<h2>CHAPTER XXVII<br/> <small>WHEN TRAVELING</small></h2>
<p class="drop-cap">THE selection of proper receptacles for one’s
baggage is the first point to be considered in
making preparations for a journey. The trunk-makers
offer great variety in the material, quality
and price of their wares. The indispensable requisite
of a trunk, whatever be the material of its composition,
is that it shall be strong. Look well to
hinges, lock and corners before buying. A trunk
that will not stand wear and tear is not worth having.
One need not purchase an expensive trunk,
but one can not afford to purchase a cheap one. The
material employed must be good, though the appearance
need not be luxurious. If one can afford
the price, one may find trunks where separate trays
are provided for each gown or where indeed frocks
may be hung at full length and come forth at the
end of a journey as they might come from my
lady’s closet. But for those who can not or do not
care to put sizable sums of money into the carriers<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</SPAN></span>
of their clothes, there are good sensible receptacles
at a moderate price. A steamer trunk, by reason of
its shape and size, is a convenient general-purpose
piece of baggage and is especially to be commended
for short journeys.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">THE TRAVELING-BAG</div>
<p>The bag one selects has much to do with one’s
comfort in traveling. It should be large enough to
hold a nightrobe, a kimono, one’s toilet articles, also
an extra shirt-waist and a change of underclothing
in case of detention. The size of the bag is important.
It must not be so large that it is a burden
to carry if necessity compels. It must not be so
small that the articles mentioned may not rest comfortably
and without crowding within. As with
trunks, so in bags, one finds a large variety in values.
It pays to get a good bag of nice leather, conveniently
arranged for carrying the articles necessary
to one’s comfort. Such a bag, one that pleases
the eye and in which one may find one’s things without
a distracting search for them, gives an amount
of satisfaction to a traveler beyond the power of
words to convey. One of the most acceptable gifts
that can be made to a person who is not of the stay-at-home
type is a generously fitted traveling-bag. As
thousands of bags are made precisely alike, the
stamping of one’s initials at the end or side may
save time and trouble.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</SPAN></span></p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">DRESSING FOR A JOURNEY</div>
<p>One should wear dark inconspicuous clothing in
traveling, and of a weight suitable to the season of
the year. Beflowered hats, light gowns, light gloves—unless
these are washable—and jewelry are in
the worst of taste and proclaim the unsophisticated
or the parvenu. To be dressed comfortably and
modestly is the aim of the experienced traveler.
In summer a dark silk dress of light weight with
a silk rain-coat makes an ideal traveling costume,
as neither holds dust. A woman so attired will arrive
at the end of her journey in much better condition
than her less experienced companion who
clings to white (?) blouses. If a fresh veil and a
pair of white gloves are tucked into her bag to be
put on at the last moment, she will be charmingly
immaculate. A black silk bag for the protection of
one’s hat is a good idea though most Pullmans supply
paper sacks for this purpose.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<p>If possible, it is well on a journey to carry with
one something more in the way of money than one’s
traveling expenses. One can not tell what emergency
may arise or what unexpected demands may
be made upon one. Many women carry the funds
not immediately in use, in some sort of pocket
fastened on or made into the petticoat they wear.
One can buy very pretty separate pockets of this
sort made of leather or one can make them of a<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</SPAN></span>
stout silk fastened down by a clasp on the flap.
Elaborate preparation in caring for one’s wealth is
the penalty a woman pays for being without pockets
in her clothes. While it is wise for her to put
the funds unnecessary for immediate use in some
such safe place as that described, she should not
keep articles which she may be at any moment called
upon to deliver, in a spot which it is embarrassing
for her to reach. Train conductors and baggage
agents have many a grin and sly smile over the
woman who must reach under her petticoat before
she can deliver up ticket and trunk checks. An
amusing instance of this overcaution, so much more
characteristic of women than of men, occurs to
the writer. An acquaintance, starting on a European
voyage, took the most elaborate means for the hiding
of her valuables upon her person. In transit she
stayed the night at a New York hotel and woke
in the morning to discover, to her horror, that she
had slept all night with the door of her room unlocked
and the key on the outside. A considerable
amount of change in a separate purse from one’s
bills is a convenience and a safeguard.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">MAKING ACQUAINTANCES</div>
<p>A man may, if he chooses, make acquaintances
on a journey, and a woman also, though with less
frequency and freedom. The exigencies of travel
may sometimes make it pleasant for her to render or<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</SPAN></span>
receive aid from another woman or possibly a man;
and this may be the starting-point for acquaintance.
As a usual thing, it is best for a young girl traveling
alone, to avoid all communication with strangers,
as she can not know into what complications it may
lead her.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">COMFORT IN A PULLMAN</div>
<p>If one is making a journey that compels night
travel, one must secure one’s section or half-section
in the Pullman or sleeper beforehand. In order to
get good accommodations it is well to do this several
days in advance. The difficulty of getting into
an upper berth makes most women choose the lower,
though it is more costly and decidedly stuffier. When
one climbs aboard a train the porter follows with
one’s belongings, finds one’s section or half-section
and deposits the hand luggage in its place. Some
travelers are very thoughtless in appropriating more
than their share of the space appointed for wraps,
bags, etc. If one has paid for a half-section only,
one has no right to take more than that, unless the
other half of the section remains unsold.</p>
<p>When a traveler wishes his bed made up he should
summon the porter and so declare. Usually an
electric bell between the windows of his section will
enable him to call the porter at any time. If the traveler
is a woman and is for any reason dissatisfied
with her berth or section, she may consult with the<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</SPAN></span>
porter about a change which, if the car is not full,
he is often able to arrange for her. For instance,
if a woman having a lower section finds that the
upper is to be occupied by a man, it is often possible,
by the payment of a small sum to the porter, to move
her quarters.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">THE TIMID TRAVELER</div>
<div class="sidenote">DRESSING FOR THE NIGHT</div>
<p>Many women who find themselves compelled for
the first time to take a sleeping-car, feel timid at the
prospect. But the process is simple though not necessarily
comfortable. Once behind the curtains a
woman may remove all her clothing precisely as she
does at home if she feel equal to the physical ordeal
of putting it on again in a crowded space in the
morning to the accompaniment of rapid motion and
the nausea it often induces. Unless one is a good
traveler, it may be preferable to remove one’s dress,
pinning the skirt to the inside of the curtain to save
its freshness, putting small articles in the swinging
hammock next the windows and for the rest merely
loosening bands. Directly above the head one will
find in all first-class trains a button that when
pressed will give a light by which one can read or
which will help one the better to endure an hour of
nervous wakefulness. A small bottle of brandy or
spirits of ammonia is carried by delicate women to
ward off train sickness. A woman should not hesitate
to summon the porter for extra covers, a glass<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</SPAN></span>
of water or any other service that contributes to
her real comfort. To send for him with too great
frequency shows lack of experience and consideration.
If one is to be called before daylight it is wise
to give one’s self ample time for dressing and so the
porter should be instructed to call one at a certain
time considerably ahead of the hour for leaving the
train. Experienced women travelers do not don
white night-dresses in sleeping-cars, but keep a dark
silk robe for this purpose, insuring equal comfort
and a better appearance in case of illness or accident.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<p>There are many small offices for which one may
call upon the porter if so inclined. One must, however,
keep it in mind that he should be rewarded proportionately
at the end of the journey after he has
performed his last office of brushing one off. Twenty-five
cents is the usual amount given to him for
the services rendered in twenty-four hours. An occasional
wary traveler bestows his tip for the first
rather than the last service asked. If a porter appears
sullen this method will be found to have advantages.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<p>Before leaving one’s berth in the morning, one
should, as far as possible, get into one’s undergarments
over which one slips a bathrobe or kimono
before going to the toilet-room. One should take<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</SPAN></span>
with one to the toilet comb, brush, tooth-brush,
clothes-brush, wash-cloth, a cake of soap (it is never
wise to use the public cake) and the gown one
intends wearing, with its accessories. All the toilet
articles should be carried in a silk waterproof “companion,”
or better still, in a crash apron with rubber-lined
pockets for soap and towels, to be tied
about the waist. Arrived there one should be as expeditious
as possible in order not to keep others
waiting. One woman’s selfishness in out-staying
her time in the toilet-room may keep ten others in
misery. It is not the time and place for a complete
bath. Nowhere is the quality of true courtesy more
needed than in the toilet-room of a Pullman. When
one has finished one’s ablutions, combed one’s hair
and fastened one’s gown, one should clean the basin
and place the soiled towels out of the way. When
one leaves the room it should be ready for the next
comer.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">IN THE DINING CAR</div>
<p>When the announcement is made that breakfast,
dinner or luncheon, as the case may be, is served,
the passenger makes his way to the diner. If this
is crowded he must wait his time patiently and with
courtesy to those about him. Sometimes the meal
is served <i>a la carte</i> (literally, by the card), in which
case a separate charge is made for each article on
the bill of fare or menu. (Menu, by the way, is<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</SPAN></span>
pronounced “may-noo,” not “meyn-you” as one
often hears it.) Many dining-cars serve meals <i>table
d’hote</i> (tah-bul-dote) and for these a fixed charge
of one dollar is made. Some train dinners are very
good indeed, others are execrable. If a dish is particularly
bad and one complaint does not produce
a better, the diner should not brow-beat his waiter—who
is not to blame—but may if he choose speak to
the steward in charge. Having been served he
should fee the waiter. The usual fee is one-tenth
the price of the meal, though men, more frequently
than women, give more than this.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">ARRIVING AT A HOTEL</div>
<p>Arrival in a strange city is bewildering to a person
who has traveled little. There are always, however,
in the city railway stations, bureaus of information
where one may find out the necessary things.
If one is desirous of a cab, one may discover there
the most trustworthy line; or, if a car is wanted,
what direction one must take to find the proper one.
Usually the traveler, if intending to go to a hotel,
will have made himself acquainted, before arrival
in the city, with the relative value and expense of
the different ones. A person is much better treated
at such places if he writes or telegraphs ahead for
accommodations. A woman should choose the side
entrance, if there is one, as this is reserved for
ladies. If a woman arrives in a strange city, unaccompanied,<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</SPAN></span>
it is sometimes difficult for her to get
the hotel accommodations she desires. At some
hotels they will not admit unaccompanied women
after nightfall. Under these circumstances the
traveler would better go to the hostelries established
by the Young Women’s Christian Association,
where she may feel certain of the character of the
place and entertainment. These places invariably
require that one shall be introduced and one will
do well, therefore, to take a letter from one’s clergyman.
The length of one’s stay is usually limited
but it is sufficient for the ordinary holiday or shopping
visit.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">THE UNACCOMPANIED WOMAN</div>
<p>If you are arriving in a city and expect to be
“met,” do not, if you can possibly avoid it, take a
train that pulls in at an unearthly hour of the night
or early morning. If you must take such a train,
tell your hostess she is not to meet you, that you
will stay the night at a down-town hotel or at least
will take a carriage. An intelligent woman need
have no fear of danger in arriving in a strange city
alone. She may possibly be annoyed by a bold stare,
even by a question, but the chances are that if she
be quiet in dress and manner she will not suffer
even inconvenience.</p>
<p>Policemen and station officials are always willing
to answer the questions of perplexed travelers. A<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</SPAN></span>
little fee sometimes helps them speak more eloquently.
It is not wise to depend upon the chance
passer-by for information. The person whose business
it is to inform you is not likely to tell you
what is untrue. Of him you have a right to expect
something. Of others you have a right to
expect nothing, and you may come in for less than
the value of your expectations.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<div class="sidenote">ON BOARD A BOAT</div>
<p>The general etiquette of steamboat travel does not
differ from that on board a train. Boat travel is
of a more leisurely sort and begets somewhat less
formality as relates to one’s fellow travelers. Otherwise
the rules of behavior are the same.</p>
<hr class="tb" />
<p>As a parting injunction to the traveler, let me
say,—don’t look worried, cross and over-careful
even if you feel that way. Courtesy to subordinates
will win you attention and service, will straighten
out your difficulties more quickly than any other
method. If you take the ills of traveling with some
sense of humor, with a give-and-take spirit, you
will get more than the benefit of the money your
journey may cost you. If you do not carry an
elastic spirit with you, the finest trip that ever was
planned will bring you little return.</p>
<div class="sidenote">CHAPERONS IN EUROPE</div>
<p>A woman who travels abroad must remember
that the rules of chaperonage are much stricter in<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</SPAN></span>
Europe than they are in this country, and that she
is expected to have a companion or a maid. If she
wishes to dispense with these, she must reconcile
herself to foregoing social invitations. If she makes
inquiry she can always learn of particularly desirable
pensions where she may count on finding among
the guests a congenial person to accompany her on
many of her short excursions.</p>
<p>On board the steamship the luckiest passengers in
the dining-salon are those who are fortunate enough
to be allotted seats at the captain’s table.</p>
<hr class="chap" /></div>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</SPAN></span></p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.