| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, 7 Via Venti Settembre, Rome, to her relatives, regarding changeable weather; plans for the summer still uncertain; Uncle prefers to stay in France until the submarine warfare in the Channel is over; this is unfortunate as they all need new underclothes; the local light flannels shrink very badly; Mr. Courtenay is trying to be appointed as English chaplain to Chamonix, so they will not go there; description again of La Grave; Savoy is not convenient if Amelia wants to work on wounded soldiers, as they are not allowed to return to the neutral zone; mention of Baroness de Hahn's information on massage from Samaritana lectures; a Swedish masseuse at church is to give Amelia some lessons on anatomy; uncomfortable visit from the Brocks; Mrs. Brock criticised Amelia's treatment of Aunt's hand; Amelia had intended to send north with Dr. Brock some abdominal swabs she has made, but now she will not as Mrs. Brock thinks she is doing nothing; Dr. Brock is bullied by her; Uncle's imitation of Mrs. Brock tugging nervously at her clothing; playing music for Mrs. Fenwick at the church; a gentleman who has been listening to her practise turns out to be Comm. Dr. Romci, Vice-Consul of the Argentine Republic, normally resident in Milan; she is delighted with his compliments; more comments on Mr. Green's poor teaching; his complaints of Mrs. Brock's interference with buying pillows; visit of Mrs. Dawes Rose regarding tax obligations; visit of the Chiellinis who are distressed at having met the Burnses; Mr. Burns has given his gloves to Ida Chiellini to have the buttons sewn back on as his wife cannot do it, but insists that she must learn to sew buttons on to her own gloves; Mrs. Burns has declined Ida's offer of help to show her how to run a household; when they did live in their own apartment he had to make the beds, as she did not know how to; they have been living in a hotel despite owning their apartment as she cannot run it, and is too selfish to learn; Miss Forster Walker has had a cold; she is unhappy where she is staying and is being robbed there - a murder took place in the same house last year; the soldiers on leave in Rome are eager to return north because the air is fresher there. |