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4 December 1883 — Ca’ Capello, Venice | |
Tuesday. 4th December [1883]. Olga sat to me from ten till 11 & then Miss Holas came & I had an Italian lesson. While at lunch we got a telegram from Cortelazzo to say he was going to arrive this afternoon. Henry & I went out directly after lunch and I dropped him at the Stabto & went on to the Hotel Britannia & called for Lady Evelyn Campbell & took her out. We went to Malcolm’s garden to see his Brasilian Banana (Musa ensete) wh is out in flower in the hot house. It is a fine white flower very large & curious to see. On our return home we found Henry in & Cortelazzo arrived. The flowers came from Florence & Lady Evelyn & I put them up & then had tea & afterwards much talk with Cortelazzo after Lady Evelyn was gone. Cort: was full of Giovanni’s despair at having left us & he says that he found him at Finili’s hotel crying all day. We are dreadfully sorry about it but now there is nothing to be done—he insisted on leaving us in spite of all we could say & now he has found out his mistake & repents him of it & dreads marrying Hill & is most miserable & is inclined to cast the blame of all on us. Poor man. I am afraid he has spoilt his life & we are dreadfully sorry to lose him. Cortelazzo dined with us and went away early to be with Giovanni & to console him. Cort: was full of a disagreeable affair of his own. It appears the lodgers of his 2nd floor sent some meat for his cats wh was taken by his boy to the villa for the cats. When the boy arrived there & was going to give the meat to the cats, the contadino in charge of the villa begged to have the meat—& eat it with his wife & child. In the night the Contadino died & was said to have been poisoned and by arsenic– Cortelazzo was accused of having left arsenic abt wh he used for his trade– He soon proved that impossible as he used none—but still they want to make him pay a multa. It appears that his groom put the meat into the carriage when the boy was going off to the villa & then he (the groom) said he was ill & must leave at once—& his wife (the cook) left also suddenly—so Cortelazzo thinks the suspicion ought to have fallen on them. The groom had had a quarrel with the contadino and had also had arsenic in his possession as medicine for the horses– But nothing has been done by the police abt them. | |
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