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4 May 1870 — Seville | |
Wednesday. 4th [May 1870]. Mrs Burr went out early sketching & Henry & I wrote in the morning till 12 when Mr Pickman’s carriage came to take us out. Giovanni & Henry having been out curiosity hunting. Mrs Burr returned at 12 & Mr Williams came so we started for Pickman’s pottery which is abt ½ hours drive from Seville & is an old Jesuit church & convent turned into a Pottery. We were received by old Mr Pickman & his two sons, nice young men, & they took us all over the works– They make nothing pretty only the commonest ware & that mostly hideous but he employs nearly 1000 men & makes a deal of money. The old man was quite a character for Dickens, broad short redfaced, hearty and vulgar. He took us after seeing the works thro’ the garden which tho’ wild was lovely with roses orange trees 2 nightingales & at last I began to get very tired & wonder when we should get the lunch he had promised us—when he said “now we are coming to an ’istoric corner; this is a little bit of ’istory” & we found ourselves in a Kiosk where a sumptuous luncheon was laid out. He placed me at the top of the table saying; “This is an ’istoric seat– There sat the Empress Eugenie as pledged one in a glass of wine.” On Henry’s demurring at having to take the chief place next to me P. answered “You will excuse me but that also is a bit of ’istory—there sat Cobden & also the Emperor & it is a matter of ’istory.” The lunch was then served beginning with pickled oysters “from England” pickled salmon & pickled crab, all “from England”. We were glad to get on to the strawberries wh we did in the course of time. We then took another turn in the Potteries & P. showed us china of half Moorish patterns surmounted with a common artichoke saying “This ’ere is classic it is—I dont say its pretty, ye know, but then it’s classic.” He begged me to tell him our initials that he might put them on something he was going send him & so I dread the advent of a “classic” present. After this he lent us another carriage insisting that as it looked threatening he must give us a shut one with mules. He kept groaning all lunch time & saying “It aint fair no it aint fair, if I had only known you were coming 24 hours before.” Henry declared the meal was but too good to wh he answered “Not at all—who ’ave we ’ere? that’s the question, who ’ave we ’ere?” On taking leave he said “Come again & come soon & you ’ave only to send me word 24 hours beforehand ‘Pickman I’m a coming, with a dozen friends,’ & if its 2 or 3 it doesn’t matter;” From there we drove on to the village of Italica & went over the church of San Isidro del Campo. It is a most interesting church with lovely retablos & tombs & in the sacristy we saw 4 magnificent Venetian glasses. I ran back to Williams who was showing Mrs Burr a tomb & said “Oh Mr W. there is one thing you must get me, the glasses in the sacristy.” He smiled, winked (à son ordinaire) & said “Well it might be done” & we went on. Mrs Burr settled herself to sketch & Henry I & Will: went on a little further to see the remains of the old Roman Amphitheatre wh has been quite unburied & is in a very good condition. There are in the middle the foundations of a Xtian church in the form of a cross & in the middle a column lying with an inscription on it. We asked our guide what it was. He was a toothless old guardian of the ruins. He informed us that it was an ode composed by Roja in Spanish on the very spot & there & then the old fellow began & repeated the ode to us. When we had climbed about & looked at the faint remains of what is supposed to be a Roman fresco we returned to San Ysidro for Mrs Burr. She was not quite ready & so I suggested Mr Will: should ask if the curé had returned. They said he had & gave us chairs outside the cottage where he lived & after some time he appeared & Will: introduced himself & to my great amusement began to flatter him up saying he was a learned man & that he had thoughts of proposing him as an Academician & finally so got round him as to talk abt the looking glasses & before we left had the curés promise that if he exchanged them for new we might take the old. All the time a storm was threatening so we were obliged to go home & it was near 7 & Will: declared it was not too safe staying outside the town at dusk—so we drove back to the hotel & got some dinner at once—being tired & hungry. | |
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