| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, 7 Via Venti Settembre, Rome, to her relatives, regarding beautiful weather; Maria left aside her coat too early and has a cold; Uncle is still being awkward about Chambéry; he has spilt ink over the study carpet but blames the inkpot; he does nothing to help clean up, but they try spooning milk on to the spots, spooning it off as it lifts the ink, then cleaning off the rest with water; Uncle agreed to the carpet being lifted for cleaning, so the opportunity will be taken to mend it at the same time; Amelia wishes that a Presbytery meeting would take Uncle out of Rome for a week so that they could mend the dining room carpet; he is in a better mood as Aunt has been making visits and Amelia has completed half the church accounts for him; Mrs. Fleming's keys have arrived, along with Mrs. Campbell's books and the Scotsman, all of which had been missing since December; Dr. Fleming has been sent back from Salonika looking well, and not expecting to be sent back - Miss Jazdowska maintains that the old are past it and only the young are of any use in service, and that Dr. Brock will be lucky to find work to do [There were Jazdowskis associated with teaching and art in Aberdeen: James Bronislas Jazdowski, son of John, teacher in Aberdeen, graduated from Marischal College in 1856 and according to an annotation of the Search Room student list died in Rome in 1902]; Amelia is angry with her; even if Dr. Brock is not allowed to serve at the front, there will be plenty to do at home; Miss Jazdowska's new dislike of Mrs. Brock evidently extends to the doctor, too; Mr. Green has been classed as B3, which is home service, clerical work; as he is abroad he must be in an approved occupation; he had a cold during her lesson and was not in a good mood; the mental challenges of his lessons and trying to communicate with him; he says that the new call-up, apart from trying to raise another million and a half men, was designed to make the Italians call up their 40,000 men in England, and to bring out the Italians who have managed so far to shelter under British passports - they must come under one army or the other; visit of Colonel Maclean, a Presbyterian minister from Cardiff who is currently director general of the recruiting department, as he is 'so useful and forceful in character'; he is to be in charge of demobilisation when the time comes, which is expected to take three years; he has been all round Italy and is in Rome for Exemption Committee work; he has been taken round the sights by Uncle; there is now an argument at Leghorn about putting the savings of the Institute into the Italian War Loan; Miller and Irving disapprove, as they think the various governments will not be able to pay the high rate of interest as the war goes on; the Chiellinis' father lost his money that way; arrival of box of splints from London for the Marchesa, via Amelia at the Embassy; trouble resigning from the Italian Red Cross; visit of two nurses and Miss Brownrigg to tea; there was much talk about which she cannot write; 'In all probability the question of a separate peace will force itself on us, or the A[merican]s and we shall have to take over the I[talian] front'; thanks for letters and for sight of Miss Paton's letter; Mr. Bragg eventually signed his papers; mention of Annie Moir's honour; Aunt Amy's awful lodger and her long-suffering husband. |