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11 January 1881 — Naples | |
Tuesday. 11th January [1881]. Wrote letters in the morng. At 12 we started off to go to the Ex Collegio Medico to see Mrs Salis Schwabe Institution for education. It is a wonderful place & abt 400 children of both sexes are educated there, 69 of them are boarded & many are orphans. Mme Schwabe lives in the same house. It is a vast building once a convent. The Institution is admirably arranged & there are German & other teachers. Children are brought up from the age of 3 to 18 & then taken on as teachers. We saw the children at their dinners—an excellent rice soup. We went to the richer childrens’ rooms wh are beautifully arranged & kept by the children them selves. We were accompanied by Herr G. Bunsen an old friend of Henrys & a sort of distant connection. Then, almost exhausted with seeing things we returned to Mme Schwabe’s rooms & lunched. At lunch we met a Miss Jekyll a spinster sister of Lady Hendons, Miss Woodward daughter of the Queens late librarian. The food we had was all cooked by the children of the establishment & was excellent. After lunch Henry & M. de Bunsen went to see the orphanage & I remained with Mme Schwabe & she opened to me all her heart in her good schemes but as she speaks broken English—talks very fast & never finishes her sentences it was very difficult to follow her. She seems to wish by education to combat the present tendency to communism & the savage hatred of nations as shown in the Franco German war. At 2 we took leave of her—& she came halfway down the stairs to see us off & then suddenly pounced on me & kissed me—saying that we had had such a sympathetic conversation she felt she knew & loved me. I was quite touched & believe she is a very good woman & very enthusiastic. From her we went to the Museum to meet Mme de Bülow & took her over it to show her the principal fine things. At 3.30 she took us in Lady Holland’s carriage to leave cards. We went to Pausilippo to leave a card & then returned to the hotel by 5. Dined at the table d’hôte. After dinner Mme de Montfort came to see us & sat talking & abt 9.30 she took me in her carriage to Lady Holland’s & Henry walked there. We stayed there an hour & then she brought me back. It was a wet night. | |
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