| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, Hotel Suisse, Turin, to her relatives, regarding early departure from Grenoble for the sake of Aunt's health; spending a few days in Turin to shop for basics; the Genoa line has been repaired and they can travel directly to Rome; they have attended the Waldensian church; complaints that Mlle. Delord took advantage of her, but now they are resting; meals were badly organised in the pension and so took longer than necessary; Mlle. Bauget, a former boarder, helps with the girls and is browbeaten; she has a paid job as well and a mother to help at home; Mlle. Delord is out of her depth with housekeeping for so many girls; Amelia and Aunt avoided tea there by making their own Eleska Cocoa; Mlle. Delord's prayers with the children were inappropriate; her discipline is misplaced; the study at Grenoble was good but not the home conditions; the best bit was helping the Russian boarder next door; Aunt helped her to recover her health after the bad food; Amelia taught her how to stand up to Mlle. Delord; her family's future depends chiefly on her success when she returns to Russia; Mlle. Delord is like Mrs. Thin; she almost delayed their departure by interfering with the cab arrangements; account of journey and stop in Chambéry to see the consul; seeing convalescent soldiers loaded on to a train to make way for more wounded arriving; many were Algerian and Moroccan tirailleurs; reactions of locals; many wounded have had to undergo amputations; view of the chateau and gardens; easy journey onwards; misfortunes of some other travellers. |