Compared with the United States the continent of Europe has a small amount of inland navigation. Russia contains more rivers where steamers may run than all the rest of Europe, and until within a few years her steamboat interest was greater than that of her railways. The Rhine is the most important stream of Western Europe, and the Danube has the greatest navigable length of any river outside of Russia. The Danube has a serious impediment at the Iron Gates, where a succession of rapids and a channel full of rocks prevent the passage of boats. From the days of the Romans to the present there has been talk of a canal around the Iron Gates, and there are the remains to-day of a canal that was begun by one of the Roman emperors, but never completed. From the head of navigation at Ulm to its entrance into the Black Sea the Danube has a course of more than seventeen hundred miles, while the Rhine can only claim a navigable distance of less than five hundred. The Rhone and its tributary, the Saone, are classed as navigable streams, but their currents are so swift that their steamboat interest has never been an important one, on account of the great cost of making an ascending journey. Many of the smaller rivers of Europe are navigated by freight-boats only; as a general statement it is fair to say that the inland navigation available to the tourist is comprised in the Rhine and Danube rivers, and the Swiss and Italian lakes. In Russia he will find the Volga, the Don, and the Dnieper rivers worthy of attention, and, if he is on the lookout for more streams, he may venture on the Vistula, and one or two others of lesser consequence.

All the Swiss lakes are well equipped with steamboats, and the service is prompt enough to suit the most exacting. On the lake of Geneva, for example, there are half a dozen boats each way, daily, the whole length of the lake, some of them stopping at every landing, and others making only two or three halts. The boats are long and narrow, and present a most insignificant appearance when compared with the steamers of the Hudson and Mississippi; the after part is reserved for the first-class passengers, who can sit under an awning on deck, or retire to a cabin below. The second-class is forward, and in fine weather is preferable to the first, since the latter has all the benefit of the smoke and cinders as they blow aft. The boats on the Swiss lakes are for day service, and contain no sleeping-cabins, but there are sofas and couches on which an invalid may recline, provided the craft is not too much crowded. Meals are served a la carte, and sometimes at a fixed price; the latter are not to be recommended on the majority of the boats, though they are cheaper than meals a la carte.

Tickets are bought at the clerk's office, and the traveler is advised to visit that locality and settle his fare as soon as he goes on board. No receipts are given for baggage, and if there is an excessive amount it is charged for. There is an attachÉ of the boat who looks after the baggage—expecting a fee as a matter of course—but even with his watchfulness it behooves the stranger to keep an eye out for himself, or he may find on reaching his destination that his trunk has gone ashore by mistake at some other landing. In selecting a seat on deck take one on the side of the boat opposite the sun, so at to avoid the reflection on the water, and whenever you leave your seat for a moment put a satchel or some other article in it. Fashionable travelers on the Swiss lakes are not always respectful of the rights of others, and will drop into an eligible locality the moment it is vacated, even though they know your absence will be exceedingly brief.

The description of the Swiss steamers will apply in general terms to those of the Italian lakes. The boats are for day service only, and their models are very nearly those of the Swiss. Most of the attachÉs of the boats, especially the waiters in the cabin, speak French, and occasionally one may be found who can grapple with English. Some of the boats are much finer than others, and the traveler will do well to make enquiries before taking passage. When embarking at an intermediate landing buy a ticket immediately, or you may be charged for the whole distance from the steamer's starting point. This custom is not altogether unknown in other countries; there have even been occasions when it cost less to go from New York to Albany than to a point half-way between those cities, as many an individual can testify.

For a long time the steamers on the Rhine were of the model already described, and the accommodations for passengers were decidedly limited. But with the increase of travel there has been a great improvement, and now there is a line of "American steamboats" plying the river so famous for its crumbling castles and historic associations. The steamers of the American rivers have been taken as models for these boats, and some of them are finely fitted up and contain many features of real comfort. They are fast winning the favor of the Germans, and, of course, are patronized by Americans and English to the neglect of the old boats. The traveler should make sure of the name and character of a boat before buying his ticket and embarking, or he may find himself delegated to an antiquated tub, with limited accommodations and snail-like speed, when he had expected to be on a floating palace.

The tariff of fares is carefully arranged, and is posted at the window of each ticket-office, so that there can be no doubt as to the proper sum to be paid. In most instances tickets are sold at the offices on the docks, but it is well not to purchase at an intermediate landing until the boat is in sight; boats are liable to detention from various causes, and, if a tourist is in a hurry, he can take the railway, which follows the bank of the Rhine, or very near it, all the way from Dusseldorf to Mayence.

On the Rhine steamers meals are served a la carte and at fixed prices, but there has been a tendency of late years to abolish the fixed-price system and serve only a la carte. On most of the boats there is a table d'hote breakfast or dinner at certain hours, and a notice thereof is given by the ringing of a bell. The waiters are fond of delaying the collection of a passenger's bill till just as he is going on shore; by so doing they have a better chance of imposing on him than when his memory is quite fresh as to the items with which he can be properly charged.

Baggage is not checked unless an extra price is paid, but there is a free allowance of one hundred pounds for each passenger. The charge for guaranteeing the safety of baggage varies from two to ten cents a parcel, according to its size and estimated value; when this amount is paid the company is responsible for loss, and will indemnify the owner according to a fixed tariff. Everything goes by tariff on the Rhine, except the fees to the waiters, and the current of the river, and the wind.

On the Upper Danube, from Ulm to Linz, and from Linz to Vienna, the steamers are small and the accommodations limited, but on the lower part of the stream there is a different state of affairs. The Danube Steam Navigation Company has some large boats elegantly fitted up, and though they are deficient in several things they remind the American of home. The sleeping accommodations are rather limited, as there is only a common cabin with two or three tiers of berths, unless a high price extra is paid for a private room. The dining-saloon is airy and well lighted, and the table generally excellent. There are two, and sometimes three, classes of steamers; the fastest is the "Accelerated," which makes only the few principal landings, and leaves the other boats to perform the details of the service. On the "Accelerated" boats meals are included in the fare, and the payment for them is compulsory, while on the other steamers the traveler pays only his passage, and the meals are an extra that he may take or leave alone. There is a Hungarian line with its headquarters at Pesth, and on the lower part of the Danube there is a Turkish line that has periodical fits of suspension, and once in a while disappears for months at a time. There is a considerable amount of travel between Central Europe and Constantinople by the Danube route; a traveler from Vienna goes as far as Rustchuk by the river, and then proceeds (in about eight hours) to Varna by rail. From Varna is a run of fourteen hours by steamship through the Black Sea, and down the Bosphorus, till the domes of Saint Sophia's Mosque rise to view.

The steamers on the Russian inland waters leave much to be desired in the way of personal comforts, and the most that can be said of them is that they are better than no steamers at all. On some of the rivers, especially on the Volga, there are some boats that are fairly equipped, but the cooking is not the best in the world, and the passenger must expect to do a good deal of roughing it. The first-class travel is not sufficient to pay for anything like a good service and liberal table, and if one is on the hunt for luxuries he will keep away from the steamboat service in the land of the Czar.

On the Siberian lakes and rivers there is a steamboat service of very limited character. The great rivers, with the exception of the Amoor, flow into the Arctic Ocean, and consequently their only business is a local one. There are only two or three steamers on the Obi, and the same number on the Yenesei; the commerce of the Amoor maintains from twenty to twenty-five steamboats, and there are less than half a dozen on Lake Baikal and its outlet, the Angara. All these steamers are small, compared with American boats, and their accommodations leave much to be desired. The first cabin is usually an open room, with wide sofas running all around it, and on these sofas the traveler makes his couch with his own bed-clothing, none being provided by the boat. The ticket does not include food, and the table is supplied by the captain, at an expense of about a dollar a day for each passenger. A traveler across Siberia must expect hard fare and poor accommodations, and find the compensation for his privations in the novel scenes the journey affords.