The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-12
BILLETELY is A NEW FAD.
Collection of Railway Tickets the
Latest London Craze.
From the Chicago Chronicle.

From the Chicago Chronicle
London-There is a new fad in town. 1t
is the collecting of railway tickets and the
new science is called billetely It was in
vented by an undergraduate of Cambridge
University, Trinity man. In speaking
about it he said:
Eyes, my cousin and 1 started the hobby
Ccraze,' if you like some little time ago,
and great sport we have had out of it,
should say that we despise omnibus and
tramway tickets-unless they are foreign
ones-as being common and as presenting
no difficulty in their collection, since pas
sengers are not required TO give them up
at the end of the journey. What we go
in for are railway tickets and / can assure
you that the collection of these requires
considerable amount of tact, ingenuity
and not a little cheek For instance, on
alighting at a country or suburban station
one has to practice all sorts of ruses to
escape the necessity of delivering up ones
ticket 1 have crossed the line before
now and scrambled through the palings
of the opposite platform. I have gone
straight to refreshment rooms, where such
exist, and waited there-at considerable
expense-until the coast was clear. Several
times, after boldly passing the barrier,
vigilant porter has given chase to me, and
sometimes caught me, when l have had
the satisfaction of disappointing his detec-
tive instincts by coolly handing over the
ticket / have been successful in a more
wholesale way. My greatest coup was at
Cover street, where tickets are collected
at the top of the stairs. / took my stand
al the bottom and collected a trainful of
them, passing up last and handing my
own to the man at the top In order to
mystify him the more completely. You see
there is very seldom more than one porter
on a Metropolitan platform like Cover
street. and he was at the end the furthest
from the gate. The man upstairs when the
passengers loudly protested that they had
already given up theft tickets below stairs
had no option but to believe them, and
probably concluded that an extra ticket in
spector had alighted from the train and
las frequently happens, I believe) collect
ed them at the platform gate. His sur
mise was right certainly was an extra
collector, but not one in the pay of the
company. Probably so outrageous an ex-
PLANTATION as that passenger was collect
ing the tickets would never occur to the
average railway employe"
And how many tickets have you in
your collection"
Upwards of 800" replied the billetelist.
Here they are"
In a handsome cabinet next to the fire.
place were arranged these treasures, neat
ly and systematically, In drawers, by
countries, railways classes, returns, sin
giles, clipped and unclipped. Among the
foreign specimens were an unusual num-
Der of German tickets.
But are not the German officials strict
in the matter of tickets?"
'sThey are. But friend of mine got
these for me in a curiously simple way.
He handed his own ticket to collector
at the next station to Mosel;
then he asked in broken German If the
man would give 1t him back. The official
looked at him suspiciously, laughed and
walked away; but, evidently struck by
the novelty of the request, returned as the
train was starting thrust all the tickets
he had collected into my astonished
friends hands, muttering something
graceful and appropriate about these mad
Englishmen.'
"And which are your most valuable
specimens?"
well, probably this one; frst-class
Paris Uyons) to Monte Carlo but / have
also a local Spanish one here and Ger
man fourth-class' by the Mosel-Valley
line. Here are also some short-journey
Swedish, several Swiss, and this Echter-
nach-Luxembourg is not common"
you have collected these mostly your
self?"
''Yes. But have great many CORE
spondents' who help me-"
"Gratuitously? 1858
"Oh yes. They do it for the fun OF
the thing at first. then it becomes a pas
sion with them. 1t Is a species of sport.
you know, enjoyed always from the hares
Is no danger for IL detected slipping
through the gates you simply produce
your ticket, and the VOLTA toutv'
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