Letter from Mary Elizabeth Garrett to M. Carey Thomas, October 11, 1891

Dearest Minnie, As there was still nothing from you on Friday night, I sent the cable yesterday about the pool, although it seemed very absurd to do it. Absurd or not, I am sorry it did not occur to me to do it when I first got the letter. Last night nothing from you either, but a letter as late as the 26th from the 9th to the 26th is a long gate and I am not only very much disappointed but very much troubled about it. The day of my last letter to you I did at last succeed in making out the itinerary I promised. How long ago? The first ten days after leaving London on Aug. 6th you know about, the crossing by Harwich and Antwerp, the glimpse of unfortunately only the outside of Cologne, the few hours of introduction to Nuremberg, and the Baireuth time, which already seems like a wonderful beautiful far off dream. Then to Nuremberg for three days, of which one however was spent in an excursion to Bamberg, which you must go to someday when you have time, then to Rothemerg for nearly 3 days. The constitution of our party was constantly changing. The de Forests, with Miss James reached Baireuth the night I did, the next day arrived Mr. Mansfield, who hearing they had tickets for those dates, took his [illegible] same time and a room in the same house. On second Taumhaeuser day Rob and Emily left to go to Carlsbad for a flying visit to the children and finding Ethel sick, Emily stayed there Rob coming back with Miss Porter (who has been spending the summer with the children), in time for Parsifal on Sunday, Miss P. going back again the next day, [illegible] the following Saturday the 22nd, the party broke up, at Rothemberg, Miss James leaving for Howberg to pay a visit to some friends, Mr. Mansfield starting with her and going off to the South, and Mr. de F. and I driving as far as Drubuehl, where we took the train for Nuremerg, stopping over a train at Heilbroun and getting to N. in time for a late dinner. The next day at noon he left for Carlsbad and on Tuesday evening (having spent the intervening 2 days in bed as you know) I left to join him and Emily at Regensburg, Ethel being so much better that she was content to leave her again. The next day we moved on to Munich, arriving there on the 26th and staying until Sept. 2nd, one day being spent in a very pleasant excursion to GÇ£NeubeuernGÇ¥, the Castle of a certain Baron Wendelstadt, near Rosenheim in the Tyrol, an intimate friend of Mr. Robinson (the Boston Museum one) who was staying with him. You know how good the Exhibition there was from the criticisms, and that besides the Glasgow and younger English men, the Scandinavian pictures were interesting, and that while the French men would not send to Berlin, they did send to Munich and that some of the best things from both the old and new salons were there. This, the Glyptothek, the Pinasthek and the National Museum, made the days very full and I should, as we all should, have been glad to stay longer, had it not been, for very uncomfortable heat that began the day before we left. They went back to Carlsbad once more to arrange for the childrenGÇÖs leaving, etc., and I to them and to Augsburg, and on the evening of the 5th, I met the whole family and Miss Porter in Nuremberg. That was selected as the meeting point because they wanted to introduce the children to it and I was very glad to see a little more of it. On the afternoon of the 8th, we started for Heidelberg (where the children were to be established until it was time for them to start on a very leisurely journey from Brewen where they were to take the steamer) spending the night at Schwabisch Hall on the way. I enjoyed very much seeing Heidelberg again after so many years. After a day and 2 nights there we went on to Strassburg, which also I had not seen for a great many years. Oh, at Heidelberg Miss James joined us again after her visit to her friend in Hamburg and Hanover, and stayed on with the de F.GÇÖs and sailed with them a week ago for home. From Strassburg we went on to Freiburg in Breisgan where we stayed at the Angel Hotel (which was most attractive, take a note of it) and heard really beautiful music in the very pretty cathedral on Sunday evening. At nine we left and spent the afternoon at Basle, in the Museum with the Holbeins and in the Cathedral and in the terrace with its lovely view and after dinner went on to Lucerne, where as you know we arrived very late and where once more we found Mr. Robinson and President Dwight and his family, who had been in the house with us for a little while at Baireuth. It was at Augsburg, when I was alone that I made the acquaintance of the clever old Boston lady who is going on has already gone to the East, and who is an intimate friend of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mrs. Fields, Mrs. Whitman, etc. But except at Baireuth we have met hardly anyone, as we have been off the beaten tracks most of the time, or else have reached them after the world at large had left them. The rest of you know, Interlaken and the charming trip to Muerren [illegible] to Thun and on the 19th the departure of the de Forests for Paris. Of my solitary wanderings since then you know the history, over the Genni to Leuk, then Germalt and then the 6 days drive to [illegible]. You do not yet know however that tomorrow morning at 6:30 I am going to leave St. Moritz. The weather is still too unsettled, so that I have been fighting a cold for days and the only party of ladies left yesterday so that there are only 6 or 7 men and a little boy in the house besides myself. Two or three days have been superb, but even on those it has been very windy. By the end of November their perfect winter weather apparently is established and their winter colony has arrived. At present the chaplain is the only member of it here and he is a dejected looking, consumptive young man and the rest of the few people now here are also very evidently here for their health so that it is rather depressing. I only see them of course when I go down to lunch and dinner and after dinner when I stay to look over the papers and find out that Parnell is dead or something else exciting or non-exciting has happened in the [illegible]. About the winter here, or the desirability of it, I feel extremely doubtful. The sleighing of course is delightful, the skating and tobogganing would not be for me, or tennis either when there is but one court which would be in demand by good players, and the very British atmosphere with the chaplain, etc., would be painfully oppressive I think as well as the number of very delicate people. However the end of Nov. or early Dec. would be time enough, and for the moment I am going to rejoice in [illegible]. Tomorrow I expect to spend the night at Corno, and then I want to stop at Bergaun and Bressia in the way to Venice. I can hardly believe that I am going to see Venice again - just think - 17 -+ years since I have been there - or to be in Italy once more after ten years. Let me know at once if there is anything you want me to do for you in Venice. My present plan is to stay there just as long as the weather is pleasant, unless I should decide to go to Egypt when I would have to leave I suppose by the middle of Nov. A happy idea has occurred to me if I should decide to go there, that I could probably find a good steamer sailing directly from Venice to Alexandria. Have you happened to hear of any pleasant people who are going to Egypt this winter? There is of course another not disagreeable alternative for the winter if I decided to stay and that is Italy and nothing outside of it. And here while I am talking of a winter with nothing but the dulce [illegible], you are in the very thick of work already and, even with such possibilities before me, how I envy you the doing of the work! I am going to leave this open until the mail comes in tonight, hoping for something. Now I must get up and dress for lunch, as I am again writing in bed. I got up earlier on one or two days, but got very tired. Evening Home letters of 29th have come, but nothing from you still. Goodnight Lovingly yours, Mary E.G.