BR TO ALYS RUSSELL, [19 AUG. 1909]
BRACERS 21090. ALS. McMaster
Proofread by K. Blackwell

Bozen,
Thursday

Dearest Alys

On reaching this place this morning I found letters of Aug. 8, 11, and 15 and April 13, from thee. I have settled to come home straight from Milan, not staying the night there and at Basle, as Sanger means to do. That being so, I shall reach Charing X 3.35 p.m. on Sat. 28, and catch the 4.55 or the 6.15 according to circumstances. Perhaps the Tandem trap could meet the first and wait for the second. Would thee mind getting me a new sponge and having it ready for use by the time I arrive? The one I have with me is gradually falling to bits.

I am very glad about the better Budget prospects. I received the inevitable letter from Miss Mason today, and oddly enough it came from a place quite near here, which I passed through in the train this morning. I haven’t seen the sights here yet, as I am waiting till the heat is gone off. — I remembered soap in the train, and bought some opposite Paddington. — I am very glad about the scholarship for MacLachlan.

Yesterday’s walk was very hot; we decended finally into the valley of the Brenta, which rises quite near here and flows into the sea at Venice. We just had time to bathe before catching a train to the nearest place with a tolerable inn. Our bathes have been almost always in ice-cold water, but when one is very hot, that is all the more refreshing.

Thine aff.
Bertie