| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, Chambéry, France, to her relatives, regarding running out of writing paper; preparations for departure; Aunt doing her share of the housework in order to let her work and catch up with writing in the evenings; her hospital work will end soon, though Mlle. Vernaz wants to keep her; they will stay a little after the end of their lease, which will give Aunt a chance to rest in a hotel for a week; the Hotel de France is reasonable and gives a reduction for those in war work; soldiers on leave go there, and nurses from the French Flag Nursing Corps of British nurses (headquarters in Knightsbridge, London); they will be free then to do all the paperwork involved in departure; the administration is impressed by the improved record of Hospital 103 during the last few weeks; Mlle. Boyer, the pastor, is back to take up a post there, which she will enjoy; she is very small and delicate looking, particularly beside Amelia; service at the Evangelical church at Aix in aid of the Asile there, but difficulty in attracting people because M. Boyer is such a dull man; he is trying to round up Protestant musicians to help; Amelia has been asked to play the organ; she will be accompanist to a violinist whom she has never met, and she has never played the organ at Aix before, so she is trying to find ways of being prepared beforehand; if the violinist would visit the hospital it would entertain the patients, too, as they never have anyone come to make the days shorter for them; Mlle. Boyer is sorry that Amelia is not at Aix, where massage is being badly neglected; the soldiers beg Amelia to play something for them; she plays a waltz 'far from classical, but of the type dear to these cinema-goers'; the men love it, and the polka that follows; 'I never played such worthless music and never gave such evident pleasure in my life'; new influx of wounded, and too many sent to 103 because of a mix-up at the station (they have a daily list of vacant beds in the various hospitals); 15 were sent elsewhere, to their disappointment; avoiding being a member of the congregation with all that that entails at the Protestant church; Mlle. Boyer has worked out who Amelia's parents are, so she will be 'in for it'. [Letter breaks off without signature] |