| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, Paris, to her relatives, due to leave shortly for the Abbe's house, visit to Meaux to see Raby, a Chambery patient, he had been paralysed by a severe chill when guarding a reservoir and had never been to the front, he had been in the prison hospital at Clairvaux and found it worse than depressing and dirty, he did well at Chambery, and introduced Amelia to his wife as the nurse who had saved him, meeting with American soldiers at the station, they are too friendly with strangers and have thus acquired a reputation for loose morals, Raby met her at the station and showed her the town of Meaux, making it interesting and instructive, brief description of the town and of how the war had treated it, impressed by the cathedral and describes it, it is very old but has been systematically cleaned inside and out, beautiful garden nearby laid out by Lemorne who designed Les Tuileries, diagram and description, Napoleon rode up to the first floor of the Bishop's palace on horseback, Protestants often outnumber Catholics in several of the neighbouring towns, 'They act as a wholesome leaven in a district where the doings of the priests are no secret', war memorial in the church of St. Nicholas, Raby is prospering making a kind of mild cider introduced after the war for those who could no longer afford wine, the principal ingredient is ash-tree leaves, it is extremely popular, in the winter he also repairs bicycles, he is good with his customers, account of the bombardment of Meaux and visit to the cemetery to see the graves of those who died in the Battle of the Marne, slaughter of Moroccan troops close by, description of their burials and the wooden crosses with star and crescent on them, distinctive markings for the graves of various nationals, Raby's daughter is a milliner, her work is very elegant, his wife complains that he talks of nothing but his daughter, his wife finds him very tiring and wonders how his comrades and the nurses coped with him, Amelia explains that the comrades were tough and the nurses could walk away, he likes attention, Amelia is pleased that her connexion with her patients is sustained, visit to Dupont, an Aix patient, who is delighted to see her, his left hand is practically useless, 'The nerves are completely atrophied, the finger-nails, digging deep into the palm, hurt his flesh and the skin has a peculiar, rotten odour which becomes acute in summer-time', he thinks that if Amelia had stayed at Aix and he had not had a second operation he would be able to use the hand, 'It is a great regret to me that I did not remain in France from 1916 onwards', visit to his wife and mother who thank her, none of her patients would let Mlle. Perollaz touch them after Amelia left, visit to Mlle. Brun who is in Paris nursing a sick friend, she lost two brothers in the war and is looking older, she is Mathieu's nurse and asked for some information to help with his foot, his sisters are passing through Paris on their way to find the grave of the fiance of one of them, and wish to meet her, there are still delays in going to St. Quentin, and the other nurse is waiting at Touls, Chauvel has gone home to Bar-le-Duc, the Mlles. Vernaz are at home and Mlle. Cavaillon, the directress, is ill. |