Throughout
Europe, you may be sure of clean beds and tables, no matter how
uninviting the premises appear.
One half the cost of travel, and one's temper besides, may be saved by
going in third-class carriages. On the Continent the second-class ones
are as luxurious as the first, and are preferred by tourists generally.
But, except in having no cushions, the third class will prove
comfortable enough; the chance for seeing the country is rather better.
Here the people of the country are met--chiefly the poorer class--very
decent in appearance, however, and invariably respectful and kind in
their manners. A large number of monks and nuns will be found here, also
well-dressed ladies, who feel more protected than in the superior class
of carriages. In the latter, indeed, one is exposed to various
annoyances escaped in third-class carriages. The tourists, who abound,
are often insolent and encroaching. A burly Englishman or stolid German
will not hesitate to turn a timid lady out of her seat; and if ladies
have no gentlemen with them, they may be insulted by rude staring or
scornful looks from women provided with escorts or a little more finely
dressed. All these causes of disturbance are escaped among the third
class, where the utmost deference is always shown to strangers.
In Great Britain, where Mrs. Grundy reigns with absolute sway, there is
a prejudice against the inferior classes of railway carriages, partially
overcome among the middle people of late, as far as the _second_ class
is concerned; they dare not go in the third.
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