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3 May 1887 — Ca’ Capello, Venice | |
Tuesday. 3rd May [1887]. When I was getting up I found that all the hangings were being put out of the adjoining houses & we quickly put out ours as we found their Majesties were to pass by at 10 to lay the first stone of a torpedo factory at St Giobbe. Just as we had finished dressing we saw them coming & went down to the Belvedere. Both the K. & Q. nodded to us as they passed. At 1 Henry took the Colnaghis & Ola & Nela to see the launch at the Arsenal. I remained at home. Countess Pisani came to see me. I went to see Ersilia who was in bed with a cold & there met Andriana Marcello. Dined at 7 & dressed before dinner for Countess Papadopoli’s ball. At 10 I & Mr Colnaghi & Katie started in the gondola but tho’ we are only a few yards off the Papadopoli house we could not get there for ½ hour; we battled & fought & got banged & pushed & the gondoliers shouted & hallowed & swore & screamed till at last Luigi hit upon a plan of getting out of the crowd. Landing us in the small canal at the bank where we easily landed & got thro the land entrance & then he went back to fetch Henry & the Du Cane girls. We arrived just before the K & Q got there but were not in time to see them enter & at first could not get into the ball room. At last we did so & watched the first quadrille in wh the Queen danced with Ct Nicolo Papadopoli. Old Ct Luigi Michiel was sent for to dance with Css Papadopoli as being the greatest Venetian swell & being very near sighted when he was presented to the Queen he mistook the Countess for the Queen & bowed to her instead. This set the Queen laughing & every body in the room guffawed loudly wh was not quite the proper thing to do. The poor old Count who knows nothing abt dancing got thro’ his quadrille tant bien que mal & was happy when he was released. As long as the Queen sat in the ball room there was not much dancing as people mostly stood & still stared. The King went to another room & smoked. The Countess came in the course of the evening to fetch me to talk to the Queen & I sat by her some ¼ of an hour. She talked of Haggards last novels “She” & “Solomons mines.” When she got up to go to another room I found myself close to the King who also stopped me & spoke about our window hangings, admired them to me as the Queen had done & expressed his surprise at our early rising & I could not make him understand that our English hours were always early. Abt 2 they went to supper & then the Queen retired & the King went to the station & left for Florence & Rome. After their departure the dancing began in earnest & the girls enjoyed themselves. The supper was served on the upper floor & we had to wait a long time as when the supper room was full they closed the doors. Abt 4 the cotillion began. Henry & Mr Colnaghi went home abt 2 & I remained to chaperone the 3 girls & it was weary work in the daylight. Mr Eden & I abt 5.30 went to the card room & played a double handed patience. Guggenheim who was waiting for his wife joined us & looked on. At 6.30 the cotillion finished & we went home to bed. | |
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