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23 September 1881 — Ca’ Capello, Venice | |
Friday. 23rd September [1881]. The weather had changed in the night & it rained all this morning & was cold. I stayed at home, all the rest went out on foot to the Frari & Scuola S. Rocco & came home wet. The old Buranella came with lace to sell & I kept some for Mrs Burr to see on her return. After lunch Henry took out the whole party to buy photos &c & returned abt 5 in despair saying he had not been able to get them on—they all went different ways & into different shops! At 3.30 Sir Henry & Miss Thompson came—the latter had promised to show me how to glaze some parts of my picture of the Turkish slave. I had to leave her while she worked in the studio & go down to receive Css Pisani & Miss Willing. We sat a long time in the Belvedere talking. Css P. gave me one of her late husbands grandfather’s visiting cards. He had been Venetian Ambassador in Spain & had 2 cards—one for private use with simply Francesco Pisani—the other a lovely design by Fontana. A figure holding a shield with one hand on wh were the words L’Ambasciatore di Venetia, with the other hand he points to Venice in the background. I begged for one to send to Monty as well as one for myself. After dinner the poet Browning & his sister came & we all went over to take tea with Css Olga Mocenigo who is living in what used to be Byron’s appartments. She had her 2 sisters in law with her– She showed us the rooms Byron used to occupy & his writing table which has a plate with an inscription in Italian to record the fact of its having been used by Byron. Of course Browning was very pleased to see it all. We met there also Prince Teano, Signor Massari the traveller who had just returned from his journey with Mateucci who died on reaching England, Major Serpa Pinto the Portuguese traveller & a Marquis Aquaviva a friend of the Mocenigos. So we spent a very pleasant evening & did not leave till past 11. | |
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