| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, 7 Via Venti Settembre, Rome, to her parents, regarding the mess Uncle has made of their letters after using parts of them on Christmas Day; glad to hear some of the mail is getting through; annoyance at Aunt Amy's reluctance to pass letters on; irritation at low attendances and income at church; the mission on the continent is doomed; Uncle is still optimistic, but journeys are troublesome and the Germans are laying mines in the Atlantic; high taxes at home and a sense of duty keep people there; even the east coast is vulnerable after what has happened at Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby; the Germans' barbarity is unspeakable; in Belgium they are cutting the tendons in surgeons' wrists to stop them operating; their lies are enormous; news of the Karonga attack; criticism of Germany's propaganda and war aims; Italy respects England more; nice of Mr. Cotterill to write to them; Herr Pfannstiehl's method of making out her testimonial; letter from Fraulein Albrecht; difficulties and undesirability of making close friends later in life; grown-ups lack the honour and ideals of children; 'the less one has to do with people the better'; work involved in entertaining the young attaché at the Dutch Embassy; thanks for letters; news of German defeat of British at Tanga, with statistics of dead, wounded and prisoners; the mission will suffer in the war but the natives may benefit; the Italian government has woken up to the crisis and has started working to help refugees, etc.; Aunt Amy has taken a huff over Mrs. Moir; Amelia will try political comment in the next letter and see if it is stopped by the censor; Mrs. Cowan in Aberdeen received a postcard half-blackened by the censor; happy birthday to mother; glad fruit press has arrived. |