How the French and English Travel.

Otago Witness, Issue 1582, 18 March 1882, Page 29

How the French and English Travel.

If you are travelling at night, with French Sellow-travellers, the difference between English and French people will show considerably. The Frenchman will put on a soft silk cap, he will even tie a scarf over his head and under his chin in order to be secure from thedraughts; he will take off his boots and produce an old pair of slippers from his bag, and he will dispose himself for sleep, carefully covering himself with rugs. The Frenchwoman will ;be equally prudent. She will put on a long loose , iacket, of pretty material and pretty make, you may be sure, and under this she can afford to loosen the tight dress bodice that fashion requires. She alao will produce an elegant pair of slippers, matching the jacket, and will Bwathe her head and shoulders in a dainty woollen fichu, of the same colour as jacket and slippers. In the early morning, when daylight ie breaking over the silent land, and bursting in streaks into the carriage, the French travellers refresh themselves with an informal toilet. The lady pours some eau de rose or eaudelavende into a tin cup, and with the corner of a Bmall towel, brought on purpose m the handbag, wipes her face diligently. With her brush and. comb she arranges her hair, and she adjusts her hat or bonnet, packs up her long jacket and slippers, &c, and is finally < taut and trim when, at the next station, it is announced cb.fi cm lait is served at the buffet, and that the train will stop for twenty minutes. We English more often tumble out jpf the railway carriage in a condition that would lead one to think that we had passed the night in<an Irish cabin. The English travellers disdain the precautions to which I have referred ; they will declare that they cannot sleep on the train, therefore it would be useless to make any preparations. Presently they begin to nod and away about, and finally, being only fallible human beings, fall asleep, their hats being flattened against the back of the carnage, their clotheß being creased and tumbled, and their feet aching because of the unwonted confinement in stiff walking-boots. 1 Thus they sleep in the utmost discomfort. When the morning comes, then they are pitiable to look upon ; and seen in the early sunlight, it will be hard to believe that the Frenchman is not more learned in the art of travelling than the Englishman. —Tinsley's Magazine.