66 Due Macelli [on mourning stationery] - She will buy a copy of 'Il Ramo d'Oro' and send it herself; is most disappointed in [Alberto] Stock; Lauro returned to America on a government mission; she doesn't think his presence that winter would have made a difference to the publication of the book.
66 Due Macelli [on mourning stationery] - [Alberto Stock] assures her that books were mailed to Lady Frazer three weeks ago; she is no longer on speaking terms with Stock, has withdrawn a translation which he was to publish; Lauro went back to America on an important mission; there is general dissatisfaction with Stock. Accompanied by the envelope.
66 Due Macelli - Announces that 'Il Ramo d'Oro' has been published [by Casa Editrice Alberto Stock]; Lauro sails for home after a successful trip.
66 Due Macelli [on mourning stationery] - Is disappointed that 'Il Ramo d'Oro' is still not published; when Lauro left Rome on 15 Oct. he entrusted her with the last reading of the proofs; has visited, telephoned, and written the editor [Alberto Stock] to no avail, but in his defense the work of taking over the publishing house in such disorder has been a huge job; after fifty years in the country is still not used to the easy way people promise with no intention of keeping their word; hopes Sir James' investiture ceremony went off well; in the villages about Ariccia a pastry in the form of a man and a woman and several beasts is made, and wonders if these are what is left of the Manii; extensive excavations are taking place near Nemi and an imperial palace has been unearthed, and there is talk of draining the lake to get at the Roman wrecks, the ships of Tiberius; remembers Paul Loyson: 'Dear, dear Paul, bright figure in what seems now a past incarnation'; Lauro is having great success in his lecture-tour and is now in California.
Alberto Stock - Editore, Roma - Thanks him for having allowed free use of the abridged edition of 'The Golden Bough' in order to allow its wider circulation.
66 Due Macelli [on mourning stationery] - Thanks her for the clipping from 'The Times' which she translated and sent to the editor, it will be helpful for press notices, asks if she will add some information on the Order of Merit; congratulates Frazer, but confesses 'it seems to me very much like giving a decoration to a mountain'; is sorry it has taken so long for the 'Il Ramo d'Oro' to come out; [Alberto] Stock says it will be the middle of the month but she doesn't believe it.