You then
pay for it, and leave 4s. more, which are given back at whatever
station your trip may end. There are also tickets for longer periods
than five days. You can send a letter instead of going to the station.
You can write from England, and find your ticket waiting for you at
Ostend or Antwerp, or any other place in Belgium from which you may
intend to start on your journey. This is very convenient, for it saves
the trouble of buying a fresh ticket each day. Besides, it is a great
deal cheaper. These tickets are called _abonnements_.
There are also _abonnements_ for children going to school, and for
workmen. It is quite common in Belgium to be in a railway carriage
where, when the guard comes round, all the passengers pull out season
tickets.
There is one thing about travelling by railway in Belgium which
English people don't always know, and that is the rule about opening
and shutting windows. The Belgians are not so fond of fresh air as we
are. They sleep with their bedroom windows shut, which makes them
soft, and apt to catch cold. So they are always afraid of draughts,
especially in a railway train.
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