 Section 4 of Going Abroad, Some Advice. This is a LibriVox recording. While LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Betty B. Going Abroad, Some Advice by Robert Luce. How to Travel Abroad, Part 1 Railway cars abroad are divided by partitions parallel with the end of the car into compartments. Ordinarily, these are entered by doors in the sides of the car. Though now and then, as in some parts of Switzerland, you find a car entered from the end and with an aisle passing through the partitions by means of doors. On a few through trains you may find cars with an aisle running the length of the car on one side from which you step through doors into the compartments. In England, they are slowly making some approach to our American cars. Every train has doors labeled 1, which denotes a first class compartment. Save in England, there are always other doors labeled 2, which denote second class. And save on some of the express trains of the continent, there are still others labeled 3 for third class. In Russia, there are also fourth class compartments. Some of the English roads have done away with second class. Others have reduced their second class fares nearly to the third class level. Furthermore, the third class accommodations in England vary very much. It is therefore hard to generalize on the topic in its relations to travel in Great Britain. But with some reservations, it may be assumed that my remarks on second class compartments apply also to the third class compartments of the through trains, not the local trains of English roads that have no second class. The only important difference between a first and second class compartment is that the first class has ordinarily eight seats to a compartment, four looking front and four back. The second class has ordinarily ten, one more on each side. When all the seats are taken, this is a slight disadvantage against the second class, but that very rarely happens, not once in fifty rides. Indeed, there are seldom more than four people in a first or second class compartment. Or perhaps I would better say it is generally possible to find a compartment if you wish it has not more than two or three occupants. In several months journeying on the continent, two of us had second class compartments to ourselves more than two-thirds of the time and never tipped the guard. That, however, might not be the case on the main lines of travel in July and August. As far as train motion goes, there is not the slightest difference between the compartments. Often the same car will have compartments of all three classes and, of course, each gets the jar and jolt alike. Our Pullmans ride more easily than what we call day coaches, but that is not the case abroad. In cleanliness, some travelers declare that first class compartments superior to the second class, but there is really no difference in Germany, little in England and France, usually little in Italy. One Englishman told me, chakosli, that after much traveling in Germany the only difference he could find between first and second class was that one was upholstered in green and the other in red. In cost, the proportions averaged from fares in many countries are, except for the English lines that have lowered their second class fares, first class $1, second class $0.73, third class $0.52. In other words, speaking in round numbers, first class costs a third more than second, third class a third less than second, and half as much as first. Why then have the English any justification for their proverb that only Americans and fools travel first class, or as they sometimes put it more brutally, only dogs and Americans with the dogs first mind you, simply because there is more false pride in democratic America than in aristocratic Europe? The head of the Cambrian Railroad, a line where the third class corresponds to second class on the continent, stated not long ago that 10 years back the number of passengers carried in the first and second class carriages amounted to about 10% of the entire transportation of his railway system, but that there had been a steady falling off, and in the previous year, the number of first and second class passengers was about 2% of the whole. That shows what Englishmen think of the accommodations mainly chosen by Americans and fools. In England, remember, third class corresponds to second class on the continent and is equivalent to our day coach accommodations. If first class meant the comfort and luxury of our Pullman cars, the circumstances would be far different, but that is not so. A few through trains have various brands of what in their ignorance they deem luxury, but an American sniffs at their quality and is outraged by their enormous cost. Only the very wealthy ever think of paying for them. There are indeed but two logical reasons why an American should travel first rather than second. One is that the second class compartments are the more likely to be crowded, yet I have been in crowded compartments of both classes and as I said above, have easily found solitude the greater part of the time when traveling second class. The other reason is akin to the first, that in a first class compartment you are sure of the best of company if you have any. While in the second class compartment you may have to pass hours with unpleasant people, but as the peasants always go third class and as the smoking compartments naturally take the men traveling alone, this reason seldom has force you have to run the risk of riding with children, possessed of lungs, but even members of the nobility have been known to have children and have been known to journey with them. Englishmen traveling on the continent almost invariably go second class and what is good enough for an English squire or an English clergyman and his family ought to be good enough for most Americans. Nearly all Americans who buy their railroad tickets in advance, who arrange for circular tours or go with personally conducted parties by first class rail tickets. As they get no experience of second class travel mistrust their advice. The wisest thing you can do is to wait till you get there and have seen and tried it or else to do what you will be told to do by 9 out of 10 Americans who have made any stay abroad travel second class. In Great Britain on what the Englishman deems a long journey the third class compartments of express trains are likely to be found satisfactory for such trains are little used by people who would be objectionable traveling companions. Indeed one may like his company in the third class better than in the second since it is not uncommon for the very rich to have their valets and maids travel second. A guard at Liverpool advised me to go to London third rather than second. It should be remembered however that the third class compartments are two trains starting from Liverpool or any other port right after the arrival of a big steamer carrying many steerage passengers are very likely to be crowded with them. On local trains in Great Britain the bulk of the third class travel is of the mixed variety with wars and wars numerous. So for any short journey I should advise the well to do tourist to take second class where it exists or otherwise first class. And I would counsel any tourist who can afford it to shun the miserable dirty third class compartments of the lines running south from London. Third class compartments are often not found on Cotnell express trains and where they are offered an extra charge for the fast travel is customary. The peasants who must of course travel as cheaply as possible generally use the accommodation trains so that tourists who need to economize and without much risk of annoyance go third class on the fast trains. In Germany and Switzerland the third class accommodations are exceptionally good and on the government lines in France they are very fair but on most of the French lines and generally elsewhere on the continent the third class compartments are dirty with wooden benches uncushed and used almost wholly by the peasantry and working people. Many an American who must husband his resources uses them all together and comes home none the worse for it but a woman traveling alone should have strong reasons to induce her to risk their discomforts. Small parties can resort to them better than persons journeying singly or a group of people by tipping the guard can usually keep a compartment to themselves where it would be hard for one or two to accomplish it. The solitary traveler by the use of the tip can usually secure that none but respectable people shall be admitted into the compartment. Only under most unusual circumstances will anyone be obliged to stand where the holder of a ticket is entitled to a seat and if there are more passengers than seats extra cars are added. If all the seats are occupied in a compartment of the class for which you have bought your ticket you are entitled to a seat in a compartment of the next higher grade if it has the seat empty. So if you have a second class ticket and can find no vacant second class seat don't get into a third class compartment but take first class without compunction. An exception to the rule about standing is the Prussian fourth class compartment which no tourist should use except as a last resort. As the peasants travel fourth class in Prussia third class is likely to be less objectionable there than elsewhere so far as companionship goes and is frequently used by the upper classes for even short journeys. Entire compartments can be reserved in advance but on some roads the privilege is restricted to those of the first class. The regulations vary but as a rule tickets must be bought to the number of two less than there are seats in the compartment. For example to reserve a 10 seat compartment of the second class on a government line in France eight tickets must be bought. To reserve a first class compartment on a main line express train of the London and Northwestern four tickets must be taken and the station master at point of departure must be notified in writing two hours in advance at a terminal station a day in advance at an intermediate station. Most travelers will take their chances on securing the desired result by tipping the guard. There are always compartments reserved for women into which no man may penetrate even if such a compartment be empty the guard will eject the man who takes a seat there. Sleeping, dining and smoking sleeping cars are now found on almost all the through lines of Great Britain and the continent. In Great Britain not many journeys are long enough to give occasion for their use. The charge there is not much higher than with us a specimen price being $1.25 from London to Glasgow in addition to the ordinary first class fare. On many of the continental routes the charge is exorbitant. For instance the price from Paris to Marseille a 13 hour run is $9 in addition to the first class fare and that is typical of the French rates. German rates are not so bad the first class charge from Cologne to Berlin for example about nine hours is $2.50 German roads have both first and second class sleeping compartments with little or no difference except in price the second class rate averaging a quarter less than first class the births in European sleeping cars are even more uncomfortable than ours and their cost makes it safe for the well person not pressed for time to lay down the rule never to travel by night if he can possibly help it Dr. Lin says that for invalids he prefers night travel he says that it is better for a person in ill health to get over a journey than to ride all day perhaps on the sunny side of a carriage and arrive tired at night to stop over in a strange hotel his experience is that one is more tired out by stopping over one night on the road than by going through the best way of all for invalids is to take a short day journey and stay from three days to a week at each place distances are seldom so long that night travel cannot be avoided though here and there comes a stretch as between Paris and Switzerland where there is no place at which it is worthwhile to stop over for sightseeing and the day trains do not run conveniently so that a night journey is almost a necessity under such conditions most Europeans get a corner in an ordinary compartment wrap themselves in a traveling rug and doze as best they can pillows and rugs can be hired at many of the large stations for ten cents or so apiece dining cars have come into use abroad much more slowly than with us because journeys there average so much shorter than ours in England the system has of late years been greatly improved and the trunk lines now make a point of their dining facilities in their advertising dining cars are run for each class of passengers the prices on the London and Northwestern may serve as examples table dot breakfast in a first class car seventy five cents second and third sixty two cents luncheon first class sixty two cents second and third fifty cents table dot dinner first class eighty seven cents second and third sixty two cents the refreshments are also served a la carte at buffet charges as by daily bill of fear restaurant and dining cars are also now run on many of the principal day express trains of the continent through trains on long journeys usually make stops long enough for meals and the station restaurants have somewhat better food in service than most of ours but there are very few attractive railroad restaurants anywhere in the world the best traveler prefers to take something with him in the car Europeans recognize the body and all its functions more frankly than do Americans and to eat away from a table is not held to be in such bad taste there as many of our people seem to think it a hamper goes to the races with every party and every excursion becomes a picnic as good water is not always to be had quickly those who are not averse to wine will see that a bottle of it is provided in advance in Germany beer is offered at the car windows at nearly every stopping place sometimes milk sandwiches are usually to be procured for those to whom economy is an object it may not be useless to suggest that when a hotel keeper puts up a luncheon it is commonly poor in quality and rich in price half the money if spent at bake shops and fruit stands will give much more palatable results the English roads have made a notable advance over hours in developing a basket luncheon system they inform their patrons that a basket luncheon will be put on board at any one of several stations the price is 75 cents for a basket properly fitted and containing half a chicken with ham or tongue or a portion of cold beef salad, ice, bread, cheese, butter, etc with either half a bottle of claret, burgundy or hawk two glasses of sherry or a bottle of ale or a stout price without beer or wine 62 cents if a hot luncheon is desired at the same price it can be secured by notifying the guard at a preceding stopping place all trains have compartments for smokers and a woman has no business to enter them unless smoking is not objectionable to her whether if a woman does enter the occupant should see smoking is a question of ethics every man must answer for himself most Europeans would not think of stopping some Americans will stop anyway and few will keep on with unmixed pleasure even though the woman says she does not object other first and second class compartments have notices to the effect that smoking is forbidden but the prohibition is a dead letter unless a woman is in the compartment or unless some man objects in vain were smoking is universal a woman who dislikes it would better travel first class always once in a second class compartment there before daylight six Spanish traveling companions were smoking cigarettes and not a window open yet the solitary Spanish woman in the car seemed not to mind it an atom on another occasion in a first class compartment a stylishly dressed Spaniard entered smoking a cigarette and finding an American woman there asking the most pervious of Castilian manners if she objected to his continuing it she could not speak Spanish but as smoking was not objectionable to her tried to assent by gestures when she put her fingers to her lips he misinterpreted her meaning and taking out his cigarette case offered her a cigarette and seemed surprised that she did not accept railroad is the commoner term in America railway in England the English Guard performs the duties of our conductor and breakman the English driver those of our engineer the English pointsman those of our switch tender we speak of the cars they of the train a depot in England is a freight depot building for passengers is a station or if at the end of the line it may be referred to as the terminus our baggage car is their van our freight train their goods train our accommodation train their parliamentary train they refer to what we call a round-trip ticket as a return and they call a ticket office a booking office the rails are to us a track to them a line they talk a box and bag where we talk of trunk and the lease Bradshaw is the English synonym for timetable the timetable is for a guidebook the continental Bradshaw contains detailed timetables that may be relied upon besides a good deal of useful information and it is well worth trying to find room for it in your bag as with us local timetables in pamphlet form are sold for a pittance that are sometimes very handy it is not wise to trust the hotel porters they are familiar with the times of the through trains most commonly used but for local trains and all unusual trips it is safer to hunt up the facts in the timetables the cars have no stoves and the European has not yet dreamed of heating his cars by steam from the locomotive in winter flattened cylinders of tin or copper filled with hot water or some chemical compound that retains heat on the floors of the compartments and mitigate the cold without really warming the car a rug is an inevitable feature of every Englishman's traveling outfit an American may well take along with him the rug he has used on the steamer employing it as a bundle covering when not needed for warmth but from June to October he can safely dispense with it at any time of year however a rug or shawl a clever way of arranging it is to fasten one corner to the rack above sit on the opposite corner and fold the other two corners around the body this makes a sort of upright hammock that supports the back lessens the vibration and prevents the head of a dozing traveler from dropping on a neighbor's shoulder a few cars have toilet conveniences but they are often accessible only from the outside of the car and they enter when the train is in motion the stops at important stations however are usually long enough to serve in this matter European cities are far ahead of those of America but European railroads are far behind the average speed on the continent at least is less than in the states but in England a few trains have speeds excelling the fastest on most of our roads usually tickets for the through trains are 100% higher than those for accommodation trains but the time saved is worth ten times the extra cost what we should call the limited train from Rome to Naples takes five and one half hours the express six and one quarter and the accommodation eleven hours distance 162 miles trains are more nearly on time than with us once in Germany I took an all day ride there were no changes of cars where it was cross country and the connections were so close that nowhere was there time enough for a luncheon and yet not a train was late in arriving or starting trains in Great Britain, Belgium and Holland run on Greenwich West Europe time in Switzerland Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria and Serbia on mid European time one hour faster than Greenwich Austria and part of Turkey on East European time two hours faster than Greenwich in France the outside station clocks show Paris time but the inside clocks by which the trains are worked are five minutes slower catching a train is a habit almost unknown abroad even the American seldom indulges in it without a protest you get in the way of reaching the station from 15 minutes to half an hour ahead of time there are good reasons for it the earlier you get there the better seat you may find and your ignorance of the language makes it desirable to allow for possible delays in getting your ticket and attending to your baggage on the continent you will frequently see notices that luggage will not be received within 15 or 10 minutes before the train starts but the rule is not rigidly observed on the platform without a ticket an official stands at the door of the waiting room to see that you have it this door is closed before the train starts if by hook or crook you got through after the wheels began to revolve and jumped on the train while it was in motion at the next station you would in Germany at least be ordered off taken before a magistrate and fined trains pass each other on the left so that when there are two tracks as is ordinarily the case the passenger should seek the platform that will bring his destination to the left as he faces the track at the large station there is a bridge over the tracks or a subway under them and it is strenuously prohibited to walk across the road bed trunks and luggage on British railways there is no checking system corresponding to hours a porter takes the trunk and puts the luggage label on it and in due time deposits it in the van if the passenger does not see that the luggage is properly labeled and put in the right van the railways are said not to be responsible if it goes astray on arriving at his destination the passenger goes to the van picks out his luggage and disposes of it as he pleases the American thinks this is a shiftless dangerous way of doing business but as a matter of fact things are rarely lost and one can get his luggage on a cab and start away from the station in the third of the time it takes at any of the big city stations of America on the continent what is virtually a checking system is in use though one gets a slip of paper instead of a brass or card tag and the process is referred to as registering instead of checking English roads have recently adopted a sort of registration system whereby for a fee of 12 cents a package they undertake to collect luggage at the residence and deliver it at any point within the usual cartage distance from the station of destination the passenger ticket must be bought before the luggage is collected and the luggage should be given into custody a day before the passenger intends to journey he desires to make sure that it will arrive as soon as he will the luggage can be sent till called for in which case it will be held at the cloakroom of the station of destination with a left luggage charge of two cents a day if not removed within three days by the way it may be useful to bear in mind that nearly all the stations abroad have parcel or cloak rooms where hand luggage may be left while one sees the town a porter will be glad to take it in charge for a trivial fee luggage can be registered through from America to almost any point in Europe from London to most of the cities on the continent but passengers for Italy can register it only to the frontier where it must be again registered there is usually a free allowance of 56 pounds on luggage registered from London whatever the customary allowance on the lines however which it is to pass every railway station in Europe is provided with porters whose business it is to carry luggage to and from the trains one can go through Europe without ever touching his luggage except to pack and unpack it when the porter opens the car door you are of course at liberty to accept his services or not he is usually important but if you shake your head positively and keep a grip on your things hurry off to find some more willing victim if you let him take your things he expects a fee of what would be four cents in our money as in the case of all fees there is not the slightest reason why you should give more than the usual thing the English roads print an announcement that their servants are strictly prohibited from receiving gratuities and passengers are urgently requested to abstain from giving them money and the servant of the company detected accepting a gratuity will be liable to fine or dismissal nobody ever heard of the rules being enforced and everybody gives just the same but the British traveler complains bitterly of the American folly of giving six pence or shillings instead of tuppence for taking a trunk or box from the cab or bus to the weighing room there is on the continent usually a schedule price five cents that goes to the head porter if you care to give something extra to the man who carries it that is your own lookout you do not have to pay anybody for putting your trunk on or off the cars but you may be very sure that if the baggage smasher knew to whom the trunk belong he too would expect a fee you are allowed to take with you free as much luggage as you can get into the compartment there is a weight limit on hand luggage but I never knew it enforced as to trunks the custom in England is much the same as with us no questions asked unless your trunks are heavy and many in the rare cases when the rule is enforced it permits 112 pounds free to first class passengers 80 to second class and 60 to third class on the continent perhaps three quarters of the roads carry no trunks free in France one is allowed 66 pounds on each ticket only 55 pounds when going to another country so that two persons traveling with one trunk get along without much extra cost the excess costs about two thirds of a cent a mile for each 100 pounds Spanish roads make the same allowance in Italy with no weight free the cost is about seven tenths of a cent a mile for each 100 pounds so that a very heavy trunk or two light trunks may cost as much as a third class passenger ticket in Germany the custom varies Russian roads allowing 66 pounds South German roads charging for all on the Swiss, Belgian, Dutch and Alsatian lines one must pay for every pound of luggage put on the van in Austria and Denmark there is an allowance of 55 pounds in Russia of 36 pounds if you are averse to having railway labels or the advertising labels of hotels hasted on your luggage provide a tag and tell the railway or hotel porter as the case may be that the label is to be put on it in most countries of Europe trunks are safe enough when out of your sight but that is not the case in Italy the train men there seem to have got into the unpleasant habit of spending their time between stations exploring the baggage the last trunk robbery is a staple subject of conversation at Italian hotel tables even the queen had two valuable dresses stolen while going from Venice to Monza one lady lost a precious bracelet set with large Indian diamonds and when the authorities were informed of it they only expressed polite regret that anybody should have had so little delicacy as to steal her jewels the only protection is encoding the trunk besides locking it where they do not hesitate to break locks and in sealing the knots in the cords a leadened seal is preferable but if this is not easily procured sealing wax may suffice usually the porter at the hotel will attend to the sealing when asked instances are known however where seals have been broken and replaced the trunks rifle and no satisfaction obtained from the authorities so that the safest course is to carry jewels on your person so securely stowed away that pickpockets cannot get at them these gentlemen are plentiful in Italy and elsewhere in Europe Augustus J. Hare the guidebook writer while entering a railway carriage in Florence not long ago lost by their dexterity a pocketbook containing nearly $500 and at last accounts though the men had been arrested he had not recovered his money end of section 4 section 5 of going abroad some advice this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Betty B going abroad some advice by Robert Luce how to travel abroad part 2 fares and tickets the cost of railway tickets on the continent is somewhat greater than in our eastern states but smaller than in our west and south on one journey I kept a record of every ticket bought while traveling 2700 miles second class by short stages through 8 countries and I found I had averaged to pay .0266 a mile on the same journey first class fares would have averaged 0364 a mile third class 0.189 on any one road the price per mile is the same whether you travel 5 miles 50 or 500 except in the few regions where the zone system of raids prevails and the ordinary travel does not find those so there's no economy of money in buying through tickets unless you are sure that you will take at a stretch the whole of any given journey buy your ticket only to the place where you may want to stop off fares in Great Britain are on the whole somewhat higher than those of the continent the average of a dozen trips aggregating 787 miles figures out very close to 4 cents for first class 2.5 for second 2 cents for third price of tickets is printed on the timetables hung up in the stations and in the timetable books that are issued for each road or region and sold at a small price on all the railway newsstands they are handy things to have these books also print the lists of excursion tickets offered by the various roads for what are called circular tours they are numerous attractive and cheap saving the traveler from 10 to 50 percent if he can matches plans to them these tickets are what cook and son they have their advantages and their disadvantages the agent does not sell you the ticket any cheaper than you can buy it from the railroad but he talks English and can explain and discuss routes with you the tourists agencies now operating in Europe are honorably conducted and are a great help to a large part of the traveling public their representatives are almost invariably courteous gentlemen glad to be of service to any person whether a patron or not as it is for their interest that all the inconveniences and uncertainties of travel shall be lessened as far as possible I am sure they will have no criticism to make on a frank and clear statement of what they can and cannot do in this matter of railway tickets as in whatever other matters may come up it may be further said then that an excursion ticket is of advantage to anyone with definite plan not likely to be altered it is desirable for anyone who knows little or nothing of the language of the country through which he is to travel it avoids the chance of loss through the mistakes sometimes intentional of railway station ticket sellers it lessens the amount of money to be carried and the loss in changing money from one currency to another in some cases it secures the services of honest interpreters at railway stations on the other hand it restricts you to a route chosen in advance leaving no chance to act on the advice of tourists you may meet on the road where you might have had your choice of rail or boat if buying tickets as you went along it compels a mode of travel that the weather may not suit once started it may or may not permit option between first second and third class it takes you from one country into another it is sold at the face value of the currency of the country into which you are going and not at it's depreciated value for instance a circular tour ticket bought at Paris to cover part of Italy or a through ticket from Paris to Rome will be sold on the assumption that the Italian unit the Lyra is worth the same as the French unit the Frank but the Lyra is a paper depreciated value so that 10% or so is lost in paying for it on the Frank basis likewise the Spanish Peseta is depreciated and a circular tour ticket for southern Spain bought in Gibraltar and paid for on the basis of the pound Sterling costs much more than the same fares paid for at the Spanish ticket offices by reason of what can be made in exchanging English pounds the conditions attached to the use of circular tour tickets must be thoroughly understood and literally followed the ticket must be stamped at every place where you stop off if you forget this or deviate at all from the route or try to reverse the direction or omit part of the route without proper stamping you will get into trouble two classes of tickets are offered one for routes arranged by the railway company the other arranged to suit the wants of the individual traveler ready made and custom made as it were the ready made variety can be had at little or no notice but it may take two days to put the custom made together the ready made are usually the less hampered by conditions and restrictions but are seldom issued to third class passengers the custom made are usually issued for all three classes a time limit is attached and sometimes the tickets allow only hand luggage roundtrip or return tickets at a reduced price are the common thing abroad so the tourist in making trips out and back would better always inquire the price of both the single and return tickets Switzerland where the railways are under government control has introduced a novel form of excursion ticket something after the style of the annual pass that too many Americans carry the Swiss plan is to sell a ticket for a specified number of days on any line in the country except the inclined railways that run up the mountain sides the buyer's photograph must be attached to the ticket it means a considerable saving to anyone who plans to go about the country much in a limited time Italy has imposed a tax on all railway tickets that increases the published price by about 10% as this is not printed on the ticket the uninformed traveler may think that the ticket seller has given him the wrong change the ticket seller is supposed to write the correct price on the back of the ticket but this is not always done the tax may not be permanent and perhaps it will have been removed before this is read children travel free up to the age of 3 years throughout the greater part of the continent in Austria and Switzerland up to 2 years in Norway and Sweden this is charged between 3 and 12 in Austria and Switzerland between 2 and 10 in Germany, 2 children under 10 travel on one ticket a single child pays 3rd class fare to travel 2nd 2nd class to travel 1st in Belgium, 3 quarters fare is charged for children from 3 to 8 in France, half fare from 3 to 7 in Great Britain it is half fare from 3 to 12 inclusive when buying a ticket for a child it is always advisable to let the ticket seller see the child in Scandinavia, the odd custom prevails of letting a man and his wife father and son or teacher and pupil travel for a fare and a half by boat American travelers making the customary tours are seldom brought in contact with the fact that regular lines of coasting steamers are exceedingly numerous abroad yet occasionally it may be desirable to utilize them either for the sake of economy or for motives of comfort if sea travel is agreeable for instance, one who has gone north from London may want to reach Holland or Belgium or France more cheaply than by traversing England again in the cars or as easily as a steamboat permits lists of all these coastlines may be found in Cook's continental sold for a shilling at any of Cook's offices the boat service on the west coast of Scotland is particularly excellent steamers reach the Isle of Man from every direction excursions are advertised all through the summer from Liverpool down the Welsh coast and others may be found all along the channel and from the resorts on the east coast American tourists ordinarily reach Scandinavian ports by crossing the North Sea from England a steamer leaves haul every Thursday about noon for Bergen, Allesund Christensen, Drontheim Trontheim and Stavanger every Friday for Christiana and Copenhagen every Saturday for Copenhager, Gothenburg Hongo, Stockholm and St. Petersburg from Newcastle a steamer leaves for Bergen every Thursday at 6pm calling it Stavanger Trontheim a steamer leaves every Tuesday at 6pm calling it Bergen Allesund Christensen etc these boats from Newcastle also run in connection with Scandinavian coast steamship lines which latter touch at the principal points on the Norwegian coast from Grimsby a steamer leaves every Wednesday midnight for Gothenburg 40 hours and every Tuesday evening for Homo and Helsingborg 60 hours also every Monday and Thursday evening for Ebb's Jerk 30 hours from Harwich a steamer leaves for Ebb's Jerk every Monday, Thursday and Saturday in connection with the 7.15pm Great Eastern Railway train from London there is also a sailing every Friday and Saturday from Granton, Scotland to Scandinavian ports and from Grangemouth, Scotland for Norwegian ports and from Leith, Scotland there is a sailing every Thursday to Scandinavian ports and to Continental ports every Wednesday and Saturday first class tickets come much nearer being necessary on European steamboats than on European railways as a rule the best accommodations on the boats are none too good the best known boats those crossing the English Channel would not be tolerated on lines in America they draw only 6 or 7 feet of water which is one reason why they are so sure to make passengers seasick when the water is the least bit rough but don't think that inevitable I have crossed the channel when from one side to the other we could not see anything that properly could be called a wave then again on a bright afternoon with the wind far from a gale I have seen waves drench passengers on the upper deck the channel may be spoiled by spray should wear a waterproof or else get a seat in one of the deck shelters if she does not care to go below and the water is rough I noticed that the English tourist experienced in crossing the channel took pains as soon as he got on board to preempt one of those shelter seats by putting his hand luggage in it many apprehensive women lie down as soon as they board a channel steamer so much as the channel crossing dreaded that the quickest passage from Dover to Calais has always been preferred and the fares from London to Paris are half as much again as by the New Haven deep root which has about three times as much water to cross in pleasant summer weather however the traveler not uncommonly susceptible to seasickness may well save his money by taking the longer route particularly if he enjoys boat travel it may be indeed that he will run less risk of nausea or the tide's run swiftest and the channel is most choppy where it is most narrow we found the day crossing from South Hampton to the channel islands as pleasant as any boat trip abroad but we were fortunate in weather there being less motion than one frequently finds between Boston and Provincetown and Portland in mid summer I wonder that more of the leisurely tourists do not reach Paris by this route which is but a trifle more expensive in the matter of fares and touches many points superior in interest to those on the routes more patronized first there is the Isle of Wight reached from South Hampton in an hour an epitome of rural England with charming drives and attractive shores then there are the Isles of Guernsey and Jersey which the hasty traveler can do in a day each with another day for the still more enjoyable island of Sark if he has time for it from Jersey he may reach the mainland at Granville a typical bathing resort and then go to Avronche perched on a gigantic hill or he may reach the continent at Saint Molo a city crowded on a fortified rock hemmed in by lofty ramparts quaint and medieval a few miles away is Concal where one thinks the fishermen and the fisher women have just stepped out of their frames in a gallery of modern art Midway, Concal and Avronche is Mont Saint Michel to my mind the most picturesque spot in Europe direct it is but a little farther from Paris than is Calais and a slight detour will let one reach the capital by way of Vitre which I would write next to Nuremberg in the list of curious continental towns of my acquaintance bending the route still farther south may easily bring in the valley of the Loire the Garden of France with its famous chateau but my enthusiasm for Brittany and Touraine makes me wander from the topic to return to the more prosaic details of boat travel let me suggest that when buying tickets from London to any place on the continent you can combine second class rail tickets with first class boat tickets and it is wise to do so in crossing the Holland or Belgium by night the fare entitles you to a berth without extra charge but state rooms are not sold as with us if you ask for one in time it will be reserved for you without charge and I remember the London agent surprised me by telegraphing for it at the expense of the company not mine on river and lake boats before you get your ticket the boat are allotted to first and second class passengers respectively for an all day ride such as that on the Rhine the freedom of the whole boat given by a first class ticket is in any event desirable on the lake of Thune the second class accommodations are for sightseeing and pleasure much superior to those allotted the first class passengers who usually crowd forward into the second class seats in spite of their tickets on the lake of Briennes only a mile or so away the second class accommodations are miserable on Lake Geneva it costs $1.50 to go from end to end of the lake first class 60 cents second class and in pleasant weather the second class seats are better being ahead of the smokestack and giving the finer views imagine an American steamboat company charging two and a half times as much to sit behind the smokestack as in front of it yet there are Americans and plenty of them who when abroad will pay the extra money for the worst places simply because of the label where there are both rail and boat routes as on the Rhine and Lake Geneva if time is limited it is usually unwise to buy tickets in advance as a wet day may make the cars more desirable or a hot day may make the boat the more comfortable or you may want to accompany friends if you have arranged to go by the route other than that by which your ticket would take you often tickets are issued that are good by either cars or boat but boat fares are cheaper and it is just as well to wait till you get there the meals served on European boats are usually tolerable and not excessive in cost on the long North Cape trip some delicacies may well be carried along to give variety to the bill of fare a boat excursion on the Thames is coming to be a popular feature of an American outing in England after a taste of it I cannot praise it too warmly to have taken the whole trip from Oxford down to Hampton would have been preferable but two days sufficed to give us the best part of it two of us hired a boat at Windsor for two days for $2.50 after some haggling the prices are flexible we rode up past Maiden Head and took them and back had we come out from London by train Maiden Head would have been the best place to get the boat we went through several locks crowded with a variety of pleasure craft and we saw house boats innumerable and some of the most beautiful estates in England nowhere can the outsider get a better idea or a nearer view of that interesting genus the English aristocrat after taking it you will conclude that there are prettier girls and jollier people than he is supposed well in the land of the Britons boats to make the trip to London can be hired at Oxford for from $7.30 or a canoe or whiff plenty large enough for two people up to $30 for a large four-oared shellop this covers the use of the boat for a week and the taking it back from London steam or electric launches can be hired almost anywhere along the river for from $10 a day up a small passenger steamer makes the trip from Oxford to Kingston 92 miles in two days staying for the night at Henley also there are regular boats from Richmond to Chertsey and back in frequent excursion steamers hunting is the favorable thing with the people who tarry along the river the punt is a flat bottom boat propelled by poles where the river is shallow enough for this anyone familiar with canoeing on the streams of American forests could at once take to punting but most tourists are likely to find ores good enough they will certainly suffice to put a blister or two on hands out of practice villages abound along the river with excellent hotels on the bank and others that are comfortable enough and less expensive somewhat back from the shore the tourists may send his trunks on from Oxford to London his hand luggage and travelling garb find himself sufficiently equipped for this river trip though of course he will be more comfortable in boating flannels women will feel less conspicuous if they can wear something more dainty than the travelling gown where they will find their English sisters stylishly dressed when on the river the tourists need row no farther down the river than he chooses sending the boat back from any village if he tires of rowing plenty can be hired to pull a tow line the canoeing enthusiast can find on the continent longer and more adventurous trips than on the Thames let him take steamer to Antwerp, Rotterdam Homburg or Bremen send his canoe by fast freight to the railway station nearest the headwaters of the stream he selects and then launch his craft toward the Black Sea, the Baltic, the Adriatic or the Mediterranean as his taste may lie he need take with him outside his personal equipment nothing save what appertains to his canoe or he can get on the spot cooking utensils and all food supplies I have heard a canoe trip down the Rhine particularly commended by the Hickel steam has driven the coach and the diligence off nearly all the main routes of travel but in Norway, Scotland and Switzerland several of the most delightful and almost indispensable trips are still to be made behind horses the roads of Norway are justly famous they are built by the national government and are the chief means of communication as the country is too mountainous for many railroads the posting rates are fixed by the government and one need have no fear of overcharging on the part of the drivers the ends are fairly comfortable and the charges are low so that while the tourist agency tickets they are by no means a necessity the tourist agency people are allowed to charge no more than the government prices for carriages and when they get their profits by taking a percentage from the payments to the drivers on the presentation of the carriage tickets the drivers are not happy therefore the man who pays as he goes may get the more cheerful treatment but as usual the tickets are more satisfactory to the man who prefers to put his reliance on a powerful tourist organization rather than to invite individual responsibilities in the Scotch Highlands there is keen competition for places on the box seats of the coaches so that on reaching a place where the journey is to be continued by coach one of the parties should hurry to secure the coveted places remember that the first coach has the least dust the driver expects a gratuity of from 12 to 36 cents according to the length of the drive the Swiss coaching system is under government control and well managed each diligence contains a coupe or first class compartment just behind the driver with seats for three persons the interior or second class compartment with from four to six seats in the body of the vehicle and the banquette an elevated seat at the rear with room for two places in the coupe and the banquette cost a third more than in the interior and are well worth it on ordinary routes interior places cost about five cents a mile on the alpine passes about eight cents coupe or banquette places a little more than six cents a mile on ordinary routes between nine and ten cents a mile in the passes none of the routes are very long though as the speed is slow it takes from half a day to a day to get from hotel to hotel places can be secured in advance by writing or telegraphing to the bureau day post at the place where the diligence starts and on all popular routes if a coupe or banquette place is wanted the earlier this is done the better at all important stations the diligence people are required to furnish transportation so that if the diligence is full supplementary vehicles are provided sometimes the passenger who has not written ahead really gets a better place in the supplementary carriage but that is a matter of luck where tourist company vehicles are used as occasionally in Switzerland the coaches are simply large wagons and it is of no use to ask for places in advance the first man to reach the wagon gets the best seat a carriage can be hired at the bureau day post the charge in Switzerland being about sixteen cents a mile for each horse with a carriage holding from two to five persons besides a small booking fee private posting is prohibited but private carriages can be had for the Italian passes and they are far more comfortable nor are they always costly after taking a party over they must get back and their owners would rather carry somebody at a low price than return empty often you can get a return carriage at the same price diligence places would cost sometimes at less cost if you bargain shrewdly don't forget that everybody dickers everywhere in Europe here is another place where tickets bought in advance sometimes cause regret boat seats should not be bought either in America or England as only interior tickets can be secured in either country and nobody will ride in the interiors if he can afford to go in coupe or banquette not so much because they are less comfortable though they are apt to be crowded to miss many of the views if money is a slight account no more delightful trip can be made than one of many days duration by private carriage through the Swiss valleys and passes in England the arranging of coaching tours has become a matter of business and it may be worthwhile to examine the descriptive circulars about them the Isle of Wight is admirably seen by coach in the cities the cab and omnibus play a much more important part than on this side of the water cab hire is ridiculously cheap on the continent and all well to do people natives as well as foreigners make habitual use of the cab the prescribed rates are to be found on a card in every vehicle and therefore no advance bargain is necessary so long as you keep inside the city limits but plan an excursion into the country and a bargain in advance should always be made the charges almost invariably according to the nature of the vehicle or the distance traveled not in proportion to the number of occupants two people and often three can write as cheap as one person but since four or more people require a larger cab or two horses there is a larger fee it is the invariable custom to feed the driver five cents being the average tip on short drives in Naples where the regulations let the drivers charge only 14 cents to go anywhere in the city limits a lira 20 cents would usually be given to the driver but if you gave him only 16 to 18 cents he would not seriously demure throughout most of Europe you may reckon on giving 20 to 30 cents for a cab fare with four or five cents as poor of war extra cautious people make a memorandum of the number of the cab as they enter it and pursue the same practice in the matter of railway guards and wherever opportunity presents we're jotting down a number that may aid to the recovery of any lost article or the settlement of any dispute the bother of it will keep most people from getting into the habit and yet it is not wholly useless I was told of one amusing case where it saved serious annoyance the owner of a set of false teeth had occasion to remove them in his mouth and lay them on the cushion of a railway compartment where they remained when he left the car fortunately the head of the party had taken down a number and was able to telegraph for the teeth recovering them in a few hours it seems absurd that anybody should leave false teeth strewn about in a place of that sort but people will do such things all hotels of consequence except in the largest cities have omnibuses at the railway stations and omnibuses go from the hotels to connect with the leading trains two people can always go between hotel and station in a cab by themselves as cheap as they can go in the bus often cheaper with more comfort and speed as well as a valuable saving of time where the bus usually starts from the hotel half an hour earlier than the tourist taking a cab would have to leave so none but the timid helpless or solitary traveler will ever take the hotel bus hand luggage anything you can get inside the cab or bus goes free trunks are charged for a small amount for each if you let the polite and accommodating driver take your bag or bundle on his seat you will have his urbanity explained at the end of the drive by an extra charge for it as usual always keep hold of the handle of your luggage if you don't care to pay somebody for touching it but if you object to lugging things or having the strength or don't mind having little outlays count up you may always save your arms or your dignity by having somebody else do the carrying cab drivers are obliged to take trunks to a reasonable number of course but are not expected either to load or unload them I remember an embarrassing situation in Paris when on our arriving at a pension nobody chanced to be there equal to handling a trunk the ordinance forbade the driver to leave his cab and he was too surly to break the rule anyway there was nothing to be done except hail the first passing workman and for carrying the trunk up one flight he demanded as much as it had cost to get it from the station and several times over again the trunk was anathematized for ordinary excursions where there is no printed tariff prescribed by the authorities Fedekar usually tells correctly the amount you should pay once in a while though you must make a bargain without help or advice from anybody in such a case don't ask or take the opinion of a hotel employee he has his countrymen's interests at heart more than yours and will help him to fleece you make up your mind what would be a fair price for the service offer and stick to it in case of a dispute with a cab driver or in any public conveyance go at once to the nearest police station and lodge a complaint if you neglect this the other party to the dispute may get there first and make charges that will cause you serious annoyance before your side of the case is heard one instance has told of a traveler who had her jewels attached because she failed to proceed at once who explained to the authorities some dispute in which she was involved if a cab man gets disagreeable tell him to drive you to the police station if he knows he is in the wrong that will settle it he will not take you there Europe has nothing corresponding to our livery stables where you can hire a horse and carriage alone without a driver the tourist is always driven he never drives it is not easy to hire a saddle horse automobiles have already come into use in Paris they have had purposes at rates not exorbitant the London company formed to put them to the same use had trouble in finding trustworthy men acquainted with the city but I presume they will be in service in 1900 France was the first country to see them commonly employed for touring purposes it has an automobile touring club that is large and prosperous and one finds the vehicles whizzing and scorching over the highways of all the country petroleum is the almost universal fuel in Paris one can hire an automobile for an hour a day or a tour but the cost confines the sport to the wealthy the ordinary tourist is not likely to indulge in it as long as to buy one makes a thousand dollar bill vanish on foot the conditions of pedestrian travel have not changed materially since Bayard Taylor Road views a foot from no better authority to see Europe thus he says requires little preparation if the travelers willing to forego some of the refinements of living to which he may have been accustomed for the sake of the new and interesting fields of observation that will be open to him he must be content to sleep on hard beds and partake of course fair to undergo rudeness of times from the officers of the police and the porters of palaces and galleries or to travel for hours in rain and storm without finding shelter the knapsack will at first be heavy on the shoulders the feet will be sore and the limbs weary with the day's walk and sometimes the spirit will begin to flag under the general fatigue of body this however soon passes over in a week's time if the pedestrian does not attempt too much on setting out his limbs are stronger and his gate more firm and vigorous he lies down at night with a feeling of refreshing rest sleeps with the soundest undisturbed by a single dream that seems almost like death if he has been accustomed to restless nights and rises invigorated in heart and frame for the next day's journey the coarse black bread of the peasant ends with cheese no less coarse and a huge jug of milk or the nourishing beer of Germany have a relish to his keen appetite which excites his own astonishment and if he is willing to regard all in civility and attempts at imposition as valuable lessons in the study of human nature and to keep his temper and cheerfulness in any situation which may try him he is prepared to walk through the whole of Europe with more real pleasure to himself and far more profit than if he journeyed in style and enjoyed the constant services of couriers and valets to plus should his means become unusually scant you will find it possible to travel on an amazingly small pittance and with more actual bodily comfort than would seem possible to one who has not tried it Mr. Taylor says he was more than once obliged to walk a number of days in succession on less than a franken day and found that the only drawback to his enjoyment was the fear he might be without relief when this allowance should be exhausted he made $500 last for two years including the cost of coming and going such a tour can certainly be made for an average of a dollar a day without any heroic self-sacrifice but Mr. Taylor declared at his belief just as I shall maintain in the matter of housekeeping abroad that with few exceptions throughout Europe where a traveler enjoys the same comfort and abundance as in America he must pay the same prices the principal difference is that he only pays for what he gets so that if he be content with the necessities of life the expense is in proportion it is best to take no more clothing than is absolutely required as the traveler will not desire to carry more than 15 pounds on his back knapsack included a single suit of good dark cloth the supply of linen will be amply sufficient the straw linen blouse confined by a leather belt will protect it from the dust and when this is thrown aside on entering a city the traveler makes a very respectable appearance the slouched hat of finely woven felt is a delightful covering to the head serving at the same time as umbrella or nightcap traveling dress or visiting costume no one should neglect a good cane of companionship is equal to from 3 to 5 miles a day in the Alps the tall staves pointed with iron Alpenstocks can be bought for Frank apiece and are of great assistance in crossing ice fields or sustaining the weight of the body in descending steep and difficult places an umbrella is inconvenient unless it is short and may be snapped on the knapsack but even then an ample cape of oiled silk or rubber cloth is far preferable a small bottle of the best cognac is useful for bathing the feet morning and evening during the first week or two or as long as they continue tender with the exercise it is also very strengthening and refreshing to use as an external stimulant when the body is unusually weary with the long days walking Lee Merriweather in his book A Tramp Trip how to see Europe on 50 cents a day argues for the rubber coat it is serviceable he says not only against rain but also cold the ground may be damp but spread out your rubber coat lay your head on your knapsack and you are independent of chill and dampness I've often slept thus on the roadside even during the rain the rubber coat should be bought in America I had to pay in Naples four dollars and a half for an indifferent article that in New York cost three dollars Mr. Merriweather thinks that absolutely indispensable articles for the pedestrian besides the rubber coat are two suits of under clothing an extra flannel shirt a pocket drinking cup a compass and a map of the country to be visited new articles can always be bought when needed expense says Mr. Merriweather depends on the willingness of the pedestrian to economize a four and a half months trip through Italy need not cost above a hundred dollars including steamship passage from and to New York the price of a roundtrip ticket steerage New York to Naples and back is fifty dollars time consumed in making the roundtrip is six weeks on the remaining fifty dollars the pedestrian can as I have shown the very comfortably for a hundred days he shows that without any walking they then the city's a year's trip embracing every land from Gibraltar to the Bosporus can be made for three hundred twenty dollars the college man whom I have quoted in the matter of crossing on a cattle steamer saw much of England afoot he tells me that it was easy by inquiry to learn of long stretches of dull country to avoid rooms of the YMCA are in about every good sized town and members of that organization would often go to great pains to serve him in matters of information non conformist pastors too were very kind in this regard and shopkeepers were helpful he advises the pedestrian to avoid all sorts of officials a varying particularly that English policemen are deaf, dumb and blind I think he could not have meant to include those of London who are proverbially courteous and efficient as to the living he says that nobody who survives the food of a cattle steamer will not complain and that the meanest in chamber will not make him regret the foxical and its occupants at ends where the hucksters and traveling laborers resort he was able to secure a bed for from eight to twenty four cents the usual thing being twelve cents in these one can find pots pans and dishes with which to prepare food many a time he and his companions left a pot containing pieces of mutton or beef pot herbs potatoes and turnips simmering on the back of some big range while they tramp the surrounding country nobody ever interfered with it in fact it might boil over and not a Britain would touch it in such ends one may buy a sense worth of tea and for two cents two substantial slices of bread the tea will often be surprisingly good you brew it in one of the pots hanging behind the range one gets the use of knives forks and spoons by making a deposit usually a four cents in most butcher shops one can get four from six to twelve cents a pound of meat that has been cut from roasts trimmers while steaks and chops will soar above you at from twenty to forty cents a pound by the way he says get the shopkeepers lingo or he will annex your finances very rapidly salt pickled herring called bloaters may be toasted before the open stove front till they simmer they are most toothsome one will avoid the sweet cakes meat pasties etc that are displayed they are all very bad should one not know how to do the simplest cooking or feel too lazy to attempt it cold meats are usually on sale a six eight or twelve cent plate of ham or roast scaled as to quantity can usually be had in london the traveler who would live at least possible cost may resort for instance to the victoria in whitechapel road east end an establishment something like the mills hotels in new york there the price of beds is from eight to twelve cents a night though most of the guests are dirty the place itself is surprisingly clean in the basement are set tubs and large ranges with pots, pans etc for the use of the guests food may be bought in the place and fish and meat stalls are plentiful in the neighborhood near this house which is the best of its kind are several others at like prices both in london and in the country towns these places are preferable to boarding houses for the man who must make every cent do its most make friends to the extent of your ability says my friend john bowl won't intrude him and humor him and he will do anything he can to help is american housing alone alvin f. sandborn in writing of cheap tramping in switzerland says that the swiss landlord knows just two kinds of people in this big round world natives and rich tourists the latter being created especially for the benefit of the former under these circumstances the only hope of cheap comfort lies in being classed as a native and to that end the campaign must be directed in all villages of any size there are one or more public resorts social centers for the burgers and feeding places for the neighboring peasants called cafe restaurants institutions strictly local and aboriginal white or almost tourist in violating their meals cost less than half the hotel price and if somewhat less elaborate are equally exclusive and rather better adapted to the vigorous exertions of mountain pedestrianism whether a bargain is made or not a luncheon will ordinarily be supplied for a frank and a dinner for one frank fifty wine included in both cases and no gratuities expected still it is safer to agree upon the price and elements of the meal with the proprietor beforehand that walking tours with ease and propriety is shown by the reports of many in late years particularly in Scotland the English Lake District Wales Germany and Switzerland a summer in England the manual issued by the women's rest tour association says that the outfit for walking tour should include a light woolen north jacket or pleated waist with leather belt a skirt rather shorter than the ordinary to be made still shorter on occasion by the use of large safety pins a soft dark felt hat or Tamashanter an easy walking boots or what English women generally choose low shoes and gaiters in Switzerland the boots must be furnished with nails for climbing a divided skirt grey mohair or some lightweight stuff should be the only petticoat worn and the combination under suit is preferably of silk or lightweight wool stockings should be a fine one to prevent blisters and the gloves shammy or be a rinse the pack consists of a light waterproof roll very small and a knapsack one 12 inches wide 11 high and three across has been proved a convenient size this will contain the necessary toilet articles a second suit of underwear an extra pair of stockings and gloves and a drinking cup articles for general use such as Vaseline thread and needles safety pins postal cards a whisk broom a map of the neighborhood guidebook soap and a package of sweet chocolate may be distributed among the members of the party the knapsack when filled should not and need not weigh four pounds in place of the knapsack some pedestrians recommend a pouch suspended by a strap from the shoulder the weight can then be from time to time to reduce weight it is well to cut out the section a betaker to be used during the trip a harness maker will provide the belt with strong hooks such as are often used by members of the Appalachian club to which a sketchbook flower press drinking cup waterproof and other portable property may be attached arrange your outfit before you leave America it has been found difficult to obtain just the right sort of knapsack but an umbrella is a luxury rather than a necessity pedestrians or for that matter bicyclists or any other tourists who undertake severe physical exertion may find it an excuse for favoring what in homely phrase is known as a sweet tooth or if the scientific men are right a longing for sweets may be very far from a sign of a feminancy investigation at the instance of the Prussian war office has shown that after a large quantity of muscular effort a comparatively small quantity of sugar produces an invigorating effect worth regarding the theory is that the muscular effort makes the blood poor in sugar this may explain why on alpine excursions a desire develops for candy and sweetened food and why guides eagerly appropriate any leftover sugar end of section 5