1Beaufort West
2Thursday night.
3
4I am back in the old room missing you & Miss Greene so. I do hope you
5gave the MS of your speech to the South Africans News Man. It took a
6view no one else touched on & was valuable. Miss Greene’s speech was
7simply splendid. Every one said so. Especially when she said “Rebels
8every one of them.”!!!
9
10If ever you are in town could you go to the White house for me & see
11if I could secure a nice large room for the t Thurs-day the 24th I
12think it will be, but Thursday any how? I am so uncertain as to what I
13ought to do. I know Cron will want to stay in Town with his mother for
14a few weeks, especially as Parliament is sitting. If he wires he wants
15me to come down, I would like to feel I had a dry place in Town to go
16to. But it may be he is going up to Johannesburg almost at once, in
17which case there would be no need for I my coming down as, he could
18spend some days with me on his way up. Every-thing seems to me so dark
19in the personal future that I look away to public concerns for
20brightness. I never much felt so drawn to old Sauer as this time I saw
21him. There is something so loveable about him when all is said & done!
22I am very heart sore about my old Brother. He said he wouldn’t talk
23politics with a “woman” when I went to see him, that women’s
24politics were folly: so of course I said nothing to him on public
25matters & only stayed a minute. But when one looks a way from
26individuals to the state of the country at large I see much cause for hope.
27
28Show the enclosed letter & poem to dear little New Purcell. You’ve
29no idea what a sweet true, noble, little woman she is. I hope you will
30be able to get a house near her. I wish I could get rooms right up
31there. unreadable I feel as if I had no right to go & be ill in Cape
32Town when I can be so well & work here; & yet it may be the only
33chance I have of being with Cron for years if he goes up to
34Johannesburg.
35
36Good night. Do you feel Cape Town depressing you much? I was so glad I
37stayed in Town the last day to spend it with my dear little
38sister-in-law. She is nearly heart broken. What women have suffered in
39this awful war words are powerless to express.
40
41unreadable I was surprised the Argus & Times did not attack us more,
42but they will soon. Mrs Molteno little speech was good. Ach, there
43were such dear old Tommies in the train to-day.
44
45I wish I had time to tell you about a long talk I had with a war
46correspondent the last night. He says the war will certainly last for
47two months still.
48
49^Please try to get me a copy of the Argus for Monday & Tues-day nights,
50last. Especially the Monday one if you can.^
51
52^I can’t be certain I’m coming on Thursday the 24 only I’d like
53to know if they can give me the refusal of a room.^
54