THE CAMERA AND THE AUTOMOBILE 



469 



"R," and the picture taken, — only to 

 find the laugh on the "wit," as the 

 lead pencil altering refused to "take!" 

 All this is very trivial, of course, 

 but do you suppose that any mem- 

 ber of that party ever looks at that 

 picture without a smile, or talks it 

 over with a fellow-tripsman without a 

 laugh at the antics of party and ma- 

 chine on what was a never-to-be-for- 

 gotten trip ? Not much ! And it is such 

 pictures as these which the camera 

 makes, which add so much to the after- 

 joys of motoring. 



The pictorial need not be entirely ne- 

 glected. If your camera is of the right 



the effect, I suppose, due to the motion, 

 which is rather pleasant. 



As a verification record of your stor- 

 ies, the camera beats a sworn affidavit 

 every time, and is not subject to the 

 distrust usually accorded photographic 

 proofs of fish stories, inasmuch as when 

 your friends know your car, and find 

 a picture of you in that car in the place 

 you have claimed to visit, they are not 

 usually inclined to think the whole thing 

 a fake — automobiles are not to be had 

 for a quarter a string, as are fish. Not 

 very long ago I formed one of a party 

 which went from Washington City to 

 Mt. Vernon, Va., the home and tomb of 



Full proof of a muddy road 



kind, — and any good kind is the right 

 kind in the right hands, — you can take 

 snap-shots of the road in front, of the 

 bridges over which you pass, — the dog, 

 the horse, the chicken you frighten, the 

 country clod with open mouth who 

 stands gaping at your dusty swiftness. 

 I have made pictures going forty miles 

 an hour (sworn to!) over a fair Vir- 

 ginia road. T did not secure a bit of 

 detail but there is a peculiar softness to 



Washington. The accounts of the trip 

 were received with incredulity, the 

 roads generally being considered im- 

 passable, but when I produced pictures 

 of the party, taken in front of the man- 

 sion, unbelief had to give way to con- 

 viction. 



Most of us are fond of telling what 

 bad roads we encounter and with 

 what marvelous facility and agility the 

 machine, aided, of course, bv our skill- 



