Venice, Florence & elsewhere in Europe.- Blencowe (Mary Cecilia, daughter of John Jackson Blencowe, of Marston St. Lawrence, 1810-57, and Cecilia Blencowe, d. 1874, of Brighton, and Brackley, Northamptonshire, 1854-1929) Diary of 3 European tours to Venice, Italy, Germany and France, 2 vol., autograph manuscript, together 354pp. (166pp. & 188pp.), a few pp. in pencil, slightly browned, vol. I original roan, worn, lacks spine, vol. II original half buckram boards, slightly rubbed, joints splitting at head and tail, sm. 8vo, 1870-71.
⁂ A well observed series of tours through Europe in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War. Blencowe has a gift for picking up small details of the people and places she visits.
Venice. "At last we are at Venice, once the proud Queen of the Adriatic... . How curious it seemed coming out of the station in the moonlight, and embarking in a gondola on the still waters of the Canal, then gliding through the picturesque streets, while we heard in the distance a soft voice singing. Charles, Alfred, Minnie & I went... over the Rialto to the Fruit Market to a stall to buy some sweet flowers, & be charged all Inglese. "How much?" we ask. "Fifty centimes." "Troppo caro," says Alfred. "Fifty centimes for the two bunches then," says the seller in a winning voice. "No, no," says the buyer laying down the flowers, "I will give you 20 for the two." "No, 30," "No only 20," & turns away but is called to bear them off for 20 for the two, & quite enough too." - Blencowe.