CHAPTER XVI
DRIVING TANDEM, BY T. SUFFERN TAILER, ESQ.
"Not every path extends the same,
But various are the roads to fame;
With different eye the same pursuits we view,
Nor all one wish with equal zeal pursue."
It is arranged, no doubt wisely, that happiness, which is the universal aim of mankind, may be pursued by numerous roads, and that they who seek it on wheels may choose from a variety of conveyances.
Some press forward to the goal astride the bicycle, or in the automobile, for which vehicles it may be claimed that at any rate they don't cost much to feed; others drive furiously in a coffin-shaped box within four "spider" wheels; and yet others prefer,—
"To dash along with four-in-hand, while others drive at random,
In whiskey, buggy, gig or dog-cart, curricle or tandem."
According the "right of way" to this procession, I at length claim the privilege to take my pleasure in driving a tandem.
One of the first requisites of this is nerve,—an indispensable requisite, in fact. It is the very spice of danger that makes this form of driving exciting; but for a man who has nerve, and acquires the proper amount of skill, there is no more danger in driving a tandem than any other equipage in vogue. Fewer accidents befall experienced tandem drivers than those who drive any local style of turnout.
For example, a man in a road wagon of the conventional style, with four wheels confining him in a narrow box, when his horse bolts has no means whatsoever of saving himself; whereas, in a dog-cart, although when the wheeler goes down he may get a "father and mother of a fall," he does not part company with the vehicle.
It seems to be established that the most competent authority on a subject is one who has much theoretical, and little practical, knowledge of it.