which, while it serves to identify the bearer, also gives him a claim to their good offices, in case he may need them. The letter is addressed to nearly two hundred agents and correspondents in different parts of Europe, so that wherever the traveller may be, he cannot be very far removed from his supplies.

"The value of the notes is reduced into foreign money, at the current usance course of exchange on London, at the time and place of payment, subject to no deduction for commission, or to any other charge whatever, unless the payment be required in some particular coin which bears a premium. They are drawn to order, and the traveller will naturally, for his own security, not endorse them till he receives the money; besides which, such checks are so concerted with the agents as to render a successful forgery of his name scarcely possible."

From the number of English who now go abroad, these circular letters can no longer be expected to serve as a private letter of introduction; but it is of no slight importance in many cases of difficulty to the stranger, in a strange place, to be able to produce a reference to some person of respectability; and the parties to whom these letters are addressed are usually ready to afford friendly advice and assistance to those who need it.

It is advisable for the traveller to take a supply of English money to pay his expenses in the steam-boat, and on landing, as well as to guard against running short of money in places where circular notes cannot be cashed. English sovereigns bear so high a premium all over Germany, that in shops and inns at all the large towns they are often taken at their full value, and even greedily sought after. When the stranger, however, requires to change this or any other money into the current coin of the country in which he is travelling, the best plan is to take them to some authorised money-changer (geld-weschler, changeur de monnoies), who from his profession is necessarily acquainted with the rate of exchange (such persons are to be found in almost every town); and by no means to change them at shops or inns, where, from ignorance or fraud, travellers are liable to be cheated.

The best continental gold coins which travellers bound for Germany can take with them out of England, are the Dutch pieces of 10 and 5 guilders, which are current, not only in Holland and Belgium, but throughout both Northern and Southern Germany. Napoleons pass only in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and on the immediate borders of the Rhine; in other parts of Germany and in Holland they are but little known, and are troublesome to change. Gold coins are rare in many parts of the Continent, and must be purchased at a premium by those who require them. In Prussia and Austria there is a paper coinage of the same value as the metallic currency; in Prussia also, gold Friedrichs d'or are easily procured. In other parts of Germany the traveller is obliged to receive his money in crown-pieces, if he is unwilling to submit to any deduction; and it is no slight inconvenience to be thus loaded with 20/. worth of silver.

dollars; since the coins of Prussia (except the small change) now pass current in all the states which are members of the New Customhouse Union (Zollverein); and for Southern Germany, Brabant dollars (écus de Brabant), which are almost universally current, from Frankfort and Dresden, southwards. In merely passing through a country, it is expedient to take no more of its coins than are necessary to carry one through it, as almost every state has a distinct coinage; and a certain loss must be sustained by each exchange.

d. PASSPORTS.

Of all the penalties, at the expense of which the pleasure of travelling abroad is purchased, the most disagreeable and most repugnant to English feelings is that of submitting to the strict regulations of the continental police, and especially to the annoyance of bearing a passport. As this, however, is a matter of necessity, from which there is no exemption (no one being allowed to travel on the Continent without a passport), it is better to submit with a good grace. By a little care and attention to this matter at first, the traveller may spare himself a world of vexation and inconvenience in the end.

As a general rule, the utmost care should be taken of the passport ; since the loss of it will subject the stranger to much trouble, and may cause him to be placed under the surveillance of the police. It should always be carried about the person, as it is liable to be constantly called for, and to preserve it from being worn out, it is convenient to have it bound up in a pocket-book, with blank leaves to receive signatures when the vacant spaces on the passport itself are covered.

Before leaving England it is necessary to obtain a passport, which is generally procured from the minister of that country in which the traveller intends to land; and it is very advisable to have it also visé, or counter-signed, by the ministers of those countries through which he proposes afterwards to pass. For instance, if he be going up the Rhine to Frankfort, and intend to land at Rotterdam, or any other Dutch port, he must obtain a passport from the Dutch consul; and as the banks of the Rhine above Nymegen belong to Prussia, he must secure the Prussian minister's signature to it. If he go by Calais, he may get a French passport; if by Ostend, a Belgian; but, in either case, it must be counter-signed by the Prussian minister. A Prussian passport, or one bearing a Prussian minister's or consul's signature, procures admittance for the bearer, without delay or difficulty, at any part of the Prussian frontier. Without it, he will probably be subjected to delay and inconvenience at the first Prussian town he reaches. The same rule of obtaining a signature of a minister should also be observed before entering the States of Austria-Russia-Bavaria-FranceHolland-Belgium. With many it is indispensable; with all it is ad

visable.

The usual process of obtaining a passport is to address a written or verbal application to the secretary of the ambassador, and to state the

Christian and surname, age, height, and address of the applicant. This must be left, one day in advance, at the house or office of the embassy. The applicant must appear in person the following day to receive his passport, which will be delivered to him, without fee, by the ambassador of France. A shilling, properly administered to the porter at the door, will often materially shorten the time during which the applicant is generally compelled to kick his heels in the ambassador's anteroom.

Besides the ambassadors, the consuls of the different foreign powers issue or sign passports at their offices in the city, for which a charge of five or six shillings is made. The consuls deliver their passports at once, without requiring that the application should be made the day before; their offices are also open earlier than the ambassador's, usually from 10 or 11 to 4, thus much time is saved, which with many will be more than an equivalent for the payment of 5s.

Addresses of Foreign Consuls in London.

France, 4. Tokenhouse Yard; Belgium, 3. Copthall Court, Throgmorton Street; Holland, 123. Fenchurch Street; Prussia and the Rhine, 106. Fenchurch Street. English consuls abroad and French consuls at British sea-ports (Dovor, Brighton, Southampton, &c.) can likewise issue passports.

The different members of a family can have their names included in one passport, but friends travelling together had better provide themselves with distinct passports. Male servants should also have separate passports, distinct from their masters'.

N.B. The signature, which the bearer of a passport must attach to it when it is delivered to him, ought to be written as clearly and distinctly as possible, that it may be easily read by the numerous functionaries through whose hands it is destined to pass, who are sometimes half an hour in deciphering an ill-written name, while the owner is wasting his patience at the length of the scrutiny. By this slight precaution the loss of many a quarter of an hour may be saved. Much delay and inconvenience may also be avoided, by causing the full description of the person to be inserted in the passport at once the want of it will excite suspicion in some foreign passport offices.

French Passport.

The only foreign passport which a British subject can obtain gratuitously is that of the French ambassador, issued at the office, 6. Poland Street, Oxford Street, on the day after the first application has been made for it. The French passport must be backed by the ministers of Holland, Belgium, and Prussia, in order to be valid in those countries, and is taken away from the bearer on entering the Prussian dominions, to be exchanged for a Prussian passport, which sometimes

Prussian Passport.

The Prussian minister, residing in London, will not give passports to Englishmen, unless personally known, or especially recommended to him. There is no difficulty, however, in procuring one from the Prussian Consul-general, at his office, 106. Fenchurch Street, open every day from 10 to 4, upon payment of a fee of 6s., or even less in certain circumstances. Upon the whole, the passport of the Prussian Consul is the best that the English traveller, about to proceed to Germany and the Rhine, through Holland, or Belgium, or the Hanse Towns, can carry with him; above all, it is not liable to be taken away at the Prussian frontier, which is the case with a French or Belgian passport, and neither Dutch nor Belgian ministers will refuse to countersign it.

Austrian Passport.

The Austrian Ambassador in London will neither give a passport to an Englishman, nor countersign any, except that issued by the British Secretary of State.

For the traveller bound to any part of the Austrian dominions, or to Italy, the Austrian signature is absolutely indispensable, and it is therefore a matter of necessity to obtain it, if not in London, at one of the great capitals on the Continent-at Paris, Brussels, the Hague, Frankfort, Carlsruhe, Berlin, Dresden, Berne in Switzerland, or Munich-where an Austrian minister resides. The traveller must even go out of his way to secure it, or else, when he arrives at the Austrian frontier, he will either be compelled to retrace his steps, or will be kept under the surveillance of the police, until his passport is sent to the nearest place where an English and Austrian ambassador reside, to be authenticated by the one, and signed by the other.

An Englishman's passport ought also to be signed by his own minister at the first English embassy.

British Secretary of State's Passport.

Those who do not grudge the considerable expense of 21. 7s., the price of an English Secretary of State's passport, may obtain one at the Foreign Office in London, provided they be personally known at the office, or can procure a written or personal recommendation from a banker, or other person of respectability who is well known there. The chief advantage attending it is that the bearer may obtain the Austrian Ambassador's signature before leaving England, and can thus obviate delay and trouble.

At the same time it ought to be understood, that an ordinary passport, visé by the Prussian Minister in England, and by some Austrian minister abroad, is, with the above exception, as good as a Secretary of State's, and those who have travelled with both have experienced little, if any, difference between them, deriving no extra benefit from the expenditure of 21. 7s.

As however, there is much difference of opinion as to the value of the English Secretary of State's passport, the following note, from a traveller of great experience, is subjoined :—

"I travelled with a Secretary of State's passport, visé by every ambassador, and I must say, I fancied I perceived an advantage. On the Rhine, at Frankfort, in Belgium, and Rhenish Prussia, a common passport will answer every purpose; but on the frontiers of Hanover, Bohemia, and Bavaria, and, generally, in all places remote from the stream of English travellers, I think it was useful, both at the Posthouse and searching place."-J.

N.B. It is taken away on entering France, like any other passport, and the same in Russia; indeed, for a traveller in Russia it is totally useless.

Passport of Consuls at British Seaports and Foreign Seaports.

The consuls of France residing at Dovor, Brighton, Southampton, and other British seaports, and his Britannic Majesty's consuls abroad, at Calais, Boulogne, Ostend, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, &c., can give a passport to a British subject, but it is prudent to provide one in London before setting out.

The writer has been thus minute and precise in his details respecting the passport, because he knows how essential it is to the traveller to have this precious document en règle, and he has experienced the serious inconvenience to which those who are not aware of the necessary formalities are constantly exposed.

e. COURIERS.

It is notorious that English servants taken for the first time to the Continent, and ignorant of every language but their own, are worse than useless-they are an encumbrance. The traveller who requires a servant at any rate, had better take a foreign one; but he who speaks the language of the Continent himself, and will submit to the details of the coinage and the post books, may save himself much expense, by dispensing with a servant altogether. Thus the knowledge of language becomes a great source of economy. A courier, however, though an expensive luxury, is one which conduces much to the ease and pleasure of travelling, and few who can afford one will forego the advantage of his services. He relieves his master from much fatigue of body and perplexity of mind, in unravelling the difficulties of long bills and foreign moneys, sparing his temper the trials it is likely to endure from disputes with innkeepers, postmasters, and the like. A courier, if clever and experienced, and disposed to consult the comfort of his employer, is a most useful person. His duties consist in preceding the carriage at each stage, to secure relays of post-horses on those routes where horses are scarce, or where the number of travellers renders it difficult to procure them. This, how