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22 March 1902 — Ca’ Capello, Venice | |
Saturday. 22nd [March 1902]. The fine weather has gone & we have it quite cold & wet again. Sr Castellani called on me this afternoon to tell me that Mr Hamilton is coming this week to look into the affairs of the Venezia Murano Co & to see if it can be reorganised & reformed. At 4 I went to Baroness Oesterreicher who is an Englishwoman widow of an Austrian & has a house at S. Sebastian to make the acquaintance of B. & Bss van der Hoefen & their daughter. The Baron is an ex diplomatist & has become quite blind. He seems rather a sad stout old man. The wife is Russian & youngish. The daughter curious looking—pale & with fiery red hair. They have bought a house next to the Oesterreicher. This latter is a woman who bores me to exhaustion—she is affected, missish, sentimental, affectionate & silly. She is not without talent—writes verses & composes music. I am always glad to escape from her company & it was refreshing to go from her to pay a visit to the Montalba family & have tea there. I brought Ellen home with me & gave her some garnet beads to complete a necklace she has & helped her to thread them. Iduna dined with me at 7.30 & then we went to the Goldoni theatre to see D’Annunzio’s play of Paolo & Francesca. The Prefect sent me his box there. I invited Mr Montalba & M. Zathetins the Swedish Consul. The play began at 8.30 & we got there a little late. The dresses were correct & magnificent—the scenery excellent & the acting fairly good. From where we were sitting we could not hear a word of the play—the actors never came in front of the line of the drop scene. The Dusa tho’ she acted well was not at her best—the part not really suiting her– The scene of the ruling in the book was cleverly acted—short & the curtain fell on it– The house was full & the people attentive– The Author was called for & applauded several times—but the piece was wearisomely long & lasted till past 12– | |
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