The speed fiend of yesteryear

To-night he was particularly uplifted because he was driving his first car. And it was none of your old-fashioned “gasoline buggies,” with the engine under the seat. The engine bulked in front, under a proud hood over 2 ft. long, and the steering column was not straight, but rakishly tilted. The car was sporting and rather dangerous, and the lights were powerful affairs fed by acetylene gas. Sam sped on, with a feeling of power, of dominating the universe, at 12 dizzy miles an hour. . . . “It runs!” Tub marvelled, as Sam stepped in triumph from the car. “I’ve got a horse all ready to tow you back!”—From “Dodsworth,” by Sinclair Lewis.