 | Lady Layard’s Journal Go to a Date Search the Journal |
|
Previous Entry
|
Following Entry
| |
29 June 1907 — Ca’ Capello, Venice | |
Saturday. 29th [June 1907]. Modelled all the morning after Mr Montalba had been here to pass the accounts of the Cosmopolitan Hospital and complete the Balance sheet. I sent it off to England to be printed much relieved to get it off my hands. In the afternoon I had visits from Iduna Belmondo, & Genl & Mrs Hatton, Sra Malagola & Sra Volpi– At 6 Angela called for me & we went our usual round to the Giardino & back at 7.30. I dressed & went to the Royal Palace to dine with the Regina Madre at 8.30. There was only her Court besides myself Cts Guiccioli & Zen, Duchessa Sforza, Marchesa di Villamarina & her daughter. The Queen looking prettier than even—not so stout & with her hair a blonde colour (to hide that it is getting white). She was dressed in black net covered with silver spangles. She received me very kindly & cordially & took my arm to go in to dinner. We dined in a room with windows on the Piazza & the band was playing there. After dinner we sat in the next room & the Queen smoked a cigarette & chatted. I gave her a book of Cook’s tours to the wh I had brought her from London as she had said she wanted to go to Japan– In thanking me she said she had had to give up going this year as it was yet uncertain whether Queen Elena is not in an interesting condition—so she has given up the trip– She read the telegrams in the papers & said there was no news—but she was anxious about the strikes going on in the district of Ferrara & lamented the revolt in France & added I fear that bad times are in preparation all over the world and we may live to see strange things. We spoke of books & I told her of those just published by Canon & Mrs Ragg. She said she had already got & read “the women artists of Bologna” & the “Dante & his Times.” She had not seen the “Gospel of St Barnabas” & I said the Canon wd like to present it to her. We went on talking abt the Bible and she asked me if I had read the New Testament Apocrypha– I said I had never heard of it. She said it was not easy to get—& contained the infant life of Christ & I said I had seen the Old Testament Apocrypha—& she said it was in all the R.C. Bibles & she had read it & admired Maccabees & that she had read Tobias—that tho’ she found it “annoying” (tiresome) she had read it. She had read & admired the Psalms, Proverbs, Wisdom & Song of Solomon—but not the books of Kings. I told her that we Protestants were made to read the Bible from the beginning. “What all this?” she asked. I said that many parts were skipped by the governess wh was a mystery to childish minds. She suddenly placed on my lap her little bouquet of red carnations. it was a very hot night & a sudden drops of rain fell wh stopped the music on the Piazza. Abt 10 the Queen rose bid us good night & retired to her room. She expected the D. of Genoa here a little later to take place in tomorrow’s ceremony of moving the bones of Sebastian Venier the hero of Lepanto from Murano to SS Giov. e Paolo. It was quite fine when I went home in open gondola. | |
|
Previous Entry
|
Following Entry
| |