September 22 Tuesday – On the Rhone River below Villebois at Noon, Sam wrote again to Livy:
Good morning, sweetheart. Night caught us yesterday where we had to take quarters in a peasant’s house which was occupied by the family & a lot of cows & calves — also several rabbits. — [His word for fleas.] — The latter had a ball, & I was the ball-room; but they were very friendly & didn’t bite.
September 21 Monday – Near the village of Port-de-Groslee, France at 4:15 p.m., Sam wrote again to Livy, declaring as was his usual habit while away from her, to write daily.
September 20 Sunday – In Lake Bourget, Switzerland Sam wrote in his “part diary and part comment” log:
In the morning I looked out of my window and saw the tops of trees below me, thick and beautiful foliage, and below the trees was the bright blue water of the lake shining in the sun. The window seemed to be about two hundred feet above the water, An airy and inspiring situation, indeed. A pope was born in that room a couple of centuries ago. I forget his name. …
September 19 Saturday –After installing the family in Ouchy, Sam left at 2 p.m. with Joseph Verey in the purchased boat (see Sept. 16) and the first night stopped on an island in Lake Bourget, where they slept in the old castle of Châtillon in a room where Pope Celestin IV was born at the end of the eighth century [MTB 924; NB 31 TS 5-6; Aix-Les-Bains,etc.114 by Dr. Léon Brachet (1884) ].
September 18 Friday – The Clemens family rested at Ouchy, Lausanne on Lake Leman. Sam’s notebook reveals he bought “27 cigars for a cent. It is the quality which has rotted your heart, not the number—which is not excess” [NB 31 TS 6].
The Grand Beau-Rivage Interlaken has stood majestically between the emerald green waters of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz for 150 years, a timeless icon of Swiss hospitality and elegance. Its history is a fascinating journey through the 19th century to the present day, characterized by luxury, grace and incomparable beauty.
September 17 Thursday – Sam’s notebook: “Arrived at Ouchy Thursday, Sept. 17—noon” [NB 31 TS 5]. The Clemens party took rooms at the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage, Ouchy, Lausanne on Lake Leman [MTB 924].
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.