From London to Basle
Wednesday morning, September 2, we were to leave London for
Basle. Bro. H. W. Kellogg, who had been in London with W. C. White
about a week, attending to business connected with the publishing
houses at Basle and at Christiania, Norway, was to accompany us. We
had determined on an early departure; but this, as those know who are
familiar with London habits, was not an easy matter. At eight o’clock
in the morning the principal business streets of London are as quiet as
are those in most of our American cities at six o’clock; and business
men are not to be found in their offices until a still later hour.
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At the small hotel at which we were staying, there was little sign of
life before seven o’clock. We asked for breakfast at six, but were told
that it would be impossible to furnish anything so early. By previous
experience we had learned that usually at this hour the fires were not
built, nor were the doors unlocked. So, to carry out our plan, we
purchased bread, fruit, and milk in the evening, and asked for dishes to
be brought to our rooms that we might prepare our own breakfast. The
porter was [told] to get up early and have the door unlocked at half
past six; but this he failed to do until wakened by us in the morning.
After this experience, we concluded that in order to enjoy traveling in
Europe it is better to conform to the customs of the country than to try
to introduce our own. We could have taken a later train, but thought
that the early one would be less crowded and more pleasant.
At the station, an effort was made to “check” the trunks to Basle.
But on the English roads there are no checks. After we had paid for
all that was in excess of fifty-five pounds for each ticket, they pasted
onto each piece of baggage two strips of paper, one with the word
“Basle” written on it, the other containing the number “103.” To us
they gave one of the papers numbered “103”, after they had written on
it the number of pieces we had left in their charge. This is the nearest
thing to our American checking system that is to be found in Europe.
And on many of the local roads in England, even this is not practiced.
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