Milan: Consul's Advice and Making Plans

Miss Anna Horsey said she was going to Genoa and would personally mail my letters given to her in an America-going steamer so I wrote to both Margaret and Alfred telling them I expected to go back to America. Miss H. left at noon today.

Helen went out soon after nine and did not return till after one. I had a letter and two postals from Florence. She said the consul advised everyone to go to America and that she went to see what she could do. $110 was the cheapest rate and that means steerage so she had had the co. wire for berths. She herself does not want to sail for Boston but for New York. Her ear bothers her again and she is going to Rome next week. She is very undecided and does not like to take the responsibility of deciding for other people.

I went to the consul’s office after I read the letters. He said the bank ought to pay me the whole of any check since it must have been deposited after August 4th. He said the bank should have paid Florence 10 per cent instead of 5 - as it was the Royal Command. The consul said we had nothing to fear if we decided to remain on in Italy only prices would probably go up and it might be very hard to get money. On the whole his advice was to go back to America.

Got back to the house and Helen wasn’t here so started lunch. She soon came back and I read her the letters and we decided to go on to Florence so I wrote to F.B.H. and told her we would leave here Monday or Tuesday and to wait for us.

Lay down awhile then got ready and Helen and I went out on the top of a double decker car to Monza* – beautiful ride. Saw the chapel where the king was assassinated – the royal palace, then the cathedral which was most most interesting. Had a lovely ride home. Had our dinner in a café near the Porta di Venezia. The dinner was poor but the surroundings were most interesting.

*Monza is 15 km. from Milan. On the evening of 29 July 1900, King Umberto I of Italy was assassinated in Monza by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.