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7 December 1880 — Florence | |
Tuesday. 7th December [1880]. Walked out with Henry in the morning. We went into San Lorenzo to see the Medicean tombs & Michael Angelos statues of Night & Morng. We went from there to the Academy & spent the rest of the morning there very much interested with the early pictures. We went for a moment into the modern gallery which quite disgusted us. The only good things being a couple of Eastern sketches by Passini. We came home & lunched at 1. Afterwards had visits from Mr C. Spence & then from Mr Doria who has given up diplomacy & is living here. Abt ½ past 8 this morng just as Henry was dressed the Duke of Sermoneta came to call! & asked us to call on his 3rd wife, an English lady, at 4 in the afternoon. He has long been stone blind & came led by a secretary but he was as agreeable as ever. When Mr Doria had left Henry went to Mr Spence’s studio to sit for his portrait. I stayed in & wrote. At 4 Henry fetched me & we went to the Palazzo Mozzi to call on the Dss of Sermoneta. We found her in a small room with some ladies selling them Mozzi’s china wh she said the Marchese had saved from the creditors by hiding in a secret chamber– That & the books was all he had got left. The Palace was being sold today. Then the Dss took us to their own appartments & showed them all to us. She showed us a bed room where in the Revolution Marchese Mozzi had stabled his 4 favorite horses to save them. They had been brought in thro the library a long passage like room from the garden– The rings still remained in the walls to wh the horses had been fastened– We were taken back to the drawing room & given some tea & saw the Duke & made acquaintance with a Miss Murray & 2 old Miss Bowyers & then went back to the hotel. Dined at 7 & the Galloways dined at the same time. Afterwards Henry & Ld G. went to the Opera & I took my work into Ly G.’s room & sat with her till 10. | |
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