September 16 Wednesday † – Sam decided to take a solo excursion. He hired his old courier Joseph Verey (Very) and sent him ahead to Lake Bourget to engaged a boat and pilot for a ten day trip down the river Rhone. Paine writes,
“For five dollars Joseph bought a safe, flat-bottom craft; also he engaged the owner as pilot. A few days later — September 19 — Clemens followed” [MTB 924].
September 15 Tuesday – In Geneva, Switzerland Sam wrote to Frederick J. Hall, complaining, “For the first time our mails have failed & gone utterly to the devil.” Upon arrival the night before Sam did find Hall’s letter of two weeks prior, however (not extant). Sam told of spending time with Dr. Charles Waldstein while in Marienbad (see Aug. 24 entry), and thought McClure might want Waldstein to write for the syndicate — would Hall find out and let Sam know?
Bern (Swiss Standard German: [bɛrn] ⓘ, German: [bɛʁn]), or Berne (French: [bɛʁn] ⓘ), is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city". With a population of about 133,000 (as of 2022), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland, behind Zürich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000.
September 14 Monday – The Clemens party left Interlaken and traveled back to Geneva, reaching there in the evening [Sept. 15 to Hall].
Joe Cone of East Cambrige, Mass. wrote a bad poem and thought it worth Sam’s autograph [MTP].
September 13 Sunday – In Interlaken, Switzerland Sam wrote to Francis Dalzell Finlay, his longtime friend in Belfast, Ireland.
We leave tomorrow for Berne & later for Geneva. For a day or two. Beyond that the WILL OF GOD has not been signified to his servants. Therefore we must wait for a sign for we are personally conducted. All the family are with me.
September 12 Saturday – Sometime during his stay in Interlaken, Sam “stumbled on the whole lovely Dawson family one evening” [Oct. 1 to Twichell]. During the 1878 tramp with Joe, they had met John Dawson and wife on the train from Leukerbad, Switzerland to Locchi-Suste (Visp). See Aug. 26, 1878 entry.
Grindelwald is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Berne. In addition to the village of Grindelwald, the municipality also includes the settlements of Alpiglen, Burglauenen, Grund, Itramen, Mühlebach, Schwendi, Tschingelberg and Wargistal.
September 11 Friday – Sam’s notebook (31 TS 5) reveals a side trip to Grindelwald, possibly on this day:
3 hours afoot. 2 ½ zu Pferd, from the Hotel de l’Ours to the Gletcher, looks 300 yards. (Grindelwald). Shrines all the way — what you want is cussing places. Re-name them…Want milk, but dasn’t have it — would be too conspicuous not to drink wine. The wine increases my rheumatism, too…48 fr[ancs] for food for 6 persons at the Bear Tavern, Grindelwald . A swindle… [Also in part in Rodney 136].
September 10 Thursday – In Interlaken, Sam wrote the fifth letter for McClure’s Syndicate, “Switzerland — The Cradle of Liberty.”