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to which we added a strong cup of tea, made for an unusual declamatory display. She who has always pleaded dire poverty and her intention to meet it by giving lessons, had today assumed quite another pose. Was she herself lessons in Hindu philosophy and from no other than an Indian sage. She was bursting with newly acquired wisdom and we heard much about the Law of Karma, the Wheel of Life and other such novelties. Intermingled with these were oracular sayings about the war. Hitler would win, she asserted, basing her predictions on such copy-book platitudes as the wicked shall end by being confounded, Right is stronger than Might and so forth. I should have preferred assertions founded on more solid premises (she reads all the German newspapers). But the lady was like an excited Pythoness speaking on her own account, quite regardless of the Gods. After two hours of heated soliloquy our guest left us. In the hall below we could hear her in whispered conclave with our new Polish maid.

November 15th. Last night the war seemed upon us. There was a terrific bursting of hand-grenades throughout our street; the turmoil lasted only a short time. This morning no plausible explanation was given. Probably a fight between young Fascists, said our Sfollati. Natalie, who has gone to bed, calls out to me that she only now remembers having heard something being hurriedly stuffed through the broken gratings of our cellar, during last night's fray. A bomb perhaps .... tomorrow we must investigate.