The Project Gutenberg eBook ofRollo in SwitzerlandThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Rollo in SwitzerlandAuthor: Jacob AbbottRelease date: August 23, 2007 [eBook #22377]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by D. Alexander, Janet Blenkinship and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Rollo in SwitzerlandAuthor: Jacob AbbottRelease date: August 23, 2007 [eBook #22377]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by D. Alexander, Janet Blenkinship and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)
Title: Rollo in Switzerland
Author: Jacob Abbott
Author: Jacob Abbott
Release date: August 23, 2007 [eBook #22377]
Language: English
Credits: Produced by D. Alexander, Janet Blenkinship and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND ***
NEW YORK:SHELDON & CO., 667 BROADWAY,and 214 & 216 MERCER ST.,Grand Central Hotel.1873.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, byJACOB ABBOTT,In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE.ORDER OF THE VOLUMES.ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.ROLLO IN PARIS.ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND.ROLLO IN LONDON.ROLLO ON THE RHINE.ROLLO IN SCOTLAND.ROLLO IN GENEVA.ROLLO IN HOLLAND.
ORDER OF THE VOLUMES.ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.ROLLO IN PARIS.ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND.ROLLO IN LONDON.ROLLO ON THE RHINE.ROLLO IN SCOTLAND.ROLLO IN GENEVA.ROLLO IN HOLLAND.
Rollo; twelve years of age.Mr.andMrs. Holiday; Rollo's father and mother, travelling in Europe.Thanny; Rollo's younger brother.Jane; Rollo's cousin, adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Holiday.Mr. George; a young gentleman, Rollo's uncle.
CHAPTERPAGEI.—Getting a Passport,11II.—Crossing the Frontier,31III.—Basle,49IV.—The Diligence,60V.—Ride to Berne,72VI.The Valley of the Aar,85VII.—Interlachen,101VIII.—Lauterbrunnen,118IX.—The Wengern Alp,136X.—Going down the Mountain,168XI.—Glaciers,181XII.—Rollo a Courier,196XIII.—Conclusion,220
Mont Blanc,Frontispiece.The Cottage,10The Prefecture of Police,25In the Cab,40The Diligence at the Office,77The Diligence on the Road,81The Lake Shore,97Vicinity of Interlachen,100The Mountain Girl,147The Fall,173The Crevasse,182The Narrow Path,189Ascent of Mont Blanc,193
THE COTTAGE.THE COTTAGE.See page81
The last day that Rollo spent in Paris, before he set out on his journey into Switzerland, he had an opportunity to acquire, by actual experience, some knowledge of the nature of the passport system.
Before commencing the narrative of the adventures which he met with, it is necessary to premise that no person can travel among the different states and kingdoms on the continent of Europe without what is called a passport. The idea which prevails among all the governments of the continent is, that the people of each country are the subjects of the sovereign reigning there, and in some sense belong to him. They cannot leave their country without the written permission of the government, norcan they enter any other one without showing this permission and having it approved and stamped by the proper officers of the country to which they wish to go. There are, for example, at Paris ministers of all the different governments of Europe, residing in different parts of the city; and whoever wishes to leave France, to go into any other kingdom, must first go with his passport to the ministers of the countries which he intends to visit and get them to put their stamp upon it. This stamp represents the permission of the government whose minister affixes it that the traveller may enter the territory under their jurisdiction. Besides this, it is necessary to get permission from the authorities of Paris to leave the city. Nobody can leave France without this. This permission, too, like the others, is given by a stamp upon the passport. To get this stamp, the traveller must carry or send his passport to the great central police office of Paris, called the prefecture of police. Now, as the legations of the different governments and the prefecture of police are situated at very considerable distances from each other about the city, and as it usually takes some time to transact the business at each office, and especially as the inexperienced traveller often makes mistakes and goes to the wrongplace, or gets at the right place at the wrong hour, it usually requires a whole day, and sometimes two days, to get his passport all right so as to allow of his setting out upon his journey. These explanations are necessary to enable the reader to understand what I now proceed to relate in respect to Rollo.
One morning, while Rollo and Jennie were at breakfast with their father and mother, Rollo's uncle George came in and said that he had concluded to go and make a little tour in Switzerland. "I shall have three weeks," said he, "if I can get away to-morrow; and that will give me time to take quite a little run among the mountains. I have come now to see if you will let Rollo go with me."
"Yes, sir," said Rollo, very eagerly, and rising at once from his chair. "Yes, sir. Let me go with him. That's exactly the thing. Yes, sir."
"Have you any objection?" said Mr. Holiday, quietly, turning towards Rollo's mother.
"No," said Mrs. Holiday, speaking, however, in a very doubtful tone,—"no; I don't know that I have—any great objection."
Whatever doubt and hesitation Mrs. Holiday might have had on the subject was dispelled when she came to look at Rollo and see how eager and earnest he was in his desire to go. So she gave her definitive consent.
"How long do you think you will be gone?" said Mr. Holiday.
"Three weeks, nearly," replied Mr. George. "Say twenty days."
"And how much do you suppose it will cost you?" asked Mr. Holiday.
"I have made a calculation," said Mr. George; "and I think it will cost me, if I go alone, about twenty-five francs a day for the whole time. There would, however, be a considerable saving in some things if two go together."
"Then I will allow you, Rollo," replied Mr. Holiday, looking towards Rollo, "twenty-five francs a day for this excursion. If you spend any more than that, you must take it out of your past savings. If you do not spend it all, what is left when you come back is yours."
"Yes, sir," said Rollo. "I think that will be a great plenty."
"Twenty-five francs a day for twenty days," continued Mr. Holiday, "is five hundred francs. Bring me that bag of gold, Rollo, out of my secretary. Here is the key."
So Rollo brought out the gold, and Mr. Holiday took from it twenty-five Napoleons. These he put in Rollo's purse.
"There," said Mr. Holiday, "that's all I can do for you. For the rest you must take care of yourself."
"How long will it take you to pack your trunk?" said Mr. George.
"Five minutes," said Rollo, promptly, standing up erect as he said it and buttoning his jacket up to his chin.
"Then put on your cap and come with me," said Mr. George.
Rollo did so. He followed Mr. George down stairs to the door, and they both got into a small carriage which Mr. George had waiting there and drove away together towards Mr. George's hotel.
"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "I have got a great deal to do to-day, and there are our passports to be stamped. I wonder if you could not attend to that."
"Yes," said Rollo, "if you will only tell me what is to be done."
"I don't myself know what is to be done," said Mr. George. "That's the difficulty. And I have not time to find out. I have got as much as I can possibly do until four o'clock; and then the office of the prefecture of police is closed. Now, if you can take the passports and find out what is to be done, anddoit, then we can go to-morrow; otherwise we must wait till next day."
"Well," said Rollo, "I'll try."
"You will find the passports, then, on my table at the hotel. I am going to get out at the next street and take another carriage to go in another direction. You can keep this carriage."
"Very well," said Rollo.
"You may make inquiries of any body you please," said Mr. George, "except your father and mother. We must not trouble your father with any business of any kind till he gets entirely well; and your mother would not know any thing about it at all. Perhaps the master of the hotel can tell you. You had betteraskhim, at any rate."
Here Mr. George pulled the string for the carriage to stop, as they had arrived at the corner of the street where he was to get out. The coachman drew up to the sidewalk and stopped. Mr. George opened the door and stepped out upon the curbstone, and then said, as he shut the door,—
"Well, good by, Rollo. I hope you will have good luck. But, whatever happens, keep a quiet mind, and don't allow yourself to feel perplexed or troubled. If you don't succeed in getting the passports ready to-day we can attend to them to-morrow and then go the next day, which will answer nearly as well."
Then, directing the coachman to drive to the hotel, Mr. George walked rapidly away.
When Rollo reached the hotel he got the key of his uncle George's room, at the porter's lodge, and went immediately up to see if the passports were there. He found them, as his uncle had said, lying on the table.
"Now," said Rollo, "the first thing I'll do is to find Carlos and see if he will go and help me get the passports stamped."[1]
So, taking the passports in his hand, he went along the corridor till he came to the door leading to the apartments where Carlos lodged. There was a bell hanging by the side of the door. Rollo pulled this cord, and presently the courier came to the door.[2]Rollo inquired for Carlos, and the courier said that he would go and get him. In the mean time the courier asked Rollo to step in and take a seat. So Rollo went in. The room that he entered was a small one, and was used as an antechamber to the apartment; and it was very neatly and pleasantly furnished for such a purpose. There were a sofa and several chairs, and maps and pictures on the walls, and a table with writing materials on it in the centre. Rollo sat down upon the sofa. In a few minutes Carlos came.
"Look here!" said Rollo, rising when Carlos came in. "See these passports! We're going to get them stamped. Will you go with me? I have got a carriage at the door."
Here Rollo made a sort of whirling motion with his hand, advancing it forward at the same time as it rolled, to indicate the motion of a wheel. This was to signify to Carlos that they were going in a carriage.
All that Carlos understood was, that Rollo was going somewhere, and that he wished him, Carlos, to go too. He seemed very much pleased with his invitation, and went eagerly back into the inner apartments. He returned in a very few minutes with his cap in his hand, evidently all ready to go.
"Now," said Rollo, as they went out of the antechamber together, "the first thing is to go and ask the master of the hotel what we are to do."
There was a very pleasant little room on the lower floor, on one side of the archway which formed the entrance into the court of the hotelfrom the street, that served the purpose of parlor, sitting room, counting room, and office. Thus it was used both by the master of the hotel himself and by his family. There was a desk at one side, where the master usually sat, with his books and papers before him. At the other side, near a window, his wife was often seated at her sewing; and there were frequently two or three little children playing about the floor with little wagons, or tops, or other toys. Rollo went to this room, occupying himself as he descended the stairs in trying to make up a French sentence that would ask his question in the shortest and simplest manner.
He went in, and, going to the desk, held out his passports to the man who was sitting there, and said, in French,—
"Passports. To Switzerland. Where to go to get them stamped?"
"Ah," said the master of the hotel, taking the passports in his hand. "Yes, yes, yes. You must get them stamped. You must go to the Swiss legation and to the prefecture of police."
Here Rollo pointed to a piece of paper that was lying on the desk and made signs of writing.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes," said the man. "I will write you the address."
So the man took a piece of paper and wrote upon the top of it the words "prefecture of police," saying, as he wrote it, that every coachman knew where that was. Then, underneath, he wrote the name of the street and number where the Swiss legation was; and, having done this, he gave the paper to Rollo.
Rollo took the memorandum, and, thanking the man for his information, led Carlos out to the carriage.
"Come, Carlos," said he; "now we are ready. I know where to go; but I don't know at all what we are to do when we get there. But then we shall find some other people there, I suppose, getting their passports stamped; and we can do as they do."
Rollo had learned to place great reliance on the rule which his uncle George had given for his guidance in travelling; namely, to do as he saw other people do. It is, in fact, a very excellent rule.
Carlos got into the carriage; while Rollo, looking upon the paper in order to be sure that he understood the words right, said, "To the prefecture of police."
The coachman said, "Yes, yes;" and Rollo got into the coach. The coachman, without leaving his seat, reached his arm down and fastened the door and then drove away.
He drove on through various crowded streets, which seemed to lead in towards the heart of the city, until at last the carriage came to the river. Rollo and Carlos looked out and saw the bridges, and the parapet wall which formed the river side of the street, with the book stalls, and picture stalls, and cake and fruit booths which had been established along the side of it, and the monstrous bathing houses which lay floating on the water below, all gayly painted and adorned with flags and little parterres of flowers; and the washing houses, with their long rows of windows, down close to the water, all filled with women, who were washing clothes by alternately plunging them in the water of the river and then banging them with clubs. These and a great many other similar objects attracted their attention as they rode along.
If the reader of this book has the opportunity to look at a map of Paris, he will see that the River Seine, in passing through the town, forms two channels, which separate from each other so as to leave quite a large island between them. This island is completely covered with streets and buildings, some of which are very ancient and venerable. Here is the great Cathedral Church of Notre Dame; also the vast hospital called Hotel Dieu, where twelve thousand sickpersons are received and taken care of every year. Here also is the prefecture of police—an enormous establishment, with courts, quadrangles, ranges, offices, and officers without number. In this establishment the records are kept and the business is transacted relating to all the departments of the police of the city; so that it is of itself quite a little town.
The first indication which Rollo had that he had arrived at the place was the turning in of the coach under an arch, which opened in the middle of a very sombre and antique-looking edifice. The carriage, after passing through the arch, came into a court, where there were many other carriages standing. Soldiers were seen too, some coming and going and others standing guard. The carriage passed through this court, and then, going under another arch between two ponderous iron gates, it came into another court, much larger than the first. There were a great many carriages in this court, some moving in or out and others waiting. Rollo's carriage drove up to the farthest corner of the court; and there the coachman stopped and opened the door. Rollo got out. Carlos followed him.
"Where do you suppose we are to go, Carlos?" said he. "Stop; I can see by the signsover the doors. Here it is. "Passports." This must be the place. We will go in here."
Rollo accordingly went in, Carlos timidly following him. After crossing a sort of passage way, he opened another door, which ushered him at once into a very large hall, the aspect of which quite bewildered him. There were a great many desks and tables about the hall, with clerks writing at them, and people coming and going with passports and permits in their hands. Rollo stepped forward into the room, surveying the scene with great curiosity and wonder, when his attention was suddenly arrested by the voice of a soldier, who rose suddenly from his chair, and said,—
"Your cap, young gentleman."
Rollo immediately recollected that he had his cap on, while all the other people in the room were uncovered. He took his cap off at once, saying to the soldier at the same time, "Pardon, sir," which is the French mode of making an apology in such cases. The soldier then resumed his seat, and Rollo and Carlos walked on slowly up the hall.
Nobody took any notice of them. In fact, every one seemed busy with his own concerns, except that in one part of the room there were several benches where a number of men andwomen were sitting as if they were waiting for something.
Rollo advanced towards these seats, saying to Carlos,—
"Carlos, let us sit down here a minute or two till we can think what we had better do. We can sit here, I know. These benches must be for any body."
As soon as Rollo had taken his seat and began to cast his eyes about the room, he observed that among the other desks there was one with the words, "for foreigners," upon it, in large, gilt letters.
"Carlos," said he, pointing to it, "that must be the place for us. We are foreigners: let us go there. We will give the passports to the man in that little pew."
So Rollo rose, and, followed by Carlos, he went to the place. There was a long desk, with two or three clerks behind it, writing. At the end of this desk was a small enclosure, where a man sat who looked as though he had some authority. People would give him their passports, and he would write something on them and then pass them over to the clerks. Rollo waited a moment and then handed his passports in. The man took them, looked over them and then gave them back to Rollo, saying something in Frenchwhich Rollo did not understand, and immediately passed to the next in order.
"What did he say?" said Rollo, turning to Carlos.
THE PREFECTURE OF POLICE.THE PREFECTURE OF POLICE.
"What's the reason he won't take your passports?" said Carlos.
Although Rollo did not understand what the official said at the time of his speaking, still the words left a trace upon his ear, and in thinking upon them he recalled the words "American legation," and also the word "afterwards." While he was musing on the subject, quite perplexed, a pleasant-looking girl, who was standing there waiting for her turn, explained to him—speaking very slow in French, for she perceived that Rollo was a foreigner—as follows:—
"He says that you must go first and get your passports stamped at the American legation and afterwards come here."
"Where is the American legation?" said Rollo.
"I don't know," said the girl.
"Then I'll make the coachman find it for me," said Rollo. "Come, Carlos; we must go back."
So saying, he thanked the girl for her kindness, and the two boys went out. As he was going out Rollo made up a French sentence to say to the coachman that he must drive to the American legation, and that he must find out where it was himself. He succeeded in communicating these directions to the coachman, and then he and Carlos got into the carriage and drove away.
The coachman had some difficulty in learning where the American legation was, which occasioned some delay. Besides, the distance wasconsiderable. It was nearly two miles to the place from the prefecture of police; so that it was some time before the carriage arrived there. In fact, Rollo had a very narrow escape in this stage of the affair; for he arrived at the American legation only about five minutes before the office was to be closed for the day. When he went to the porter's lodge to ask if that was the place where the office of the American legation was held, the woman who kept the lodge, and who was standing just outside the door at the time, instead of answering, went in to look at the clock.
"Ah," said she, "you are just in time. I thought you were too late. Second story, right-hand door."
"There's one thing good about the American legation, Carlos," said Rollo; "and that is, that they can talk English, I suppose."
This was, indeed, a great advantage. Rollo found, when he went into the office of the legation, that the secretary not only could talk English, but that he was a very kindhearted and agreeable man. He talked with Rollo in English and with Carlos in Spanish. Both the boys were very much pleased with the reception they met with. The necessary stamps were promptly affixed to the passports; and then theboys, giving the secretary both an English and a Spanish good by, went down stairs to the carriage again. They directed the coachman to drive as quick as possible to the Swiss legation, showing him the address which Rollo's uncle had given them. They then got into the carriage, and the coachman drove away.
"Now, Carlos," said Rollo, "we are all right; that is, if we only get to the Swiss legation before it is shut up."
"He said he had been in Madrid," rejoined Carlos. "He was there three months."
"I believe," added Rollo, "that uncle George said it did not close till three; and it is only two now."
"And he knew the street my father lived in very well," said Carlos.
Very soon the carriage stopped at the place which the coachman said was the Swiss legation. Rollo got out and went to the porter's lodge with the passports in his hand. The woman in charge knew at once what he wanted, and, without waiting to hear him finish the question which he began to ask, directed him "to the second story on the right."
Rollo went up the staircase till he came to the door, and there pulled the cord.
A clerk opened the door. Rollo held out the passports.
"Enter there," said the clerk, in French, pointing to an inner door.
Rollo went in and found there a very pleasant little room, with cases of books and papers around it, and maps and plans of Switzerland and of Swiss towns upon the wall. The clerk took the passports and asked the boys to sit down. In a few minutes the proper stamps were affixed to them both and the proper signatures added. The clerk then said that there was the sum of six francs to pay. Rollo paid the money, and then he and Carlos went down stairs.
They now returned to the prefecture of police. They went in as they had done before, and gave the passports to the man who was seated in the little enclosure in the foreigner's part of the room. He took them, examined the new stamps which had been put upon them, and then said, "Very well. Take a seat a little minute."
Rollo and Carlos sat down upon one of the benches to wait; but the little minute proved to be nearly half an hour. They were not tired of waiting, however, there was so much to amuse and interest them going on in the room.
"I am going to watch and see what the foreigners do to get their passports," said Rollo, in an undertone, to Carlos; "for we must do the same."
In thus watching, Rollo observed that from time to time a name was called by one of the clerks behind the desk, and then some of the persons waiting on the seats would rise and go to the place. After stopping there a few minutes, he would take his passport and carry it into an inner room to another desk, where something was done to it. Then he would bring it out to another place, where it was stamped once or twice by a man who seemed to have nothing else to do but to stamp every body's passport when they came out. By watching this process in the case of the others, Rollo knew exactly what to do whenhisname was called; so that, in about half an hour from the time that he went into the office, he had the satisfaction of coming out and getting into his carriage with the passports all in order for the journey to Switzerland.
When he got home and showed them to Mr. George, his uncle looked them over carefully; and, when he found that the stamp of the police was duly affixed to them both,—knowing, as he did, that those would not be put on till all the others were right,—he said,—
"Well, Rollo, you've done it, I declare. I did not think you were so much of a man."
On the morning when Mr. George and Rollo were about setting out for Switzerland, Rollo, having got every thing ready himself half an hour before the time, took out his map of Europe and asked his uncle George what route they were going to take. Mr. George was busy at that time putting the last things into his trunk and making ready to lock it up and strap it; so he could not come to Rollo to show him the route, but was obliged to describe it.
"Have you found Paris?" said he.
"Yes," said Rollo; "I have got my finger on it."
"In the first place, then," said Mr. George, "there is a railway that goes east from Paris a hundred miles across France to Strasbourg on the Rhine. See if you can find Strasbourg on the Rhine."
"Yes," said Rollo; "here it is."
"Then," said Mr. George, "we take anotherrailway and go south, up the Rhine, towards Switzerland."
"Downthe Rhine," said Rollo, correcting his uncle; "it isdown."
"No," rejoined Mr. George. "It is down on the map; that is, it is down the page; but it is reallyupthe river. The Rhine flows to the north. It collects the waters of a hundred glaciers in Switzerland and carries them north into the North Sea."
"Well," said Rollo.
"This railway," continued Mr. George, "will take us up from Strasbourg, along the bank of the Rhine, to Basle, which is in Switzerland, just across the frontier. It is there, I suppose, that we shall have to show our passports; and then we shall know if you got them stamped right."
"I did get them stamped right, I am very sure," said Rollo.
"Boys are generally very sure that what they do is done right," rejoined Mr. George.
Soon after this Mr. George and Rollo took their seats in the carriage, which had been for some time standing ready for them in the court yard of the inn, and drove to the Strasbourg station.
Rollo was greatly interested and excited, when he arrived at the Strasbourg station, to see howextensive and magnificent it was. The carriage entered, with a train of other carriages, through a great iron gate and drew up at the front of a very spacious and grand-looking building. Porters, dressed in a sort of uniform, which gave them in some degree the appearance of soldiers, were ready to take the two trunks and carry them in. The young gentlemen followed the porters, and they soon found themselves ushered into an immense hall, very neatly and prettily arranged, with great maps of the various railways painted on the walls between the windows on the front side, and openings on the back side leading to ticket offices or waiting rooms. There were seats along the sides of this hall, with groups of neatly-dressed travellers sitting upon them. Other travellers were walking about, attending to their baggage or making inquiries of the porter or policemen. Others still were standing at the openings of the ticket offices buying their tickets. What chiefly struck Rollo's attention, however, and impressed his mind, was the air of silence, order, and decorum which prevailed and which gave to the station an aspect so different from that of an American station. It is true, the hall was very large, and there were a great many people in it going and coming; but they all walked decorously andquietly,—they spoke in an undertone,—and the presence of so many railway officials in their several uniforms, and of police officers with their badges, and here and there a soldier on guard, gave to the whole scene quite a solemn and imposing appearance.
Rollo gazed about the apartment as he came in, surveying the various objects and groups that presented themselves to his view, until his eye rested upon a little party of travellers, consisting of a lady and two boys, who were standing together near a low railing, waiting for the gentleman who was with them to come back from the ticket office with their tickets. What chiefly attracted Rollo's attention, however, was a pretty little dog, with very long ears, and black, glossy hair, which one of the children held by a cord. The cord was attached to the dog's neck by a silver collar.
Rollo looked at this group for a few minutes—his attention being particularly occupied by the dog,—and then turned again towards his uncle, or rather towards the place where his uncle had been standing; but he found, to his surprise, that he was gone.
In a moment, however, he saw his uncle coming towards him. He was clasping his wallet and putting it in his pocket.
"Uncle George," said he, "see that beautiful little dog!"
"Yes," said Mr. George.
"I wish I had such a dog as that to travel with me," said Rollo. "But, uncle George where are we to get our tickets?"
"I've got mine," said Mr. George. "When I come to a railway station I always get my ticket the first thing, and look at the pretty little dogs afterwards."
So saying, Mr. George took a newspaper out of his pocket and began to walk away, adding, as he went,—
"I'll sit down here and read my newspaper till you have got your ticket, and then we will go into the waiting room."
"But, uncle George," said Rollo, "why did not you get me a ticket when you got yours?"
"Because," said Mr. George, "among other reasons, I did not know which class carriage you wished to go in."
"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo, surprised. "I must go in the same carriage that you do of course."
"Not of course," said Mr. George. "I have got a ticket in the first class; and I should like to have your company in my car very much if you choose to pay the price for a first-classticket. But if you choose to take a second or a third-class ticket you will save, perhaps, half your money."
So saying, Mr. George went away and left Rollo to himself.
This was the way that Mr. George always treated Rollo when he was travelling with him. He left him to act for himself and to take care of himself in almost all the emergencies that occurred. He did this, not because he wished to save himself the trouble of taking care of a boy, but because he thought it was much better for boys early to learn to take care of themselves.
The manner in which Mr. George thus threw the responsibility upon Rollo seemed sometimes to be a little blunt. One would suppose, in some of these cases, from the way in which he spoke and acted, that he did not care at all what became of Rollo, so coolly and with such an air of unconcern did he leave him to his own resources. In fact, Rollo was frequently at such times a little frightened, or at least perplexed, and often, at first, felt greatly at a loss to know what to do. But, on reflecting a little upon the subject, he usually soon succeeded in extricating himself from the difficulty; and then he was always quite proud of having done so, and was pleased with his uncle George for having given him theopportunity. So Mr. George, having learned by experience that Rollo liked, on the whole, to be treated in this way, always adopted it; and in carrying it out he sometimes spoke and acted in such a way as might, under other circumstances have appeared somewhat stern.
The idea of taking a second-class car for himself in order to save a portion of his money, while his uncle went in one of the first-class, took Rollo's imagination strongly, and he was half inclined to adopt it.
"On the whole," said he to himself, "I will not do it to-day; but I will some other day. And now I wonder which is the ticket office for Strasbourg."
So saying, Rollo looked about the room and soon found the proper place to apply for his ticket. He procured a ticket without any difficulty, asking for it in French, with a pronunciation which, if it was not perfectly correct, was at least perfectly intelligible. As soon as he had received his ticket and had taken up his change he went to the bench where his uncle George was sitting and said that he was ready.
"Well," said Mr. George, "then we'll go. I like to travel with a boy that is capable of taking care of himself and is willing to be treated like a man."
Saying these words, Mr. George rose from his seat, and, after attending properly to the baggage, he and Rollo passed through a door guarded by a man in uniform, who required them to show him their tickets before he would allow them to pass, and then entered a spacious apartment which was reserved as the waiting room for the first-class passengers. This room was beautifully finished and richly adorned, and the splendid sofas and ottomans which were ranged about the sides of it were occupied by well-dressed ladies and gentlemen, carrying shawls, greatcoats, and small travelling bags upon their arms, and exhibiting other similar indications of their being travellers. Mr. George and Rollo took seats at a vacant place upon one of the sofas. In a few minutes an officer came and informed the company, in a very respectful manner, that the train was ready; whereupon they all rose from their seats and walked out upon the platform where the train was waiting. Here there were several railway servants, all dressed in uniform, whose business it was to conduct the passengers to the several cars, or carriages, as they call them, and open the doors. These carriages were entirely different in their construction from the long and open cars used in America, which form but one compartment, that extends through the whole length of the car. The French cars were like three elegant carriages, joined together in such a manner that, though the three formed but one car, they were still entirely distinct from each other. The seats in these carriages were very spacious, and they were richly stuffed and lined, so that they formed soft and luxurious places of repose. The railway porter opened one of the doors and admitted Mr. George and Rollo, and when they had entered he closed it again.
"Ah," said Rollo, seating himself upon the soft cushion on one of the seats, "is not this superb? I amvery gladI did not take a second-class car."
"And yet the second-class cars in France are very comfortable and very respectable," said Mr. George, "and they are very much cheaper."
"How much should we have saved," asked Rollo, "in going to Strasbourg, if we had taken a second-class car?"
"I don't know, precisely," said Mr. George. "We should have saved a great deal."
The train now began to move; and, soon after it left the station, Mr. George took out his newspaper again and began to read. It was a copy of a very celebrated newspaper, called the London Times. Mr. George had another London paperwhich was full of humorous engravings. The name of it was Punch. Mr. George gave the Punch to Rollo, thinking that the pictures and caricatures in it might perhaps amuse him; but Rollo, after turning it over a moment, concluded that he should prefer to amuse himself by looking out the window.