is a very different thing from the
continual eating indulged in by a certain class of travellers.

We should not sit down beside another without asking if the seat is
engaged. If a person asks to sit beside us, we should assent with
cordiality, not sullenly gather up our bundles, as we often see people
do, impatient at having their selfish ease disturbed. It is polite for a
gentleman to offer a lady the seat next the window.

We ought to have our ticket ready when the conductor comes around, and
not keep him waiting while we hunt for it in bag or pocket.

If a brakeman raises a window or shuts a door for us, we should thank
him; and it is polite to thank the train boy who passes us water. We
need not be ill-natured because he puts a magazine or prize package in
our lap every half-hour. It is not an uncivil thing to do, and it is
just as easy for us to receive it civilly, and say in a pleasant tone
that we do not care for it, as to add one more snappish answer to the
many given him in the course of a day.

We should be watchful of occasions to show politeness to our
fellow-travellers. There may be an old lady not accustomed to
travelling, anxious and uneasy, to whom we can be of use. We can ask
where she is going, and take the burden off her mind by saying, "I will
tell you when we come to it."

A gentlemanly boy will not see a lady trying to open or shut a window or
reverse a seat without offering to do it for her, any more than a
gentleman would.

We should be patient in answering questions, especially from old people.
If we are passing objects of interest with which we are familiar, it is
polite to speak of them to a stranger sitting near. If we were
journeying in the White Mountain region and were well acquainted with
it, a stranger by our side would like to know the names of the different
peaks, and to have the historic Willey House pointed out to him. One
cheerful, obliging person will add to the comfort of the whole company.

If delays occur on the way, and long periods of waiting, as often
happen, we should be patient and cheerful over the matter ourselves, and
thus help others to be so. Good-nature is contagious at such times. It
is of no use to tire the conductor and brakemen with repeated questions:
they are rarely responsible for the delay, which is more vexatious to
them than to us.

Places for refreshment on a journey, with the brief time usually
allowed, afford opportunities to show one's good or