On the 3rd of September we left Sauerbrunn for Trieste, and went on the 4th to meet Lord Northbrook, with Sir Evelyn Baring, Lord Wolseley, Major Wardropp and Major Macdonald, Lord Airlie, Lord Charles Beresford, Colonel Swaine, and others. The _Iris_ came in to fetch them. Mr. George Paget, Mr. Egerton, and Major Hoare also arrived, and lastly the Marchese and Marchesa di Guiccioli, best known to us through Byron, though that is not a source of pride to the family. Mr. and Mrs. Percival, Professor Sayce, and Mr. Myers, _en route_ to Egypt, were the next visitors, and we enjoyed their week's stay very much. Arrived also Dr. MacDouall the author, Lady Baring, Artin Yakoob Pasha and his wife, Madame Nubar Pasha, and Mr. Rowett, a great merchant from Rangoon, married to a friend of ours, Miss Ritterbandt; then came Colonel Wynne, Lady Fitzgerald, Mr. Quirk, Mrs. Reginald Talbot, Miss Wortley, and the travellers, Mr. James and Mr. Lort-Philips, _en route_ to Somali-land. So we had a lively time. There were earthquakes all this month. The next sad thing was that Everard Primrose wrote to ask us to take his passage for Egypt, that he wanted to go to the Soudan; and he came down with Colonel Gerard, stayed a day and a night at Trieste, and we saw them off to join the Camel-corps in the Soudan on the 3rd of October. He promised on his return to stay a fortnight with us, as we had so often stayed with him. We never saw him again. He ought never to have gone; but his high spirit and breeding would not let him be a drawing-room soldier when there was service going on. A delicate man, and accustomed to luxury (especially such a life as that of military _attaché_ at Vienna), left him no strength to throw off fever, under such hardships and disadvantages as were his lot, when it took hold of him. Again we went for a short visit to Monfalcone, Duino, and Aquilea. Being the Consul's wife, I had a good many funny experiences, and met with all possible classes and characters. One of the annoyances of a Consul, and, if they are women, of his wife, is that everybody who is not strictly honest, and is fond of making delightful journeys abroad, of which he or she boast loudly when they go back, starts with just enough money to take them out of England. They then go to the first Consul, represent themselves in distress, and get him to pass them on to the next Consul; and they make quite a beautiful tour in this way. But the poor Consul hardly ever sees a penny of the money back, and after a little experience he begins to be harder, and small blame to him. My particular grievance was, that every girl who was too vivacious to stay at home, would always come abroad to look for work, as a governess, secretary, or companion. Some were regular swindlers, some were anything but nice, and some were poor inoffensive creatures who would not have embarked on the enterprise if they had known what they would have to go through; but seven out of nine were generally very odd.