第187章

Livy darling, we sailed from St.Pierre de Boef six hours ago, and are now approaching Tournon, where we shall not stop, but go on and make Valence, a City Of 25,000 people.It's too delicious, floating with the swift current under the awning these superb sunshiny days in deep peace and quietness.Some of these curious old historical towns strangely persuade me, but it is so lovely afloat that I don't stop, but view them from the outside and sail on.We get abundance of grapes and peaches for next to nothing.

Joseph is perfect.He is at his very best--and never was better in his life.I guess he gets discouraged and feels disliked and in the way when he is lying around--but here he is perfection, and brim full of useful alacrities and helps and ingenuities.

When I woke up an hour ago and heard the clock strike 4, I said "I seem to have been asleep an immensely long time; I must have gone to bed mighty early; I wonder what time I did go to bed." And I got up and lit a candle and looked at my watch to see.

AFLOAT

2 HOURS BELOW BOURG ST.ANDEOL.

Monday, 11 a.m., Sept.28.

Livy darling, I didn't write yesterday.We left La Voulte in a driving storm of cold rain--couldn't write in it--and at 1 p.m.when we were not thinking of stopping, we saw a picturesque and mighty ruin on a high hill back of a village, and I was seized with a desire to explore it; so we landed at once and set out with rubbers and umbrella, sending the boat ahead to St.Andeol, and we spent 3 hours clambering about those cloudy heights among those worn and vast and idiotic ruins of a castle built by two crusaders 650 years ago.The work of these asses was full of interest, and we had a good time inspecting, examining and scrutinizing it.All the hills on both sides of the Rhone have peaks and precipices, and each has its gray and wasted pile of mouldy walls and broken towers.

The Romans displaced the Gauls, the Visigoths displaced the Romans, the Saracens displaced the Visigoths, the Christians displaced the Saracens, and it was these pious animals who built these strange lairs and cut each other's throats in the name and for the glory of God, and robbed and burned and slew in peace and war; and the pauper and the slave built churches, and the credit of it went to the Bishop who racked the money out of them.These are pathetic shores, and they make one despise the human race.

We came down in an hour by rail, but I couldn't get your telegram till this morning, for it was Sunday and they had shut up the post office to go to the circus.I went, too.It was all one family--parents and 5children--performing in the open air to 200 of these enchanted villagers, who contributed coppers when called on.It was a most gay and strange and pathetic show.I got up at 7 this morning to see the poor devils cook their poor breakfast and pack up their sordid fineries.

This is a 9 k-m.current and the wind is with us; we shall make Avignon before 4 o'clock.I saw watermelons and pomegranates for sale at St.

Andeol.

With a power of love, Sweetheart, SAML.

HOTEL D'EUROPE, AVIGNON, Monday, 6 p.m., Sept.28.

Well, Livy darling, I have been having a perfect feast of letters for an hour, and I thank you and dear Clam with all my heart.It's like hearing from home after a long absence.

It is early to be in bed, but I'm always abed before 9, on this voyage;and up at 7 or a trifle later, every morning.If I ever take such a trip again, I will have myself called at the first tinge of dawn and get to sea as soon after as possible.The early dawn on the water-nothing can be finer, as I know by old Mississippi experience.I did so long for you and Sue yesterday morning--the most superb sunrise!--the most marvelous sunrise! and I saw it all from the very faintest suspicion of the coming dawn all the way through to the final explosion of glory.But it had interest private to itself and not to be found elsewhere in the world;for between me and it, in the far distant-eastward, was a silhouette mountain-range in which I had discovered, the previous afternoon, a most noble face upturned to the sky, and mighty form out stretched, which Ihad named Napoleon Dreaming of Universal Empire--and now, this prodigious face, soft, rich, blue, spirituelle, asleep, tranquil, reposeful, lay against that giant conflagration of ruddy and golden splendors all rayed like a wheel with the upstreaming and far-reaching lances of the sun.It made one want to cry for delight, it was so supreme in its unimaginable majesty and beauty.

We had a curious experience today.A little after I had sealed and directed my letter to you, in which I said we should make Avignon before 4, we got lost.We ceased to encounter any village or ruin mentioned in our "particularizes" and detailed Guide of the Rhone--went drifting along by the hour in a wholly unknown land and on an uncharted river! Confound it, we stopped talking and did nothing but stand up in the boat and search the horizons with the glass and wonder what in the devil had happened.And at last, away yonder at 5 o'clock when some east towers and fortresses hove in sight we couldn't recognize them for Avignon--yet we knew by the broken bridge that it was Avignon.

Then we saw what the trouble was--at some time or other we had drifted down the wrong side of an island and followed a sluggish branch of the Rhone not frequented in modern times.We lost an hour and a half by it and missed one of the most picturesque and gigantic and history-sodden masses of castellated medieval ruin that Europe can show.

It was dark by the time we had wandered through the town and got the letters and found the hotel--so I went to bed.

We shall leave here at noon tomorrow and float down to Arles, arriving about dark, and there bid good bye to the boat, the river-trip finished.

Between Arles and Nimes (and Avignon again,) we shall be till Saturday morning--then rail it through on that day to Ouchy, reaching the hotel at 11 at night if the train isn't late.

Next day (Sunday) if you like, go to Basel, and Monday to Berlin.But Ishall be at your disposal, to do exactly as you desire and prefer.