The crossing-keepers are usually women. A large number of
that sex are employed by the railways.
The stops at the stations seem unnecessarily long to impatient
Americans, but the time is utilized by the leisurely passengers in
drinking big goblets of beer, and by the conductor in parading up
and down the platform so that the patrons of the road can have
an opportunity to admire his radiant uniform and fine shape. In
Scandinavian countries the best-looking men seem to have been selected
for railway conductors and policemen, and their deportment is
decidedly different from what we are used to in America. If you ask a
question of a Norwegian policeman, he will bring his heels together,
give a military salute, and stand in the attitude of attention like
a soldier while he answers. He usually understands English, too, and
those who can not are remarkably accurate guessers, and all take a
friendly interest in your inquiries instead of giving you a short
answer and a cold shoulder like the policemen in our cities. They will
walk to the corner to point out the house in the middle of the next
block if that is where you want to go, and when you thank them for
their attention, you get another salute that makes you feel as big as
a major general, or as if you had been mistaken for a member of the
royal family.
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