public exhibition, which attracted much notice. On the 11th of June, at nine o'clock, all the contestants were gathered in Paris, about the Arc de Triomphe. They started in procession, with no attempt at speed, toward Versailles, where the test was to begin. About eleven o'clock all the carriages lined up on the Place d'Armes at Versailles in front of the great château, according to their order of starting, as determined by lot. I verified rapidly all the marks which I had made during the exhibition by means of the stamp with which the Committee had entrusted me. I stamped also all the spare movables carried by the vehicles. Finally, at 12.5 noon, I gave the signals for starting, two minutes apart. This race, favoured by splendid weather, was a success and created much sensation.
Thanks to the co-operation of local authorities, of the Touring Club of France, of the Bicycle Association, and the instructions prepared by M. Varennes, there was not the least accident to any of the riders; all went well. The registration, both at fixed points and moving with the race, worked perfectly; and, on the other hand, the minute verifications of the marks of my stamp showed accurately that the contestants had really accomplished the task 'by their own means.'
M. Levassor returned to Paris, Porte Maillot, June 13, 1895, at 12.57.30, thus accomplishing the formidable course of 732 miles (Versailles-Bordeaux-Versailles-Paris) in 48 hours and 48 minutes. He supervised the machine himself constantly, except when ascending an occasional incline, when the rate of speed was comparatively slow, and then he had entrusted the lever to his mechanic. M. Levassor remained on his machine about fifty-three hours, and nearly forty-nine of these on the run. Yet he did not appear to be over-fatigued; he wrote his signature at the finish with a firm hand; we lunched together at Gillet's, at the Porte Maillot; he was quite calm; he took with great relish a cup of bouillon, a couple of poached eggs, and two glasses of champagne; but he said that racing at night was dangerous, adding that having won he had the
