DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61635#0162
[ 158 ]
it in a word : ’tis an uninteresting town !—we had
our first view of the Loire. For the rest of the
day the river was always on our right; sometimes
far off, and only indicated by its rows of tall trees;
sometimes near, a line of grey or silver, as the
wind drove the clouds above or beyond it.—We
met the Cafe of the Sun, travelling on wheels.
We were some little time in Bonny. Every one
came out to watch J-, as he opened his sketch-
book, and in a minute we were surrounded.
“ Is Monsieur making plans for houses ? ” asked
one old woman.
—But the event of the day was in Neuvy.
There we found a great crowd in the narrow
street, and in the midst stood a tricycle. A
Frenchman in flannel shirt, grey linen, and gaiters,
with a handkerchief hanging from his hat over his
neck, at once made his way through the crowd
and came towards us.—At last we were to have a
proof of the freemasonry of the wheel. But he
introduced himself with a circular, and was friendly
in the interests of the manufacturers for whom he
travelled. He did not think much of the “ Hum-
ber ; ” its wheels were so small. He knew all the
English makes, because he had an English brother-
in-law who lived in Portsmouth. Look at his
machine, now; it had a wheel of a pretty height.
We
it in a word : ’tis an uninteresting town !—we had
our first view of the Loire. For the rest of the
day the river was always on our right; sometimes
far off, and only indicated by its rows of tall trees;
sometimes near, a line of grey or silver, as the
wind drove the clouds above or beyond it.—We
met the Cafe of the Sun, travelling on wheels.
We were some little time in Bonny. Every one
came out to watch J-, as he opened his sketch-
book, and in a minute we were surrounded.
“ Is Monsieur making plans for houses ? ” asked
one old woman.
—But the event of the day was in Neuvy.
There we found a great crowd in the narrow
street, and in the midst stood a tricycle. A
Frenchman in flannel shirt, grey linen, and gaiters,
with a handkerchief hanging from his hat over his
neck, at once made his way through the crowd
and came towards us.—At last we were to have a
proof of the freemasonry of the wheel. But he
introduced himself with a circular, and was friendly
in the interests of the manufacturers for whom he
travelled. He did not think much of the “ Hum-
ber ; ” its wheels were so small. He knew all the
English makes, because he had an English brother-
in-law who lived in Portsmouth. Look at his
machine, now; it had a wheel of a pretty height.
We