troubled by torturing neuralgic pains, as well as by sudden
shocks of grief, her life at Montreux was not without its own peculiar
joys. One of the greatest of these was to while away the twilight or
evening hours in long talks with her husband about home and former days.
Distance, together with the strange Alpine scenes about her, seemed to
have the effect of a score of years in separating her from the past, and
throwing over it a mystic veil of tenderness and grace. Old times and
old friends, when thus viewed from the beautiful shores of Lake Leman,
appeared to the memory in a softened light and invested with something
of that ideal loveliness which the grave itself imparts to the objects
of our affections. Many of these old friends, indeed, had passed through
the Grave--some, long before, some recently--and to talk of _them_ was
sweet talk about the blessed home above, as well as the home beyond the
ocean.

Another joy that helped to relieve the monotony and weariness of the
Montreux life, was in her children; especially as, on the approach of
spring, she wandered with them over the hill-sides in quest of flowers;
then her delight knew no bounds. In a letter to Mrs. Washburn, dated
March 19, she writes:

M. and G. catch A.'s and my enthusiasm, and come with their little hands
full of dandelions, buttercups and daisies, and their hats full of
primroses. Even Mr. Prentiss conies in with his hands full of crocuses,
purple and white, and lots of an extremely pretty flower, "la fille
avant la mere," which he gathers on the mountains where I can not
climb.... I often think of you and Mrs. B----, when I revel among the
beautiful profusion of flowers with which this country is adorned. So
early as it is, the hills and fields are _covered_ with primroses,
daisies, cowslips, violets, lilies, and I don't know what not; in five
minutes we can gather a basketful.

* * * * *

III.

The Campagne Genevrier. Vevay. Beauty of the Region. Letters. Birth of a
Son. Visit from Professor Smith. Excursion to Chamouni. Whooping-cough
and Scarlet-fever among the Children. Doctor Curchod. Letters.

At the end of March the family removed to the campagne Genevrier, about
two miles back of Vevay, in the direction of St. Leger. At one point
it overlooked the town and the lake, and commanded a fine view of the
mountains of Savoy and of the distant Jura range. On the opposite shore
of the lake is the village w