The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-24 00:00:00

THE "COUNTESS OF KENT" AT LUCERNE.

The Daily News has a letter from " an occasional corre-
spondent," now at Lucerne, which contains some interest-
ing details as to the residence of the " Countess of Kent,"
at Lucerne. " There can be no doubt," he says, " that
Lucerne is at this moment inconveniently crowded. All
the hotels are overflowing, their cUpendances are full, and
travellers who arrive without having secured rooms by
letter or telegraph have no hope but that of obtaining
sleeping accommodation in some neighbouring house
with the privilege of using the saloons of the hotel at
which they are nominally staying (and for the
complete accommodation of which they will of course
have to pay) in the day-time. Opinions differ decidedly
upon the question whether this influx of visitors is a
natural result of the season, or has been mainly brought
shout by the visit of the Queen of England. If my judg-
ment inclines in either direction it is towards the view of
those who think that the occupation of the Pension
Wallis by the Queen has led a more thanusual number of
wandering Britons to to _n their footsteps hither this summer.
What can be more delightful than to be able to say, as
many a young, middle-aged, and old lady will be able to
-say all through the autumn and winter, when there is
nothing to talk about but the conquests of spring and the
journeys of the summer—" Oh, the dear Queen ! So
:harming, was it not? We were at Lucerne while she
was there, and met her out constantly. (Possibly they
may have seen the back of her carriage.) She lived
st the Pension Wallis, my dear. Quite an unpre-
tending villa residence with two sweet little turrets, and
used to go out nearly every day, either driving or in a
steamboat.' There are a good many tourists of this sort
here now, and I fancy that their stay is a good deal pro-
longed, if their visit is not altogether caused by the plea-
sure which they derive from knowing that they are staying
•n the same town with the Queen of England. One lady
trrived with a couple of daughters the other night, and
tlmost before the luggage had been deposited in the passage
sf the hotel demanded of the porter the whereabouts
Df her Majesty in French, which she pronounced as
nearly as I can represent it in the following fashion—` Oo
• noter rain ?' Every word must be uttered very
broadly, and a good interval allowed between each.
!laving obtained the desired information, her next inquiry,
sttered in the same extraordinary style, was, `Foot own
se alley ?' And if she had not been assured in the most
solemn manner that there was no possibility of getting near
'he house, I believe she would have started off immediately
'n the hope of being able to look through some window, or to
)btain surreptitious admission at some unguarded door,
n order to get a peep at the Queen and the Princess in
their retirement. The weather has for some days been
very uncertain. Yesterday it rained from noon till late
In the evening. To-day the sky is overcast with clouds,
which descend down upon the slopes of the mountains.
It is very disappointing to look higher and find every-
'ling obscured by cloud and fog. Under these
ircumstances the ascent of either the Rigi or Pilatus
must be little more than labour lost ; and it is
act surprising that the great body of tourists are
trolling about the banks of the lake, wandering upon
the slopes of the nearest hills, or confining their attention
steamboat trips of limited extent. Even upon these
speditions the great proportion of them are provided with
those worthless but pretty-looking alpenstocks which the
swiss shopkeepers provide for the delight of holiday
tourists, and for the destruction of anyone who should be
so foolish as to trust them in any position of difficulty
where the support of such a stick is really necessary. If
sne might trust to the inscriptions upon their smooth
►taves, many of the ladies and gentlemen who are
now dawdling about green Alps and quiet slopes
have dared the perils of many difficult passes, and endured
the fatigues of many a severe ascent on hazardous glacier
expedition. Unfortunately the shops of Lucerne offer to
the purchaser whole bundles of alpenstocks, branded
with the names of sufficient ' peaks, passes, and glaciers'
is sufficient numbers and variety to suit the taste of the
most fastidious, and to meet the wishes of the most pre-
tentious ; and I am therefore indisposed to place
entire faith in the certificates of travel which I
tee in the hands of the many tourists whom I
meet. The residence of her Majesty—the Pension
Wallis—is situated upon a green and wooded height, a
short distance out of the town. The hill itself rises rather
from the bank of the Reuss than from that of the lake

but both the grounds and the windows of the house corn-
snand excellent views of the Lake of the Four Cantons,
if the town of Lucerne itself, and of the surrounding
mountains. The house itself is a plain white structure
>f no great size, and presenting no architectural
itatures except—if, indeed, it is necessary to make any
exception—a couple of small turrets, which rise only
short distance above the roof, and are generally
lescribed as the two pepper-boxes. The grounds,
is far as one can see from below, are of moderate dimen-
dons, and provided with a sufficient and, in hot weather,
very agreeable amount of shade. For a day or two after
ter Majesty's arrival she was, I am told, too much
iatigued to take much exercise, and confined herself almost
entirely to the grounds of the mansion, and when she was
able to go beyond them she at first suffered a good deal from
she impertinent curiosity of the tourists staying here.
Wherever she drove she was followed by crowds of people ;
and so intolerable did the nuisance become, that I
tin told it was on one occasion found necessary to engage
beforehand, as for the royal party, all the vehicles in
Lucerne, in order that the public might be deprived of
any means of transport. Whether in consequence of this
hint, or as the result of greater familiarity with the
presence of royalty, I know not ; but her Majesty is now
allowed to drive about the neighbourhood without being
exposed to this kind of unpleasant intrusion. Besides
taking carriage drives nearly every day, she has
made several excursions upon the lake in a steamer which
has been placed at her disposal ; and I am informed by
those who have seen her that her health appears to have
Seen considerably improved by her stay here. The
Princesses, too, seem to be enjoying their residence in
Switzerland very much, and besides accompanying
;heir mother in their drives they take many little excur-
sions on their own account, accompanied by-some of the
adies and gentlemen of the suite. The other
evening they came down into the town to
hear the organ of the cathedral, which is an instrument of
come reputation, and which is played for half an hour
every evening. In honour either of the Queen or of the
English visitors, whose faces and whose purses are as
welcome to the good people of Lucerne as to those of
Dther parts of Switzerland, the organist always' concludes
his performance by playing the National Anthem."

INDIA.

The following items of intelligence are furnished by the
rimes of India down to July 28 :

Affairs in the Persian Gulf are in a disturbed condition.
The Chief of Bahrein has made piratical attacks on his
neighbour the Guttur Chief and certain British subjects,
and plundered them to the extent of £40,000. H.M.'s
steamer Vigilant has sailed from Bombay with orders to
enforce redress from the Chief of Bahrein.

The sittings of the commission to inquire into the affairs
of the old Bank of Bombay continue, the evidence elicited
being of a character to astound all who read it.
Lieutenant F. H. Gould, 47th Bengal N. 1., has been
committed for trial at Calcutta, for forging and uttering
bills of exchange.
Captain Bell, of the ship Humber, has had his certifi-
:ate as a master mariner suspended for two months for
running his ship on to the outer light-vessel of Bombay
harbour.

In consequence of the immense expense entailed by still
keeping the transports hired for the Abyssinian Expedition
in the pay of Government from the difficulty experienced
in landing their stores, pressed forage is being given away
free from the ships' sides.

OBITUARY.—Major J. Denton, Madras Invalid Esti'.
blishment ; Captain H. Anderson, R.A. ; Lieutenant
George Hodson, H. M.'s 25th Regiment.

Mr. Disraeli has presented, through the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, the sum of .£5O to _Mr. John Askham, the
Wellingboro' poet, from the Royal Bounty Fund.

THE PERAMBULATOR NUISANCE.—The Hackney
Local Board have directed proceedings to he taken against
wheelers of perambulators on foot pavements. When em-
ployed for the development of rickets and spinal curvative
in young children they are sufficiently detestable on foot-
paths, but when employed by tradespeople to send out
goods in, the nuisance on crowded flags becomes unbearable.
It is a fact that one poulterer in a certain district in South
London keeps three for the sole purpose of delivering
things to his customers.—South London Press.
CAUTION TO "GLOW-WORM" SEEKERS.—As Mr.
llenshaw, of Bedford, was walking up the Cemetery-road,
Cambridge, he saw an object shining in the hedge, which.
he took to be a glow-worm. Thinking it would please his
children, ha secured the glittering prize, wrapping it in his
handkerchief, which he placed in his hat. On arriving at
his house, Mr. ITenshaw proceeded to expose the object t.
his family, but when he had uncovered it he found th.
Landkerchief was on fire. The supposed glow-worm ther,
ascended to the ceiling of the shop, spreading itself out in
flames, which ignited an American cloth which was on the
counter, and filled the shop with smoke. Attempts were
made to extinguish the flames, but not before Mr.
Henshaw's hands and clothing were severely burnt. On
making the matter known to Mr. Elkins, chemist, he
gave it as his opinion that the combustible matter was
phosphorus. How it came in the hedge, and for what
object it was placed there, remains a mystery,—Cambridge
Independent.