The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-02

of the nations history and the broader
 cultivation of the people of our city to
 further the interests of local museum
 by souvenirs Illustrative of the customs
 and surroundings of people in other
 lands. This has not been presented to
 the public fully before, but will, no
 doubt, meet with a prompt response.
 The museum in Birmingham may thus
 become an institution of which the south
 may well be proud.
 A letter received from Mrs. J. B. Raul ston, who is travelling in Europe tells, in her usual chatty and thoroughly charm ing style, of her stay at beautiful Lake Geneva. We left Lucerne,' she writes,
 lon Saturday, July Il. We made two eN- cursions from there, one to the Rigi. on the steamer, first to Vitznau and then on the rack and pinion railway to the Kuhn,
 which is within a few feet of the sria- init. On clear days, which are rare the
 mountain commands clear view 4oO miles in circumference. It was misty When we
 were up there, so we could not see very far, still eve nthe mist was wonderful
 as it kept gathering and dispersing. Some times we were above it and sometimes
 below Then we had a long country drive
 to Rothenburg, which was the favorite
 drive of the late Queen Victoria
 Tt is strange that, in Switzerland, as
 soon as the warm weather comes the
 cows are shut up in little houses llke chalets scattered all over the hills. The sun is so powerful they cannot stand 1t.
 The pastures of the Rigi alone support
 400O head of cattle, and the grass is so fresh and green that it seems shame
 the cows cannot be out eating 1t. One misses them so too. They add greatly to
 the beauty of the landscape.
 We met such a nice little Englishman in Lucerne and saw him again in Inter el- No hax a
 seen many more English than American
 people They told me in Cooks office
 that not half the usual number of tourists have booked to come this year. 1t IS dull everywhere and the hotels are pa thetically empty. l don't know how they keep them open.
 "lnterlaksn is such a pretty little town between the two lakes of Thun and Brienz. We made the first part of the
 journey by mountain railway over the Brunig Pass with very fine views, and then on to Lake Brienz by steamer to the town. We had fine view of the Jungfrau
 from our hotel. l wish you could have seen the view from the garden by moon light the swift rain rushing by like a stream of silver, and above and beyond the mighty Jungfrau with the moon right above it.
 From Interlaken we had another love- ly journey through the mountains to Montreux, which includes number or small towns situated on the north end of Lake Geneva, popular summer re- sorts. Our hotel had such beautiful
 garden on the lake with magnolias cov- cred with blooms and a variety of bright flowers. We took dinner on the terrace. , In the afternoon we visited the castle Of Chiffon, which is interesting from some points of view for 1t Is supposed to nave been Tn existence as early as the nlntn century, but was fortified by one of the Counts of Savoy in the thirteenth. Ills descendants were cruel monsters surely. We saw the pillar and ring to which Bonnward was chained for six years be- cause he espoused the cause of Geneva when attacked by the Duke. The tor ture chamber, the dungeons and the cells in the tower, in fact nearly every part Of the building suggests cruelty and it 1 was for some time used as a state prison. | It is now being restored to it's mediaeval | condition.
 This morning we came by steamer 1 from Montreux to Geneva. We left at 9 l a. m and arrived soon after 1, just In | time for lunch. The first thing after l that was to go to Cooks for the mail appreciate the home letters, for l am