| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, 7 Via Venti Settembre, Rome, to her parents, thanking for letters and news of the rising near Zomba; the suffering of Mrs. Livingstone; Mr. Cotterill lending books and sending greetings; surprise at Miss Cole taking her furlough when she is so much needed; the Ericksons are particularly self-serving; Uncle is tired of Mr. Erickson; Etta Elmslie's suffering at the hands of Chrissie Maitland; criticism of Miss Maitland's 'call' to missionary work; closure of the Austrian Embassy; Prince von Bülow is awaiting instructions to leave for Berlin; the German school has closed; Germans are all leaving Italy to avoid internment; summary of the negotiations leading to the situation, as taken from the Daily Telegraph; Italy's demands with relation to Austria; Austria's refusal; diplomacy is now at an end; Parliament keeps putting off a final declaration of war; rumour that Italy is awaiting a signal from Lord Kitchener; the King was unable to be present at the unveiling of the monument to Garibaldi's Thousand in Genoa; the military preparations are now complete; sad to see individuals being called up; Maria upset but doing her best to comfort others; call-up being done privately as the Germans are reporting everything back to Berlin; Trentino is laid waste by trenches and barbed-wire; spies are everywhere and in some cases are Italians doing it for the money; paranoia about spies is also rife; a British man threw from a train a German who was being rude to the local Italians in Genoa; Italian hatred of the Germans and Austrians does not bode well for the treatment of prisoners and internees; the foreign community is now almost entirely reduced to residents; everyone is seeking passports in order to prove their nationality, as fat people are being accused of being German; Japan has sent an ultimatum to China; reports of the sinking of the 'Lusitania'; no mercy for the passengers and crew, which might well bring America into the war; Holland is still trying to be neutral; Germany, however, wants the use of the Scheldt, without which Antwerp is useless to them; her parents may use this letter if they wish as it may be some of the last news through. |