[Two Thousand Miles On An Automobile by Arthur Jerome Eddy]@TWC D-Link bookTwo Thousand Miles On An Automobile CHAPTER THIRTEEN THROUGH MASSACHUSETTS 18/19
In a boy's school mischief is evident and rampant; desks, benches, and walls are whittled and defaced with all the wanton destructiveness of youth; buildings and fences show marks of contact with budding manhood; but boys are so openly and notoriously mischievous that no apprehension is felt, for the worst is ever realized; but those in command of a school of demure and saintly girls must feel like men handling dynamite, uncertain what will happen next; the stolen pie, the hidden sweets, the furtive note are indications of the infinite subtlety of the female mind. From Auburndale the boulevard leads into Commonwealth Avenue and the run is fine. It was about seven o'clock when we reached the Hotel Touraine, and a little later when the machine was safely housed in an automobile station,--a part of an old railway depot. A few days in Boston and on the North Shore afforded a welcome change. Through Beverly and Manchester the signs "Automobiles not allowed" at private roadways are numerous; they are the rule rather than the exception.
One young man had a machine up there, but found himself so ostracized he shipped it away.
No machines are allowed on the grounds of the Essex Country Club. No man with the slightest consideration for the comfort and pleasure of others would care to keep and use a machine in places where so many women and children are riding and driving.
The charm of the North Shore and the Berkshires lies largely in the opportunities afforded for children to be out with their ponies, girls with their carts, and women with horses too spirited to stand unusual sights and sounds.
One automobile may terrorize the entire little community; in fact, one machine will spread terror where many would not. It is quite difficult enough to drive a machine carefully through such resorts, without driving about day after day to the discomfort of every resident. In a year or two all will be changed; the people owning summer homes will themselves own and use automobiles; the horses will see so many that little notice will be taken, but the pioneers of the sport will have an unenviable time. A good half-day's work was required on the machine before starting again. The tire that had been plugged with rubber bands weeks before in Indiana was now leaking, the air creeping through the fabric and oozing out at several places.
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