| Description | Letter from Amelia Nyasa Laws, 7 Via Venti Settembre, Rome, to her relatives, regarding anticipated disruption to mails; mass departure of Germans from Italy; Maria's brother Ercole is called up but is too old, probably, to serve far from home; von Bülow is to leave Italy; Austria is demanding a definite answer from Italy, whose ministers are still not agreed on one; Austria will not give up Trieste, its only Adriatic port; Germany wants Trieste, too; Italy wants Austria to declare war so that she can say she was forced into it, but Austria is equally careful to avoid a declaration; Italy is prepared for gas attacks; they intend to retaliate in kind; the German chemist near by is leaving, no longer feeling safe, but Germans provoke the Italians into hostility with their careless and arrogant talk; Paul Rossi says that Italy will attack Turkey first, thus allowing them not to declare war on Austria; the rebellion in Libya was conducted by Turkey; Uncle thinks that von Bülow might still arrange for Salandra and Sonnino to be turned out of office and Giolitti come in in favour of Germany; Italy is very much reliant on German investment and banking; reference to the sinking of the 'Lusitania'; the first class passengers did not believe that the vessel would sink and are nearly all lost; Uncle's departure for the Presbytery calm for once; Uncle managed to pack for himself; the spring cleaning in his absence caused Miss Jazdowska some annoyance[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]; she complains of non-existent noises from upstairs; she is still annoyed because they have not installed electric light for her; Uncle has broken a tooth on some bad bread and needs dentistry; ordination for the Leghorn missionary; Uncle wants to go to the Waldensian Valleys for three months, but Aunt does not - her digestion is suffering very badly from the bread; the Millers will be near Angrogna and wish them to join them; the Gibsons may go to Torre Pellice; the Waldensian circle will mean too much socialising for Aunt; she is quite happy for Uncle to go on his own; Uncle has a habit of telling everyone else his plans and leaving Aunt to find out from others; Amelia is trying to save Aunt from worry; Uncle will not impress the Waldenses by his inactivity, even at his time of life; Maria thinks they ought to stay in Rome where supplies are likely to be better; Mme. B. has left suddenly for Lugano, along with many other Germans; the railways are now at the disposal of the state and passenger trains no longer run at scheduled times; Mr. Burns is now engaged to Miss Vivien Chartres, a violinist, daughter of a London barrister and an Italian poetess; some account of their meeting; her mother has demanded character references from Uncle and seems sensible, if a little business-like; the daughter is in a hurry to marry. |