132 ALPINE FLOWERS AND GARDENS 



spurned, probably, as redundant by the impulsive 

 lover ! 



In certain ways the tourist uprooter is the more 

 difficult and delicate element to deal with in the 

 whole problem ; but the Society has, by the ' sweet 

 reasonableness ' of its moral persuasion, arrived at a 

 very fair and effective solution. Much as comes 

 a guest comes the tourist to the Alps, and his 

 coming is one of the main sources of the country's 

 prosperity. His peccadilloes are for the most part 

 overlooked, and he enjoys a freedom such as is 

 scarcely his at home. This, generally speaking, is, 

 of course, the case with non-residents or visitors 

 anywhere ; but in Switzerland it is, perhaps, par- 

 ticularly marked. Not infrequently, however, his 

 special privileges are lost upon the tourist, and he 

 forthwith helps himself to still more freedom. He 

 must not be surprised, then, if he is met with 

 framed and reasonable restrictions ; he must not be 

 vexed if, in his hotel or pension, he finds an Avis 

 aux Touristes exhorting him in formal terms 

 to allow the flora to bide where it is. He 

 should not feel this to be an attack upon his 

 liberty. 



Ah, ' there's the rub !' there, in that little word 

 4 liberty,' lies largely the root of the matter. Alike 



