Baroness Orczy

“ A man, in the uniform of the custom-house officials, stood by the carriage door, respectfully lifting his cap as he peered into the coupé and saw Madame Demidoff surrounded by her luggage.
"Surely it is not necessary," said madame in a tone of annoyance; "my luggage is registered through, and they told me distinctly in Vienna that I shall not be troubled with these stupid formalities." ”

“ This is Eastern Europe, and the Oriental looks upon hurry as one of the seven deadly sins; so the railways he constructs never exceed forty miles an hour, but the springs of the carriages are balanced to a nicety, and everything is done to render the passenger's prolonged stay in the coupé a pleasant and luxurious one. ”

“ Whoever has travelled in a first-class carriage of an Austrian State railway has learnt to know the acme of comfort and luxury that can be conveyed on wheels. True, that whilst the traveller gains in the matter of softly cushioned seats he loses in that of speed ”