We also had a delightful habit of not dining, but all our intimates would appoint to meet at one _café_ or another, where we supped out in the open air, at separate little tables--say each party of fifteen its own table--where, the garden being illuminated, we ordered the fare of the country, and the country wine, and smoked cigarettes. We would meet about nine, stay till eleven or twelve, and disperse to our homes. It was so sociable. There is nothing of this kind in England. There was, about a mile and a half from Trieste, a village on the shore, called San Bartolo, where we used to do the same thing on a larger scale. We would be thirty or forty, have a fiddle and a harp, and dance afterwards in the open by moonlight. About this time we had the great pleasure of a visit from Mrs. (now Lady) Kirby Green, and her sister; also Mr. Hamilton Aïdé, Mr. Matthews, our late Home Secretary, Miss Yule, so famous for military tactics; also the Stillmans. Richard was lucky enough to get an occasional trip with Baron Pino, our delightful Governor, on the _Pelagosa_, the Government yacht. An amusing little incident happened in connection with my learning Italian. I wanted very much to go through the Italian classics with a professor. My professor was a Tuscan, a gentleman, a Christian, and a celebrated Dantesque scholar, but a priest who had unhappily fallen away from his vocation. He gained great fame and applause amongst _litterati_ for his declamations of Dante. I used to read beforehand the canto for the night, in Bohn's English translation; then he would declaim it to me in Italian, acting it unconsciously all the while; then I used to read it aloud in Italian, to catch his pronunciation, and as I read he stopped me and explained every shade of Dante's thoughts and meaning. When he came to that part where the souls in hell are crying out and scratching themselves, he also kept crying out and scratching himself. It was evening, as he had only that time to spare. Richard had gone to bed, and I had left the door open between us. All of a sudden he called out loudly, "What the devil is that noise--what is the matter?" "Oh," I said in English, "it is only Rossi acting the damned souls in hell for me." Peals of laughter came from the bed. The master naturally asked what was the matter, and he was so shy after that, that it spoilt my lessons. I could never get him to act any more, as he had been doing it quite unconsciously.[1] Richard was also very fond of a good opera, and we often went if there was a new piece.