Autograph letter signed : Flensburg, to Frank Cowper, 1897 November 7.

Expressing his pleasure at hearing Cowper is "...so satisfied with "Undine" on the whole. She ought to be an ideal boat when she is thoroughly completed by the builders. This is a big town at the top of a splendid fiord in the Southern Baltic. I stayed at [illegible] a week, vegetating, but then came some lovely summer weather & the travel-hunger drove me forth, though alone for the time, to explore this exquisite country by far the finest cruising ground I have ever seen. Lovely scenery, no dangers, no tides, anchorage & shelter everywhere. I had a heavenly week exploring Slev(?) & Als Sound, Sunderborg, Augustenbourg Sound, [illegible] Sound & this Fiord. Then came a most tiresome spell of perpetual fog & calm, which indeed is going on still & there has been no sun for a fortnight & very cold. My brother came out again last Wednesday but has been ill since, so that things are looking rather gloomy just now. He brought out guns etc for the ducks & our plans is to knock about here & in the Frisian Islands trying to get some sport & make England if possible by Xmas. Ice is the spectre which haunts us but we hope to escape, having no wish to win fame in Nansen's line on an uncoppered (rather rickety) 7 tonner. By the way this is the place to buy a boat. There is a ten tonner lying by me now, a fine able boat, oldish but sound, just sold for £90. I was interested to hear your book is out & I hope & I am sure it will be successful. I have been writing too but I have so far only got the thanks & compliments of editors accompanied by one's own MS, the most sickening kind of letter to get I always think!"