[Rome—Monday, 19 March 1860]
Monday 19th Festa of San Giuseppe and no sights to be seen today. We started early for Frascati and Tusculum. The weather was wondrous neither too warm nor too cold with soft clouds resting on the darkened height of Monte Cave. A mysterious place full of life and full of death is Tusculum and today silent as the grave. Flowers ever renewed, fresh as the grace of Heaven lay all about our feet. The mild eyed Periwinkle is in its full beauty and hyacinths fill the air with their young perfumes.
In vain we tried to pay our guide as we returned no one in the town could exchange 5 scudi for us and the poor fellow was obliged to run to the station with us for it.
Charming lot of people invited to meet us at Mrs Tilton’s at tea. We had a pleasant time but I was too tired to do justice to myself or the occasion. Poor Page seemed so cast down as if life went heavily and sadly with him. Yet I do believe him very happy with his wife. Mr Freeman told me he danced with Guicciola 12 years ago. She was excessively homely, heavy in form and motion, sandy haired, bad complexion, in short with the look of a singed cat!! What of all was there.
