The innocents abroad; . t in, you could not remove a matter of twenty seats fromhim, or enter another car; but above all, if you are worn outand must sleep, you must sit up and do it in naps, withcramped legs and in a torturing misery that leaves you witheredand lifeless the next day—for behold they have not that culmi-nation of all charity and human kindness, a sleeping car, inall France. I prefer the American system. It has not somany grievous discrepancies, In Irance, all is clockwork, all is order. They make no 108 FRENCH POLITENESS, mistakes. Every third man wears a uniform, ,and whetlieT
The innocents abroad; . t in, you could not remove a matter of twenty seats fromhim, or enter another car; but above all, if you are worn outand must sleep, you must sit up and do it in naps, withcramped legs and in a torturing misery that leaves you witheredand lifeless the next day—for behold they have not that culmi-nation of all charity and human kindness, a sleeping car, inall France. I prefer the American system. It has not somany grievous discrepancies, In Irance, all is clockwork, all is order. They make no 108 FRENCH POLITENESS, mistakes. Every third man wears a uniform, ,and whetlieT hebe a Marshal of the Empire or a brakeman, he is ready andperfectly willing to answer all your questions with tirelesspoliteness, ready to tell you which car to take, yea, and readyto go and put you into it to make sure that you shall notgo astray. You can not pass into the waiting-room of thedepot till you have secured your ticket, and you can not passfrom its only exit till the train is at its threshold to receive. RAILROAD OFFICIAL IN FRANCE. you. Once on board, the train will not start till your tickethas been examined—till every passengers ticket has beeninspected. This is chiefly for your own good. If by anypossibility you have managed to take the wrong train, youwill be handed over to a polite official who will take youwhither you belong, and bestow you with many an affablebow. Your ticket will be inspected every now and then alongthe route, and when it is time to change cars you will know are in the hands of officials who zealously study yourwelfare and your interest, instead of turning their talents tothe invention of new methods of discommoding and snubbingyou, as is very often the main employment of that exceedinglyself-satisfied monarch, the railroad conductor of the happiest regulation in French railway governmentj tiiiety minutes fok dinmek! 109 —thirty minutes to dinner! No five-minute boltings offlabby rolls, muddy coifee, questiona
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectvoyagesandtravels
