By George but the clocks have been an elephant, haven’t they! I am supremely grateful that the taking care of him fell to you & Will Sage instead of to me. I am greatly obliged to you both for allowing me to inflict the animal upon you. I think I will ship all my purchases through you.

Well, I have lost my Switzerland note-book! I have written to Rome and Florence, but I don’t expect to find it. If it remains lost, I can’t write any volume of travels, & shan’t attempt it., but shall tackle some other subject. I’ve got a work-room, a mile from here, & am all ready to go to work, but shall lie on my oars till I hear from Rome & Florence.

Tell the Warners we are delightfully situated here & have fallen in love with the Fraülein. She gives us the very best cookery, (& the widest variety) we have had in Europe. I have the sort of appetite which you had at the Hotel du Soliel in Visp. It is a charming novelty. The food is all as good as it can be; & the maid who serves it carries such a depth of soil on her hands that at short range you can’t tell her from real-estate.

The Boyesens have been in Munich ten days. I saw their names on the banker’s books, & that they were to leave today for Italy; so Livy & I drove to their lodgings yesterday afternoon; by my translation, the landlady said they had left town. But after we had returned home the German sediment gradually settled to the bottom & the correct translation was revealed—to-wit: the Boyesens were simply nicht zŭ haŭse. However, it was too late to try again—so we didn’t get to see the Boyesens.

〚Dear Mrs. Susie (Warner.): I ordered a perfect love of a music box in Geneva, & for 2 months have been trying to select the 10 tunes for it. Won’t you help me? Its best hold t hold is not loud, or staccato or rapid music, but just the reverse—a soft, flowing strain—its strong suit is the plaintive. I have selected 4: The Lorelei, the Miser໨re from Trovatore, the Wedding March from Lohengrin, & the Russian National Anthem—& at that point I stuck. You are just the person who can suggest some tunes to get the wanting 6 out of. This box is great on rich chords—pours them out like the great god Pan—or any other man. She’s not one of the thumping or banging or tinkling sort, with castanets & birds & drums & such-like foolishness—no, her melody is low-voiced, & flows in blended waves of sound. Her forte is to express pathos, not hilarity or hurrah. Come, will you help me? I shall wait to hear from you.〛

Dear Joe (again.)—There is nothing like saying a thing when it occurs to you—hence the above parenthesis to Susie Warner. We staid a day or two in Chambery & Turin, a week in Milan, several days at Bellagio on the lake of Como, three weeks in Venice, a week in Florence, a fortnight in Rome—then flew northwards, only stopping to rest & sleep at Florence, Bologna & Trent (in the Austrian Tyrol.) I discharged George at Venice—the worthless idiot—& have developed into a pretty fair sort of courier myself since then.

The children are well—so well that there is hardly any possibility of enduring their awful racket. The stove-heat here keeps in Livy’s head splitting with headache, but otherwise she is well—Miss Clara likewise. also.

With a power of love to you & the family & the friends,