WCP415

[1]

Parkstone, Dorset.

Saturday Morning

My dear Annie

Soon after your departure a letter from your Pa arrived, saying he could not start till the Friday after your return. So that is settled. I find by my ^new guidebook that the trains to [the] top of Pilatus do run on Sunday & cheaper! So we can do Pilatus on Sunday, & on Monday leave for the mountains, unless we decide to stay a week on Pilatus. There is another hotel on the top (or near it) called the Klimsenhorn Hotel. This is, I think, rather smaller & cheaper, & when you go to Pilatus you might go there to lunch or get some slight refreshment (soda water etc.) and ask them what they charge by the day, "tout compris"[French: all in], for 2-3 days or a week. I expect there are lots of rose plants on the mountain, & it could not be explored in a week. [2] Also do not forget to enquire about a small moderate hotel in Lucerne for us to go to when we get there. One near the station preferred.

When you get this you will I suppose be revelling in the glories of Lake Lucerne & the mountains. I see there is another mountain called the Stangerhorn opposite Pilatus to the south-east, an inlet of the lake between them. It is higher than the Rigi but not so high as Pilatus, & has a little railway to top and a hotel; and as it is much less known than the Rigi & Pilatus it is probably cheaper. You can probably see at the chalets, or at Lucerne one directory of [3] Hotels, & see what their prices are for "pension". I expect it would be a delightful place to stay a few days, as the views must be magnificent, and there are sure to be plenty of flowers as part of it is called the Blumatalp[?].

Let me know if you have had afternoon tea successfully with the lamp & kettle; also how you got through the journey, & all your adventures & what the chalets are like, & what kind of a feast you had with your three meals on Sunday! Also if you have made any acquaintances among your fellow-travellers. Give my love to Bessie¹, who I hope is enjoying herself [4] and likes Switzerland better than Rouen[?]. Tell me also if Violet² met you at the station.

I have a letter today from Miss Jekyll³ enclosing some queries of a gentleman who wants to live at Lyme Regis & make a garden, & is afraid sea-air is not good for many plants! I think it is good for all plants if they are sheltered from wind. The garden looks & feels beautifully fresh this morning after the rain. Your Pa says there were mosquitoes at the Rhone Glacier when he was there but that was in August & they bit him!! But, as there are plenty of flowers I suppose he will dare the dangers of those infuriated beasts! Hoping you do not find it too hot & humid.

Your ever affectionate | Alfred [signature]