| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, Rome, to her relatives, regarding not going to church and being poisoned by sandflies and mosquitoes, the work in the house is nearly finished, Maria is delighted with a lot of the scraps and the new people will be well-off, with new papers in the wardrobes and drawers, new tabling and iron blankets, etc., the old wire mattress cover will have to be washed and sewn back on, and Maria cannot be bothered with such details, Miss Atkinson, whom Maria served before, has demanded her back, but Maria is refusing to leave until they do, everything is delayed until the Continental Committee decides whether or not they will buy the linen, and the passports are being held back in consequence, now the boxes cannot travel by land either but must stay in storage in Rome until a strike ends in the north, so keys must be left in Rome, too, which they had wanted to avoid, nothing has crossed the frontier since the 5th. April, letter from Dr. Fenechal regarding the post at the nursing home, guarded but asking to see her, no place for massage yet as the home is for operations only, it might be a good thing just now as she has no strength for massage and surgical experience would be useful, the home will not be opened until August, she has written to Gauthier in Normandy to find out if he needs more treatment, the balance of the memorial fund has been presented to Aunt and Amelia which will make it possible for them to cover the balance of Uncle's taxes for the year, none of Uncle's money can be drawn yet so it has been Aunt's expense up to now, news from Aberdeen is that Uncle Alec's expenses for the year are to rise from £48 to £60, the church silver has been deposited in the bank, and the accounts are up to date, she has lost weight and looks ten years older since she came back and Aunt is greyer, enclosing photograph of the gravestone [absent]. |