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Saturday, 11 September 1875

I have luncheon as I have not had in a long time, and it seems as though I have eaten nothing.

Je dejeune comme il y a longtemps et il me semble que je n'ai rien mange.

I hurry, I burn — I want quickly to be in Florence, quickly to return, quickly to have everything arranged, quickly to spend the winter in Rome. Everything quickly.

Je me depeche, je brule, je voudrais vite etre a Florence, vite revenir, vite faire tout arranger, vite passer l'hiver a Rome. Tout vite.

Farewell, dear city of my heart!

Au revoir chere ville de mon coeur !

At three o'clock I leave it. At Ventimiglia, a disagreeable incident: Gaslina the painter, who bungled my portrait the winter before last, approaches us, plays the charming guest, and installs himself in our carriage. You can imagine how much pleasure that gave me!

A trois heures je la quitte, a Ventimiglia un accident assez desagreable, Gaslina le peintre qui a manque mon portrait l'hiver avant-dernier s'approche de nous, fait l'aimable et se met dans notre wagon. Vous voyez d'ici combien cela m'a fait plaisir !

To have that dog of a painter in front of me for six hours — but I did not stand on ceremony: I settled myself in my corner and read the whole time, only rarely joining the conversation my aunt was making with him.

Avoir ce chien de peintre pendant six heures devant moi, mais je ne me genai pas, je me mis dans mon coin et lis tout le temps, ne me melant que rarement a la conversation que ma tante faisait avec lui.

I arrive at Genoa...

J'arrive a Genes...

— That is it — it is a thunderbolt, as they say in Offenbach — I am in love with Italy, with this Italy I used to detest. That is just how it happens! I speak Italian with a passion!

- Ca y est, c'est comme un coup de foudre comme on dit chez Offenbach, je suis amoureuse de l'Italie, de cette Italie que je detestais. C'est comme cela ! Je parle italien avec rage !

We put up at the Hôtel de France — I am enchanted by everything.

Nous descendons a l'hotel de France, je suis enchantee de tout.

Those ancient palaces with their immense windows, their balconies! Our very hotel, our room, has a delicious window vast beyond anything one could imagine in France, with a poetic balustrade.

Ces palais anciens avec leurs fenetres immenses, leurs balcons ! Notre hotel meme, notre chambre a une delicieuse fenetre grande comme on n'a pas idee en France, avec une balustrade poetique.

All in white I station myself at the window — what one needs here is a serenade. But no: instead, there pass some drunken English sailors singing some barbaric song I cannot recall. No matter — I am enchanted all the same.

Tout en blanc je me mis a la fenetre, il faudrait une serenade, mais non, au lieu de cela, passent des matelots anglais ivres en chantant je ne sais plus quelle chanson barbare. N'importe je suis enchantee tout de meme.

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