| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, 7 Via Venti Settembre, Rome, to her relatives, regarding Mr. Smith preaching for Bible Sunday; his hymns were unfamiliar but the congregation hardly sings anyway; letter from Mlle. Vernaz; there is a possibility that 103 will be turned into a hospital for ophthalmic patients only; if that is the case, Mlle. Vernaz will try to find her somewhere else in the region; Amelia doubts that Savoy will receive any wounded; there are medical cases only in 103 at present; she is frustrated again; Paul Rossi said she should go to ask the French Red Cross representative in Rome for help; Uncle is against her going to Chambéry before things are settled; she does not want to end up in a hot place in the south; letters are slow; Uncle wants to keep her there; Mrs. Benton has asked for her advice for an Italian who is suffering very much with his wooden leg; she is to go and see what can be done, and of course he has had no massage; he has been working as the driver of the motor car used by Old England, Hale Benton's business, currently at the disposal of the American Red Cross; Aunt and Amelia lucky enough to see a performance of Rossini's Barber of Seville, and she gives a summary of the plot and description of the performance; they have also been to a choral symphony on the Birth of the Redeemer by Lorenzo Puosi, a priest; it would have been improved by some scenery and by being scheduled not to be interrupted by the bells of San Carlo; it was held at the Augusteo; Uncle has been busy sorting through the Roman trunks of Miss Forster Walker, along with the consul and Mrs. Pearce; they contained a great deal of rubbish; the storage bill has been radically reduced by getting rid of motheaten clothing and empty bottles; some other things are to be sold; Miss Forster Walker is weakening but angry at not having control over her money; there is to be a Presbytery meeting in May, though Coldstream is trying to call it off: Irving will likely come from Naples; she is tired after her afternoon with the Italian with the wooden leg; the leg was made before the stump had shrunk so does not fit, and has a rough, sharp edge; 'knee caps' being used to fill the gap are causing perspiration; she has made a bell-shaped 'thing' to fit on the leg and fill the gap and filed down the sharp edge; he says it is more comfortable and it should work. |