The rest of the family
had gone to the country as soon as the body had been taken away,
yielding without any great resistance to the entreaties of their
best friends who, according to Roman custom, thought it necessary
to "divert" the mourners. That is the consecrated phrase, and
people of other countries may open their eyes in astonishment at
the state of domestic relations as revealed by this practice. It
is not an uncommon thing for the majority of the family to go away
even before death has actually taken place. Speaking of a person
who is dying, it is not unusual to say, "You may imagine how ill
he is, for the family has left him!" The servants attend the
Requiem Mass, the empty carriages follow the hearse to the gates
of the city, but the family is already in the country, trying to
"divert" itself.
Flavia and Faustina, however, had stayed at home, partly because
the old princess was really too deeply moved and profoundly
shocked to go away, and partly because San Giacinto refused to
leave Rome. Faustina, too, was eccentric enough to think such
haste after "diversion" altogether indecent, and she herself had
been through such a series of emotions during the twenty-four
hours that she found rest needful. As for Flavia, she took matters
very calmly, but would have preferred very much to be with her
brothers and their wives.
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