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12 July 1903 — Ca’ Capello, Venice | |
Saturday. 12th [July 1903]. I went to morning service at our church. Sent a note to the Pss de la Moskova on board the “Thistle” asking if the Empress Eugenie wd care to come to tea one day with me. Recd a civil answer to say she has a bad cold but will come one day. At 2 o’cl I went off to the Royal Palace to have an audience with the Queen Margherita. I found Ct Zen & Marchesa Villamarina in her anteroom & was at once taken in. It is my first interview with H.M. since her widowhood. She is still good looking, rather inclined to be stout & her hair, wh is evidently turning grey is kept a sort of golden colour which is not unbecoming to her. She received me cordially kissing me & spoke in English in which she is rather fluent. She said she always admired my house here with its flowers & terrace– She talked of pictures & the R. Academy here where she had spent nearly the whole day Saturday. I told her I would like to show her my pictures & she said she would certainly come one day to my house. I told her of my new hospital & how we thought we ought to look after our own sick & I said how glad I should be if she could get the Italians to set up a new system of women nurses. She said that the Blue sisters in Rome & Florence were very good & clever & that formerly ladies used to go more to visit hospitals & she did not know why it had fallen out of fashion. I told her of Ola’s work & success & she was interested. After abt 20 minutes she rose & I left– I then had a little chat with the Marchesa Villamarina. Old Css Venier came in just after me to have an audience– The dear old lady looking very smart & beaming. She had her audience & went away before the Marchesa would let me go. She thanked me much for what I had done for her son & daughter in law who is English & to whom she had given letters of introduction to me at London– As soon as I got home Marchesa Cassis came to see me & sat chatting a long time. She said the Prefect had had trouble abt a gambling establishment wh had been started at the Lido. He had found out about it by chance as his nephew had gone there & played & lost 15 francs & told his uncle not knowing that it is against the law. Then as Elsie was leaving old General de Horsey called & sat with me a long time. He told me that he had commanded the Italian legion in 184 and had taken it to Malta. That when it was to be disbanded & he was taking it back to England about 200 of them mutinied off Sicily & tried to arrest him. Luckily some of his men stood by him & he seized the ring leader & sent him to the English war ship near by– On his way by the Bay of Biscay 14 of them died of cholera but he got the rest back to England safely. The Genl told me he had written his name on the Empress Eugenie who sent for him & that he had had a long chat with her abt the times he had known her at Seville before she was married. I dined at 7 & then went to the service at the Institute & took Mr Harston back to his own house in gondola afterwards. | |
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