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1 June 1871 — Madrid | |
Thursday. 1st June [1871]. I went to breakfast with the Serranos & stayed sewing till 1½. I then went to see Eliz: whom I found better & the child up. I did not stay long as I had to come home & do some copying for Henry. When it was done I sat down to read when there came a note for Henry from Dragonetti to say that as I had wished to see the young Princes the Queen said I might see them by going to the Casa de Campo at 5. I at once ordered the carriage & set off in great haste as I was afraid I might be late. On arriving at the gates the gatekeeper said the Queen had not come so I waited & began to think they were not coming when abt ½ past 5 they arrived in a close carriage & the Queen, the 2 Princes the nurse, Mme Hevia (Governess to the children) & the Marquis of Ulagares (the gentleman in waiting) got out– I also alighted. The Queen made the eldest Prince (of the Asturias) give me a photo of herself & the child. We all walked into the “Reservado”. The Queen began by talking in English very well—but she afterwards lapsed into French as she said that now that she was learning Spanish she mixed it with English. We walked abt & talked of all kind of things of the dreadful events in Paris of the fall of the Imperial dynasty—which she attributed to the feeble state of health & inaptitude to business of the Emperor. She said her sister in law Pss Clotilde was going to live in England—& that it was far better to live in a large country than in such a small one as Switzerland. She talked of the schools here & how she found fault with the system of education in general—that girls were taught a little of every thing & nothing thoroughly. That every one ought to be brought up according to their station & that it was more good to teach a poor & respectable girl to sew well, mend stockings—cook—write well & keep accounts so as to fit her to keep her house & if in a shop to keep the accts. We walked up & down while the children were put into a little carriage drawn by 2 angora white goats. At 7 as it was getting towards sunset the Queen left. The P. of the Asturias is abt 2 years old– The baby is 6 months a very nice child carried by a handsome Italian nurse. The Queen already speaks Spanish pretty well & ordered a bouquet of roses & lilies to be made which she gave to me. I carried it home to adorn our dinner table. I had asked the Prim children to come to see me but I had left word to tell them I had been obliged to go out. On my return I found them still with Henry who had given them tea. I told them to come again on Saturday. The Rianos, M. et Mme Valera—Mr Alvareda—Mr Contreras (fm Granada) M. Rivero (late Minister) & Ff: dined with us. We had a very amusing dinner. Rivero talked a great deal abt our English politics of his admiration for Gladstone & Bright & his contempt for Dizzy—but he got heated with wine & excited. In the eveng Mme Valera entertained Emilia & me with an acct of her household troubles—how the wet nurse would give the baby the Laudanum bottle to play with &c. | |
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