Out and Home.—By "me Extractor."
Page 11
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I was talking the other day with Mr. A. Dugdale, of Renold Chains, on the question of drivers good and bad, and how success with a commercial vehicle depends very much on the driver. He told me they had a naval man, driving their Lacre van, who had for years been used to nipping about with a torpedo boat, and his chief difficulty at first with the van was that there was " no tail to it."
" Vat ve vants is orders, aind it? " Still another handsome pocket-book has come my way, this time from " Shell " motor spirit, and keeping it company is the queerest and most ingenious knife combination I ever struck. To start with, it is thin and compact : that is essential, for only boy scouts like bulky pocket-knives. It contains : a knife blade; a file; a measure; a cigar cutter ; a screwdriver; a nail cleaner ; and other odd contrivances the use of which I shall, I expect, discover later.
In conversation with a cab proprietor in Newcastle-on-Tyne last week, I gathered that there is a fine opportunity for taxicabs in that town, if the authorities could only be induced to fix a rate that would provide a possibility of profit. It is a hard town to work with horses, being so Milk-, and I was assured that each cab takes four horses per day. The authorities will not fix the minimum rate higher than 6d. the half-mile, with the right to be called off the stand for 6d. if the distance is below that, and taxicabs are held to be impossible unless worked by private con tracts.
Once, on a holiday motor tour, I noticed, on the day we approached one particular cathedral town, the owner of the car was strangely impatient; he would brook no delays, and, when in the town itself, we had to rummage with him into all the odd nooks and corners. It was his native town, and he was traversing the scenes of his boyhood. Before tong, the third man and myself began a process of assimilation, and we eventually hunted just as eagerly for the old school, the football field, and the stream where they used to bathe and
fish and fall in. All these things came to my mind last week, when I was spending a few hours with the subject of this week's caricature at his place near Wolverhampton, for Mr. Edward Lisle was born in that town, and he lives now 011 the fringe of a common in that delightful old village close by called Tettenhall. Lisle conducted me, first of all on
foot, round the village to a point where one has a wonderful view of distant Wolverhampton, and then into the quaint old churchyard to see what was absorbingly interesting to a Dickens' lover—the grave of Little Nell and her grandfather : Tettenhall was the end of their sad wanderings. Next, we had an hour in a zah.p. four-cylinder Star. What points of interest he did crowd in, and the marvel of it to find so many and charming sylvan scenes within such few miles of the dismal " Black Country "! I again found Myself ardently interested in boyhood scenes, and sharing Lisle's enthusiasm for the goodliness of his native heath. Later, we had a glimpse of the country he had hunted over, of a church whose clock and peal of bells he had presented years ago. Presently, we drew nearer town, and mounted a stiff rise on which they test their vans and cars— a nice little stretch of i in 7, with a twist at the top and a bit of i in 5 to finish up with. One can see little more than " the stars," when one is climbing it.
Previous to the explorations named above, I had found much that was interesting in a comprehensive collection of pictures, in the palm houses and the vineries. It was noticeable that the stables, which formerly housed eight horses, now only served as shelter for motorcars; there was one pony for the young sons, as Lisle considers the exercise good for making the boys grow. Then I caught sight, in the grounds, of a chalet with open sides in which two of the sons sleep, they being open-air enthusiasts. A small tombstone caught my eye, denoting that " Turk the Terror" lay at peace beneath, and a question from me elicited the fact that.this canine hero lived a dashing, intrepid, lawless life—if a somewhat brief one : he was a perfect bandolero. Poor Turk met an outlaw's death. He was condemned to be shot, and the village recommended them to get two guns ready, as they did not think one would accomplish it. What it is to have a great reputation !
Edward Lisle came along from small beginnings: he was in the employ of . Bayliss, Jones and Bayliss, ironfounders, and he quickly discovered the possibilities of the cycle trade. He risked his savings in the manufacturing of cycles, and came near to admitting failure; in fact, he went to the Singer Cycle Company and asked for employment, but, as there was at the moment no opening, he plodded along as before, and the flowing tide at last turned in his favour, and he built up a great cycle business. One of the first to take up motors, he has never looked hack, and all idea will be gained of the extent of his business when I say that his weekly wages bill comes out at /jt,000. I don't know a man who is more sure of himself than Edward Lisle, and where instinct is truer as to the needs of the people who are likely to buy motors; that. doubtless, is why he has succeeded. Personally, he is a jovial soul, with a great sporting side to his character, for, if it is coursing you want, a day's motoring, or a day's shooting, he is your man, but I am not sure that he is not happiest at home, with plenty of lawn tennis, and some billiards to follow. He is a member of Council of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and is a leading spirit in the Wolverhampton Automobile Club. "Work hard, play hard, and pay your way " seems to be Lisle's motto. He has certainly done all three, and does them still.