BEASTLY TALES

THE TIME TRAVELLER (2)

Orville the Inventor had built a machine,
That could transport him through time, nice and clean,
Today he thought one hundred and fifty years,
In Victorian times, when the machine nears.
With much spinning, and loud cranking,
A puff of smoke and Orville was banking
He’d soon be back in the eighteen hundreds,
Having a slice of half-baked history breads.

With a screech and a bang, he did now land,
Near what appeared to be a city, and,
He didn’t feel it to be any chore,
So he decided to disembark and explore.
He walked along the road to find someone with whom to chat,
And he soon came upon a person with whiskers and Top Hat.
Orville now conveyed a polite greeting,
“It’s so nice now, you to be meeting.”
“Fear not sir,” said the tall gent,
“I perceive that to a fine school you went.”
Said Orville, “I’d like to know about your city,”
‘It seems prosperous, and still looks pretty.”
And so the Top Hatted gent did enlighten,
Orville with a commentary that could frighten.
“People around here are a quite special breed,”
“Their lives were around transport, that was their need”.

In Victorian Times there was a real need,
For a mode of transport known as a velocipede.
It had two wheels, or sometimes four,
Down hill was swift, uphill a chore.
And you should know, for goodness sakes,
It was not, at all, equipped with brakes.
So if you wanted, your speed down to go,
You had to hop off, your progress to slow.
Slowing the Velocipede to a speed less than running,
It took some experience, and lots of cunning.
Whilst is had no brakes, a parasol it had.
To protect the complexion, an idea not so mad.
Except in Britain, where the climate dictates,
Protection from cold, not keeping sun from pates.

The other extra-ordinary cycle was a Penny Farthing.
Especially, if for excitement you’re starving.
A bicycle that had a huge wheel at the fore,
With a back wheel so tiny, they seemed to ignore.
The trick lay in actually mounting the bike,
They must have wished for a third wheel like a trike.
Once mounted the rider quickly required motion,
To stay upright they needed forward locomotion.
In Victorian Times many riders wore Top Hats,
That further enhanced the absurd look of the prats.
Riding along, some feet in the air,
Whilst folk on the sidewalk would stop and stare.

Steam train travel was on the increase,
Coining the expression, “Wonders never cease.”
Different tracks often had different gauges,
Ensuring track layers did earn good wages.
For eventually they would have to be changed to one,
They did such things, in Victorian Times, thinking it fun.

Before building hundreds of miles of train tracks,
Victorian Engineers had canals dug, with many sore backs.
Whilst narrow boats on canals did encourage trade,
They were of less use as train progress was made.

Orville thought that it was now time he was going,
But appreciated the most splendid opportunity of knowing,
So much more about Victorian transport ingenuity
Knowledge that would be with him to perpetuity.
Now he had his own most urgent need,
To return to his Time Machine at great speed.
He desperately wanted to advance 150 years,
And to do this quickly he’d use all his gears!