xviii
IV. RAILWAYS.
Railway-time is always that of Paris, but the clocks in the in-
terior of the stations, by which the trains start, are puTposely kept
flve minutes slow. Belgian (Greenwich or West Europe) railway
time is 4min. behind, and 'MidEurope' time (forGermany, Switzer-
land, and Italy) 56 min. in advance of French railway-time.
Return-tickets (Billets d'aller et retour) are issued by ail the
railway-companies at a réduction of 20-25 per cent or even more.
The length of time for which thèse tickets are available vary with
the distance and with the company by which they are issued; those
issued on Sat. and on the eves of great festivals are available for
three days or for four days if Mon. be a festival. The recognised
festivals are New YeaT's Day, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit-
Monday, the 'Fête Nationale' (July 14th), the Assumption (Aug.
15th), Ail Saints' Day (Nov. lst), and Christmas Day.
Excursion Trains ('Trains de Plaisir') should as a rule be avoided,
as the cheapness of their fares is more than counterbalanced by the
discomforts of their accommodation.
Circular Tour Tickets ('Billets de Voyages Circulaires') aie of
two kinds, viz. 'à itinéraires fixes1 (routes arranged by the railway
company), and 'à itinéraires facultatifs' (routes arranged to meet
the wishes of individual travellers). The former will often be found
convenient as they are issued at reduced fares, with libéral arrange¬
ments as to breaking the journey, but they are not usually granted
to third-class passengers. The latter, though issued for ail threo
classes, are now subject to a variety of conditions which practically
oancel the ostensible advantages, except in the case of journeys of
considérable length. Tourists, before purchasing one of thèse 'facul¬
tatif tickets, should carefully study the explanatory sections in the
'Indicateur', or apply for information to a tourist-agent or other
authority. Holders of such tickets must présent themselves at the
ticket-office of the original starting-place and of every station where
the journey is broken and apply for an ordinary ticket in addition.
The following are some of the expressions with which the railway
traveller in France should be familiar : Railway-station, la gare (also
l'embarcadère); booking-offîce, le guichet or bureau; first, second, or third
class ticket, un billet de première, de seconde, de troisième classe; to take a
ticket, prendre un billet; to register the luggage, faire enregistrer les bagages;
luggage-ticket, bulletin de bagage; waiting-room, salle d'attente; refreshment
room, le buffet (third-class refreshment-room, la buvette); platform, le
perron, le trottoir; railway-carriage, le wagon; compartment, le compartiment,
le coupé ; smoking compartment, fumeurs ; ladies' compartment, dames seules ;
guard, conducteur ; porter, facteur; to enter the carriage, monter en wagon;
take your seats ! en voilure! alight, descendre; to change carriages, changer
de voilure; express train to Calais, le train express pour Calais, l'express
de Calais.
Diligences. The French Diligences, now becoming more and
more rare, are generally slow (5-7 M. per hour), uninviting, and
inconvénient. The best seats are the three in the Coupé, beside the
driver, which cost a little more than the others and are often engaged
several days beforehand. The Intérieur generally contains six places,
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