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14 March 1908 — 3 Savile Row | |
Saturday. 14th [March 1908]. We all breakfasted downstairs. Charlie returned to the Tile Hse & Eda accompanied him for the day. I wrote letters & paid bills. Lady Gregory went out shopping abt 12 & only returned at tea time. Connie telephoned to ask if she should lunch here & I said yes. I telephoned to ask Blanche to drive with me in the afternoon wh we settled to do. Connie arrived at 1. Evelyn Lady Stanhope came to see me & we persuaded her to remain to lunch with us. We 3 who had been girl friends together are now widows! She is a charming woman & a fast friend who does not alter. Blanche telephoned she was sending the carriage for me but was going out with her boy Bertie. At 3 Evely called for Connie & I went to see Edward at Cav. Sqr fetched by his electric brougham. I sent mine for Alice Murray to use. After sitting a little while with Edward I went to see Gertie Ker Seymer at 33 Lower Seymour St. She had just come in & having her hat still on I asked her to drive with me & to take me to see Lady Cardigan as I wanted to take her a picture from my Sale in return for money she had sent me thro’ Gertie. She consented so we went to 7 Deanery St & enquired whether Lady Cardigan was at home & would see us. She begged us to come in & there I found the tall slight figured woman of 83 dressed in black with a touzled blonde wig all in ringlets & over her right ear a bunch of artificial violets. She came forward to receive us & was very pleased at the watercolour by Miss Emily Patterson wh I took her. We soon talked about her brother old Genl de Horsey & said she had yesterday written to her brother the Genl. I said that I had received a letter from him last night. I told her what a favorite he was with us at Venice & how much I saw of him. She said she was pleased to have news of him & she said what a violent temper he used to have– You don’t know that, she said, but I do & have suffered from it. She asked after my brother Monty & said she had missed him at Cowes last year as he was not there in the summer. One could see that she had been handsome despite her wig and the powder with wh her face was covered. She had on a fine row of pearls & below them one of the necklaces we had made & said she had sent her maid to my sale & the maid had brought her back one of my necklaces wh she wore. After abt 20 minutes talk we took leave & she accompanied us to the door. She is still very tall & upright & slight & her face not wrinkled. She has a good deal of resemblance to the Genl. Gertie told me that Lady Cardigan told her that the Genl used to be an inveterate gambler & had had gambled away £15000 wh he once got out of her– I can believe this—but fancy he is now too old to continue this. On leaving Lady C. we went on to leave some notes for Blanche & then I dropped Gertie in Clifford St & went home to tea. Lady May Ponsonby came also Nora Hallé & Alice Murray– Connie called for various parcels. Eda returned at 6 & went out to dine with Alice Murray—so Augusta Gregory & I spent a long evening together talking over things old & new till bed time. Sir Edward Durand came to see me this morning & I showed him the Nineveh marbles I have here & we had a long talk about animals & snakes & parrots– He told me how he had shot cobras in the East. He promised to take me to the Zoos before I leave if he can find time to see the new parrot house. | |
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