Palais de Prince Royal Athens, Greece. December 1st 1889

My dearest Pollie,

I am afraid you will think I am rather a long time keeping my promise of writing again, but really we go at such "high pressure" speed, that the days and weeks pass away before one seems to have taken any count of them.

>>>>>>>>>

You will, by this time, have read so much in the newspapers about the Wedding {of Sophie, Princess of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II's sister, to Constantine, Crown Prince of Greece, later King Constantine II} that I think it will be more interesting to you if I tell you rather of this country and people and my first impressions of them.

First, though I must say a word about the reception in Pireaus by all the foreign ships of war.

The weather was quite glorious, like a golden July day, when we went on board the King of Greece’s yacht at a place called Calamity and steamed up the Gulf of Pireaus - the town of Pireaus is the Portsmouth {England} of Greece, a sorry comparison perhaps some people would think who know both towns - but the mark the one makes on its country’s history now, the other made on a much larger scale long ages ago. Who can say that 2,400 years later, any sort of history of Portsmouth will still remain? Yet the Greeks have plenty of proofs that the town of Pireaus was a port 500 years before Christ.

But, to return to the subject of the reception, we steamed between two long lines of Austrian, Spanish, Russian, Danish, German and English ships and not one of each but many. There were for instance 4 Austrian, 6 German etc. They were all beautifully dressed with flags, all had their yards manned by sailors in "spick and span Turn-out " and as we passed, each banged away its royal salute of 121 guns - such a deafening noise as I had never heard in my life before. And sometimes there would be so much smoke and even flashes of flame from the mouth of some big gun, that one felt some damage must have been done - but after smoke and report had died away, instead of cries of pain, one heard half a dozen different National Anthems and the word "Hurrah" called out in as many different tongues. But of course loudest of all were the Hip, Hip, Hip Hurrahs of the English Marines and Blue Jackets from our splendid ships. It was too funny to hear the piping "Vivas" of the Italian neighbours after.

It was a sight that I shall long remember and the young bride elect looked so sweet in her soft white dress, standing on the yacht’s bridge, beside her mother, bowing her acknowledgements in all directions.

We landed at Pireaus and made the last stage of our journey by train to Athens. The reception was much, much grander than I had expected it to be. We went of course to the King’s Palace first and stayed there until the afternoon of the Wedding Day. Then instead of going away to a mountain residence as had formerly been arranged, we came here. It's just opposite the King’s Palace and we have the most perfect view over the whole city, not of modern Athens only, but also the ruins of the ancient city. These ruins are marvellous and I think it will be long before I am tired of Athens so long as I am free to wander up to the Acropolis as often as I like. We are not very far from the sea, another pleasure for me.

There is a sort of street railway running from here down to the coast. The trains start in an accidental sort of fashion (the Athenians like all Orientals have not the slightest regard for time or punctuality) from one entrance to the Palace. The train is made up of an engine and four or five carriages, some open, some closed, the latter are divided into compartments. The time usually occupied for the journey is about three quarters of an hour. It's very pleasant indeed to make the journey in an open car, as directly one gets outside the city, one feels the sea breezes and one sees the beauty of the land and also alas! the poverty. Arrived at the journey’s end one finds quite a fashionable if small, watering place, like and yet not like an English one.

Now I must close for this time and try and write again soon. But just now I have so many letters to write.

With much dear love and sympathy to you all, especially do send love and kisses to the three little maidens.

Believe me.

Always your loving cousin Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal Athens, Greece December 16th 1889.

My dearest Pollie,

Tomorrow there leaves a messenger for England who will arrive just about Christmas Eve, so I am desperately busy hastening to write many letters.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To me there is always more or less an undercurrent of sadness about Christmas, partly because it’s the end of the year and we can’t help looking back. In looking back one sees how many disappointments as well as losses one has had to bear. One sees the grass growing green over the grave of more than one hope that perhaps at the beginning of the year looked so fresh and flourishing, and one knows that in the coming year it will be just the same, though fortunately some years, are not so bad as others.

To me the past year has been a very exciting one as you will easily understand. I have seen so many new things and new people and then I have had more than one disappointment to hear - I think I told you, how I hoped to see my friend Mr. Castle this year. Well he went to England, but only had five weeks before starting on the return journey and oddly enough everything seemed against our meeting. He could have come to Homburg had he arrived early, but as it was, we were just on the eve of leaving Homburg either for Berlin or Denmark. After our return from Denmark to Berlin I was so busy over the Princess’ Trousseau that if he had come to Berlin, I should have either not have been able to be with him much else I must have told the Princess the whole story and then HRH would have thought that perhaps I meant to stay with her a few months in Greece only.

One has to keep many of one’s affairs quite quiet you know. He went to Paris for a few days and begged that I would come too, in which case he would have brought his sister with him. But although I could have managed it quite well, I thought it was better not. He was at Heidelburg also, in the South of Germany, but far from Berlin. Then he went back to Burma and will not come to England again for four or five years.

Goodbye dear love and good wishes to William and yourself.

From your loving cousin Ada.

Palais du prince Royal, Athens, Greece. Thursday Jan 17th 1890

My dearest Pollie

Thank you very much for your nice long letter of Dec. 16th. I am afraid my Christmas letter was very late in reaching you, but it was really not my fault as I sent it off in plenty of time. But I will just tell you how it happened. One of the gentlemen of the English Legation here, offered, (he being bound on a mission to Italy) to take letters to Brindizi and send on by the Indian Mail, timed to reach England two days before Christmas.

There is however, between here and Italy, the beautiful sea with its soft sounding name, but which alas! is many times very rough. There the ship was in a terrible storm. They were in fact nearly shipwrecked and thereby many days delayed. So that it was many days later ere the letter reached England.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This horrid Influenza epidemic makes one feel so nervous less those who are ill from any other cause should get it badly. It has reached us here in Athens now and as usual has attacked the highest first. Nearly all the Royal family with the exception of the King, have had it more or less badly and in both Royal houses. It has gone down steadily through all ranks, I so far, have gone free, but have been suffering more or less from the Greek fever for sometime.

That is one of the penalties one pays for living in a warm climate - slight attacks don’t last very long, but they are of course terribly weakening. Sometimes I feel quite well in the morning and go out for an hour or two in the afternoon and directly I get back and undress I begin to shiver, then I know I have got fever. The shivering lasts for a time and then one gets burning hot, this goes on alternating for some hours with terrible pains in the back, head, knees etc. I generally have to go to bed, but I cannot sleep for some hours. After a few doses of Quinine the attack passes away as rapidly as it came, only leaving one a little weaker than before.

Yesterday I scrambled up to the top of Lycabettus {also referred to as Lykavittos Hill} the highest mountain quite near Athens. One has a magnificent view once one gets to the top - but the mounting is somewhat difficult as the Mount is really a gigantic rock with a zig zag path up the least steep side of it. On the summit is a little Catholic chapel dedicated to St. George.

The longer I live in Athens, the more I find to interest me.

There is of course the sunny side and the shady side of the picture. One sees many things that are, to English eyes, painfully repulsive, such, for instance, is the custom of carrying the dead in open coffins through the streets to the gates of the city, with the full midday sun glaring down on the upturned faces. It's a matter of religion with the Greeks, and they are proud to do today exactly the same as was done 19 hundred years ago. Of course one must remember that in a warm country, the dead are seldom, if ever, kept more than 24 hours unburied, generally less, especially if they have died of a bad kind of fever. They are all dressed as in every day life, thus officers wear uniform, priests their robes etc. etc…

The pests of Athens are the dust, the mosquitoes, the beggars and the want of water - not that we in the palace are at all troubled by the latter, except in the matter of there being more dust than there need be if the roads were more freely watered. But the beggars are a bother and when anyone like myself absolutely refuses to give them anything, then I am afraid they say very wicked things, but in a case like mine "Ignorance is bliss" for I don’t understand their jargon. And then next, or rather first in order, come the mosquitoes. These little torments are certainly one of the great worries of life here and even now at this comparatively cool season of the year, one dare not go to sleep without one’s mosquito net tucked carefully in around the bed, or woe! One night some weeks ago, I thought I would try it, it had been a remarkably cool day, and I thought with joy, that I could certainly sleep with the nets thrown back - but I altered my mind an hour or two later, when I woke up and found two or three mosquitoes had been having a gala feast off the back of my hand. Since then I have not tried sleeping without the nets again.

But to go to a pleasanter subject. The sunsets here are very beautiful, so powerful is the atmosphere here that about half an hour before the sun goes down, each mountain looks a different colour, red, purple, golden, blue. It's like a highly painted picture. The strong powerful light throws out the grand old ruins on top of the "Acropolis" in a wonderful manner.

Now dear, I must bring my epistle to an end, though I’m afraid it's not very interesting this time, for I feel tired this afternoon, having been out doing battle with the Athenian shopkeepers - no light task I assure you, when one’s knowledge of the language is so limited as mine.

With my dearest love to all. Hoping to get a nice long letter again from you soon.

I am always your loving Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal, Athens, Greece. March 3th 1890.

My dearest Pollie,

>>>>>>>>>>

I am sending you a photograph of my Princess in her wedding dress and the lost veil - did I ever tell you that the wedding veil could not be found on the Wedding morning? It was very tiresome after the Empress had given so much time and trouble and 200 German girls here were engaged for four months over the making of it. It somehow got packed into the wrong box - there was one great big zinc lined box for all the wedding garments packed by the assistants of the dressmaker who had made the wedding dress. When this was opened the night before the wedding, no veil was to be found.

We are having such lovely weather now. I am sitting writing in my room with the window open. It's between 6 and 7o’clock in the evening and still quite light.

Athens is very, very lovely in the light of the setting sun or in the early morning, each mountain seems to have a separate and distinct colour of its own. The air is so deliciously soft and warm - warm yet not too hot, one could live out of doors. I am out a great deal myself. I have been out twice today. Soon, when the weather gets very hot, we shall have to stay in the house much during the middle of the day. But it's a very dangerous climate when the sun goes down - the Greeks know this well and as the last rays depart one sees them all turn and go home with a rush.

One thing that strikes most foreigners on their arrival here, is the great number of men compared to the few women. The reason is easily explained - as in all Eastern and southern lands, the women don’t have a very good time of it. Amongst the poor classes they work very hard indeed, earning nearly all the money that maintains the family often times. Meanwhile the men spend most of their time smoking at the street corners, or sitting at the dirty little tables outside the many cafes. These latter are generally fairly rich and have a penny to spare for a cup of nasty black coffee, the cups are very, very small and there is about a teaspoonful that one can drink, the rest is grit. But these good men seldom seem to drink any but sit staring into the cup and apparently thinking.

The rich ladies seem able to stay at home or drive generally in closed carriages. There are many officers about, but one seldom sees one walking with a lady.

>>>

Believe me always your loving cousin. Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal, Athens, Greece. March 10th 1890.

My dearest Pollie,

>>>>>>>>>

…but really my time during the autumn months was so filled up, now I have more leisure time, now we are settled in Greece, so I will really try and write soon. Later when we go to the mountain residence, I shall have little to amuse me before looking at the mountains and trying to count the leaves on the trees, then I shall write many letters.

>>>>>>>>>>>

I suppose your garden is beginning to look lovely. Here we are having quite warm English Summer Weather.

Very much love to you all from your loving cousin Ada.

On the Island of Poros, Greece. Monday March 31st 1890.

My dearest Pollie,

>>>

Now that I rejoice in a quiet time to write to you, I have got such horrid ink - made of a compound of sand and salt water I think, with a little mud thrown in to make it black.

I packed to leave Athens in such an absurd hurry that I had no time to think of ink. There’s no reason why we should have had so little time to pack, as the Prince and Princess are here for pleasure only. But it’s always the same, whatever Royalties do, they must do in a hurry.

We came here in the Royal Yacht on Sunday (yesterday). We are to sleep on the yacht and spend the days on shore, not a very interesting life as there are only sailors or peasants here. It's a Naval station and the Headquarters of Prince George, the King’s second son. But as I am certainly not interested in the Grecian Navy, I am not excited by the number of sailors here at the present moment. The inhabitants look as though they belong to another Planet, and they look at us all as though they thought we had just arrived from the moon!!

Naturally the island is very beautiful and the weather intensely hot, a cloudless sky and a burning sun, but there is much less dust than in Athens and the mountains are much greener. Yet still I shall be very glad when its time to go back to Athens. I have grown accustomed to the house and people there and I have one or two English friends there also. Here there are none but Greeks, and then how people can live on a ship - for the mere pleasure of living on a ship is more than I can understand. One has small cabins to sleep in instead of large airy rooms. All night, when a ship is laying at anchor, there is a horrid sway going on, and there are always rats. Last night they ate the front out of one of a quite nice new pair of tan walking shoes that I had fresh for the summer.

There is a great big half finished, half-furnished palace here. But as the kitchens don’t seem to be in order and there are no cooks all the food is prepared on the ship and brought across. There is a sort of factory where they make pretty stuff by hand. But the great charm of all is the beautiful flowers which grow quite wild, the gigantic palm trees and the great straggling aloes that grow all over the mountains. I wish I could send William a few, how he would rejoice over them for the conservatory. I think I told you that my poor shamrock plant that I brought back to Germany last year, did not survive the change of climate very long. But I have two plants in Athens now which I hope I shall be able to keep longer - an ivy-leafed geranium and a sort of ice plant. We shall go to the mountains for two or three months later, when the unbearably hot weather in Athens begins and then I shall take these with me.

I have just had a letter from Josephine telling me what a good time she is having with you. I wonder when I shall come and see you again, not this year certainly. But the remembrance of the last pleasant days won't fade just yet. Do you know that often when I am tired and worn out with the worries of my position, I think of you with more or less envy - you with your husband and dear little girls and pretty home - I faraway in a foreign country for ever tucking my legs under other people’s tables. However we cannot have everything. I have had many wishes gratified in seeing other lands and therewith must be satisfied.

>> I had a very nice time indeed, so many dear letters and cards and presents - many more than I have ever had before. My dear Princess ordered a lovely cake for me, gave me her photograph and a sweet little Prayer Book. >>

Now I must close this untidy scrawl with my dearest love to you all.

I am ever your loving cousin Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal, Athens, Greece. Monday April 7th 1890.

My dearest Pollie,

>>>>>>>>>

>>> How I wish I could see you all again soon, but its quite impossible.

"I know not when the day will be " - so I must content myself with telling you all I can about my life as I live it here, and looking forward to getting letters from you.

Yesterday was a very noisy day in Athens and very disturbing to we English keeping our Easter Festival. The 26th March (Greek Calendar) is the day on which the Greeks gained their freedom in 1821, I think. Every year as the day comes round, they make a great Jubilee. The church bells begin to ring at about 4o’clock in the morning and at 6, big cannons were fired, to my horror and disgust as I had one of my very bad headaches and as they are of the same type as yours, I think we can sympathise with each other. When I got up I saw the whole city most gaily decorated with flags. From all directions were coming soldiers to take up a position in the Great square in front of the King’s palace. At half past ten, the King with all the Royal family went in state to the cathedral.

It was a pretty enough sight to see the King, a very slight and young looking man, with 4 of his youngest children in the grand state carriage with him. (The Queen has gone to Russia to stay with her daughter, who expects shortly to become a mother). The Crown Prince {Constantine} and Princess {Sophie} followed in another state carriage. It was a long procession as there were many troops and high officers etc., etc. and much music of course.

Soon afterward I went down to our little church, which was very pretty with beautiful white flowers on the pulpit, altar and font. We had quite a large congregation as all the English from far and near came. A stray extra clergyman had turned up from somewhere, so altogether it was very homely and English inside, but the noisy confusion that seemed to be reigning outside, was anything but suggestive of an English Easter Sunday. Just as the Prayers in our church were being read, a Volley was fired somewhere outside to announce the conclusion of the Thanksgiving Service in the cathedral and then came the heavy cannons of the artillery past, the tramp and clatter of horses and arms and the shouts of the people. So it went on all day with music and shouting. At night the city was illuminated. But my head was so bad in the afternoon that I was obliged to go to bed. I wonder why it is that we English women nearly all suffer so badly from headaches, foreign women do not. In Germany the headache is called the English complaint.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now with much love and many thanks, I am always your loving cousin Ada.

>>>>>>

Palais du Prince Royal, Athens. Thursday May 1st 1890

My dearest Pollie,

So very many thanks for the lovely photograph of the dear children, which reached me by the English messenger that came in yesterday. Yours and Rosie’s letters arrived three days before so I was anxiously expecting the photo. >>>>>>>>>

Do you know I nearly made up my mind to start for England yesterday on leave of absence, as the princess offered me a holiday. It was a great temptation as I wanted to come dreadfully, but it's such a long and expensive journey and I am afraid I should feel the heat more when I returned than if I stay through one hot season without leaving the country. So I have quite decided not to come until next year. Later in the Autumn I can’t come as there are expectations that a future King may be born in August and I must of course be with Princess during that time. It's a pity to leave Athens in the winter as that’s the pleasantest time here, in fact it's very nice here now in spite of some decidedly hot days, therefore I am sorry that we are continually leaving for a few days away.

We go off again on Saturday for a week, to visit some islands, and soon after we return, we leave Athens for good - that’s to say for 4 or 5 months. We go to a mountain residence at a place called Tatoi. Being between 3-4000 feet above sea level, it's cooler than here, still it will be dull and lonely, not a creature to be seen beyond the members of the Household and the Servants. Whereas in Athens one sees alsorts and conditions of men perhaps in no city of the world can one see so many oddly dressed people and so many strange sights.

As I write, my mind travels away to Algiers and Bombay, both extremely interesting cities, yet one could not see the remains of so many different ages there as here. The poor people and servants are very primitive and do alsorts of funny things and are much astonished when we strangers with Western ideas look shocked. A few days ago I was walking, late on a very hot afternoon, down one of the principal streets - the universities, museums and many fine buildings are situated there - I was passing a large house where one of the foreign ministers live, when Splash! there came a lot of water down on the pavement just in front of me, so near that much dust had splashed up like mud, on to the light dress I was wearing. I looked up quickly to see where the water came from, there at an upper window was an old woman with a small red shawl bound turban-like fashion round her head and a white cotton jacket on. In her hand a wash hand basin - being the first house maid of the family I thought, and she’s emptying the dirty water out of the window. When she saw me looking up, she looked smilingly down at me and although I didn’t feel in a very sweet temper, I thought it the better policy to return her greeting!

Also I came one day into my own room, to find the woman who acts as housemaid, throwing burnt matches and all the rubbish she had collected up, into the street. It's quite a usual thing in the poorer streets to see a dozen cats, dogs, fowls, birds and other household pets within so many yards of ground as one passes along, all having been flung out of the house as soon as they died. If the climate were not almost perfect there would be raging fevers here continually.

Some of the old Greek dresses are very pretty and becoming, but most of the townspeople are leaving them off in favour of ordinary European garments.

>>>

You know we have had Prince Albert visit {Future King Edward VII} here and also a live Bishop who preached once for us. The church is shut up at the end of June for 3 months because during the great heat scarcely any English are in Athens.

Now I must close with much love and kind remembrances to you all.

From your ever loving cousin Ada.

I am so sorry about your horrid headaches.

Tatoi, Greece, Sunday June 8th 1890.

My dearest Pollie

It was very nice to get your letter a few days ago. There are only two incoming foreign mails a week and I wait so anxiously for letters on those days. Here alas! we have to wait a day longer, as there is no post office up here in the mountains. All letters must be addressed to Athens as usual, and a man rides up with them at night, and we get them very early in the morning. On Sunday and Thursday mornings I always hurry over my bath. I drink my coffee quickly so as to have time to enjoy my letters before going to the Princess. Fortunately for me in this case, we are not very early here, not nearly as early as one might suppose dwellers in the mountains might be.

But then nature forbids the expenditure of too much energy during the summer months, in a country like Greece.

Those English travellers who arrive in Greece full of a longing to do the country well, and begin by getting up at 4a.m. to see the sunrise, and not content with the sight from the plains, climb a mountain the better to enjoy the view, who tramp about Athens to see the museums with the sun so high at midday that not a shadow is seen around anywhere and all the Orientals - poor or rich - are taking their midday sleep. They, even those burning with a desire to show foreigners what the true born Briton can do, give it up, after the first attack of fever.

I have learnt to take, what I consider a much wiser course, namely to live as nearly as possible as the natives do, with the addition only of cleanliness and plenty of water. I was advised to do this when I went to India and it really is a very wise plan.

In Athens we ate our meals at much the same hours as fashionable people do in England, but here a difference is made more suitable to the warmer days. We have coffee, toast and eggs in our rooms early in the morning. At midday a light luncheon, "it keeps our stomachs in good temper " as Princess Sophie expresses it. Then everybody disappears, not a servant of any description is to be seen until about 3 o’clock, when one by one they slowly appear on the scenes again. At 3.30 we dine. The King and Royal family have dinner served in the garden always, Tea follows...........

Tatoi Greece, Tuesday July 29th 1890.

My dearest Pollie,

I was so very, very sorry to hear from your letter of the 13th instant of Mr. Bowman’s death, it’s especially sad for you coming as it does, less than a year after dear Mrs. Galsworthy’s. How sad one side of life is? Day by day loved ones going over to the great majority and one looks round a little hopelessly sometimes and wonders where one will find their successors. Life and death how near they are to each other.

You tell me of a life ended here. I must tell you of a life begun.

My dear Princess was prematurely confined of a sweet little son on the 19th inst. It was very sad that it came before its time because neither the Queen Olga {Constantine's mother} nor Empress {Sophie's mother, Victoria, who had become the Empress Frederick} were here. In fact it's very generally believed that the midwife brought it on purposely to get all the excitement over before the Royal ladies arrived. But in doing so she made the Princess very ill indeed, and for several days she was in danger of her life, so that in spite of the 3 Doctors in attendance it was deemed advisable to telegraph for a German doctor, who, however cannot arrive for some days yet.

The Empress too has been bestormed somewhere and can’t reach Athens till Thursday, nearly a fortnight after the Baby’s birth. There are various incidents here quite different to those I remarked on at a Prussian Royal birth - for instance here there are no weighty questions about the baby’s name, everybody waits quite calmly until it comes and then it just gets the masculine or feminine of the saint who’s communion day was nearest. By a law of the Greek Church, it may only have one name. It must be christened before it's 40 days old, and its mother may not be present at the ceremony. But the moment the priest has named the Baby, someone rushes off to the house to tell the mother what her child is called. This applies to the highest and the lowest.

As soon as it was known that the Princess was in labour, a lady-in-waiting fetched a holy picture of St. Sophie and placed it with lighted candles on a table near the door of the Princess’ room and all the Greeks who came near, made the sign of the cross 3 times and prayed to the saint to intercede for a safe recovery for the Princess.

I suppose as the little new baby is direct heir to the throne, the Christening will take place down in the Cathedral in Athens, but I have heard nothing yet - our minds have been too full with thoughts of the Princess. I suppose as soon as HRH is really strong we’ll leave Greece. I did tell you in a former letter, I think, that we were going to Germany to be present at the marriage of Princess Victoria of Prussia {Sophie's older sister, also known as Moretta}. I hope also, of course, to get to England, but nothing can be settled until the Princess is well.

The Baby Prince was born literally without a shirt to his back! The Empress gives the entire outfit, all of which Her Majesty is bringing, as well as the 2 nurses. The Queen of England {Victoria is the Great Grandmother of the baby} gives the Bassinet and Basket and these are also among the Empress’ luggage. But fortunately the Crown Prince’s younger brother is not quite 2 years old, so they were able to borrow clothes and bed and everything.

The first nurse is English, the 2nd German and the wet nurse Greek. So the future King ought to grow up a clever man, learning, as he will, to speak amid the sound of many tongues. There was great rejoicing down in Athens the night after his birth, Military bands, fireworks, salutes of 101 guns from fortresses, ports and the Acropolis and a great deal of singing and shouting by the people.

>>

You write of the rain as though you had too much of it and we here have had none for months and months and are longing for a refreshing shower. In Athens water is terribly scarce, a very small quantity is measured out to householders once or twice daily and drinking water has been sold in the streets for months.

Now, with very best love to you all.

Believe me always your loving cousin Ada.

Will you ask Nellie Galsworthy to write to me soon?

Palais Kaiser Frederick, Berlin, Tuesday December 16th 1890.

My dearest Pollie,

I have been wanting so much to write to you for sometime but I have been leading such an exciting life that I have had no time for writing any but the most necessary letters.

I returned to Berlin only just in time for the Wedding Festivities, the Gala Opera taking place the next evening. I had had a card of invitation, so went, though dead tired from my journey. It was a very brilliant sight, the crowded royal box in which so many gaily dressed Princesses, all covered with shining jewels, all the stalls filled with officers in the many smart German uniforms and all the balconies and boxes crowded with ladies in evening dress. No one looked at the performance there, everybody looked at everybody else.

Then I also had an invitation for the Wedding ceremony in the old Schloss. Unlike our custom, it took place in the evening and therefore was much prettier than if it had been the dull morning of a grey November day. The Bride looked lovely and if, as people said, she was marrying a man whom she disliked, she did not allow people to know it by her face. One thing vexed me, I unfortunately lost a gold brooch which the Empress Augusta Victoria {Mother of Emperor Frederick III} had given me for a Christmas present 3 years ago. I made many inquiries but never heard anything of it.

Directly after the wedding was over, we had the bother of Court mourning for the King of Holland. Then came the visit to Russia, which was very short, but the journey was very long and tiring. We started at 11 o’clock at night on a Monday and arrived about 3 in the afternoon of Wednesday. The Russians treated us most kindly and I had a great desire to go again. But our visit to European Europe is for the time over.

We start on Thursday for Athens, so as to arrive for the King’s birthday on the 24th. Thus if I don’t write a few lines to wish you a very happy Christmas day now, I shall be too late when I get to Greece.

This is an awfully untidy scrawl, but please excuse it and I will write a longer letter from Athens.

Did you get my photographs all right? When you write will you please give me Ellen’s address as I want to send her one.

Hoping your girlies are all quite well now. With much love to all.

I am always your loving cousin Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal, Athens, January 19th 1891.

My dearest Pollie,

>>>

Now to begin at the beginning. We arrived here on December 22nd after a good passage and very quick journey. We were very nearly snowed up crossing the Brenner, but fortunately the result was only a delay of some hours which did not really matter as the Royal Yacht of course waited. On the 24th, there were festivities in honour of the King’s birthday and late in the afternoon, we had a service in our little English church - after the decorations were finished. On the following day the English mail came in to my great joy and I got a whole batch of letters and cards, among which was your very welcome letter and pretty cards.

In the evening I went to the French theatre, not because it was Christmas day, as only the old style is observed here. On Tuesday the 30th I went to a musical entertainment given by H.B. McMinster, three of the British Legation secretaries played "Box and Ox" splendidly. The whole thing was very nice, but made rather stiff by the presence of the Crown Prince and Princess.

Our New Year’s Day brought the ever welcome English mail again. Then came Christmas Day - old style. I got really many presents. The Princess gave me a silver sugar basin and cream jug and spoon, a perfect gem of a framed picture, a leather card case, a framed photograph of herself and her baby and a pretty ornament for a bracket. And I had many things from other people.

There were the usual festivities in celebration of the Greek New Year - the state procession of the royal family to the cathedral where either the King yearly renews his oath to the people or the officers renew theirs to his Majesty. I am not sure which it is. Afterwards there is a great Reception, after the style of an English Drawing Room when the Queen Olga and Crown Princess and all the Greek ladies attending must wear National Costume. There is usually a State Ball at night but it was delayed until next Wednesday on account of Court Mourning for a Russian Prince.

Those are the items of general news, for the rest, I have gone for a walk every day, paid visits to the few people I know here. We have so far, had a good deal of rain this season, real tropical rain, loud enough to awake one at night and make one wonder dreamily whether its a second deluge. But happily it's mostly at night and the days are for the most, lovely, such a blue sky and feeling of enjoyable warmth.

>>>

I am always your ever loving cousin Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal Athens, Monday February 2nd 1891.

My dearest Pollie,

Many thanks for your letter of Jan. 16th. I am so very glad to hear that you spent such a happy Christmas time - but how quickly it all passes! Does it not? Here in this country, with its double complement of festive days, every thing connected with Christmas and the New Year recurs to one’s memory as something out of the past. I don’t know whether it's a sign of mature age coming on, or whether it's really the high pressure rate at which we live, but somehow I find so little time for digesting the things I see and hear around me.

>>

Your question about the weather amused me much, because all my friends ask the same things and it will perhaps be some sort of satisfaction to you to hear the cold, though in a very mild form, has reached us also. During the last week we had strong north-east winds. All the mountains around were well covered with snow, one newspaper correspondent declared he saw snow falling in Athens, but there was so little, I fancy that while he was about it, I think he might have counted the flakes and told us how many there were! The King says he never remembers during all the twenty seven years that he has been here, seeing the Barometer so low as it has been during the last week. Today however I am thankful to say the real Athenian weather has returned to us. Oh the comforting warmth of the sun! I do enjoy it.

February 16th.

>>>

One thing is that we are going to have our little English church restored and enlarged. It is said to be very unsafe and is much too small for the comparatively large congregation we get in the Tourist season. Our Chaplain is much interested in the matter and has been working very hard to get funds, but unfortunately there are only 6 householders amongst us, the British Minister included, and none of these who are really in a position to give anything like solid help, seem to have the wind to do so. The rest of the congregation consists of governess and nurses, for the most part - "Old Maids" pure and simple, that’s to say of a kind that seems fast dying out in England.

I will just tell you of one thing they did last year, Mr. Elliot (the Chaplain) had been engaged to be married for 14 years - always being too poor to marry - until the present and last summer. He meant to bring his Bride here, but alas! man purports, God disposes - the lady died of influenza in the Spring time! And what did most of the lady members of the congregation do? They wrote a sympathetic letter to which about 20 of them put their signatures and the primmest looking lady of them all presented it. Did you ever hear such rubbish? And he is one of the shy nervous men who ought never to enter the church, and then that he should be Curate to such a flock. The funny part is that he will preach sermons that are not wanted and the strangest part of all is that he will persist in announcing every Sunday that the usual choir practice will take place on Friday afternoon. Of course strangers look about for the choir, especially as they have probably already decided that they have never heard such awful screeching and drowning in all their lives before.

The organ is played by a kind good natured person whose remote ancestors were English, and who, having been brought up to the English church, considers herself English, though married to a Greek. She rejoices in an awfully long name, put into English it reads thus: Mrs "Threehundredleaves" or Mrs.Rose - for in the Greek language the Rose is called the flower of the 300 leaves. However we are all so glad to have some music that we cannot afford to object to her name. All I wish is that she would play and not sing. She screams so dreadfully that the wife of one of the households, the richest woman amongst us alas! has refused to come to church any more. She refuses to come to church that is, unless Mrs. Threehundred-leaves stops away. Poor Mr. Elliot knows that if there was no one to play the organ, the largest part of the congregation would remain away. Altogether I’m afraid that it's not a very desirable cure for any clergyman to have. But he has worked most industriously to get money enough for the restoration and when the church is shut up for the summer the work will begin, I hope.

We have already been back two months, but the time has gone so quickly that it scarcely seems possible. We shall go up to Tatoi in the beginning of May I suppose, and in April it’s said that we shall go to the Crown Prince’s Estate near Paris. We shall probably come to England in the summer and perhaps go to Denmark and Homburg. I do hope I shall be able to come to you for a day or two in the summer, that’s always supposing you will have me.

>>>>

With much love always from your loving cousin Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal, Athens, March 3rd 1891.

My dearest Pollie,

>>>

The first thing I must tell you about is the strangely severe weather we are having in Greece, in fact the most unusual known for many years. It's reported in Athens this morning that another village, just over the mountains has been snowed up and 300 soldiers have been sent out to open up communications. By the by, I must just explain that 5 Greek soldiers are about worth one new English recruit.

Some weeks ago, a village in the interior was snowed up and 30 men went out to clear a roadway, but they did very little work for 15 were frozen to death, while the others were so badly frost bitten, that they suffered much for sometime afterwards. We do not really get so many degrees of frost as in Northern countries, but the winds are so terribly sharp and biting. Yesterday the thermometer stood at 1degree below Zero, but I felt the cold more than with 22 degrees in Berlin. For one thing the houses are built so badly here, they are very cold in the winter and never cool in the summer.

This weather is certainly disappointing for the visitors who are beginning to arrive now. I heard a new English arrival on Sunday as he came out of church, he said that he had at least expected to find warm weather here. However there is one beautiful thing about the Greek climate and that is when it is very bad, we may always hope that it will change quickly. Thus this morning snow fell as thickly as it could possibly fall either in London or Berlin, but this afternoon the sun was shining brightly and the snow had all disappeared except on the distant mountains.

We have had two royal visits since I wrote to you last. On Feb 20th arrived Princess Victoria, {Sophie's older sister, Moretta} the new Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, with her husband, on their way from Egypt to Constantinople. They stayed in Athens 1hour and a half. Royal people have seldom more time or opportunities for visiting their relations than ordinary folk.

On the 22nd Prince George of Russia, the Emperor’s second son, was invalided here from India. It was thought that to come here, would be a less great change than to go from India to Russia. But as we are having it so cold here, he will probably go on to Corfu or Italy.

It's said that we are to go to Corfu for the Greek Easter, but I do not know whether this will prove true. Anyhow it will be very late this year, as the Greeks have not got into Lent yet. It's so tiresome and I feel sure I shall never get accustomed to the double style of counting time. In writing or speaking with reference to a particular day, one must always name old or new style to prevent mistakes that would otherwise take place. This is not so bad when - as the Princess says - we are both in the same month, but when, as today, we are separate months, it's most tiresome. The Greeks find it so themselves and so the Navy and commercial people who are mixing more with the outside world always use the new style. The reason why all the countries professing the Greek faith will not adopt the new style generally, is because they will not keep Easter and the other great church festivals with the Roman Catholic Church. A Greek marrying a Roman Catholic is, I believe, expelled from the Greek Church. But marriage with a Protestant is recognised. In fact the Greeks like much to marry English or German women - they find that foreigners make better wives that their own women.

>> Do you know I hope that Josephine will go Berlin next June? You know perhaps that Princess Christian’s second daughter is engaged to be married. She is going to marry a young German Prince and of course new people are being found to make up a new household. She is very nice, so I thought it would be rather a good thing to get Jo there as one of the dressers. I think it would perhaps be a good thing for her health if she had a thorough change. Nothing is settled as far as I know yet, but I hope it will all be satisfactory. I expect she will write and tell you herself. We often write about you in our letters and I know she likes writing to you.

I cannot find anything amazing to tell you this time, the truth being that I am very tired and stupid, having been up until nearly 4 o’clock this morning and as there is another Ball tonight, it will be about the same time tomorrow morning before I retire. Of course I sleep late also, but sleep at the wrong time does not do one much good, I think.

>>>

Ever your loving cousin Ada.

Tatoi Greece, August 17th 1891.

My dearest Pollie,

>>

Two days after our return I got fever rather badly and that left me very shaky, so that I have not been quite myself since. It was a great disappointment to me not to come to England. Up to the very last I hoped to come if only for a few days. But my wishes were not to be fulfilled. The fact is I could have come on my own account as the Princess offered me leave - but the air of Homburg seemed to be doing me so much good that it seemed a pity to leave before I was obliged to do so, and then I did not care to spend so much money travelling again.

It had always been arranged that the Crown Princess Sophie was to visit the Queen, but the Emperor’s visit rather upset former plans I think. Perhaps you know that HM {Kaiser Wilhelm II} is terribly angry with his sister for having ceded to the Greek Church without his consent. {His mother, the Empress Frederick, was furious with Wilhelm, but unable to move him!} On that account he forbade her to enter Prussia for 3 years. Thus we could not at first go to Homburg as that town is part of one of the Prussian Provinces. However it was proved to the Emperor that the Waters of Homburg were necessary for the restoration of the Princess’ health. So after a few days stay in lovely Heidelburg in Baden, we were allowed to go to Homburg but nowhere else in Prussia.

Some people believe that the Princess will never again be allowed to go to Berlin, that’s to say not during her brother’s lifetime. Queen Victoria is said not to have disapproved, but to have sent her blessing, and I believe this to be true. But I think on the other hand that she did not want to do the slightest thing that might offend the Emperor. So instead of the Princess being invited for a month, as all the grand children generally are, the invitation was for only 3 days, and this the Crown Prince refused. It’s rather curious how much absolute power those two mortal men, the Emperors of Russia and Germany, have over their families and relatives, is it not?

One somehow feels inclined to think that there is not very much difference between the head of some wild tribe and a European Monarch of today. And apart from this thought, comes another namely, that royal people are very like ordinary folk - weak human nature is the same everywhere, the royal purple and ermine does not change it, though it may put a little gloss over the actions of the wearers.

You will see by the heading of this letter that we are up in the mountains, but I am thinking we may go down to Athens for 2 or 3 days every week, that’s my salvation. Another summer like that I lived through last year, would be almost unendurable. Life in Athens, in spite of the great heat, the sleepless nights and the mosquitoes, is somehow worth living. There is military music, gaily dressed crowds everywhere in the evenings, soldiers and the queer foreign gaily dressed folks who seem to belong to nowhere in the world but Athens. I have, in the course of my travels, seen other cities peopled with oddly, many coloured dressed people - Algiers and Bombay, for instance, but none to compare with Athens.

The fashionable world goes out every evening to Phalerum a small watering place on the coast, about half an hour's drive by road or rail from Athens. Here is a large open air theatre, where very good French operas and plays are given during the summer months. A very clever French actress has been engaged to play here for 10 nights, already I have been several times and enjoyed it much. She only plays once or twice a week, on the nights when the Prince and Princess are down there. One night last week I saw Madame Favart, the music is so pretty. And then every morning while we are there, we go out to the same place to bathe - it's great fun, though there are so many fishes, that I am quite nervous, they come so close to one, not that they are big enough to do one harm, but it's so nasty to have such dabby-flabby wet things come against one. The Princess teases me so much because I can’t swim, but I am such a coward, I can never quite make up my mind to trust myself entirely to the waves.

Two weeks ago we had the English Fleet here and one day I went out with some Greek friends to inspect the Flag Ship. The Admiral in charge was Lord William Her (?). It's a magnificent ship and we were about 2 hours going over her - the Petty Officer sent to conduct us round, would insist upon giving me an exact description of the working of all the guns and the thickness of the armour plate etc. - a detailed account of which I gave the Princess on my return, to her great amusement, for she asked at the end "And what in the world can you do with such knowledge, my dear, now that you have acquired it?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I am always your loving cousin Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal. Athens, December 17th 1891.

My dearest Pollie,

>>>

You cannot think how disgusting it is to live in a country where there are two styles of festival time. The Orthodox and Greek Church keep Advent as a time of solemn fasting and our Christmas falls just in the middle of the Greek Advent, so you will understand how foreign one feels. It makes one feel farther away from England than if one were in India or Australia. Once in three years the two Easters fall together and I am thankful to say this will happen next year.

I have been vaccinated and as my arm is successfully "taking", it's naturally rather painful. And altogether I’m not at all well. The temperature and climate changes so rapidly at this time of year that it's most dangerous. Two or three days this week it has been warm enough to sit out on the sea shore, for an hour or two with comfort.

Yesterday there were 4 degrees of temp. and a strong north east wind blowing, so that we all remained indoors and had fires. Now today there are 13 degrees and soft balmy air, so I am sitting writing this with my window open.

I fancy its true that Prince Albert-Victor will be married in March, and I suppose we shall come over, but it would please me much better in June. I don’t quite fancy the idea of facing the cold winds of March, after the intense heat I have been used to here in summer.

Nothing very exciting happening here just now. I go out every afternoon and occasionally have one or two friends to tea, or go out to tea. I was asked to take part in some Glee-singing at our British entertainment, but as my vocal powers are nil I had to refuse. So now the lady at who’s house the practices take place, insists that I shall be present as judge. But it's something like appointing an MP to examine the needlework in a girls’ school!

>>

I am always your loving cousin Ada.

Palais du Prince Royal, Athens, Sunday February 14th 1892.

My dearest Pollie,

Your letter reached me last night just as I was starting for the theatre. It gave me such pleasure and I resolved to answer it as soon as possible. I have been longing to hear how you spent Christmas. I had a fairly good time, tho’ I have been very far from strong for a long time. For a few weeks before Christmas the Dr. had strictly forbidden me to be out after sun down, but on Dec.24th I wanted so much to go to Even-song service in our little church after the decorations were finished, that I disobeyed him and went, returning on foot between 6 and 7 o’clock in the evening, with the result that I was ill all night and all the following day until the evening. So to my sorrow I missed the Christmas service and some kind friends had invited me to an At Home in the afternoon. I was also invited out to dinner at night and to an entertainment at a governess’ Home later.

Until about 6 o’clock on Christmas evening when the Princess came to my room, I had been alone. She insisted that I should dress and go out to dinner because the Dr. says that pleasant society and a mild sort of excitement are necessary to my recovery. Ridiculous to relate, although I had been so ill all day, I was well enough to go to the American Legation - bundled up in shawls and driving of course. I met some very pleasant people there and enjoyed a perfectly ideal Christmas dinner and returned to sleep well all night. I did not go to the entertainment afterwards though.

On Dec. 29th we had our usual British gathering, which was a great success this year. Sir Edmond Monson, British Minister and several secretaries from the British and American Legations, taking parts in some dramatic performances.

On the Greek Christmas Day, I went to a very pleasant soiree and on the Greek New Year’s night, I was invited by some Greek friends to private theatricals and a dance. They are rich and very kind people and their reception rooms are beautifully furnished. Between 11 and 12 o’clock, a really (for the Greeks) splendid supper was served, but for me it was the one horror of the evening because I cannot eat the Greek dishes - simply everything is cooked in oil and alas! the oil always has a rancid taste, even the bread, in a Greek house, has a nasty flavour - highly suggestive of having been touched by hands that were not altogether immaculate. Somehow all the most horrible stories about Greek cooks will come into my mind just when I am trying to force something down my throat. It was a great relief when at last the meal came to an end. Being a foreign visitor in a house where foreigners are rare, is to me, not a pleasant experience. To know that one is being watched by all the other visitors in turn, is a great trial. As my knowledge of the language is so limited, I am naturally very shy at speaking when strangers are listening.

It's the fashion here to cut a so called Lucky Cake at the New year Parties. Soon after 12 o’clock the operation commences, the cake being cut into as many pieces as there were guests. Each must take a piece, though happily one is not forced to eat it all. Everybody hopes to find a tiny silver coin in his or her piece, not so much for the present possession as for the good omen for the future. I was not among the lucky ones, so a good deal of sympathy was showered on me by way of compensation. I returned home about 2 o’clock, very thankful to find that a thoughtful soul had put some cold chicken, bread and claret in my room.

On New Year’s Day here, nobody goes out - that is to say the better class people all stay at home and leave the streets free for the "Roughs" who take the law into their own hands on such days. A Greek coster-monger’s idea of enjoying himself is to beg, borrow or steal a pistol and to walk about the streets shooting right and left. They don’t always wish to hurt people, but those who fancy they have enemies generally manage to shoot them on such days. Dreadful stories are told always after all the great holidays.

In the smaller streets people shoot at each other from the windows, generally beginning in fun and ending in earnest. So you will easily understand how timid folks remain quietly in their houses.

The Crown Princess has been very ill, as perhaps you read in some of the English newspapers. We do not come to England this year I think, that’s to say the Princess will not come. I hope to do so in the summer, but can make no arrangements until I know what the Princess’ plans are.

The Duke of Clarence’s death was a great shock to the royal family here. The Crown Prince was especially fond of his cousin.

We alas! have a very long period of mourning here - first for the Grand Duchess Alexandra, then for the Duke of Clarence and now for the Queen’s father. It is very bad for all the shop people as the court mourning will last until the hot weather commences and then all the rich people leave for cooler climes.

>>>

Much love to all from your ever loving cousin Ada.