78 HELEN ABBOTT MICHAEL 



At Bale she slept at the "Three Kings," her room over- 

 looking the river. Her mood of enthusiasm had somehow 

 changed. 



"It is dark and unsympathetic. The thought that this 

 river will flow on undisturbed by the changes in the lives of 

 men oppressed me, so that I gladly closed the curtains and 

 sought comfort from the candle-light and fire. It is very 

 strange to look on scenes that once were seen under different 

 circumstances, and with others who may now be dead. It 

 was in 1869, I visited here with my mother. This old river 

 with its current and retarding whirlpools reminds me of 

 Philadelphians, who with their progress must take it con- 

 servatively like the retarding action of the whirlpool on the 

 molecules. What a contrast to the sparkling and quick in- 

 tellect of other localities just as marked as this big Rhine 

 is different from the Alpine torrent." 



At Bale she felt "too tired and miserable to hunt up the 

 university authorities," and so devoted herself to sight-see- 

 ing, though about all that rewarded her was the mediaeval 

 collection adjoining the Cathedral, and here all that she 

 deemed worthy of chronicling was "two wooden statues of 

 a man and a woman coquetting a good example illustra- 

 ting unrefined gallantry." After a three hours' ride from Bale 

 to Freiburg, she notes that she "feels quite at home returning 

 to Germany." The next morning, which was the fifth of 

 November, she went to the chemical laboratory of Professor 

 Claus, who received her amicably and himself conducted her 

 over the extensive rooms where there seemed to be great ac- 

 tivity. " He is a tall, wiry man, with blond mustache and 

 hair. He might be any age, dressed in a gray felt gown faced 

 with green, and wearing a smoking cap on his head." She 

 was pleased with the open yard around which the buildings 

 ran, allowing excellent ventilation, and minimizing the dangers 

 of explosion. 



In the rooms adjoining those occupied by Professor Claus 

 worked Professor Baumann, whom Lunge had told her to 

 be sure to visit. 



"I sent in my card and very soon was welcomed. He is 



