| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, Hôpital Auxiliaire No. 10, Hotel Bristol, Aix-le-Bains, Savoie, France, to her relatives, thanking for letters; mention of war telegrams in papers and how they are probably more complete in Europe than in Africa; her parents are relieved of some work in provisioning troops; Aunt has sent the latest news about Uncle; Mr. Sutherland has dealt effectively with Blake; Uncle is enjoying his work which is successful; a thanksgiving service he ran was very popular and the singing was excellent; he will find Rome dry now; the singing downstairs at mass is also wholehearted; the patients often sing in the wards; an Englishwoman has arrived as assistant doctor; Mme. Brouard is jealous of Amelia; she is not popular and the patients are critical of her; Amelia enjoys the atmosphere and camaraderie; she is apparently the only one liked by the doctor, the staff and the wounded; the nurses are narrow; Favergeon wants Amelia back massaging him instead of Mme. Brouard; she is not a good masseuse and will not learn; she is dictatorial in her cleaning and bossing the patients around, though Berret answers back to her and gets away with it; Lavier once speculated as to how her husband could have lived with her, but she is a widow; the doctor comes up with some strategies to undermine her which amuses Amelia; quotation from Uncle's postcard which refers to forming a choir amongst the soldiers and preparations for a big service; Uncle is now enthusiastic again; he even sees the need for massage in the cripples he meets; Aunt is delighted at Uncle's opportunity; Dufau and Tanton left yesterday, and Dufau wrote to her; he is from Bordeaux, a rough peasant, wounded three times, including a lung wound; he now wants to learn mechanics; she hopes he will be able to defy his miserly father to do so. |