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13 September 1871 — Venice | |
Wednesday. 13th September [1871]. Had a bad night with a tiresome mosquito wh got into my curtains. Sir James Hudson left by the early train for Florence. Cortellazzo came early & I stood on the terrace stumbling thro’ some bad Italian to him while Henry wrote letters & I wrote one to Alice Rate & when Henry & C. went out I set to work to try & make a sketch of S. Giorgio & being my 1st attempt at sketching was not very well or easily done. At 1 o’cl: they returned to the Prefecto. Sigr Torelli came to fetch us & took us in his gondola to St Mark’s to see the crypt under the high altar wh [he] had had lighted up on purpose for us. He said the floor of the crypt was abt ½ a metre beneath the level of the sea & until 3 or 4 years ago had been full of water. Torelli had it pumped out & excluded & the crypt restored & an altar placed in it. It is very well & simply restored. He then took us into the gallery of the Doges Palace to see some little medallions containing heads of all the doges he had had let into the wall. There we met Dr Namias the old Dr who had cured me of fever when I was last here– Torelli had invited Capt Lynch & his 2 daughters to see the crypt. Capt Lynch was an old Bagdad friend of Henrys. Henry asked them to show us the treasury & there we saw all kinds of beautiful things of silver & crystal & precious stones. Especially an old Greek or Roman glass bowl with an Arabic inscription inside wh Henry pointed out as very curious. He thought it undoubtedly ancient Roman or Greek & that it had been in the hands of the Arabs who had added the inscription & burnt it in. We went to luncheon at Florians but they kept us so long waiting for our beefsteak that we vowed we never wd go there again. We went to Vianelli’s & to Salviati’s to choose glass—& made an appointment to be photod tomorrow. We called on Mr Brown & did not find him so we took a little turn & then returned to dinner at 6½. After dinner we went to the Piazza for our coffee & walked in the narrow streets to get a little velvet & walked home & went early to bed. | |
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