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1 December 1881 — Ca’ Capello, Venice | |
Thursday. 1st December [1881]. Connie, Charlie, Bee & Evely left us by the 9 o’cl train for Milan. Idita took the girls to the station in her sandolo. Henry took Connie & Charlie in the gondola. As soon as they were gone I went upstairs with Hill & began to arrange the house for the Frederic Layard’s arrival tomorrow evening. As soon as Henry returned from the station he got the piano brought up stairs—the furniture moved & the library & studio arranged & transmogrified so that the house seemed quite different. He had the housekeepers room arranged nicely for a dining room. I left it mostly to him to arrange as it seemed he had a plan of his own. I sewed busily & finished putting on the frilling to 2 pillow cases. In the afternoon Cortelazzo arrived to stay with us, we went out in the gondola together, left some cards & then went to the Edens & had tea with them & sat & talked & promised to go again tomorrow if we could. We sat upstairs as the drawingrooms were emptied & then Henry & I dined at 7 at Countess Marcellos—at a large party in honor of her Name’s day. Yesterday was St Andrea but being a fast day she had put off the dinner party till today. Ct Luigi Michiel took me in to dinner & on his left sat Pss Dolgorouky—on my right sat a Ct da Schio brother to the one who sat next me last year– If it had not been for this last change I should have thought a year cd not have elapsed—as we dined there on her fete last year with almost the same party. We were 42 at table & like all those entertainments it was tedious– There were speeches & toasts to our hostess, verses & compliments, Count Almerico da Schio got very excited as he did last year & proposed innumerable toasts—amongst them one to the ladies present who had “become Venetians.” Ct Michiel made a short speech. Poor old Monsigr Bernardi laboured thro’ some verses looking very unhappy. Mr Fambri (a Deputy) made a very flowery & grand speech—the servant not only dropped the spoons and forks in showers in all directions, but played football with the silver dish covers—at last it was all over & we rose & went to the drawing room. A great many people came in the evening and we stayed chatting till past 12. Pss Marie Dolgorouky has just come home from Germany where she has been shut up for the last 2 months in a maison de santé. She had of late years completely ruined her health by taking to inject morphine under her skin—& to such a pitch had it got that she had arrived at 25 injections a day. A doctor told her that she would inevitably kill herself in less than two years and recommended her to go into this retreat wh she did of her own free will—& is now quite cured & it is to be hoped will not take to it again. It appears that for the first fortnight she suffered horribly as it was taken from her all at once & she was not allowed a maid or any relative near here– I shd very much fear that she will fall into it again when she has forgotten her sufferings she declares she hopes not. She looks very different now to what she did last year—when she looked almost dying. Css Brandolin was at the dinner tonight & was very nice & kind to me– I am sorry not to see more of her. | |
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