Diary of Annie Adams Fields

Friday 16th At the Doria Palace.

Saturday 17th Grand review of French troops at the Borghese. We walked out to be quite near. It was a grand display nearly 10 thousand soldiers. General Guyon awarded several soldiers for acts of bravery and as he suspended the medals on their breasts kissed them on either cheek. They were...

Sunday 18th Breakfasted with the Story’s. The day was superb. In the afternoon drove with Miss Cushman to the Pamfili-Doria and came home with laps full of anemones and souls full of fragrance. Jamie went to the Wales but I was much too tired with our ramble.

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...

Tuesday 20th Another nice breakfast at Miss Cushman’s. Akers, Mrs Davis, Hamilton Wild, and the two firms constituting the society. Jamie is again tempted with Castellani’s lovely things.

Wednesday 21st Walked to St. Peters and passed the morning in the glorious Sistine Chapel. Page’s dined with us.

Thursday 22d Exquisite spring day. Drove in the Borghese Villa.

Friday. Went to Castellani’s with Mrs Stowe. He showed us a sword which belonged to Cesar Borgia who fought for the pope and brought Romagna back to the church. Now, said Castellani, significantly the sword is on our side. He presented Mrs S. with a negro head beautifully cut in agate as a...

Saturday 24th Morning too rainy for Tivoli. The day proved lovely and in the afternoon we drove out to take a last look of the Borghese Villa.

Sunday 25th Lunched alone at Miss Cushman’s and had a nice cosy time. Went to the Catacombs with Dr Smith, Professor at the American Jesuit College. All the way to St. Calyxtus he overwhelmed us with talk and surprised us with his knowledge of American politics. He evidently hopes through...

Monday 26th Cloudy April-like day.

Tuesday 27th A never-to-be-forgotten excursion to Tivoli with the Castanze Children. The ground was a carpet of flowers a summer-like haze over-spread the sky at times and it seemed the highest luxury of beauty was spread out for us to feast upon.

Wednesday 28th Preparing to leave Rome. Making calls, writing letters and trying to say good-bye. Pleasant evening at Mrs Stowe’s. She asked me to write to her.

Thursday 29th Mr Wild breakfasted with us bringing me a glorious rose which had grown in the open air. Before 12 we joined Miss Cushman and Miss Stebbins and we went together to see Mr. Lear and his pictures. They are certainly very individual and striking as well as true to Nature. They are all...

Friday 30th Left Rome today at 7½. Castanze was most kind; his wife also and the little children ran to the carriage door to kiss us good bye. The Piazza del Popolo never looked more lovely than it did today. The warmth and haze of summer overspread the sky, the gloomy cypresses bowed statelily...

Saturday 31st A lovely morning. We started in a light carriage at 7 in the morning for the Falls. It was too fine a drive and too like a sacred vision near the falls to write about now. We left at 10 for Perugia. Arrived at ½ past 7 in moonlight. We drove hard in the last post in order to...

Sunday April 1st Palm Sunday. There will be great festivities in Rome today. Stopped at Perugia to see the Sala del Cambio and a few of its many treasures. There was a grand review of Swiss soldiers just under our windows and among them Annie Howard’s captain. He came and spoke to us. His...

Monday April 2d Left Perugia peeping down into its lovely valley at 5 o’clock in the morning to drive to Florence but Alack! as we came to Camuscia where the Diligence was driving, our postillion quietly received orders from the conductor of the same who owned our carriage to drive to Sina...

Tuesday April 3d Bella Firenze again. I sat in our sunny window looking out on the Arno and writing letters back to the beloved Romans until noon while Jamie went out upon business. He returned about noon with his hands full of flowers, lilies of the valley, geraniums, anemones &c. and then we...

Wednesday 4th Completed the arrangements for 2 dresses for Thursday night visited again those two glorious galleries, not forgetting to buy a few flowers of the poor man in the Uffizi nor to visit the Gran Duca in the Pitti. In the evening we drove 5 in one small vettura to visit Miss Blagden at...

Thursday 5th Went to Fiesole. Yesterday Mr Landor took the pains to walk round to make me a visit. He had not walked as far for an age he said. He [sic, for His] little dog came with him. He has named him Giallo. Ah! dear he said to him I wish they would make a collar for the pope, these people...

Friday 6th we were to be starting for Bologna. Oh! what a day we had. The whole diligence was engaged except the Banquette so in that we had to go. Well! I said to myself, it will be dark in the morning when we get up and dark at night when we get down and lovely while up but alas! there is no...

Saturday 7th At Bologna—still rain. I shan’t see much of this place except the fine old gate through which we came, its extraordinary colonnades and its flowers with which Jamie comes in laden, and its old table d’hôte where are mostly Swiss officers drinking Vin Ordinaire and eating...

Sunday 8th Left early by vettura while the rain was yet pouring down for Rovigo where we passed the night—decently comfortable.

Monday 9th Vettura again, very early for Padua. On and on through miles and miles of poplars. We are now in the Austrian territory. We crossed the Po yesterday afternoon and found the much despised Austrian white coats waiting for us on the opposite side. Came to Padua early but it was raining...