Apropos of Belle Soeur’s and my experiences by ourselves, I want to say that everything went just as smoothly and pleasantly as if we had had masculine escorts, and that so far as our example goes, there would seem to be no reason why two sensible women should not tramp over Switzerland by themselves if they feel like it. Still, I should hesitate to advise it from instances that later came under my observation of how objectionable the usually respectable Schweizer may become under the influence of liquor.
The day after the boys’ return was the Mother’s birthday, and we resolved to celebrate it by a picnic. But mark how soon bad habits become fixed! We could not get through the day without splitting up the party! The split, however, did not occur along the old line of cleavage, so perhaps, on the whole, it had a healing effect.
It happened thus: Belle Soeur was making a birthday cake to be produced at dinner, and Frater was making candy. The rest of us, therefore, got ready before they did, and as the Younger Babe was a slow walker, we started on ahead with him, the Mother, Antonio, Suzanne and I, carrying the eatables for luncheon. The Elder Babe waited for the cake and candy makers, who were to follow with the drinkables. We went to the Wetterhorn Blick—a very beautiful spot on the hillside, with trees and grass and, as the name indicates, a remarkably fine view of the Wetterhorn and Upper Glacier.
We waited and waited and waited until starvation forced us to begin eating. We went slowly at first, still hoping the belated ones would appear. But they didn’t, and our appetites had grown meanwhile, so we kept on till the last sandwich and crumb of cake disappeared. We hadn’t a drop of anything to drink, but fortunately we had oranges, which answered the purpose reasonably well.
When we went home to dress for dinner after a delightful day, we found the absentees comfortably installed there. They had gotten lost and couldn’t find us, so they went home and lunched by themselves. I don’t know what they ate, but they certainly had plenty to drink!
We thought we would make another try at a united birthday excursion for the Mother, and this time we really succeeded, although we again risked going in two sections! This was to be an excursion to the temporary terminus of the Jungfrau railroad then under construction. The Mother, the Elder Babe and the luncheon went up to the Kleine Scheidegg by train, while the pedestrian quartette walked up. We effected a junction without difficulty this time and all proceeded together afoot to the Eiger Glacier.
We led the Mother and the Babe right on to this glacier and sat them and ourselves down upon it for luncheon. There were tourists coming and going all the time, a place for tobogganing, a vender of postal cards, and all that sort of thing. But it is a fine glacier notwithstanding its pollutions.
After luncheon we boarded an ascending train and went through a long tunnel to what was then the terminus, the Eigerwand station (9405 feet high). One finds oneself in an artificial cavern hewn out of the rock, and an opening in the side gives a fine bird’s-eye view (if one cares for that sort of thing) of the Grindelwald valley, Interlaken and Lake Thun. But it looks a good deal like a railway map.
Altogether, though we were glad to have taken the trip so as to be sure we had not missed anything, we felt that the long ride in a dark tunnel in order to enjoy this peep-show view which doesn’t begin to be as fine as the one we left below us at the Scheidegg, was a good deal of a fake. Doubtless when the road is finished, one will have something well worth making the trip for, and I suppose the railroad must not be blamed for gathering in what shekels it can in the meantime, as its expenses of construction must be tremendous, but it is a little bit hard on the public!