August 12, 1878 Monday – The men left Baden Baden by rail and arrived at Lucerne, Switzerland where they joined Livy, the children and the rest of the party who had been there a few days. (See Baden to Lucern)
August 15 Thursday – The entire Clemens party took a two-day excursion to the Rigi-Kulm. They spent the night in a hotel on the Rigi to watch the sunset and sunrise. (See Excursion to the Rigi-Kulm)
August 12 Monday – The men left Baden Baden by rail and arrived at Lucerne, Switzerland where they joined Livy, the children and the rest of the party who had been there a few days [MTNJ 2: 47].
August 13 to 14, 1878 Wednesday
August 13 to 14 Wednesday – Sam and Twichell rested and visited with Livy, Clara, and the children.
August 15 Thursday – The entire Clemens party took a two-day excursion to the Rigi-Kulm. They spent the night in a hotel on the Rigi to watch the sunset and sunrise.
In a letter of Aug. 20, Sam described the ascent and descent to his mother:
August 16 Friday – The Clemens party completed their two-day excursion and returned to Lucerne.
August 17 Saturday – While Sam rested, smoked and wrote letters in Lucerne, Joe Twichell went solo on a three-day trip in the Alps, to St. Gottard Pass [MTNJ 2: 140n55].
August 19 Monday – From Sam’s notebook: “The Yale cub who asked so many idiotic questions on the lake steamer” [MTNJ 2: 140]. Sam thought Lucerne “a charming place” but didn’t care for the “horde” of tourists that flocked there in the summer. Rodney concludes that, to Sam, “the antiquity of the Swiss city was more impressive than that of Heidelberg, its local color and natural beauty more appealing” [104].
August 20 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Lucerne to Frank Bliss about Twichell inspiring him for a “better plan” for the book. Sam wouldn’t go to work “in earnest until…Munich in November.” The plan and title of the book were a secret, Sam wrote. He’d had rheumatism for two months, but had gotten the better of it. For a few months mail could be sent in care of Edward Meigs Smith, Lang’s Hotel, Heidelberg [MTLE 3: 77].
August 21 Wednesday – Sam hired a carriage and the group continued on to Interlaken, Switzerland. From Sam’s notebook: “Left in 4-horse ambulance. Proprietor gave children box” [MTNJ 2: 141].
August 22 Thursday – From Sam’s notebook:
At Jungfrau Hotel, Interlaken—Superb view of the Jungfrau.
Confounded crow woke us all up at daylight.
Set your umbrellas up on these polished wood floors, down it goes. Step suddenly on them, down you go. The lowest snow on the Jf seems but little above the valley level [drawing inserted] [MTNJ 2: 141].
August 23 Friday – Sam and Twichell said goodbye to the family and left Interlaken.
August 24 Saturday – From Sam’s notebook:
“…up, shaved breakfasted, before 8—everybody gone but us…visited Gasternthal—gushing waterspout from rock. Sun shining on green ice & blazing snow…Chased a chunk down stream” [MTNJ 2: 143]. (See this source for Twichell’s description of Sam boyishly and joyously chasing a stick downstream.)
August 25 Sunday – From Sam’s notebook:
…visted the King of the World’s palace [a natural cliff formation] & drew its outline, seated on a grassy bench (a precipice) 2 or 300 ft high,) with 2 or 3 trees projecting above its edge.
Gigantic French Countess—did wish I might venture to ask her for her dimensions. The fatlings bathe 3 hours in AM & 2 in PM [MTNJ 2: 145-6].
August 26 Monday – Sam and Joe took a train to Locchi-Suste (Visp). They met John Dawson and wife, an English family going their way. From Visp the two hiked “6 hours through mud & rain” the ten miles to St. Nicklaus, Switzerland [MTNJ 2: 148]. Rodney: “Ensconsed in a new hotel, they changed into dry clothes and revived with a good dinner” [107].
August 27 Tuesday – Sam wrote in his notebook that the hotel was a pleasant contrast to the villages and roads. But it was close to a village church which messed with their sleep:
St. Nicklaus Aug. 27—Awakened at 4:30 by the clang & jangle of a church bell wh rang 15 min. Went to sleep no more. At 7 it rang again 15.
It is an ugly little whitewashed church with a queer tin dome like a turnip growing with its root in the air.
Damn all ch bells! At 7.25 they rang again!
August 28 Wednesday – Sam and Joe walked six hours from Zermatt to Riffle and took rooms in a hotel there. Sam noted that
“The guide-book calls it 7 miles…but we found by the Pedometer it was only 800 yards. So in everything but distances the G.B. [guidebook] is to be depended on. It took us 6 hours to go the 800 yds, though” [MTNJ 2: 165].
August 29 Thursday – Sam’s notebook:
“…we climbed up on the end of Gorner glacier which is joined in its course by 10 glaciers. The Visp issues from it” [MTNJ 2: 167].
Sam and Joe spent time observing the Matterhorn, the Riffleberg, the Gorner Grat and the adjacent mountains. They walked back to Zermatt either late this day or on the morning of the next day.
August 30 Friday – The two tramps “left Zermatt about 10 A.M in a wagon & a shower, for St. Nicholas” [MTNJ 2: 167].
After a time they reached St. Nicklaus, where they lunched, then continued on foot ten miles to Visp, where they spent the night [Rodney 108].
August 31 Saturday – Sam and Twichell took the train at 10:51 AM to Breveret (Bouveret), accompanied by the Dawsons (see Aug.
September – Sam’s notebook referred to Thomas Woodbine Hinchliff’s Summer Months Among the Alps (1857) [Gribben 314] Ch 34 of TA has a long extract from Hinchliff’s story of the Monte Rosa climb.
September 1 Sunday – In the morning Sam went to the:
“English church… At 5 PM Rev. Mr. [Robert] Eden called & in the evening our friends the Dawsons took coffee with us in our room in the Hotel Beau Rivage. A pleasant evening” [MTNJ 2: 169].
September 2 Monday – Sam’s notebook: –
“To Chillon—humbug—no chamois—hired Bonneval for his role. Enterprise of the canton in building a castle around the living rock to fit Byron’s poem. This dungeon is much cleaner & pleasanter than Visp or any of those places” [MTNJ 2: 169].
September 4 Wednesday – From Sam’s notebook at the Beau Rivage Hotel, Ouchy:
Furious at breakfast…have read French 25 years & now could not say “breakfast” —could think of nothing but aujourdhui—then demain!—then—& so on, tearing my hair (figuratively) and raging inwardly while outwardly calm—one idiot french word after another while waiter stood bewildered.
There were indications wh[ich] showed that this egg was an antique [MTNJ 2: 170].
September 5 Thursday – The two “tramps” left Martigny on foot at 8 AM, bound for Chamonix, nineteen uphill miles in the hot sun. They skirted the Tête Noir Mountain. Sam noted the beauty of Argientiere as they approached [MTNJ 2: 171, 173]. They dined at Argientiere and hired a wagon for the last six miles into Chamonix [Rodney 109; MTNJ 2: 172]. In his notebook, Sam wrote:
September 7 Saturday – Sam and Joe returned by rail to Geneva, where the family waited [MTNJ 2: 154]