the Rocky Mountain region, and to have
destroyed a class of men, who, with all
their faults, were a manly and a generous
race. Beaver has now fallen to about five
shillings per pound, and is hardly worth
trapping. The business of trapping has
fallen almost entirely into the hands of
half-breeds and Indians, who pursue it
after their stolid and lazy fashion. A few
free trappers like Baillie, still pursue the
business, more, however, from old habit
than for any real profit they derive from it.
Most of them are scattered, or have taken
up some of the employments which the
spread of the white settlements have brought
to their lodge doors. They have become
small traders, or store-keepers, farmers on
the borders of civilisation, or hangers-on of
trading ports living on the memories of the
past. The new impetus given to civilisation
will soon clear them off entirely, and
the place which once knew them will know
them no more.

TWO SIDES TO LUGGAGE.

IN the paper on the " Physiognomy of
Luggage"* are these statements: " It is
not too much to say that what takes place
in the baggage offices all over the Continent
is an organised system of cheating." And
"All this is a scandal to foreign ' administrations,'
especially on the French lines,
where the favourite device is to add about
ten francs to the charge for a set of tickets
taken together."

*See ALL THE YEAR ROUND New Series vol iii, p.39

Now, the facts, within the knowledge of
the present writer, connected with passengers'
luggage on French railways, are these:

Luggage, like everything else in France,
except diamonds, is weighed by kilos, their
multiples, and subdivisions. The French
are not at present blessed with troy,
avoirdupois, and apothecaries' weights. The
word " kilo" is the popular abbreviation
of kilogramme, a thousand grammes, the
"gramme" being the unit of weight in the
Metrical System of Measures and Weights.
The kilo is equal to two pounds avoirdupois
and a trifle more than a fifth over.

Now, every traveller, besides the personal
effects which he takes with him in the
railway carriage, has the right to thirty
kilos of luggage gratis (a little over
sixty-six pounds—just enough to turn the
scale), on the payment of the registration
fee of ten centimes, or one penny.

There is no difference in the weight of
luggage allowed to the different classes.
The third-class passenger may take his
thirty kilos: the first-class passenger can
take no more than thirty without paying
an extra charge; and it is this
extra charge on excess of luggage which
seems to have provoked your contributor's
anger. The registration fee of
ten centimes is irrespective of distance;
it has to be paid at every act of registration,
however short the journey, and you pay no
more, however long it is, always supposing
that you keep within the regulation allowance
of sixty- six pounds per traveller.

Moreover, for a party travelling together
from the same point of departure to the
same destination, one act of registration
suffices. Their luggage is considered as
a whole, and the aggregate weight divided
between them. If one member of the party
has less than thirty kilos of luggage,
another may exceed that weight to the same
amount. If, however, one member of that
party intends leaving the train at any
intermediate station, his luggage must be
registered separately, and he cannot
receive or give the benefit of any average
of weight. But while all keep together,
all goes smoothly; at least such is our
own experience. I lately was one of a
party of four who went from Paris to
Avignon—  a tolerably long stretch; and
the only charge for our luggage, registered
together, was the fee of one penny.

Everybody has a perfect right to travel
with as much luggage as he pleases;
but everybody has not the right to cry
"stop thief!" and accuse honest men of
swindling, when he is made to pay for
excessive luggage. It is not impertinent to
say that a moderate amount of luggage
adds greatly to the ease and pleasure of
travelling. Some extra allowance must be
made for ladies; but a great many useful
and necessary articles may be taken, and
yet not exceed sixty-six pounds.

We went, last summer, to the Pyrenees,
via Montpellier and Perpignan, two young
ladies, a servant, and self. We were travel-
ling for health. The ladies contented
themselves with five dresses each in their trunks,
besides a proper provision of under-clothing.
Servant and self needed less variety of
costume; so we easily kept our luggage
under the joint allowance of one hundred
and twenty kilos, or two hundred and
sixty-four pounds; and never at a single
station were we charged more than the
regular fee of one penny for the whole