Particular lovely, all day.

Slept vastly better ― not to say well: & rose a little before 5 ― Plain coffee & bread the order of the day: & George & I were off before 6. A pleasant shadeful walk ― & assuredly the olives are wonderful, the interminable perpetuation of this silver light catching trunks contrasting with the deep shades on the green & fern below.

I am at Stavrõ1 ― where a perlite Xωριάτης2 shewed me to the Topos where ὃλοι Ἃγγλοι3 were wont to go ―: & no lovelier view can be seen ― so much so that I rank it first of all the distant Corfu views ― as regards the seeing all & everything. At 7 Therapeia, with a circle of very well kept in order boys ― I sate down to draw, ― & afterwards a 2nd & 3rd view ― so that it was one before I left off ― 6 hours of it.

Then we went to a Bottega,4 & had some capital Eggs & bread & cheese & wine: good people ― staring constantly. “Φυσικὰ”5 saith G. ― There were some extremely handsome women ― παιδιὰ!6

At 2 we came down ― & walked slowly, with interludes of Bertoldino7 & other matters.

Home by sunset ― this place is too damp to be out afterwards.

A toughy fowl, (to G.’s dismay,) & new potatoes ― were the dinner: also vile wine. ― whereby indignation & sleeplessness.

Bed by 8.45.

“Out of the day & night” &c.

[Transcribed by Marco Graziosi from Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Eng. 797.3.]

  1. Stavros (Σταυρού). [↩]
  2. Peasant (NB). [↩]
  3. The place (topos) where “all Englishmen” (NB) were wont to go. [↩]
  4. “Shop,” in Italian. [↩]
  5. Of course (NB). [↩]
  6. Children (NB). [↩]
  7. A reference to the Italian comic tales of Bertoldo, the sharp-witted farmer, and Bertoldino, his no less cunning son, popularized by Giulio Cesare Croce (1550-1609) in Le sottilissime astuzie di Bertoldo, and Le piacevoli e ridicolose semplicità di Bertoldino, figlio del già astute Bertoldo. The stories are among the best-known grotesque, and at times nonsensical ones in Italian literature. [↩]