Five minutes before any particular train leaves, the ticket-office is
closed and the conductors pass through the cars and inspect the tickets.
If any one did come into a wrong car or train, there is still time left to
correct the mistake. Tickets are not collected till one's destination is
reached, where they _must_ be delivered to the door-keeper on leaving the
station. Without it, a passenger is a prisoner. "Railroading" is so
perfectly systemized in Europe, that it is quite impossible either to
cheat a company, or to be cheated out of one's time by missing trains.
There is little danger of missing a train even in countries where one can
not speak the language. The cars are divided into compartments _(Ger.
Abtheilungen)_ of two seats or benches each, running across the car, with
doors at the sides. In 1st Class cars, the seats are finely cushioned and
the compartments are about as inviting in appearance as our Palace cars;
in 2nd Class cars the seats are comfortable but common; but 3rd Class cars
have only bare wooden benches. There are in some countries, 4th Class
cars, which have no seats. I did not see any of those, but from what I
learned of others, they must resemble our freight cars. In those, too,
passengers have the privilege of standing or sitting down, according to
their taste or comfort. Tickets to 1st Class cars cost about the same as
in this country, 2nd Class tickets cost three-fourths, and 3rd Class about
half as much.

In hilly sections of the country, the railways generally cross the wagon
roads by bridges; but wherever the two kinds of roads intersect each other
on a level, travel on the latter is interrupted by gates and watchmen, who
permit no one to pass while a train is approaching the crossing. Thus
every railway crossing in Europe is superintended day and night by
watchmen. These watchmen are noticed by signal-bells, at the departure of
every train running in the direction of their crossings. Under such a
system, accidents are impossible. Even the doors of each "compartment" are