The Romance of Modern Invention: Containing Interesting Descriptions in Non-technical Language of Wireless Telegraphy, Liquid Air, Modern Artillery, Submarines, Dirigible Torpedoes, Solar Motors, Airships, &c. &c.Williams, Archibald
Science
The Romance of Modern Invention: Containing Interesting Descriptions in Non-technical Language of Wireless Telegraphy, Liquid Air, Modern Artillery, Submarines, Dirigible Torpedoes, Solar Motors, Airships, &c. &c.
Williams, Archibald
Inventions
_Uses._--Ninety-five per cent of motors, at least in England, are
attached to pleasure vehicles, cycles, voiturettes, and large cars. On
account of the costliness of cars motorists are far less numerous than
cyclists; but those people whose means enable them to indulge in
automobilism find it extremely fascinating. Caricaturists have
presented to us in plenty the gloomier incidents of motoring--the
broken chain, the burst tyre, the “something gone wrong.” It requires
personal experience to understand how lightly these mishaps weigh
against the exhilaration of movement, the rapid change of scene, the
sensation of control over power which can whirl one along tirelessly
at a pace altogether beyond the capacities of horseflesh. If proof
were wanted of the motor car’s popularity it will be seen in the
unconventional dress of the _chauffeur_. The breeze set up by his
rapid rush is such as would penetrate ordinary clothing; he dons
cumbrous fur cloaks. The dust is all-pervading at times; he swathes
himself in dust-proof overalls, and mounts large goggles edged with
velvet, while a cap of semi-nautical cut tightly drawn down over neck
and ears serves to protect those portions of his anatomy. The
general effect is peculiarly unpicturesque; but even the most
artistically-minded driver is ready to sacrifice appearances to
comfort and the proper enjoyment of his car.
In England the great grievance of motorists arises from the speed
limit imposed by law. To restrict a powerful car to twelve miles an
hour is like confining a thoroughbred to the paces of a broken-down
cab horse. Careless driving is unpardonable, but its occasional
existence scarcely justifies the intolerant attitude of the law
towards motorists in general. It must, however, be granted in justice
to the police that the _chauffeur_, from constant transgression of the
law, becomes a bad judge of speed, and often travels at a far greater
velocity than he is willing to admit.
The convenience of the motor car for many purposes is immense,
especially for cross-country journeys, which may be made from door to
door without the monotony or indirectness of railway travel. It bears
the doctor swiftly on his rounds. It carries the business man from his
country house to his office. It delivers goods for the merchant;
parcels for the post office.
In the warfare of the future, too, it will play its part, whether to
drag heavy ordnance and stores, or to move commanding officers from
point to point, or perform errands of mercy among the wounded. By the
courtesy of the Locomobile Company we are permitted to append the
testimony of Captain R. S. Walker, R.E., to the usefulness of a car
during the great Boer War.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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