paid for the luxury. In the first-class
carriage, with small seats holding only two, it was impossible to lie
down at all, and so I paid it, but this was the first experience I
had of the way Europeans are deceived on the American railroads. When
I paid at New York the difference of third to first as far as New
Orleans, the official well knew, for I told him, I did it to secure
sleeping accommodation, but he took good care not to undeceive me. I
have known the same sort of thing occur again and again. The most
flagrant case I met with I will mention here. I was in Colorado at
the time, and about leaving for England. I wrote to a high official
of the Central Pacific Railway, at Denver, for the rates of through
tickets to New York. He replied that first-class was 48 dollars,
second, I think, 44, and added, the difference was small (which was
quite true), and that an additional advantage obtained by going
first-class was that "it entitled you to sleeping accommodation." (I
can swear to the six words quoted.) "Yankee cuteness" had made me
suspicious by this time, besides I had never known the Pullman beds
included in first-class fare, so I wrote again, and asked if he meant
what his letter said. Driven into a corner he explained what I had
previously known, viz. that only first-class passengers _could_ use
the Pullman, but had to pay extra for it. I wrote back indignantly
and said the statement in his first letter was analogous, and equally
truthful, to the following supposititious case. A meets his friend B
in a town. A points to a jeweller's shop, and tells B he is
"entitled" to anything in it. So he is if he pays for it, and it was
the same with the Pullman car!

We reached New Orleans in due course. It is in latitude 30 deg. while
New York is 41 deg. It is thus much further south, about 1600 miles by
rail. It is not a healthy place, the yellow fever often makes great
ravages, but I heard nothing of it. I was only there one day, so can
say very little about the town. The sun was very powerful and I did
not care to roam. There are many French, and they had imported Cafes
on their national plan, with seats outside. Of course the coloured
race was numerous, and as a consequence the semi-coloured also. Many
ladies and women of this latter class are very handsome; I saw some
beautiful faces among them. The "Yankees" are not in the ascendant so
far south, and as a consequence the habits of the people are more
courteous. The