All travellers on the Continent of Europe, if able to incur the expense, should employ a courier. The whole anxiety and burden of the arrangements are assumed by him. He speaks all the languages of Europe with sufficient accuracy, understands the usages of the road, understands a thousand little impositions which the unwary foreigner knows nothing of, and shields him from them.

He makes every bargain, pays every bill, writes in advance and engages rooms, sees that they are neat and well-ordered, and, where there are any short-comings, puts every thing right with a strong hand; for the courier is a tyrant in a small way. He brings customers to the hotels; and the landlord, knowing this, is his humble servant. If you have a private table, he is in attendance at meals, carves for you, and sees that you are properly served. He knows the best shops, and all the objects of interest in the towns you may visit; he can conduct you to galleries and museums, and obtain admittance for you to palaces, villas, &c.

A good courier, in short, smooths over every difficulty, and enables you to enjoy, without drawback, your residence in foreign lands.

The objection usually made to couriers is, that they make their percentage out of their employers' money. It is not generally known to Americans that servants in all parts of Europe receive fees from tradespeople, and are thus encouraged to bring their custom. This is no doubt done by those your courier employs, but scarcely more than this.

Couriers may readily be obtained in London or Paris. Salary per month is fifty dollars. He pays his own bill at the hotels (except in Spain), or rather pays nothing, as he brings the patronage.

The most luxurious, satisfactory, and also expensive mode of travelling is by post. A carriage may be hired for any number of months; or a new or second-hand one purchased, and, when done with, sold. The posting is regulated by government, according to a settled tariff.

A less expensive mode, which prevails in Italy, is by travelling "vetturino;" that is by hiring a carriage, and placing yourself in the charge of the conductor, or "vetturino." He charges a specified sum by day, and engages to convey you in a given time to your destination. The charge includes all expenses, food, &c. This latter saves the traveller from all imposition of innkeepers, who prey upon foreigners. This mode of travelling is tedious, as, having the same horses, they must rest whenever the vetturino pleases.

Another method is by diligence; but railways and steamboats are now so universal, that, on most of the great routes, the traveller will find these modes of conveyance. To see a country to advantage, however, one must neither make short cuts by sea, or fly through the air by rail.

In crossing the channels to France or Ireland, it is well to go on board the steamers early to secure a sofa or berth. If you dread the sea, choose a calm day, for one

is liable to more severe sea-sickness than in crossing the Atlantic, and the boats are usually crowded. Few things are more surprising to an American, accustomed to the floating palaces of his own country, than the small and inconvenient vessels that ply on these important high

ways.

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Railway travelling differs in Europe from our own in some of its arrangements. The term 66 car is never applied to their conveyances. They are called "carriages," and are divided into compartments, containing sometimes six, sometimes eight persons.

A party which does not entirely fill a compartment may always secure it to themselves by a judicious application of silver to the palm of the guard.

Shop-keepers in Europe never allow their goods turned over, unless you come to buy. Any lady who enters a shop is expected to purchase something, not merely to look round.

HINTS.

1. As regards passports, it is safer to obtain them in Washington, at headquarters.

2. A sole-leather trunk is the strongest and best for long periods of travel, about sixteen inches high, eighteen wide, and thirty-two long. This size will fit upon any travelling carriage. It should open in the middle, that it may be pushed under the berth on board ship.

3. Trunks may be stored in the luggage-room, if you

sail in a steamer. All the clothing needed for the voyage may be contained in a travelling-bag, twenty-two inches high and thirty wide, made of enamelled cloth, which wears as well and sheds water better than leather. Trunks should have a varnished canvas cover.

4. A gum-elastic bag for hot water is a very desirable article for a traveller who suffers from cold hands or feet, and, when empty, occupies but little space. A light linen or muslin dust-cloth will be found convenient. Soap is never furnished, except in England.

5. A courier generally receives a sum of money on starting, rendering an account of it when it is exhausted. A daily sum, however, may be given, and a nightly account rendered.

6. All travellers should purchase Murray's "Handbooks of the different countries they intend to visit. They are full of valuable and useful information.

7. In Great Britain, a "Bradshaw" is also, indispensable. It is published monthly, and contains all the latest information relative to the departure of trains, steamers, stages, &c.

8. Luggage is not, as with us, always carried in a "baggage-car." That of each person is usually placed on the top of the carriage he is in; the smaller packages and bags being taken inside, and accommodated with nettings above his head.

9. It is not the usage for girls to walk alone in the

streets of the large capitals or towns of Europe. They must be accompanied by a servant or older lady.

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10. A little small change of the country you may in should always be kept in the pocket while on the road, coppers, especially.

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IV. - LETTER-WRITING.

ERHAPS there is nothing which marks the lady or gentleman more than the mode in which they write a letter or note. And yet, strange as it may appear, this is a branch of education which is singularly neglected.

It is surprising how many persons of refinement, cultivation, and even of some literary attainment, write in an inelegant and careless manner.

A book has been recently published in England, entitled "The Hand-book of Etiquette," of a somewhat diffuse nature, and purporting to contain every instruction needed to render one thoroughly fitted for the best society; but, with the exception of a few words upon letters of introduction, there is not a single syllable upon the subject of letter or note writing.

A book of this kind surely is quite incomplete without some such notice. It is strange that, as a general rule, parents pay so little attention to their children's education on this point. Let a child be given paper and pencil as