slate. When he had in this way applied to all the new comers, he went to
the office and provided himself with the proper number of tickets for
each place, and then went round again to distribute them. In going
around thus a second time, to distribute the tickets, he took a cash box
with him to make change. This cash box was slung before him by means of
a strap about the neck.

"How much more polite and agreeable a mode this is of collecting the
fares," said Mrs. Holiday to her husband, "than ours in America! There a
boy comes around, dinging a bell in every body's ears, and then the
gentlemen have to go in a crowd and elbow their way up to the window of
the captain's office. I wish we could have some of these polite and
agreeable customs introduced into our country."

"They are very agreeable," said Mr. Holiday, "and are very suitable for
pleasure travel like this, where the boats are small, and the number of
passengers few; but I presume it would be very difficult to collect the
fares in this way on a North River steamer, where there are sometimes a
thousand passengers on board. Here there are usually not more than eight
or ten passengers that come on board at a time, and they mix with only
fifty or sixty that were on board before. But in America we often have
fifty or sixty come on board at a time, and they mix with eight hundred
or a thousand. In such a case as that I think that this plan would be
well nigh impracticable."

"I did not think of that," said Mrs. Holiday.

"The difference between the circumstances of the case in Europe and in
America is very often not thought of by travellers who find themselves
wishing that the European customs in respect to travelling and the
hotels could be introduced into our country. In Europe the number of
travellers is comparatively small, and a very large proportion of those
who make journeys go for pleasure. The arrangements can all,
consequently, be made to save them trouble, and to make the journey
agreeable to them; and the price is increased accordingly. In America,
people travel on business, and they go in immense numbers. Their main
object is, to be taken safely and expeditiously to the end of their
journey, and at as little expense as possible. The arrangements of the
conveyances and of the hotels are all made accordingly. The consequence
is, a vast difference in the expense of travelling, and a corresponding
difference, of course, to some extent, in ease and comfor