Aunt Nell and Uncle Serge now went to a very pleasant flat in a big house, high up on a hill outside Nice, up a steep road and on the edge of the high ground above the river Magnan. One of the good points about this was the wonderful awakening in the village of the Magnan in the valley below. The chorus of frogs every evening sounded like a reincarnation of old myths.
I quite enjoyed much of the long Nice visits. I used to walk up the open hill behind the Chateau St. Laurent, our house, and out into the road. I discovered a little railway, single line, that popped out of concealing wood on either side with no warning. It snaked in and out of trees and rocks, and the level crossings had no keeper. The path, if any, came on the tracks without sign and, I suppose, was little used.
I remember one day when I was wandering in the Maquis, hunting for flowers, when a deep voice suddenly spoke -- "Que faites vous, Mlle?" I just replied "Ou etes vous, monsieur?" and a large man appeared from behind a tree. We talked quite pleasantly. He was hunting in the dreadful French way about "la chasse", which, in those parts, meant thrushes and larks. It was advisable, when climbing the hill, to keep ears open for warning.
On Sunday, Mother and I always walked the mile or so to the English Church. I went to the Chaplain for Confirmation preparation and was confirmed, with another English girl, by the Bishop of Gibraltar (a very impressive and likeable man whose diocese was the whole of the north side of the Mediterranean). There were four girls in all, and the Bishop became a well-loved friend.
One winter, the top floor rooms were let to the Spanish Composer Albeniz. His daughters were delightful friends for me, especially the younger one, Laura. She was lovely and kind. It was one of the sharp troubles of the 1st War that I had to stop writing to her in Spain, when I was working in the Signal Division at the Admiralty. After the end of the war, she sent me a photograph of her with her children, and she was lovelier than ever. We used to enjoy watching the composer coming up the long hill that led to the House. He was not tall, and he wore a most impressive, enormous black cloak and swung it as well as a Black Watch private swings his kilt.
Some time after this, the tenants in the top flat were a man and his wife who had been in the Titanic, when she was sunk by an iceberg. The wife, when she was in the boat with the other women, called to her husband on deck, "At least, say goodbye!" When he gave her his hand, she pulled it so hard that he fell forward into the boat, just as it cast off. Both of them were saved, he badly injured by the fall.
The house had a large, old garden with some fine trees, but all on shelves on the slope. It was great fun to me to pick oranges off the trees, instead of out of a greengrocers' window.
There were several winters and summers at Nice, as I grew up. Mother and I went so often that I do not always remember which year things happened. The first year, I remember, the girls (Nelly, Iya and Mariamne -- note the M in her name) were young and welcomed English amusements. Dumb Crambo was a tremendous success. Iya was rather difficult to absorb into all games, as she was very slow in the uptake.
I think now that the annual visits were not good for me. We went to Aunt Nell every year (even in 1914!), which I did not like, because absence at Christmas made the few dances in the country homes and many talks in the town lost to me. These visits were in the way of taking up any really interested work – such as Gardens. I disliked the GFS work and so did really lose my shyness. Things I enjoyed when at home were, for example, the readings of Moliere at the home of two Old Maids. (I was allowed with Mother, because I read French so well). The chief entertainment was listening for a sudden and awkward stop in the middle of one of the hostess' reading, which fact brought all eyes to the passage in the book (for it signalled the finding of what she thought was not fit to read aloud). I had read all of Moliere and found a few bits incomprehensible to read but left them alone.
AUNT NELL
Eleanor Hester Mary Plaoutine, London-born daughter of Lt-Colonel John Henry Pringle & Georgiana Ramsbottom and sister of EV's mother, Edith Blanche.
UNCLE SERGE
Aunt Nell's Russian-born husband, General Sergei Nikolaevich Plaoutine, son of General Nikolai Fedorovich Plaoutine and Severin Iosifovna Kalinowski.
VERY PLEASANT FLAT
Chateau St. Laurent, Nice, France. Nell and Serge rented the entire second floor (third floor from the bottom). The Albeniz family (and, later, the Titanic couple) rented the floor above them (the top floor).
CONVERSATION WITH HUNTER
Que faites vous, Mlle? (What are you doing, Mlle?)
Ou etes vous, monsieur? (Where are you, Monsieur?)
SPANISH COMPOSER
Isaac Albeniz. Online sources only list Laura as a daughter who would have known EV. Perhaps there are other daughters not on the common lists, which appear to be quite inaccurate (e.g., Enriqueta died as a toddler but has a husband). Laura married V. Moya.
BLACK WATCH PRIVATE
A Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, known as The Royal Highland Regiment (Black Watch). The name came from the dark green/blue tartan worn by the soldiers plus the fact that they were to "watch" the Highlands. The swing . . . well, the swing of the kilt as the soldiers moved appears to have been as much a part of their uniform as the fabric itself.
TENANTS IN THE TOP FLAT
The sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, dates the tenancy of this couple. We've been unable, so far, to figure out the names of these acquaintances of EV.
THE GIRLS
Elena "Nelly" Denissieff, Iya Denissieff, and Mariamne Denissieff, three daughters of Sergei Fedorovich Denissieff and Vera Sergeyevna Plaoutine (Vera being cousin to EV). At the beginning of the Russian Revolution, the girls were removed from harm's way and sent to live with their Plaoutine grandparents in Nice (Aunt Nell and Uncle Serge), whom they had been visiting with since they were babies.
DUMB CRAMBO
A charades-style game.
GFS
Girls' Friendly Society in England.
ILLUSTRATIONS
1) Chateau St. Laurent in Nice, France (1920)
2) "Oak Walk" at Chateau St. Laurent (Watercolour by EVJ)
3) Isaac and Laura Albeniz
4) Nelly, Mariamne and Iya Denissieff (Russia, 1911)
Text and images may not be
used without written permission.
Click for Contact Information