slindon Park, 27.

Snaith, 86.

Snowdon, 102, 103.

Snow-storm, riding in, 143, 144.

Soda and milk, 22, 23.

Somersetshire, 103.

South Stack Light, 95.

Staffordshire, 17, 67, 72.

St. Leger races, 72, 87, 90-92.

Stone Bridge, 66.

Stonehenge, 42, 50.

Strasbourg, 120.

Stratford-upon-Avon, 58-61.

Stroud, II, 13.

Styria, 122.

Suffolk, 106.

Sumner, Charles, 41.

Sunday, riding on, 27, 30.

Sussex, 23, 49.

Swimming. See Baths.

Switzerland, 118, 119, 123, 124.

Tamworth, 66, 67.
Telford, the engineer, 105.
Terront, 81, 82.
Thames, the, 43, 46, 52, 53.
Theale, 46.

Thome, 85.

Thornton, £., 149.

Thun, 118.

Tonics, the two greatest, 145.

Tricycles, 30, 63.

the Queen orders one, 63
Tyrol, 123.

Under-Cliff, 36.

Ventnor, 35, 36.
Vespasian's Camp, 42.
"Victory," the, 34.
Vienna, 122.

Wales, 94, 95.

Wales, Prince of ; bicycle for his sou,

9, 10.
Waller, champion rider, 8i| 82, 131.
Wallingford, 53.
Warwick, 60, 61.
Castle, 60, 61.
Warwickshire, 58, 60.
Wiltshire, 44) 49.
Wimborne Minster, 30.
Wind, 22, 23, 115.
Windsor Castle, 32.
Woodstock, 54, 55.

York, 93, 94.

Cathedral, 94*
Yorkshire, 20, 60, 85, 86, 103.
Yverdon, n8.

Zurich, 118.
Zweissimmen, 118.

University Press : John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.

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This account of a bicycle tour in England
was written only after repeated requests, and
first appeared in four numbers of the ** Bicy-
cling World," published in Boston, January 14
and 21, and February 4 and 18, 1881. In 1879
the aul^hor went to continental Europe on busi-
ness, and was accompanied by a friend as far as
London. Having completed the business, there
happened to be a month before the steamer
sailed on which the home-passage had been
secured. Availing himself of this, the author
returned to London, and, with his friend, made
the tour described.

An Appendix has been added giving informa-
tion on bicycle touring in continental Europe,
together with facts, but little known in America,
on the extraordinary bicycle feats performed
abroad and the remarkable progress and popu-
larity of the machine, with an article especially
devoted to the use of the bicycle as an invaluable
hygienic agent.

Boston, May 23, 1881.

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