"Here, where the woods receding from the road

Have left on either hand an open space

For fields and gardens, and for man's abode,

Stands Waterloo; a little lowly place,

Obscure till now, when it hath risen to fame,

And given the victory its English name."

Finally we reached Brussels, still over cobblestones, the road

growing worse every minute, and stopped at the Grand Central Hotel,

in the Place de la Bourse, the correspondent of the Touring Club de

France, and the only hotel of its class which serves its _table

d'hôte_ "_vin compris._"

Brussels has ever been put down in the notebooks of conventional

travellers as a little Paris; but this is by no means the case. It

resembles Paris not at all, except that French francs pass current in

its shops and the French tongue is the language of commerce and

society.

What has less frequently been remarked is that Brussels has two

contrasting elements of life, which, lying close, one upon the other,

strongly exaggerate the French note of it all, and make the hotels,

cafés, restaurants, etc., take on that boulevard aspect which we

fondly think is Parisian.

French Brussels and Flemish Brussels are as distinct elements in the

make-up of this doubleheaded city as are the ingredients of oil and

water, and like the latter they do not mix.

When one descends from the hilltop on which is modern Brussels, past

the cathedral of Ste. Gudule, he leaves the shops, the cafés, and the

boulevards behind him and enters the past.

The small shopmen, and the men and women of the markets, all look and

talk Flemish, and the environment is everywhere as distinctly Flemish

as if one were standing on one of the little bridges which cross the

waterways of Ghent or Bruges.

The men and women are broad-bodied and coarse-featured,--quite

different from the Dutch, one remarks,--and they move slowly and with

apparent difficulty in their clumsy _sabots_ and heavy clothing. The

houses round about are tall and slim, and mostly in that state of

antiquity and decay which we like to think is artistic.

Such is Flemish Brussels. Even in the Flemish part, the city has none

of that winsome sympathetic air which usually surrounds a quaint

mediæval bourg. Rather it gives one the impression that old

traditions are all but dead and that it is mere improvidence and

_laisser-aller_ that allows them to exist.

Flemish Brussels is picturesque enough, but it is squalid, except for

the magnificent Hôtel de Ville, which stands to-day in all the glory

that it did when Charles V. of Spain ruled the destinies of the

country.

It was in the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville that Alva gloated

over the flowing blood of his victims as it ran from the scaffold.

The churches of Brussels, as might be supposed from the historical

importance of the city in the past, are numerous and celebrated, at

least they are characteristically Flemish in much of their

belongings, though the great cathedral of Ste. Gudule itself is

Gothic of the unmistakable French variety.

Brussels, its cathedrals, its Hôtel de Ville, its Cloth Hall, and its

Corporation or Guild Houses, and many more splendid architectural

sites and scenes are all powerful attractions for sightseers.

We went from Brussels to Ghent, forty-eight kilometres, and still

over _pavé_. The bicyclist is better catered for, he has cinder

side-paths almost all over Belgium and accordingly he should enjoy

his touring in occidental and oriental Flanders even more than the

automobilist.

Ghent was one day a seaport of rank, much greater rank than that of

to-day, for only a sort of sea-going canal-boat, a _chaland_ or a

_caboteur_, ever comes up the canals to the wharves.

Ghent is a great big town, but it does not seem in the least like a

city in spite of its hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. Its

churches, its belfry, its château, and its museum are the chief

sights for tourists--automobilists and others. We visited them all

after lunch, which was eaten (and paid for at Paris prices) at the

Hôtel de la Poste, and covered another forty-six kilometres of

_pavé_, before we turned in for the night at Bruges' Hôtel du Sablon.

There are others, but the Hôtel du Sablon at Bruges was modest in its

price, efficient in its service, and excellent in its catering. The

chief delicacy of the menu here is the _mossel_. One eats mussels

_(mossels)_ in Belgium--if he will--and it's hard for one to escape

them. They are _moules_ in France, _mossels_ in Belgium and Holland,

and mussels in England. They are a sea food which has never tickled

the American palate; but, after many refusals and much resentment, we

ate them--and found them good.

Bruges' sights are similar to those of Ghent, except that its belfry

is more splendid and more famous and the Memlings of the Hôpital St.

Jean draw crowds of art lovers to Bruges who never even stop at

Ghent.

Our little run around Belgium, a sort of willy-nilly blowing about by

the North Sea winds, drew us next to Ostende. If there is one place

more splendidly _chic_ than Ostende it is Monte Carlo. The palm is

still with Monte Carlo, but, for August at any rate, Ostende, with

its Digue, its hotels and terrace cafés and restaurants, is the very

glass of fashion and fashionables.

It was only on entering Ostende, over the last few kilometres of the

road from Bruges, just where it borders the Slykens Canal, that we

met anything deserving to be called a good road since leaving the

neighbourhood of Namur. The roads of Belgium served a former

generation very well, but _tempus fugit_, and the world advances, and

really Belgium's highways are a disgrace to the country.

The chief attraction of Ostende--after the great hotels--is its

Digue, or Dyke, a great longdrawn-out breakwater against whose

cemented walls pound the furies of the North Sea with such a

virulence and force as to make one seasick even on land. "See our

Digue and die," say the fisherfolk of Ostende,--those that have not

been crowded out by the palace hotels,--"See our Digue and eat our

oysters."

Ostende is attractive, save on the August bank holiday, when the

trippers come from London; then it looks like Margate or Southend so

far as its crowds are concerned, and accordingly is frightful.

One should not leave Belgium without visiting Ypres, that is if he

wants to know what a highly respectable and thriving small city of

Belgium is like.

Ypres is typical of the best, though unfortunately, by whichever road

you approach, you still make your way over granite blocks, none too

well laid or cared for. The best and almost only way to avoid them is

to take to the by-roads and trust to finding your way about. This is

not difficult with the excellent map of the Automobile Club de

Belgique, but it requires some ingenuity to understand the native who

answers your inquiry in bad French and worse Walloon or Flemish.

At Ypres the Hôtel de la Chatellenie will care for you and your

automobile very well, though its garage is nothing to boast of. Both

meals and beds are good, and the rates are cheap, something less than

nine francs a day for birds of passage. You must pay extra for wine,

but beer is thrown in, thick, sticky, sugary beer, but it's better

than England's "bitter," or the lager of Rotterdam.

[Illustration: Things Seen in Flanders]

Ypres is full of interesting buildings, but its Hôtel de Ville and

its Cloth Hall, with its lacelike façade, are easily the best. Ypres

has a museum which, like most provincial museums, has some good

things and some bad ones, a stuffed elephant, some few good pictures,

sea-shells, the instruments which beheaded the Comte d'Egmont, and

some wooden sculptures; variety enough to suit the most catholic

tastes.

From Ypres we continued our zigzag through Belgium, following most of

the time dirt roads which, though not of superlative excellence, were

an improvement on stone blocks. It took us practically all day to

reach Antwerp, a hundred and thirty kilometres away.

Belgium is everywhere quaint and curious, a sort of a cross between

Holland and France, but more like the former than the latter in its

mode of life, its food and drink and its industries, except perhaps

in the country between Tournai and Liège.

The country between Antwerp and Brussels affords a good general idea

of Belgium. Its level surface presents, in rapid succession, rich

meadows, luxuriant corn-fields, and green hedgerows, with occasional

patches of woodland. The smallness of the fields tells amongst how

many hands the land is divided, and prepares one for the knowledge

that East Flanders is the most thickly peopled corner of Europe. The

exception to this general character of the scenery is found in the

valley of the Meuse, where the fruitful serenity of fertile meadows

and pastoral hamlets is varied by bolder, more irregular, and move

striking natural features. Hills and rocks, bluff headlands and

winding valleys, with beautiful stretches of river scenery, give a

charm to the landscape which Belgium in general does not display.

The geographical description of Antwerp is as follows:

Antwerp, in Flemish _Antwerpen_, the chief town of the province of

that name, is situated in a plain 51° 13' 16" north latitude, and 2°

3' 55" east longitude, twenty leagues from the sea, on the right bank

of the Scheldt.

The Hôtel du Grand-Laboureur was marked out for us as the automobile

hotel of Antwerp. There was no doubt about this, when we saw the A.

C. F., the A. C. B., and the M. C. B. signs on its façade. It is a

very excellent establishment, but you pay extra for wine, or you

drink beer instead.

[Illustration: Antwerp Street]

The sights of Antwerp are too numerous to be covered in the short

time that was at our disposal on this occasion, but we gave some time

to the works and shrine of the master Rubens, and the wonderful

cathedral spire, and the Hôtel de Ville and the Guild Houses and all

the rest, not forgetting Quentin Matsys's well. We were, however, a

practical party, and the shipping of the great port, the gay cafés,

and the busy life of Antwerp's marts of trade also appealed to us.

Antwerp is a wonderful storehouse of many things. "It is in the

streets of Antwerp and Brussels," said Sir Walter Scott, "that the

eye still rests upon the forms of architecture which appear in

pictures of the Flemish school."

"This rich intermixture of towers and battlements and projecting

windows highly sculptured produces an effect as superior to the tame

uniformity of a modern street as the casque of the warrior exhibits

over the slouch-brimmed beaver of a Quaker." This was true of Sir

Walter Scott's time, and it is true to-day.

Chapter II

By Dykes And Windmills

[Illustration: Dykes and Windmills]

Holland for automobilists is a land of one hill and miles and miles

of brick-paved roads, so well laid with tiny bricks, and so straight

and so level that it is almost an automobilist's paradise.

We had come from Belgium to Holland, from Antwerp to Breda, a little

short of fifty kilometres, to make a round of Dutch towns by

automobile, as we had done in the old days by the humble bicycle.

Custom-house regulations are not onerous in Holland. The law says you

must pay five per cent. duty on entering the country, or _at the

discretion of the authorities_, bona-fide tourists will be given a

temporary permit to "circulate" free. There are no speed limits in

Holland, but you must not drive to the common danger. The first we

were glad to know, the second we did not propose to do.

As we passed the frontier the _douaniers_ returned to their fishing

opposite the little _cabaret_ where we had some needed refreshment.

It is curious what satisfaction middle-class officialdom in

Continental Europe gets out of fishing. It is their one passion,

apparently, if their work lies near a well-stocked stream. The _chef

de bureau_ goes fishing, the _commissionnaire_ goes fishing, and

everybody goes fishing. A peaceful and innocent exercise for those

who like it, but one which is inexplicable to an outsider.

Soon we are stopped at a toll-gate. The toll-gate keeper still exists

in Holland, chiefly on private bridges. He loses a good deal of his

monetary return, however, as he has a lazy habit of putting out a

great wooden _sabot_ to collect the fees, he, meanwhile, fishing or

dozing some distance away.

If you are a bad shot your coin sometimes goes overboard, or being an

automobilist, and therefore down on all impositions, you simply do

not put any more coins in the _sabots_ and think to depend on your

speed to take you out of any brewing trouble. This old relic of the

middle ages is sure to decrease in Holland with the progress of the

automobile.

[Illustration: "As Far As We Go"]

Holland is a beautiful country, one of Nature's daintiest creations,

where the sun and the moon and the sky seem to take the greatest

delight in revealing their manifold charms, where the green fields

and the clear-cut trees and the rushing rivers and the sluggish

canals all seem to have been put in their place to conform to an

artistic landscape design--for, truly, Holland is a vast picture. Its

cattle are picture cattle, its myriad windmills seem to stand as

alluring models to attract the artist, its sunsets, the haze that

rests over its fields, its farms, its spick and span houses, its

costumes--all seem to belong to the paraphernalia of pictorial art.

It is a paradise for motorists who behave themselves, and do not

rouse the ire of the Dutchman. The regulations are exceedingly

lenient, but the laws against fast speeding must not be disregarded,

and the loud blowing of horns, on deserted streets in the middle of

the night, is entirely forbidden.

When tourists have scaled every peak and trodden every pass, let them

descend once again to the lowlands and see if they cannot find

pleasurable profit in a land whose very proximity to the borders of

the sea gives it a character all its own. This is Holland, and this

is the attitude with which a party of four faced it, at Breda and

planned the tour outlined in the following pages.

We stopped at Breda to take breath and to reconnoitre a little. Breda

has a population of twenty thousand, and a good hotel, "Der Kroon,"

which knows well how to care for automobilists. Breda to Dordrecht is

perhaps twenty-five kilometres in a straight line, but by the

highroad, via Gorinchem it is sixty-eight. Since there are no

amphibious automobiles as yet, and there are no facile means of

crossing the Hollandsch Diep, the détour must be made.

A stroll round Breda, to brush up our history of the siege, a view of

the château inside and out, including the reminders of Count Henry of

Nassau and William III. of England, and we were on the road again by

three in the afternoon.

Dordrecht and its Hôtel Belle-Vue, on the Boomstraat saw us for

dinner that night. The trip had been without incident, save for the

eternal crossing of canals by high-peaked donkeytack bridges which

demanded careful driving till you found out what was on the other

side of the crest, and the continual dodging from one side of the

road to the other to avoid running over children at play. Clearly

Holland, in this respect, was not far different from other countries.

Dordrecht is delightful and is as nearly canal-surrounded as

Amsterdam or Venice, only it is not so large, and automobilists, must

look out or they will tumble overboard when taking a sharp corner.

You may eat, if you like, on the balcony of the Hôtel Belle-Vue, and

you may watch the throng of passers-by strolling through the

courtyard of the hotel, from one street to another, as if it were a

public thoroughfare. The only objection to it is that you fear for

the safety of the loose things which you left in your automobile, but

as you pay a franc for housing it the responsibility falls on the

proprietor. No one ever heard of anything going astray, which argues

well for the honesty of the people of Dordrecht.

The distant view of Dordrecht, with a few spotted cattle in the

foreground, might well pass for a tableau of Cuyps, but as all Dutch

landscapes look more or less alike, at least they all look Dutch,

this description of Dordrecht perhaps does not define it very

precisely.

Of course Dordrecht itself is typically Dutch; one would not expect

anything else of a place with a name like that. The tree-covered

wharves and the typical Dutch crowds, the dog-drawn little carts and

the "morning waker," are all there. Above all, almost in Venetian

splendour, looms the great lone tower of the church of St. Mary, the

Groote Kerk of the town. For six hundred years it has been a faithful

guardian of the spiritual welfare of the people, and the ruggedness

of its fabric has well stood the test of time, built of brick though

it is.

Dordrecht is vulgarly and colloquially known as Dordt, or Dort, and,

as such, is referred to in history and literature in a manner, which

often puzzles the stranger. It is one of the most ancient cities of

Holland, and, in the middle ages, the most busy in its intercourse

with the outside world.

We left Dordrecht in the early morning, expecting to cover quickly

the twenty-seven kilometres to Rotterdam. Ever and ever the thin

wisps of black smoke streaked into the sky from the flat directly

ahead, but not until we had almost plumped down on the Boompjes

itself did things take material shapes and forms.

There are many things to do and see at Rotterdam, but the great,

ceaseless commerce of the great world-port is one of the marvels

which is often sniffed at and ignored; yet nowhere in any port in

Europe or America, unless it be at Antwerp, is there to be seen such

a ship-filled river as at Rotterdam on the Maas.

The Hotel Weimar on the Spanishkade, and the Maas Hotel on the

Boompjes, cater for the automobilist at rather high prices, but in an

intelligent fashion, except that they charge a franc for garaging

your machine overnight. We found the same thing at Dordrecht; and in

general this is the custom all over Holland.

We left the automobile to rest a day at Rotterdam while we took a

little trip by water, to Gouda, famed for its cheeses. It is an

unworldly sleepy place, though its commerce in cheeses is enormous.

Its population, when it does travel, goes mostly by boat on the Maas.

You pay an astonishingly small sum, and you ride nearly half a day,

from Rotterdam to Gouda, amid a mixed freight of lovable fat little

Dutch women with gold spiral trinkets in their ears, little calves

and cows, pigs, ducks, hens, and what not, and on the return trip

amid a boat-load of pungent cheeses.

We got back to Rotterdam for the night, having spent a tranquil,

enjoyable day on one of the chief waterways of Holland, a foretaste

of a projected tour yet to come, to be made by automobile boat when

the opportunity comes.

No one, not even the most naïve unsophisticated and gushing of

travellers, has ever had the temerity to signalize Rotterdam as a

city of celebrated art. But it is a fondly interesting place

nevertheless, far more so indeed than many a less lively mart of

trade.

As we slowly drifted our way into the city at dusk of a long June

evening, on board that little slow-going canal and river-craft from

Gouda--known by so few casual travellers, but which are practically

water stage-coaches to the native--it was very beautiful.

The brilliant crimson sun-streaks latticed the western sky, the

masts, spars, and sails of the quay-side shipping silhouetted

themselves stereoscopically against this gleaming background, and the

roar and grime of the city's wheels of trade blended themselves into

a mélange which was as intoxicating to the artist and rhapsodist as

would have been more hallowed ground.

We left Rotterdam at eight-thirty on a misty morning which augured

that we should be deluged with rain forthwith; but all signs fail in

Holland with regard to weather, for we hardly passed the Delftsche

Poort, the great Renaissance gateway through which one passes to

Delft, Schiedam, The Hague, and all the well-worn place names of

Dutch history, before a rift of sunlight streaked through the clouds

and framed a typical Holland landscape in as golden and yellow a

light as one might see in Venice. It was remarkable, in every sense

of the word, and we had good weather throughout a week of days when

storm was all around and about us.

Schiedam, with its windmills, is well within sight of Rotterdam. We

had all of us seen windmills before, but we never felt quite so

intimately acquainted with any as with these. Don Quixote's was but a

thing of the imagination, and Daudet's, in Provence, was but a

dismantled, unlovely, and unromantic ruin. These windmills of

Schiedam were very sturdy and practical things, broad of base and

long of arm, and would work even in a fog, an ancient mariner-looking

Dutchman with _sabots_ and peg-top trousers told us.

The windmills of Holland pump water, grind corn, make cheese and

butter, and have recently been adopted in some instances to the

making of electricity. It has been found that with a four-winged

mill, and the wind at a velocity of from twelve to thirty feet a

second, four to five horsepower can be obtained with the loss of only

fourteen per cent., caused by friction.

A plant has been constructed in Holland which lights 450 lamps,

earning about twelve per cent. interest on the capital invested. Of

course it is necessary to keep an oil-motor to provide for windless

days or nights and also to keep a reserve of electrical power on

hand, but this is but another evidence of the practicality and the

extreme cleverness of the Dutch. The cows that browse around the

windmills of Schiedam are of the same spotted black and white variety

that one sees on the canvasses of the Dutch painters. If you are not

fortunate enough to see Paul Potter's great Dutch bull in the gallery

at The Hague, you may see the same sort of thing hereabouts at any

glance of the eye--the real living thing.

From Rotterdam to Delft, all the way by the canal, allowing for the

détour via Schiedam, is less than twenty kilometres, and the journey

is short for any sort of an automobile that will go beyond a snail's

pace.

Visions of blue and white delftware passed through our minds as we

entered the old town, which hardly looks as though worldly

automobilists would be well received. Delftware there is, in

abundance, for the delectation of the tourist and the profit of the

curio merchant, who will sell it unblushingly as a rare old piece,

when it was made but a year ago. If you know delftware you will know

from the delicate colouring of the blues and whites which is old and

which is not.

Delft and Delftshaven, near Schiedam, in South Holland, have a

sentimental interest for all descendants of the Puritans who fled to

America in 1620. Delftshaven is an unattractive place enough to-day,

but Delft itself is more dignified, and, in a way, takes on many of

the attributes of a metropolis. Nearly destroyed by a fire in 1526,

the present city has almost entirely been built up since the

sixteenth century.

The old Gothic church of the fifteenth century, one of the few

remains of so early a date, shelters the tomb of the redoubtable Van

Tromp, the vanquisher of the English.

It was easy going along the road out of Delft and we reached The

Hague in time for lunch at the Hôtel des Indes, where, although it is

the leading hotel of the Dutch capital, everything is as French as it

would be in Lyons, or at any rate in Brussels. You pay the

astonishingly outrageous sum of five francs for housing your machine

over night, but nothing for the time you are eating lunch. We got

away from the gay little capital, one of the daintiest of all the

courts of Europe, as soon as we had made a round of the stock sights

of which the guide-books tell, not omitting, of course, the paintings

of the Hague Gallery, the Rubens, the Van Dycks and the Holbeins.

The Binnenhof drew the romanticist of our party to it by reason of

the memories of the brothers De Witt. It is an irregular collection

of buildings of all ages, most of them remodeled, but once the

conglomerate residence of the Counts of Holland and the Stadtholders.

The Binnenhof will interest all readers of Dumas. It was here that

there took place the culminating scenes in the lives of the brothers

De Witt, Cornelius and John. Dumas unquestionably manufactured much

of his historical detail, but in the "Black Tulip" there was no

exaggeration of the bloody incidents of the murder of these two noble

men, who really had the welfare of Holland so much at heart.

We headed down the road to the sea, by the Huis-ten-Bosch (the House

in the Wood), the summer palace of Dutch royalty, for the Monte Carlo

of Holland, Scheveningen. It has all the conventional marks of a

Continental watering-place, a _plage_, a kursaale, bath houses,

terraces, esplanades, chic hotels and restaurants, and a whole

regiment of mushroom chairs and windshields dotting its wide expanse

of North Sea sand.

[Illustration: The Polders]

In the season the inhabitants live off of the visitors, and out of

season live on their fat like the ground-hog, and do a _little_

fishing for profitable amusement. It is a thing to see, Scheveningen,

but it is no place for a prolonged stay unless you are a gambler or a

blasé boulevardier who needs bracing up with sea air.

There are good hotels, if you want to linger and can stand the

prices, the best of which is called the Palace Hotel, but we had

another little black coffee on the gayest-looking terrace café we

could find, and made wheel-tracks for Leyden, twenty kilometres

distant.

The distances in Holland are mere bagatelles, but there is so much

that is strange to see, and the towns of historical interest are so

near together, that the automobilist who covers his hundred

kilometres a day must be a scorcher indeed.

We passed the night at the Gouden-Leuw, which a Frenchman would call

the Lion d'Or, and an Anglo-Saxon the Golden Lion. It was a most

excellent hotel in the Breestraat, and it possessed what was called a

garage, in reality a cubby-hole which, on a pinch, might accommodate

two automobiles, if they were small ones.

Leyden is a city of something like fifty-five thousand people. It has

grown since the days when they chained down Bibles in its churches,

and books in the library of its university. The chief facts that

stand out in Leyden's history, for the visitor, are those referring

to the exile of the Puritans here, fleeing from persecution in

England, and before they descended upon the New World.

The famous university was founded by the government as a reward for

the splendid defence made by the city against the Spaniards in 1574.

It was a question as to whether the city should be exempted from

future taxation or should be endowed with a university. The citizens

themselves chose the latter dignity.

Leaving Leyden and following the flat roadway by the glimmering

canals, which chop the _polders_, and tulip gardens off into

checker-board squares, one reaches Haarlem, less than thirty

kilometres away.

The country was becoming more and more like what one imagines Holland

ought to be; the whole country practically a vast, sandy, sea-girt

land of dykes and canals, and dunes and sunken gardens.

Holland has an area of about twenty thousand square miles, and

something over five million inhabitants, with the greatest density of

population on the coast between Amsterdam, in the north, and

Rotterdam, in the south, and the fewest in numbers in the region

immediately to the northward of the Zuyder-Zee.

Wherever in Holland one strikes the brick roads, made from little red

bricks standing on end, he is happy. There is no dust and there are

no depressions in the surface which will upset the carburation and

jar the bolts off your machine. It is an expensive way of

road-building, one thinks, but it is highly satisfactory. Near

Haarlem these brick roadways extend for miles into the open country

in every direction.

Haarlem is the centre of the bulb country, the gardens where are

grown the best varieties of tulips and hyacinths known over all the

world as "Dutch bulbs." The tulip beds of the _polders_ and sunken

gardens of the neighbourhood of Haarlem are one of the great sights

of Holland.

Besides bulbs, Haarlem is noted for its shiphung church, and the

pictures by Franz Hals in the local gallery. There are other good

Hals elsewhere, but the portraits of rotund, jolly men and women of

his day, in the Haarlem Town Hall, are unapproached by those of any

of his contemporaries. Fat, laughing burghers, roystering,

knickerbockered Dutchmen and _vrous_ gossiping, smoking, laughing, or

drinking, are human documents of the time more graphic than whole

volumes of fine writing or mere repetitions of historical fact. All

these attributes has Haarlem's collection of paintings by Franz Hals.

There are all sorts of ways of getting from Haarlem to Amsterdam, by

train, by boat, by electric tram, or by automobile over an idyllic

road, tree-shaded, canal-bordered, and dustless. It is sixteen

kilometres only, and it is like running over a causeway laid out

between villas and gardens. Nothing quite like it exists elsewhere,

in Holland or out of it. An automobile can be very high-geared, for

there are no hills except the donkey-back bridges over the canals.

Amsterdam may properly enough be called the Venice of the North, and

the automobilist will speedily find that an automobile boat will do

him much better service in town than anything that runs on land.

There are half a million souls in Amsterdam, and hotels of all ranks

and prices. The Bible Hotel is as good as any, but they have no

garage, nor indeed have any of the others. There are half a dozen

"Grands Garages" in the city (with their signs written in French--the

universal language of automobilism), and the hotel porter will jump

up on the seat beside you and pilot you on your way, around sharp

corners, over bridges, and through arcades until finally you plump

down in as up-to-date and conveniently arranged an establishment for

housing your machine as you will find in any land.

Amsterdam's sights will occupy the visitor for a couple of days, and

its art gallery for a day longer. We were taking only a bird's-eye

view, or review, and stayed only over one night, not making even the

classic excursion to those artists' haunts of Volendam, Monnikendam,

and Marken, of which no book on Holland should fail to make mention.

[Illustration: Pictures of Amsterdam]

These old Dutch towns of the Zuyder-Zee are unique in all the world,

and Amsterdam is the gateway to them. An automobile is useless for

reaching them. The best means are those offered by existing boat and

tram lines.

For Utrecht one leaves Amsterdam via the Amstel Dyke and the

Utrechtsche Zyde, and after forty kilometres of roadway, mostly

brick-paved like that between Haarlem and Amsterdam, he reaches

suburban Utrecht. Utrecht, with but a hundred thousand inhabitants,

has suburbs, reaching out in every direction, that would do justice

to a city five times it size. Most of Utrecht's population is

apparently suburban, and is housed in little brick houses and villas

with white trimmings and door-steps, a bulb garden, an iron fence,

and a miniature canal flowing through the back yard. This is the

formula for laying out a Utrecht suburban villa.

The Het Kasteel van Antwerpen, on the Oude Gracht, is a hotel which

treats you very well for five or six florins a day, and allows you

also to put your automobile under roof, charging nothing for the

service. This is worth making a note of in a country where it usually

costs from one to five francs a night for your automobile.

The chief sight of Utrecht is its cathedral, with a fine Gothic tower

over a hundred metres in height. It is the proper thing to mount to

its highest landing, whence one gets one of the most remarkable

bird's-eye views imaginable. In a flat country like Holland, the

wide-spread panoramas, taken from any artificial height, embrace an

extent of the world's surface not elsewhere to be taken in by a

glance of the eye. The Zuyder-Zee and the lowlands of the north

stretch out to infinity on one side; to the east the silver-spreading

streaks of the Waal and the Oude Rijn (later making the Rhine) lead

off toward Germany. To the south are the green-grown prairies and

windmill-outlined horizons of South Holland; and westward are the

_polders_ and dunes of the region between Amsterdam and Rotterdam,

and even a glimpse, on a clear day, of the North Sea itself.

Our one long ride in Holland was from Utrecht to Nymegen, seventy-two

kilometres. We left Utrecht after lunch and slowly made our way along

the picture landscapes of the Holland countryside, through Hobbema

avenues, and under the shadow of quaint Dutch church spires.

One does not go to a foreign land to enjoy only the things one sees

in cities. Hotels, restaurants, and cafés are very similar all over

Europe, and the great shops do not vary greatly in Rotterdam from

those in Liverpool. It is with the small things of life, the doings

of the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker that the change

comes in. In Holland the housekeeper buys her milk from a little

dog-drawn cart and can be waked at three in the morning, without

fail, by leaving an order the night before with the "morning waker."

If you do not have a fire going all the time, and want just enough to

cook your dinner with, you go out and buy a few lumps of blazing

coals. If it is boiling water you want for your coffee, you go out

and buy it too. Holland must be a housekeeper's paradise.

Nymegen, on the Waal, cared for us for the night. On the morrow we

were to cross the frontier and enter Germany and the road by the

Rhine.

Nymegen and its Hotel Keizer Karel, on the Keizer Karel Plain, was a

vivid memory of what a stopping-place for the night between two

objective points should be.

The city was delightful, its tree-grown boulevards, its attractive

cafés, the music playing in the park, and all the rest was an

agreeable interlude, and the catering--if an echo of things

Parisian--was good and bountiful. There was no fuss and feathers when

we arrived or when we left, and not all the _personnel_ of the hotel,

from the boots to the manager, were hanging around for tips. The head

waiter and the chambermaid were in evidence; that was all. The rest

were discreetly in the background.

Chapter III

On The Road By The Rhine

[Illustration: Rhine]

We had followed along the lower reaches of the Rhine, through the

little land of dykes and windmills, when the idea occurred to us: why

not make the Rhine tour _en automobile_? This, perhaps, was no new and

unheard-of thing, but the Rhine tour is classic and should not be

left out of any one's travelling education, even if it is

old-fashioned.

At Nymegen we saw the last of Holland and soon crossed the frontier.

There were no restrictions then in force against the entrance of

foreign automobiles, though we were threatened with new and stringent

regulations soon to be put in force. (1906. A full résumé of these

new regulations will be found in the appendix.) Legally Germany could

demand eight marks a hundred kilos for the weight of our machine, but

in practice all tourists were admitted free, provided one could

convince the official that he intended to return across the frontier

within a reasonable time.

As we crossed the railway line we made our obeisance to the German

customs authorities, saluted the black and white barber's-pole

stripes of the frontier post, and filled up our tanks with gasoline,

which had now assumed the name of _benzin_, instead of _benzine_, as

in Holland.

Emmerich, Cleves, Wesel, and Xanten are not tourist points, and in

spite of the wealth of history and romance which surrounds their very

names, they had little attraction for us. For once were going to make

a tour of convention.

It is a fairly long step from Nymegen to Düsseldorf, one hundred and

one kilometres, but we did it between breakfast and lunch, in spite

of the difficulty of finding our way about by roads and regulations

which were new to us.

The low, flat banks of the Rhine below Düsseldorf have much the same

characteristics that they have in Holland, and, if the roadways are

sometimes bad as to surface--and they are terrible in the

neighbourhood of Crefield--they are at least flat and otherwise

suited to speed, though legally you are held down to thirty

kilometres an hour.

You may find anything you like in the way of hotel accommodation at

Düsseldorf, from the Park Hotel on the Cornelius Platz, at Waldorf

prices, to the modest and characteristic little German inn by the

name of Prince Alexanders Hof, which is as cheap as a French hotel of

its class, and about as good.

[Illustration: The Road By The Rhine]

It is at Düsseldorf that one comes first into touch with the German

institutions in all their completeness. Immediately one comes to the

borders of the Rhine he comes into the sphere of world politics. The

peace of Europe lies buried at the mouth of the Scheldt where the

Rhine enters the sea, and not on the Bosphorus. "The Rhine is the

King of Rivers," said a German politician, "and it is our fault if

its mouth remains in the hands of foreigners." This is warlike talk,

if you like, but if a German prince some day rises on the throne of

Holland, there may be a new-made map of Europe which will upset all

existing treaties and conventions.

Düsseldorf is a veritable big town, for, though it shelters two

hundred and twenty-five thousand inhabitants, it is not "citified."

It is one of the most lovely of Rhine towns, and is the headquarters

of the Rhenish Westphalian Automobile Club.

To Cologne is thirty-seven kilometres, with the roads still

bad,--shockingly so we found them, though we were assured that this

is unusual and that even then they were in a state of repair. This

was evident, and in truth they needed it.

The twin Gothic splendours of Cologne's cathedral rise high in air

long before one reaches the confines of the city. Cologne is the

metropolis of the Rhine country, and besides its four hundred

thousand inhabitants possesses many institutions and industries which

other Rhine cities lack.

Of hotels for automobilists at Cologne there are five, all of which

will treat you in the real _tourist_ fashion, and charge you

accordingly,--overcharge you in fact. We did not have time to hunt up

what the sentimentalist of the party always called "a quaint little

inn," and so we put into one almost under the shadow of the cathedral

(purposely nameless).

The sights of Cologne are legion. "Numerous churches, all very

ancient" describes them well enough for an itinerary such as this;

the guide-books must do the rest. The Kolner Automobile Club will

supply the touring automobilist graciously and gratuitously with

information. A good thing to know!

The beer and concert gardens of Cologne's waterside are famous,

almost as famous as the relics of the "three kings" in the cathedral.

At Cologne the pictured, storied Rhine begins. A skeleton itinerary

is given at the end of this chapter which allows some digression here

for observations of a pertinent kind.

Let the traveller not be disappointed with the first glance at the

river as he sees it at Cologne. He is yet a few miles below the banks

which have gained for the stream its fame for surpassing beauty, but

higher up it justifies the rhapsodies of the poet.

"A blending of all beauties; streams and dells,

Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, corn-field, mountain, vine,

And chiefless castles breathing stern farewells

From gray but leafy walls, where Ruin greenly dwells.

"And there they stand, as stands a lofty mind,

Worn, but unstooping to the baser crowd,

All tenantless, save to the crannying wind,

Or holding dark communion with the cloud.

There was a day when they were young and proud,

Banners on high, and battles passed below:

But they who fought are in a bloody shroud,

And those which wav'd are shredless dust ere now,

And the bleak battlements shall bear no future blow.

"Beneath battlements, within those walls,

Power dwelt amidst her passions: in proud state,

Each robber chief upheld his armed halls,

Doing his evil will, nor less elate

Than mightier heroes of a longer date.

What want these outlaws conquerors should have?

But History's purchas'd page to call them great?

A wider space, an ornamented grave?

Their hopes were not less warm, their souls were full as brave."

The scenery, the history and legend, and the wines of the Rhine make

up the complete list of the charms of the river for the enthusiastic

voyager on its bosom or on its banks.

It is enjoyable enough when one is on the deck of a Rhine steamboat,

or would be if one were not so fearfully crowded, but it is doubly so

when one is travelling along its banks by roadways which, from here

on, improve greatly.

The history and legend of the Rhine are too big a subject to handle

here, but some facts about Rhine wine, picked up on the spot, may be

of interest.

The true German is not only eloquent when speaking of the _quality_

of the Rhine wines, but he claims for them also the honours of

antiquity. One may be content to date their history back merely to

the days of Probus, but others declare that Bacchus only could be the

parent of such admirable liquor, and point to Bacharach as the

resting-place of the deity when he came to taste the Rhine grapes,

and set an example to all future tipplers. It would not have been out

of place to call the Rhine the country of Bacchus. The Rhine,

Moselle, Neckar, and Main are gardens of the vine; but the Germans

have not been content with cultivating the banks of rivers alone, for

the higher lands are planted as well. From Bonn to Coblenz, and from

the latter city to Mayence, the country is covered with vineyards.

The Johannisberger of "father" Rhine, the Gruenhauser or the

Brauneberger of the Moselle, and the Hochheimer of the Main, each

distinguish and hallow their respective rivers in the eyes of the

connoisseur in wine.

The vineyards of the Rhine are a scene of surpassing beauty; Erbach,

enthroned among its vines; Johannisberg, seated on a crescent hill of

red soil, adorned with cheering vegetation; Mittelheim, Geisenheim,

and Rüdesheim with its strong, fine-bodied wine, the grapes from

which bask on their promontory of rock, in the summer sun, and imbibe

its generous heat from dawn to setting; then again, on the other

side, Bingen, delightful, sober, majestic, with its terraces of

vines, topped by the château of Klopp. The river and its riches, the

corn and fruit which the vicinity produces, all remind the stranger

of a second Canaan. The Bingerloch, the ruins, and the never-failing

vines scattered among them, like verdant youth revelling amid age and

decay, give a picture nowhere else exhibited, uniting to the

joyousness of wine the sober tinge of meditative feeling. The hills

back the picture, covered with feudal relics or monastic remains,

mingled with the purple grape. Landscapes of greater beauty, joined

to the luxuriance of fruitful vine culture, can nowhere be seen.

The glorious season of fruition--the _Vintage_--is the time for the

visit of a wine-lover to the Rhine. It does not take place until the

grapes are perfectly mature; they are then carefully gathered, and

the bad fruit picked out, and, with the stalks, put aside. The wine

of the pressing is separated, _most vom ersten druck, vom nachdruck_.

The more celebrated of the wines are all fermented in casks; and

then, after being repeatedly racked, suffered to remain for years in

large _fudders_ of 250 gallons, to acquire perfection by time. The

wines mellow best in large vessels; hence the celebrated Heidelberg

tun, thirty-one feet long by twenty-one high, and holding one hundred

and fifty _fudders_, or six hundred hogsheads. Tübingen, Grüningen,

and Königstein (the last 3,709 hogsheads) could all boast of their

enormous tuns, in which the white wines of the country were thought

to mellow better than in casks of less dimensions. These tuns were

once kept carefully filled. The Germans always had the reputation of

being good drinkers, and of taking care of the "liquor they loved."

Misson says in his "Travels," that he formerly saw at Nuremberg the

public cellar, two hundred and fifty paces long, and containing

twenty thousand _ahms_ of wine.

The names and birthplaces of the different German wines are

interesting. The Liebfrauenmilch is a well-bodied wine, grown at

Worms, and generally commands a good price. The same may be said of

the wines of Koesterick, near Mayence; and those from Mount

Scharlachberg are equally full-bodied and well-flavoured. Nierstein,

Oppenheim, Laubenheim, and Gaubischeim are considered to yield first

growths, but that of Deidesheim is held to be the best.

The river Main runs up to Frankfort close to Mayence; and on its

banks the little town of Hochheim, once the property of General

Kellerman, stands upon an elevated spot of ground, in the full blaze

of the sun. From Hochheim is derived the name of Hock, too often

applied by the unknowing to all German wines. There are no trees to

obstruct the genial fire from the sky, which the Germans deem so

needful to render their vintages propitious. The town stands in the

midst of vineyards.

The vineyard which produces the Hochheimer of the first growth is

about eight acres in extent, and situated on a spot well sheltered

from the north winds. The other growths of this wine come from the

surrounding vineyards. The whole eastern bank of the Rhine to Lorich,

called the Rheingau, has been remarkable centuries past for its

wines. It was once the property of the Church. Near this favoured

spot grows the Schloss-Johannisberger, once the property of the

Church, and also of the Prince of Orange. Johannisberg is a town,

with its castle (schloss) on the right bank of the Rhine below Mentz.

The Johannisberger takes the lead in the wines of the Rhine. The

vines are grown over the vaults of the castle, and were very near

being destroyed by General Hoche. The quantity is not large.

Rüdesheim produces wines of the first Rhine growths; but the

Steinberger, belonging to the Duke of Nassau, takes rank after the

Schloss Johannisberger among these wines. It has the greatest

strength, and yet is one of the most delicate, and even sweetly

flavoured. That called the "Cabinet" is the best. The quantity made

is small, of the first growth. Graefenberg, which was once the

property of the Church, produces very choice wines which carries a

price equal to the Rüdesheim.

Marcobrunner is an excellent wine, of a fine flavour, especially when

the vintage has taken place in a warm year. The vineyards of Roth and

Königsbach grow excellent wines. The wine of Bacharach was formerly

celebrated, but time produces revolutions in the history of wines, as

well as in that of empires.

On the whole the wines of Bischeim, Asmannshäusen, and Laubenheim are

very pleasant wines; those of the most strength are Marcobrunner,

Rüdesheimer, and Niersteiner, while those of Johannisberg,

Geisenheim, and Hochheim give the most perfect delicacy and aroma.

The Germans themselves say, "_Rhein-wein, fein wein; Necker-wein,

lecker wein; Franken-wein tranken wein; Mosel-wein, unnosel wein_"

(Rhine wine is good; Neckar pleasant; Frankfort bad; Moselle

innocent).

The red wines of the Rhine are not of extraordinary quality. The

Asmannshäuser is the best, and resembles some of the growths of

France. Near Lintz, at Neuwied, a good wine, called Blischert, is

made. Keinigsbach, on the left bank of the Rhine, Altenahr, Rech, and

Kesseling, yield ordinary red growths.

The Moselle wines are secondary to those of the Rhine and Main. The

most celebrated is the Brauneberger. The varieties grown near Treves

are numerous. A Dutch merchant is said to have paid the Abbey of

Maximinus for a variety called Gruenhauser in 1793, no less than

eleven hundred and forty-four florins for two hundred and ninety

English gallons in the vat. This wine was formerly styled the "Nectar

of the Moselle."

These wines are light, with a good flavour. They will not keep so

long as the Rhine wines, but they are abundant and wholesome. Near

Treves are grown the wines of Brauneberg, Wehlen, Graach, Zeitingen,

and Piesport. The wines of Rinsport and Becherbach are considered of

secondary rank. The wines of Cusel and Valdrach, near Treves, are

thought to be possessed of diuretic properties. In about five years

these wines reach the utmost point of perfection for drinking. They

will not keep more than ten or twelve in prime condition.

The wines called "wines of the Ahr" resemble those of the Moselle,

except that they will keep longer.

The "wines of the Neckar" are made from the best French, Hungarian,

and even Cyprus vines. The most celebrated are those of Bessingheim.

They are of a light red colour, not deep, and of tolerable flavour

and bouquet.

Wiesbaden grows some good wines at Schierstein, and Epstein, near

Frankfort. The best wines of Baden are produced in the seigniory of

Badenweiler, near Fribourg. At Heidelberg, the great tun used to be

filled with the wine of that neighbourhood, boasted to be a hundred

and twenty years old, but it gave the wine no advantage over other

Neckar growths. Some good wines are produced near Baden. The red

wines of Wangen are much esteemed in the country of Bavaria, but they

are very ordinary. Würzburg grows the Stein and Liesten wines. The

first is produced upon a mountain so called, and is called "wine of

the Holy Spirit" by the Hospital of Würzburg, to which it belongs.

The Liesten wines are produced upon Mount St. Nicholas. Straw wines

are made in Franconia. A _vin de liqueur_, called Calmus, like the

sweet wines of Hungary, is made in the territory of Frankfort, at

Aschaffenburg. The best vineyards are those of Bischofsheim. Some

wines are made in Saxony, but they are of little worth. Meissen, near

Dresden, and Guben, produce the best. Naumberg makes some small

wines, like the inferior Burgundies.

With these pages as a general guide the touring automobilist must

make his own itinerary. He will not always want to put up for the

night in a large town, and will often prefer the quietness and the

romantic picturesqueness of some little half-mountain-hidden townlet

and its simple fare to a _table d'hôte_ meal, such as he gets at

Cologne or Coblenz, which is simply a poor imitation of its Parisian

namesake.

The following skeleton gives the leading points.

Cologne to Bonn (Hotel Rheinfeck) 27 Kilometres

Bonn to Godesberg (Hotel Blinzer) 7 "

Godesberg to Andernach (Hotel Schafer) 28 "

Andernach to Coblenz (Hotel Metropole) 18 "

Coblenz to St. Goar (Hotel Rheinfels) 46 "

St. Goar to Bingen (Stakenburger Hof) 29 "

Bingen to Mayence (Pfalzer Hof) 27 "

Mayence to Frankfort (Savoy Hotel) 33 "

Frankfort to Worms (Europaischer Hof) 52 "

Worms to Mannheim (Pfalzer Hof) 41 "

Mannheim to Heidelberg (Hotel Schrieder) 22 "

Heidelberg to Spire (Pfalzer Hof) 28 "

Spire to Carlsruhe (Hotel Erbprinz) 52 "

Carlsruhe to Baden (Hotel Stephanie) 26 "

Baden to Strasburg (Hôtel de l'Europe) 60 "

Generally speaking, none of the hotels above mentioned include wine

with meals. The trail of the tourist accounts for this. All have

accommodation for the automobilist.

[Illustration: Heidelburg and Strasburg]

From Strasburg one may continue to Bagel, if he is bound Italyward

through Switzerland, but the chief distinctive features of the Rhine

tour end at Strasburg.

From Strasburg one may enter France by St. Dié, in the Vosges, via

the Col de Saales, the _douane_ (custom-house) station for which is

at Nouveau Saales.

The following are some of the signs and abbreviations met with in

German hotels catering for stranger automobilists.

Ohne Wein Wine not included

A. C. B. Automobile Club de Belgique

M. C. B. Moto-Club de Belgique

T. C. B. Touring Club de Belgique

T. C. N. Touring Club Néerlandais

A. C. F. Automobile Club de France

T. C. F. Touring Club de France

Bade-Raum Bathroom

Grube Fosse or Inspection Pit

THE END.

Appendices

Appendix I

[Illustration: Road Warning Signs]

Appendix II

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF SOME FAMOUS EUROPEAN ROAD RACES AND TRIALS

In December, 1893, _Le Petit Journal_ of Paris proposed a trial of

self-propelled road-vehicles, to end with a run from Paris to Rouen.

The distance was 133 kilometres and the first car to arrive at Rouen

was a steam-tractor built by De Dion, Bouton et Cie, to-day perhaps

the largest manufacturers of the ordinary gasoline-motor. A Peugot

carriage, fitted with a Daimler engine, followed next, and then a

Panhard. There were something like a hundred entries for this trial,

of which one was from England and three from Germany, but most of

them did not survive the run.

On the 11th of June, 1895, was started the now historic

Paris-Bordeaux race. Sixteen gasoline and half a dozen steam cars

started from the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, for the journey to

Bordeaux and back. It was a Panhard-Levassor that arrived back in

Paris first, but the prize was given to a Peugot which carried four

passengers, whereas the Panhard carried but two.

In the following year the new locomotion was evidently believed to

have come to stay, for the first journal devoted to the industry and

sport was founded in Paris, under the name of _La Locomotion

Automobile_, soon to be followed by another called _La France

Automobile_.

In 1896 was held the Paris-Marseilles race, divided into five stages

for the outward journey, and five stages for the homeward.

Twenty-four gasoline-cars started, and three propelled by steam, and

there were five gasoline-tricycles. Bolée's tandem tricycle was the

sensation during the first stage, averaging twenty miles an hour. The

itinerary out and back, of something like sixteen hundred kilometres,

was covered first by a Panhard-Levassor, in sixty-seven hours,

forty-two minutes, and fifty-eight seconds. The average speed of the

winner was something like twenty-two kilometres an hour.

In England a motor-car run was organized from London to Brighton in

1896, including many of the vehicles which had started in the

Paris-Marseilles race in France. The first vehicles to arrive in

Brighton were the two Bolée tricycles; a Duryea was third, and a

Panhard fourth.

In 1897 there was a race in France, on a course laid out between

Marseilles, Nice, and La Turbie. The struggle was principally between

the Comte Chasseloup-Laubat in a steam-car, and M. Lemaitre in a

Panhard, with a victory for the former, showing at least that there

were possibilities in the steam-car which gasoline had not entirely

surpassed.

Pneumatic tires were used on the Paris-Bordeaux race in 1895, but

solid tires were used on the winning cars in 1894, 1895, and 1896.

Another affair which came off in 1897 was a race from Paris to

Dieppe, organized by two Paris newspapers, the _Figaro_ and _Les

Sports_.

The event was won by a three-wheeled Bolée, with a De Dion second,

and a six-horse-power Panhard third.

In 1898 there took place the Paris-Amsterdam race. It was won by a

Panhard, driven by Charron, and the distance was approximately a

thousand miles, something like sixteen hundred kilometres.

The "Tour de France" was organized by the _Matin_ in 1898. The

distance was practically two thousand kilometres. Panhards won the

first, second, third, and fourth places, though they were severely

pressed by Mors.

[Illustration: Evolution of the Racing Car]

The first Gordon-Bennett cup race was held in 1900, between Paris and

Lyons. The distance was not great, but the trial was in a measure

under general road conditions, though it took on all the aspects of a

race. It was won by Charron in a Panhard.

In 1901 the Gordon-Bennett race was run from Paris to Bordeaux,

perhaps the most ideal course in all the world for such an event. It

was won by Girardot in a forty-horse Panhard.

The Paris-Berlin race came in the same year, with Fournier as winner,

in a Mors designed by Brazier.

In 1902 the Gordon-Bennett formed a part of the Paris-Vienna

itinerary, the finish being at Innsbruck in the Tyrol. De Knyff in a

Panhard had victory well within his grasp when, by a misfortune in

the parting of his transmission gear, he was beaten by Edge in the

English Napier. Luck had something to do with it, of course, but Edge

was a capable and experienced driver and made the most of each and

every opportunity.

Through to Vienna the race was won by Farman in a seventy-horse-power

Panhard, though Marcel Renault in a Renault "_Voiture Legere_" was

first to arrive.

It was in 1901 that the famous Mercédès first met with road

victories. A thirty-five-horse power Mercédès won the Nice-Salon-Nice

event in the south of France, and again in the following year the

Nice-La Turbie event.

In the Circuit des Ardennes event in 1902, Jarrot, in a seventy-horse

Panhard, and Gabriel in a Mors, were practically tied until the last

round, when Jarrot finally won, having made the entire distance

(approximately 450 kilometres) at an average speed of fifty-four and

a half miles per hour. There were no _controles_.

In 1903 the Gordon-Bennett cup race was held in Ireland, over a

course of 368 miles, twice around a figure-eight track. Germany won

with a Mercédès with Jenatzy at the wheel, with De Knyff in a Panhard

only ten minutes behind.

In 1903 was undertaken the disastrous Paris-Madrid road race. Between

Versailles and Bordeaux the accidents were so numerous and terrible,

due principally to reckless driving, that the affair was abandoned at

Bordeaux. Gabriel in a Mors car made the astonishing average of

sixty-two and a half miles per hour, hence may be considered the

winner as far as Bordeaux.

In 1904 the Gordon-Bennett race was run over the Taunus course in

Germany, with Thèry the winner in a Richard-Brazier car.

In 1905 Thèry again won on the Circuit d'Auvergne in the same make of

car, making a sensational victory which--to the French at least--has

apparently assured the automobile supremacy to France for all time.

The 1906 event was the Grand Prix of the Automobile Club de France on

the Circuit de la Sarthe. The astonishing victories of the Renault

car driven by Szisz, which made the round of 680 kilometres in two

days at the average rate of speed of 108 kilometres an hour, has

elated all connected with the French automobile industry. It was a

victory for removable rims also, as had Szisz not been able to

replace his tattered tires almost instanteously with others already

blown up, he would certainly have been overtaken by one or more of

the Brazier cars, which suffered greatly from tire troubles.

In 1906 another event was organized in France by the _Matin_. It was

hardly in the nature of a race, but a trial of over six thousand

kilometres, an extended _tour de France_.

Forty-two automobiles of all ranks left the Place de la Concorde at

Paris on the 2d of August, and thirty-three arrived at Paris on the

28th of the same month, twenty of them without penalization of any

sort. No such reliability trial was ever held previously, and it

showed that the worth of the comparatively tiny eight and ten horse

machines for the work was quite as great as that of the forty and

sixty horse monsters.

The following tables show plainly the value of this great trial.

COUPE DU MATIN

LIST OF AUTOMOBILES ENGAGED

CLASS "ROUES" (SPRING WHEELS AND ANTI-SKIDS)

1. Antidérapant Néron de Deitrich

2. " Vulcain I. de Dion-Bouton

3. " Vulcain II. Corre

33. Roues Élastiques Soleil Rochet-Schneider

38. " " Garchey I. de Dion-Bouton

39. " " Garchey II. Mieusset

42. " " E. L. Delauney-Belleville

CLASS ENDURANCE

1st Category

Motocyclettes, vitesse maxima, 25 kilomètres à l'heure

35. Motocycletto Lurquin-Coudert

64. " Albatross (Motor Buchet)

67. " René Gillet

2d Category

Tri-cars, vitesse maxima, 25 kilomètres à l'heure

4. Mototri Contal I. 5. Mototri Contal II.

3d Category

Voiturette 1 cylindre, alésage maximum 110 millimètres

6. Fouillaron 34. Voiturette Darracq II.

8. De Dion-Bouton et Cie I. 47. Voiturette Lacoste &

9. Darracq et Cie Battmann I.

12. De Dion-Bouton et Cie II. 48. Voiturette Lacoste &

18. Cottereau I. Battmann II.

25. Voiturette Roy 49. Voiturette Lacoste &

30. Voiturette G. R. A. R. Battmanu III.

59. Voiturette Alcyon

4th Category

Voitures 2 cylindres, alésage maximum 130 millimètres, ou

4 cylindres, alésage maximum 85 millimètres

10. Darracq II. 21. Cottereau IV.

11. Darracq 22. Kallista I.

13. De Dion-Bouton et Cie III. 23. Kallista II.

15. D. Thuault 44. Panhard et Levassor

19. Cottereau II. 46. Corre

20. Cottereau III. 51. X.

5th Category

Voitures 4 cylindres, alésage maximum 105 millimètres

7. C. V. R. I. 43. Darracq V.

16. De Dion-Bouton et Cie IV. 50. Herald

17. De Dion-Bouton et Cie V. 57. Panhard

28. Renault Frères 60. De Dion-Bouton et Cie VI.

29. C. I. A. 61. Bayard Clèment I.

31. C. V. R. II. 65. Corre

66. Berliet

6th Category

Voitures 4 cylindres, alésage maximum 126 millimètres

14. Mercédès I. 52. Mors.

24. Scrive 53. Mercédès II.

26. Pilain I. 55. Clément

27. Pilain II. 58. Darracq IV.

32. C. V. R. III. 62. Bayard-Clément II.

45. Gobron 63. C. V. R. IV.

68. Mercédès III.

7th Category

Voitures 4 cylindres, alésage maximum 140 millimètres

86. Siddely 37. Siddely

56. Fiat

Appendix III

[Illustration: Route Maps for Famous Races]

Appendix IV

[Illustration: Average Speed of Racing Cars]

Appendix V

SOME FAMOUS HILL CLIMBS ABROAD

ENGLAND

Birdlip Hill.--Near Gloucester. Length, 2 miles; average gradient, 1

in 8; steepest gradient, 1 in 7

Dashwood Hill.--Near High Wycombe. Length, 1,180 yards; average

gradient, 1 in 16; steepest gradient, 1 in 10.9.

Hindhead.--Near Guildford. Length, 2 3/4 miles, rise, 520 feet;

average gradient, 1 in 24.4; steepest gradient, 1 in 13.

Porlock Hill.--North Devon. Length, 3 miles; rise, 1,365 feet;

gradient, 1 in 6 to 1 in 8.

Shap Fell.--Near Penrith. Rise, 1,886 feet, gradients, 1 in 11, 1 in

15, 1 in 16, and 1 in 20.

Snowdon.--Mountain in Wales. Steepest gradient, 1 in 7.

Westerham.--Length, 2,940 feet; average gradient, 1 in 9.4.

FRANCE

Château Thierry.--Near Meaux. Length, 1,098 yards.

Côte de Gaillon.--Near Rouen. The scene of the most famous hill

climbs in France. Length, 3 kilometres, rise, 10 per cent. for the

greater part of the distance.

Côte de Laffray.--Near Grenoble. Length, 4.13 miles; gradients, 1 in

15, 1 in 11, 1 in 10, and 1 in 8; average, 9.3 per cent; many bad

turns.

La Turbie.--A rude foot-hill climb in the Maritime Alps just back of

Monte Carlo.

Mont Ventoux.--Near Avignon. Length, 20 kilometres; rise 1,600

metres.

Mont Cenis.--Near Turin. The "climb" begins at Susa, on the Italian

side of the mountain, at the 596 metre level, and continues for 22

kilometres to the 2,087 metre level, a 100 h.p. Fiat climbed this in

1905 in 19 minutes, 18 3/5 seconds.

Appendix VI

[Illustration: Metric System]

Appendix VII

THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IN FRANCE

Number Value

of Cars Value Exported

Year. Built. Fcs. Fcs.

1898 1,850 8,300,000 1,749,350

1899 2,200 11,000,000 4,259,330

1900 4,100 23,000,000 6,617,360

1901 6,300 39,000,000 15,782,290

1902 7,800 47,000,000 30,219,380

1903 11,500 81,000,000 50,837,140

1904 13,400 106,000,000 71,035,000

1905 20,500 140,000,000 100,265,000

Appendix VIII

HOURS OF MOONLIGHT

Moon 5 days old shines till 11 PM (approx.)

" 6 " " " " 12 PM

" 7 " " " " 1 AM

Moon 15 days old rises at 6 PM (approx.)

" 16 " " " " 7 PM

" 17 " " " " 8 PM

" 18 " " " " 9-10 PM

Appendix IX

[Illustration: The Length of Days]

Appendix X

THE TOURING CLUB DE FRANCE

The Touring Club de France is the largest and most active national

association for the promotion of touring. It is under the direct

patronage of the President of the French Republic, and the interests

and wants of its members are protected and provided for in a full and

practical manner by an excellent organization, whose influence is

felt in every part of France and the adjacent countries.

The membership is over 100,000 and is steadily growing. It includes a

very considerable body of foreign members, those from the United

Kingdom and America alone numbering 5,000, a circumstance which may

be accepted, perhaps, as the best possible proofs of the value of the

advantages which the club offers to tourists from abroad visiting

France.

The annual subscription is 6 francs (5s.) for foreign members. There

is no entrance fee and the election of candidates generally follows

within a few days after the receipt of the application at the offices

of the club in Paris.

The club issues a number of publications specially compiled for

cyclists, comprising: a Yearbook (Annuaire) for France divided in two

parts (North and South) with a list of over three thousand selected

club hotels, at which members enjoy a privileged position as to

charges; an admirable volume of skeleton tours covering the whole of

France, from each large centre, and by regions, and supplemented by

some three hundred card itineraries with sketch maps; a specially

drawn cyclist's map of France, and a monthly club gazette, all

designed to facilitate the planning and carrying out of interesting

tours with comfort and economy.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Fill in the application form and enclose

it with the subscription (6 francs) to M. le Président du T. C. F.,

65, Avenue de la Grande-Armée, Paris. _The applications of lady

candidates should be signed by a male relative_--brother, father,

husband--whether a member of the club or not.

Notice of resignation of membership must reach the Paris office of

the club not later than November 30th, failing which the member is

liable for the following year's subscription. Those who join after

October 1st are entitled to the privileges of membership until the

close of the following year for one subscription.

Post-office money orders should be made payable to M. le Trésorier du

T. C. F., 65, Avenue de la Grande-Armée, Paris, France.

The addresses of the representatives of the Touring Club de France in

England and America are as follows; further information concerning

this admirable institution for _all travellers_ whether by train,

bicycle, or automobile will be gladly furnished. They can also supply

forms for application for membership.

DELEGATES

New York City Ch. Dien 38-40 West 33d St.

Boston F. Hesseltine 10 Tremont St.

Washington H. Lazard 1453 Massachusetts Ave.

London C. F. Just 17 Victoria St. S. W.

Edinburgh Dr. D. Turner 37 George Square.

Dublin G. Fottereil 46 Fleet St.

Appendix XI

MOTOR-CAR REGULATIONS AND CUSTOMS DUTIES IN EUROPE

GREAT BRITAIN

Certain regulations are compulsory even for tourists. You may obtain

a license to drive a motor-car in Britain if you are over seventeen

years of age (renewable every twelve months) at a cost of five

shillings.

You must register your motor-car at the County or Borough Council

offices where you reside, fee £1.0.0. You must pay a yearly "male

servant" tax of fifteen shillings for your chauffeur. In case of

accident, en route, you must stop and, if required, give your name

and address, also name and address of the owner of the car and the

car number.

Every car must bear two number plates (the number is assigned you on

registration), one front and one rear. The latter must be lighted at

night.

Speed limit is twenty miles an hour except where notice is posted to

the effect that ten miles an hour only is allowed, or that some

particular road is forbidden to automobiles.

In England one's car can be registered at any port on arrival, or, by

letter addressed to any licensing authority, before arrival. The

regulation as to driving licenses is as follows:

"If any person applies to the Council of a county or county borough

for the grant of a license and the Council are satisfied that he has

no residence in the United Kingdom, the Council shall, if the

applicant is otherwise entitled, grant him a license, notwithstanding

that he is not resident within their county or county borough."

As regards the Inland Revenue Carriage License, however, it may be

noted that twenty-one days' grace is allowed--in other words, that

licenses must be obtained within twenty-one days after first becoming

liable to the duty.

There are no customs duties on automobiles entering Great Britain.

FRANCE

CERTIFICAT DE CAPACITé AND RéCéPISSé DE DéCLARATION

Before taking an automobile upon the road in France all drivers must

procure the Certificat de Capacité, commonly known as the "Carte

Rouge."

The following letter should be addressed to the nearest préfecture,

or sous-préfecture, written on stamped paper (papier timbré, 60

centimes) and accompanied by two miniature photographs.

"Monsieur:--J'ai l'honneur de vous demander de me faire convoquer

pour subir l'examen nécessaire à l'obtention d'un certificat de

capacité pour la conduite d'une voiture... (indiquer la marque) mue

par un moteur à petrole.

"Veuillez agréer, etc."

[Illustration: Certificat de Capacite]

At the same time another letter should be addressed to the same

authority requesting a Récépissé de Déclaration. These applications

must be quite separate and distinct; each on its own papier timbre,

which you buy at any bureau de tabac.

"Monsieur Le Préfet:--Je soussigné ... (nom, prénom, domicile)

propriétaire d'une voiture automobile actionnée par un moteur à

pétrole système (type et numéro du type), ai l'honneur de vous

demander un permis de circulation.

"Vous trouverez sons ce pli le procès-verbal de réception délivré par

le constructeur.

"Veuillez agréer, etc."

[Illustration: Recepisse de Declaration]

NAMES OF ARRONDISSEMENTS AND DISTINGUISHING LETTERS BORNE BY

AUTOMOBILES IN FRANCE

Alais, A

Arras, R

Bordeaux, B

Chalon-sur-Saône, C

Chambéry, H

Clermont-Ferrand, F

Douai, D

Le Mans, L

Marseille, M

Nancy, N

Poitiers, P

Rouen, Y ou Z

Saint-Etienne, S

Toulouse, T

Paris, E, G, I, U, X

CUSTOMS DUTIES IN FRANCE.

Fifty francs per 100 kilos on all motor vehicles weighing more than

125 kilos. Automobiles (including motor-cycles) weighing less than

125 kilos pay a flat rate of 120 francs.

Members of most cycling touring clubs can arrange for the entry of

motor-cycles free of duty.

All customs duties paid, in France may be reimbursed upon the

exportation of the automobile. The formalities are very simple.

Inquire at burèau of entry.

BELGIUM

Customs Dues. 12 1/2 per cent. ad valorem (owners' declaration as to

value), but the authorities reserve the right to purchase at owners

valuation if they think it undervalued. This is supposed to prevent

fraud, and no doubt it does.

A driving certificate is not required of tourists, but a registered

number must be carried. Plates and a permit are supplied at the

frontier station by which one enters, or they may be obtained at

Brussels from the chef de police.

Speed limit: 30 kilometres per hour in the open country and 10

kilometres per hour in the towns, except, generally speaking, the

larger cities hold down the speed to that of a trotting horse.

HOLLAND

Customs Dues are five per cent, ad valorem, but in practice nothing

is demanded of genuine tourists and a permit is now given (1906) for

eight days with a right of extension for a similar period.

Foreign number plates, once recorded by the Dutch customs officials,

will supplant the need of local number plates.

SWITZERLAND

Customs Dues are 60 francs per 100 kilos. This amount, deposited on

entering the country, will be refunded upon leaving and complying

with the formalities.

Legally a driving and "circulation" permit may be demanded, but often

this is waived.

In the Canton Valais only the main road from St. Maurice to Brigue is

open for automobile traffic. Many other roads are entirely closed.

N.B. Traffic regulations in many parts are exceedingly onerous and

often unfair to foreigners.

A recent conference of the different cantons has been held at Berne

to consider the question of automobile traffic in the country. It was

decided to fix a blue sign on the roads where motorists must slacken

speed, and a yellow sign where motoring is not allowed. The

Department of the Interior was deputed to draw up a uniform code of

rules for the guidance of police deputed to take charge of the roads.

No decision was arrived at as regards uniformity in fines for

infraction of the regulations, but steps are to be taken to put an

end to the abuses to which it is alleged the police have subjected

motorists. A resolution was furthermore adopted to the effect that no

road is to be closed to motor-cars without an agreement between the

authorities of all the cantons concerned, and that all foreign

motorists shall be given a copy of the regulations on entering the

country.

The above information is given here that no one may be unduly

frightened, but there is no question but that Switzerland has not

been so hospitable to automobile tourists as to other classes.

The Simplon Pass, under certain restrictions has recently been opened

to automobiles. Open from June 1st to October 15th, except on

Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but no departure can be made from

either Brigue or Gondo after three P. M. Apply for pass at the

Gendarmerie. Speed 10 kilometres on the open road, and 3 kilometres

on curves and in tunnels.

ITALY

Customs Dues are according to weight.

500 kilos 200 fcs.

500-1000 kilos 400 fcs.

above 1000 kilos 600 fcs.

motor cycles 42 fcs.

A certificate for importation temporaire is given by the customs

officers on entering, and the same must be given up on leaving the

country, when the sum deposited will be reimbursed.

Since January 8, 1905, a driving certificate is compulsory, but the

authorities will issue same readily to tourists against foreign

certificates or licenses.

Speed during the day must be limited to 40 kilometres an hour in the

open country and 12 kilometres in the towns.

At night the speed (legally) may not exceed 15 kilometres an hour.

Lamps white on the right, green on the left. There are special

regulations for Florence.

LUXEMBOURG

Customs Dues.--One hundred and fifty marks per automobile. A pièce

d'identité will be given the applicant on entering, and upon giving

this up on leaving the duties will be reimbursed.

German, French, and Belgian coins all pass current (except bronze

money).

GERMANY

Customs Dues.--Temporary importation by tourists 150 marks per auto.

Oil and gasoline in the tanks also pay duty under certain rulings. A

small matter, this, anyway.

According to recent regulations tourists are permitted to introduce

motor-vehicles into Germany for a temporary visit, free of customs

duty, but it has been left to the discretion of the official to give

motorists the benefit of this arrangement, or to charge the ordinary

duty, with the result that some have had to make a deposit, and

others have succeeded in passing their cars into the country free.

Uniform driving or tax regulations are wanting in Germany, but

something definite is evidently forthcoming from the authorities

shortly (1906-7), with, the probability that even visitors will have

to pay a revenue tax.

Rule of the road is keep to the right and pass on the left, as in

most Continental countries.

Speed limits, during darkness, or in populous districts, vary from 9

to 15 kilometres per hour, but "driving to the common danger" is the

only other cause which will prevent one making any speed he likes in

the open country.

Foreigners should apply to the police authorities immediately on

having entered the country for information as to new rules and

regulations.

SPAIN

Customs Dues vary greatly on automobiles. The motor pays 18 francs,

50 centimes per hundred kilos., and the carrosserie according to its

form or design. Ordinary tonneau type four places, 1,000 pesetas. For

temporary importation receipts are given which will enable one to be

reimbursed upon exportation of the vehicle. In general the road

regulations of France apply to Spain.

Speed limit, 28 kilometres per hour in open country down to 12

kilometres in the towns.

A circulation permit and driving certificate should be obtained.

M. J. Lafitte, 8 Place de la Liberté, Biarritz, can "put one through"

(at an appropriate fee), in a manner hardly possible for one to

accomplish alone.

A special "free-entry" permit is sometimes given for short periods.

Appendix XII

Some Notes On Map--Making

The most fascinating maps for tried traveller are the wonderful

Cartes d'Etat Major and of Ministre de l'Intérieur in France. The

Ordnance Survey maps in England are somewhat of an approach thereto,

but they are in no way as interesting to study.

One must have a good eye for distances and the lay of the land, and a

familiarity with the conventional signs of map-makers, in order to

get full value from these excellent French maps, but the close

contemplation of them will show many features which might well be

incorporated into the ordinary maps of commerce.

The great national roads are distinctly marked with little dots

beside the road, representing the tree-bordered "Routes Nationales,"

but often there is a cut-off of equally good road between two points

on one's itinerary which of course is not indicated in any special

manner. For this reason alone these excellent maps are not wholly to

be recommended to the automobilist who is covering new ground. For

him it is much better that he should stick to the maps issued by the

Touring Club de France or the cheaper, more legible, and even more

useful Cartes Taride.

In England, as an alternative to the Ordnance Survey maps, there are

Bartholemew's coloured maps, two miles to the inch, and the Half Inch

Map of England and Wales.

Belgium is well covered by the excellent "Carte de Belgique" of the

Automobile Club de Belgique, Italy by the maps of the Italian Touring

Club, and Germany by the ingenious profile map known as

"Strassenprofilkarten," rather difficult to read by the uninitiated.

One of the great works of the omnific Touring Club de France is the

preparation of what might be called pictorial inventories of the

historical monuments and natural curiosities of France made on the

large-scale maps of the Etat Major. Primarily these are intended to

be filed away in their wonderful "Bibliothèque," that all and sundry

who come may read, but it is also further planned that they shall be

displayed locally in hotels, automobile clubs, and the like. The mode

of procedure is astonishingly simple. These detailed maps of the War

Department are simply cut into strips and mounted consecutively, and

the "sights" marked on the margin (with appropriate notes) after the

manner of the example here given.

There seems no reason why one could not make up his own maps

beforehand in a similar fashion, of any particular region or

itinerary that he proposed to "do" thoroughly. One misses a great

deal en route that is not marked clearly on the map before his eyes.

Appendix XIII

A List Of European Map And Road Books

Great Britain and Ireland

The Contour Road Books

Vol. I. North England, including part of Wales.

Vol. II. West England

Vol. III. Southeastern England.

Very useful books, including about five hundred maps and plans,

showing gradients and road profiles.

Bartholemew's Revised Map of England and Wales.--Complete in 87

sheets, 2 miles to the inch.

Half Inch Map of England, Wales, and Scotland.--Published by Gall and

Inglis (Edinburgh). Complete in 47 sheets (England and Wales).

"Strip" Maps.--Published by Gall and Inglis (Edinburgh); 2 miles to

the inch.

1. Edinburgh to Inverness.

2. Inverness to John O'Groat's.

3. "Brighton Road," London to Brighton; "Portsmouth Road," London to

Portsmouth.

4. "Southampton Road," London to Bournemouth.

5. "Exeter Road," London to Exeter.

6. "Bath Road," London to Bristol.

10. "Great North Road," in two parts: London to York, Leeds, or

Harrogate; York to Edinburgh.

15. "Land's End Road," Bristol to Land's End.

16. "Worcester Road," Bristol to Birmingham, Worcester to Lancashire.

18. The North Wales Road: Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham to

Holyhead.

19. London to Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool.

20. "Great North Road," Edinburgh to York.

21. "Carlisle Road," Edinburgh to Lancashire.

28. "Highland Road," Edinburgh to Inverness.

28. "John O'Groat's Road," Inverness to Caithness. Excellent for

tours over a straightaway itinerary.

The Cyclist's Touring Club Road Books

Vol. I. deals with the Southern and Southwestern Counties south of

the main road from London to Bath and Bristol.

Vol. II. embraces the Eastern and Midland Counties, including the

whole of Wales.

Vol. III. covers the remainder of England to the Scottish Border.

Vol. IV. includes the whole of Scotland.

Vol. V. Southern Ireland, deals with the country south of the main

road from Dublin to Galway.

Vol. VI., Northern Ireland, deals with the country north of the main

road froth Dublin to Galway.

Ordnance Survey Map of England and Wales.--New series, complete in

354 sheets, 21 x 16 inches. One mile to the inch.

Bartholemew's Map of Scotland.--Complete in 29 sheets, 2 miles to the

inch.

IRELAND

Mecredy's Road Maps

1. Dublin and Wicklow.

2. Kerry.

3. Donegal.

4. Connemara.

5. Down.

6. East Central Ireland.

Mecredy's Road Book

2 Volumes

Vol. I. South of Dublin and Galway.

Vol. II. North of Dublin and Galway.

The Continental Road Book for Great Britain--Published by the

Continental Gutta-Percha Co. Excellent information on British roads,

distances, hotels, etc., with a general map.

The Automobile Hand Book.--The official year book Automobile Club of

Great Britain and Ireland. Contains all the "official" information

concerning automobileism in Britain. Rules and regulations,

statistics, a few routes and plans of the large towns, and a list of

"official" hotels, repairers, etc.

Continental Maps and Road Books

FRANCE

Cartes Taride.--Excellent road maps of all France in 25 sheets can be

had everywhere, mounted on paper at 1 franc, cloth 2 fcs. 50

centimes. All good roads marked in red; dangerous hills are marked,

also railways. Kilometres are also given between towns en route. The

most useful and readable maps published of any country. A. Taride, 20

Boulevard St. Denis, Paris, also publishes The Rhine, North and South

Italy, and Switzerland, each at the same price.

Guide Taride (Les Routes de France).--4,000 itineraries throughout

France and 150 itineraries from Paris to foreign cities and towns.

Contains notes as to nature of roads, kilometric distances, etc.

L'Annuaire de Route.--The year book of the Automobile Club de France

contains hotel, garage, and mècanicien list, charging-stations for

electric apparatus and vendors of gasoline.

C. T. C. Road Book of France (in English).--Two volumes of road

itineraries and notes.

Cartes de l'Etat Major.--Published by the Service Géographique de

l'Armée and sold or furnished by all booksellers. Can best be

procured through the Touring Club de France, 65 Ave. de la Grande

Armée, Paris. Scale 1-80,000, 30 centimes per sheet. Another scale

1-50,000.

Carte de la Ministre d'Intérieur.--Scale 1-100,000 and 1-80,000.

Printed in three colours.

Carte de France au 200,000 cq.--Published by the Service Géographiqué

and reproduced from the 1-80,000 carte by photolithography. Useful,

but not so clear as the original.

Cartes du Touring Club de France.--Scale 1-400,000. Indicating all

routes with remarks as to their surfaces, hills, culverts, railway

crossings, etc. Printed in five colours. 15 sheets, 63 x 90 cm. These

cartes lap over somewhat into Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Spain, and

are very good.

Le Guide-Michelin--Issued by Michelin et Cie, the tire manufacturers.

The most handy and useful hotel and mécanicien list, with kilometric

distances between French towns and cities. Many miniature plans of

towns and large map of France.

Guide-Routiere Continental.--Issued by the manufacturers of

Continental tires. Gives plans of towns and cities, detailed

itineraries and hotel lists, etc., throughout France. Equally useful

as the Guide-Michelin, but more bulky.

La Carte Bécherel.--Reproduced from that of the Etat Major 1-200,000.

Price 2 fcs., 50c.

Cartes de Dion--Excellent four-colour maps of certain sections

environing the great cities. Published and sold by De Dion, Bouton et

Cie.

Sur Route (Atlas-Guide de Poche pour Cyclistes et Automobilists).

--Published by Hatchette & Cie, 3 fcs., 50c. A most useful condensed

and abbreviated gazetteer of France, with a series of handy

four-colour maps showing main roads sufficiently clearly for real use

as an automobile route-book.

Annuaire Général du Touring Club de France--Hotel list, mécaniciens,

etc., and prices of same throughout France.

The Touring Club de France also issues an Annuaire pour l'Etranger,

containing similar information of the neighbouring countries.

Guides-Joanne.--The most perfectly compiled series of guidebooks in

any language. The late editions of Normandie, Bretagne, etc., have

miniature profile road maps and much other information of interest

and value to automobile tourists. Seventeen volumes, covering France,

Algeria, and Corsica.

ITALY

The Touring Club Italiano issues a series of five excellent maps

covering the whole of Italy.

1. Lombardia, Piemonte, and Ligurie.

2. Veneto.

3. Central Italy.

4. Southern Italy.

5. Calabria and Sicily.

Strade di Grande-Comunicazione--Italia--(Main Roads of Italy). An

excellent profile road book of all of Italy; miniature plans of all

cities and large towns, with gradients of roads, population, etc.

Carte Taride--Italie, Section Nord.--Published by A. Taride, 20 Bvd.

St. Denis, Paris. Comprises Aoste, Bologne, Come, Florence, Livourne,

Milan, Nice, Padoua, Parma, Pise, Sienne, Trente, Turin, Venise. 1

fc. on paper, 2 fcs., 50c. cloth.

Carte Taride--Italie, Section Centrale.--Uniform with above.

SWITZERLAND

Carte Routière.--Published by the Touring Club de Suisse; is issued

in four sheets.

L'Annuaire de Route.--Published by the Automobile Club de Suisse;

contains a small-scale road map, hotel list, etc.

Cyclist's Touring Club (London) Road Book for South and Central

Europe includes Switzerland.

Carte Taride pour la Suisse.--A continuation of the excellent series

of Cartes Tarides (Paris, 30 Bvd. St. Denis) 1 fc., 50c. paper, 3

fcs. on cloth.

BELGIUM

The Cartes Tarides (Paris, A. Taride, 20 Boulevard St. Denis) include

Belgium under the Nos. 1 and 1 Bis.

Cyclist's Touring Club (London) Road Book for Northern and Central

Europe includes Belgium.

Carte de Belgique, issued by the Touring Club de Belgique, covers all

of Belgium in one sheet.

Guide-Michelin pour la Belgique, Hollande, et aux Bords du Rhin

contains Belgian hotel-list, plans of towns, etc.

HOLLAND

Road Atlas--Published by the Touring Club of Holland, which also

issues many detailed road and route books for the Pays Bas.

Cyclists Touring Club (London) Road Book for North and Central Europe

includes Holland.

Guide-Michelin pour La Belgique includes Holland, Luxembourg, and the

Banks of the Rhine, with information after the same manner as in the

"Guide-Michelin" for France.

Afstandskaart van Nederland.--An admirable road map of all Holland in

two sheets, showing also all canals and waterway.

GERMANY

Ravenstein's Road Maps of Central Europe. Scale about 4 miles to the

inch.

Taride's Bord du Rhin.--Excellent maps in three colours, main routes

in red, with kilometric distances, towns, and picturesque sites

clearly marked.

Ravenstein's Road Book for Germany.--Two vols., North and South

Germany.

Cyclist's Touring Club (London) Road Book for Germany.