Mallard

Mallard holds the world speed record for a steam locomotive. On 3 July 1938, it achieved a top speed of 126mph. Its streamlined design, created by Sir Nigel Gresley, was inspired by the work of automobile designer Ettore Bugatti. Designed as an express passenger locomotive, Mallard is streamlined on the outside and inside: internal streamlining helps steam run more smoothly through the system, increasing its efficiency.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the London North Eastern Railway ran competing express routes from London to Scotland. Using fast and elegant locomotives, the rival companies competed for publicity, passengers and speed records. Mallard's speed record has never been beaten by another steam locomotive. And one would be mistaken in thinking that this sleek design came at the expense of its beauty: far from it. Its streamlining gives it a smooth, lustrous appearance.

Here, speed is beautiful, but not all items and events associated with speed may be deemed attractive, unlike our beloved Mallard. For example, we might consider the alacrity with which an otherwise lethargic local Council collects its Rates; the rapidity with which an ignorant policeman will send a street preacher to a cell; the unseemly haste with which under-employed teens drive around Burnley on a Saturday night; or the swiftness of a cancerous cell to grow and multiply. Sometimes, speed is desirable; other times, slowness is preferred. James understands both when he writes:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (1:19).

Such a one is more comely even than Mallard.