| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, 7 Via Venti Settembre, Rome, to her relatives, regarding illness of Maria's sister Elvira, who is being cared for by the Blue Nuns; her family come in bands and weep around her bed, even though she has every chance of recovery; her husband cannot visit for weeping; his daughters are out of work and his own trade, tailoring, is slow at present, so he tries to fill his time cobbling instead; it is a lonely occupation and bad for him; Maria's mother went to visit Elvira and then visited Maria, went home and had an attack of paralysis which has led to her being in the S. Giacomo Hospital, unconscious; Maria and Vincenzo have spent a lot of time there but to no avail; they hope she will not linger long; life holds nothing for the honest poor; the weather is too cold for them; Miss Forster Walker is at last with the Blue Nuns; Mrs. Pearce's maid came to deliver the message that there was again no room, but fell on the way and needed Amelia to treat her wrist; Uncle investigated and found that there was a later message to the hotel saying that the room was free and Miss Forster Walker could go; Mrs. Pearce packed her belongings and Aunt escorted her to the hospital; confusion reigned amongst her belongings and she tried to hide her dirty linen by sitting on it; the room is in a terrible state and should be fumigated, as it is a case of cancer; the operation that Dr. Schiavoni planned is not to take place; she has not been changing her clothes and had no nightdresses to take - Mrs. Pearce was prepared to buy some, but Miss Forster Walker insisted that there were some amongst the luggage that Cook's is storing for her, so Mrs. Pearce was forced to go and search for them; half of the boxes are filled with rubbish; Aunt was made ill again by the strain; Miss Forster Walker is being very difficult; Maria cannot return to work while her mother is ill and Aunt has the extra strain of doing the marketing; account of squabble between Dr. Diamante and Miss Stewart; Mrs. Gibson thinks Amelia must have a strong moral influence over the doctor to be able to get on at all; there is still a constant struggle with the orderlies; they refuse to clean alone; the patients do not like fresh air, believing it will kill them; Dora has been forbidden further work at the hospital on account of a grumbling appendix; she is now working alone, mostly in cleaning; the men are selfish, lazy and self-interested; the orderlies constantly complain of being overworked; Mr. Henderson thinks she should write a book on her experience; Baroness de Hahn told Aunt that Dr. Diamante has not studied medicine, but may be a pharmacist; Mrs. Brock and Muriel have arrived; Mrs. Brock has demanded information on Amelia's activities and on why Mr. Bullock's son (who has been ill) is not at the front. |