The Hastings Standard Published Daily. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1897. A MAN ON WHEELS.

Hastings Standard, Issue 285, 31 March 1897, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1897. A MAN ON WHEELS.

For the cause that lacks assistance,) For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

There is no denying the fact that the bicycle has captured mankind. The two insignificant wheels held together by tubes, cogs and springs have the same potency which poets anguidly tell us belongs to Cupid. If Love level s all ranks, it possesses no monoply in this direction whatever, for the bicycle is a very strong competitor in the ranklevelling job. Young and old, men and women, the weedy clerk and the money-making merchant, the palefaced shop girl and the buxom dairy maid, the " slavey " and the drawingroom doll, the lawyer, the jugde, the physician and the politician have all succumbed to the charms of the bicycle. It has levelled all ranks, and it knows no distinction of color or race. The Maori, the Chinaman, the Hindoo, the Assyrian, and the coal-black buck nigger sit astride of the pneumaticrimmed wheels and make the pace as merry as any white -faced Caucasian. The English language has Lwti enriched by many new phrases and expressions ; a new lot of journals devoted exclusively to the " bike " have sprung into existence ; and a set of minor poets all its own have Wen developed, aad the latest bard of the wheel, sings—

. , who rsi!»-* may rend Tlw* open >*cr«-t of earth ni»«l *ky. " For I)ft* t>i quicki-nt-d ;uid pulse* Ixittiiii ; MorLid <jutHtiunniC' and die Ait tin- w !i«'«d (dip* !-r iS.« f,'liild<-ry ground Ajhl iht! vonng dav »iikvs m a cruui»».'n *kv! " ! Tht? pulse ot industry, too, lias bwu latde lo throb vigorously uiider ibt

new craze, and multi-millionaires like Mr Ernest T. Hooley have grown out of the profits of the much-protected patents of cycle parts. The moral aspect of the bicycle has not "escaped attention, for we find so austere a moralist as Madame Sarah Bernhardt declaring that "the moral consideration must be supreme ; and the bicyclette carries with it very grave considerations."

The bicycle has established a worldwide interest, and nowhere is it held in greater affection than in these sportloving colonies of Australasia. When there is anything new or fresh concerning the wheel we like to know all about it, and it is therefore exasperating to note the levity with which the cable agent in London treats the latest item of bicycle news. "Mr Gladstone has taken to cycling," is the brief and bold message flashed across the cables. Here is a new triumph for the wheel dismissed in six words, and a crowd of colonials always hungry for information want to know so much. What is the brand of the bicycle that the Grand Old Man is riding? Is it British made, or "made in Germany?" Is it a Yankee intruder or does it come all the way from Japan ? Is it a Humber, Osborne, Raglan, or Quadrant ; is it a Gladiator, Columbia, Hobart Bird, White Flyer, or Red Bird ? W 7 hat is the brand and where did it come from ? And then surely it was not wise to omit informing us as to whether it was a bamboo cycle, or a cold drawn weldless tube concern. Is the machine a high grade or low grade; how does it compare as to gearing ? Is it a chain or the chainless machine ? Here* are a multitude of questions that this soulless cable message distributor has left us to meditate and ponder over: "Mr Gladstone has Could there be anything more disgustingly brief and exasperating than this message. Why was such a cablegram sent sixteen thousand miles to torture and torment us ? There is not even the cold comfort of distinguishing whether the exhilarating exercise of Mr Gladstone is on a bicycle or a tricycle, or whether he takes his morning ride on a cinder track or a grass plot. " Mr Gladstone has taken to cycling." It is enough to dislocate the temper of the average cyclist, and drive every bicycle agent in Australasia into lunacy. The Press Association must be careful or an action for damages may be brought against it for disturbing the peace of a large section of the community. "Mr Gladstone has taken to cycling," The pitiless brevity is sufficient to give one an acute attack of insomnia. As a piece of intelligence it is no doubt a great deal more interesting than the exquisite fooling of the Great Powers in connection with Turkey, Greece, and Crete, information concerning which is served out in delicate doses. Although interesting in itself, the cycling efforts of Mr Gladstone lose their power to charm us when we have to dive deep down into our breeches pocket to pay for the cost of the cable. If the Press Association has no objection, we would rather have a little more Greece and Turkey served up raw than to be regaled with such a him h<>n as "Mr Gladstone has taken to cycling."