“You will infer, of course, that I had a plan for combining these hobbies; hence my trip to Coventry with a view to having such a machine made for my own use. When I arrived here and called on some of the bicycle manufacturers and made my purpose known, I cannot say that I was quite so well received as your correspondent C.; in fact, a Yankee inventor does not seem to be such desirable property in Coventry as a foreign agent, and yet I doubt not that a real genius of the former sort might do them much more good. Now, I think I was entitled to the reception of such a character for at least the few minutes it would have taken to expose the error, but there seems to be a sort of suspicious dread of a Yankee inventor, which is all wrong and against their interest. The greatest fault I have to find is in the manner in which they insist that I could not possibly know anything about the bicycle business, or have a right to a hobby and waste some money on it if I wanted to. “The bad weather has detained us here much longer than we thought to stay, but we do not regret it, as it is the best centre in England from which to make short tours. The attractions of this ancient city are innumerable, and the proximity of Kenilworth, Warwick, and Stratford-on-Avon need only be mentioned to make Coventry all I assert. “You will pardon me if I say that my new machine is all and more than I expected; but a word to all hobbyists before I close: Have you a hobby? If so, then ‘bend low and with bated breath I will a secret tale unfold.’ “_Have your hobby_, nourish it, talk and write about it, and make everybody believe you can fly; don’t let anybody down you, get in the last kick at every man who won’t think just as you do, but just as you are going to put it in practice, stop! slip quietly to your escritoire, get out your book, go straight to the bank, and have it accurately footed up; if there is a fat balance, and you are unmarried, with no other care on your mind, and nothing to do for seven years, then go in, and God speed to you. “If the above conditions fail you, go straight home, kiss your wife, and baby if you have any, and thank Providence that you are saved from the lunatic asylum and your family from poverty and want. “R. P. S. “+Coventry, England+, June 11, 1885.” PART II. Designed to amuse rather than to instruct the reader, and intended as a reward to those who have struggled through the foregoing pages. [Illustration: Ordinary, 50-inch front, 18-inch rear wheel.] [Illustration: Rover type, rear-driver safety, 30-inch wheels.] [Illustration: Star type, 20 front, 52 rear.] [Illustration: Kangaroo safety, 40 front, 18 rear.] [Illustration: Rear-driver tandem, 30-inch wheels.] [Illustration: Facile lever-action, 40 front, 18 rear.]