II. Money, Passport, Custom House.
Money. A small sum of money to start with should be taken in English or French gold, but large sums should always be carried in the form of circular notes, care being observed to keep the notes and the ‘letter of indication’ quite separate. These notes are issued by the London and the Scottish banks and by Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son (Ludgate Circus). The cheques issued by the American Express Companies, by the American Bankers Association, and by the International Mercantile Marine Co. are also convenient. Wherever the traveller lands he will find an ample supply of the small change of the country very needful.
Passports are not absolutely necessary, except in Turkey and in Russia; but consuls, and sometimes bankers, require more convincing proof of identity than a visiting-card. Passports must be shown at the post-offices also in order to obtain delivery of registered letters.
Passports may be procured in England direct from the Passport Department of the Foreign Office, Whitehall (fee 2 s.), or through any tourist-agent.—In the United States they are obtained from the Bureau of Citizenship, State Department, Washington, D.C.—Travellers may generally get their passports visés for Turkey or Russia through one of the steamboat-companies or by applying to their consulate at one of the chief seaports, if they have omitted to take this step before leaving home.
The Custom House Examination at the various seaports and frontiers is seldom very rigorous; but the traveller should be careful to declare every new article not intended for personal use; and he should note particularly that cigars, tobacco, and cigarettes, weapons and ammunition (the import of the last four articles being entirely prohibited in Turkey), playing-cards, matches, etc. are liable to a heavy duty almost everywhere. These should therefore be carried in very small quantities or dispensed with altogether. It is rarely worth while carrying large supplies of any dutiable article, as the formalities are tedious and the expenses heavy.
In Turkey a second custom-house examination of luggage takes place when the traveller leaves the country, a small duty being levied on exports, while the export of antiques without the authority of government is forbidden. In Spain, Italy, and Greece also permission must be obtained to carry away works of art. Persons who have made large purchases, or have a superfluity of baggage to send home, had better employ a goods-agent.