The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-23
GUIDING WOMEN IN EUROPE
CAUSE OF TIE INCREASE OF THE
PERSONALLY CONDUCTED.
Hayy Of the Woman Traveller which Lead
the Man OF the Family 20 Surrender TO
q Tourist Agency the Task OF Getting
Her Through OF .Time-Schedules.

women and one man do not constitute
tbs ideal travelling party.
For instance" said he, we agree u
start after breakfast TO do the British
Museum or to inspect a castle. Very we'll
/ make arrangements TO nave a conveyance
t>1ne for us at an hour named by the ladies
and punctually / am at the front door IL
meet them
If we have decided to 90 on foot I also
am on hand punctually at the time named
for the start. In either case | wait and con-
tinue to wait.
Il smoke a cigar and wait some more.
Before long one OF my party appears and
says, Why, where are the others2'
@No. 2 comes along n little later and joins
us with the remark, 4 hope 1 haven't kept
you waiting
''oh, no. says No. 1, before 1 can speak,
I got here only a second ago. But where
is Hattie?'
'Perhaps 1 "a find her. says No. ?. and
of she whisks.
1T Is already twenty minutes past the
time for starting and only two Of the party
are on hand.
NO. ? comes back and reports: Hattie
is writing a letter, but she will be here in
two or three minutes
"oh, Is Hattie writing a letter. saysNo. 1.
Well, then. l guess / will have time to
scratch of a line or two before we start,
and Immediately she fades away.
by then we are nearly twenty-five min
utes behind time and still only two of the
party are or hand, and before We are really
of we are half an hour late.
For any one man 10 collect a party Of
three women for the return trip from a
point Of interest is harder work yet"
When these remarks were repeated to a
man who personally conducts he chuckled.
The tourist agency this mar represents Is
working overtime these days. Customers
stand three deep at times waiting to be in
formed about routes, railroad tickets, dates
OF tours and prospectuses.
THAT man. the agent said. 'has struck
the keynote Of the extraordinary growth in
the number Of personally conducted tours
through Europe and other countries in the
last fifteen or eighteen years. Eighteen
years ago, when l first entered the New
York Office of this concern, to start off a
personally conducted party was quite an
event.
There is a big difference now. We sent
out moro than one hundred personally
conducted tours last year. and we shall
repeat that record this year. These repre-
sent big and little and middling sized parties
that is. parties ranging from eight to
thirty. And the tours this concern en-
gineers are only a drop in the bucket.
ITO be sure this and one or two others
are the only establishments which go in
for personally conducted tours on a large
scale and make a specially of taking travel
lers clear around the world; who attend
also TO equipping individual travellers
they leave this port with railroad
and boat tickets which will carry them
any travelled route in any country
the world over. But this does not represent
the personally conducted tours which
this city every year by a good deal.
In addition to the more notable tours
projected by the large concerns there are
hundreds more which start out in the spring
md summer and are conducted by persons
not included in the force of any travellers
agency. Nowadays physicians. olergymen.
professors and tutors and school
of both sexes, besides man. women
lot engaged in any other money making
pursuit, are Offering to take personally con-
Quoted parties 10 Europe.
Some Of these persons AVE had more
or less experience in travelling over Europe;
lthers have had next to none. Some trust
one trip abroad, a little knowledge of
french and German and a knack for man
Iging to carry them through, and often it
ioes work out, for the reason that the per-
ons conducted are entirely green at travel
ing and consequently ant very we'll make
nvidious comparisons.
How do i make out hat the tremendous
in the number Of personally con-
tours is mainly due TO woman's
in keeping engagements2 Well.
| have had a few tips from the
men folks.
AS q matter Of fact before thinking Of
curing Europe, before he is in a position
where he can afford to cross the ocean for
considerable stay, every family nan
las had a little experience in moving around
n this country with the women OF his own
his wife and some of her friends
relatives or with some of his own friends
r relatives or with his growing daughters
nd their friends and in that way has
earned a thing or two about h is re-
uired Of a man under such circumstances.
lis eye teeth have beer cut.
"As a result he is inclined to balk at the
lea of conveying two or three or more
7omen through a country of which he
mes he makes a first attempt. He seldom
lakes "a second, At the second try he
lcludes another man in the party If IL
lcludes three women, or else he reduces
uuIllDtI Vi NOHleu OF JOINS u person.
lily conducted tour or gets his women
olks to Join one and let him drop out of
he foreign trip altogether. ,
Except in midsummer, when the num-
err Of tho personally conducted is ire .
lendously increased by school teachers '
ound on their holiday, our tours include !
as many men az women and mostly !
imily men at that. A recent party Of I
velve of for n three months tour included
man, his wife, his mother, his sister and :
sister Of his wife-four women, you see. !
The man was a hard worked merchant .
need OF a holiday. He had been in Europe !
d brief business trips but never before a
nd travelled for pleasure or taken a long !
ollday. He had evidently found out that '
he wanted a good time he must not at q
.mpt 10 play courier or manager for four /.
omen, and he didn't. !
He put the responsibility on us and y
a small party 80 az to avoid the I
npearance Of being personally conducted. L
party OF twelve never seems to be any,
ing but a private party.
In this care il was made up Of three
cups each Of which focked by itself. =
to speak, when II felt like il. Each had
: own private conveyance in making car
4 up trims. IFS own table Mt fba rpstnt,ra NE