1 The Homestead
2 June 29 / 98
3
4 Dear Fan
5
6 I’m very glad to hear you’ve made such a good arrangement about
7the children’s teaching: & very glad to hear there is some chance of
8you & Will coming up here some time. You must come soon after the
9session You must come & stay with us. I’ll give you a fine large
10bedroom & you can enjoy some of my splendid cooking!!! A cab man lives
11next door & he can drive you in to Kimberley to see all the sights.
12You might be more comfortable at the hotel, but Kimberley is such a
13terrible dusty close, place & here the air is simply lovely.
14
15 Cron has been very ill for some days. He must have been very ill
16because he was willing to lie in bed & have warm water bottles &c! It
17was an attack of dysentery ^caught by getting wet & not taking his
18things off^ but he’s getting all right, & is going down to Cradock
19– to read his paper on the Political Situation, on Friday. From
20there he goes to see his dear old mother & will be gone about a
21fortnight altogether. I’m too busy to go. We are going into Kimberly
22to hear Mark Twain tomorrow night.
23
24 I see from the lists that little Nelly Reitz has done very well at
25school; I pick up all the news about you people from the papers,
26it’s all I get, & it’s not much!
27
28 Give my love to Nelly Devenish when she comes. I’ve just had my
29friends Miss Molteno & Miss Greene here for a week. They left for Cape
30Town this afternoon & I am feeling a little sorrowful. We have no
31friends in Kimberley & when our friends from a distance come, it is
32very melancholy when they leave. Yes, I can’t see why people should
33quarrel over politics any more than religion! I think one should
34always, in private life, leave the things we disagree on & dwell on
35the things we agree on.
36
37 //Cron was quite excited at thought of Olly coming; & wanted me to
38write at once & press you to send send him; but it would be so hard to
39part with him again – that’s what I think of. We make such a baby
40even of our little brown dog, who is sleeping in my armchair now
41wrapped in a rug. I am very well & strong now: never have asthma or
42know that I have a chest.
43
44 Good bye dear old sister
45 You must come up with Will.
46 Olive
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48 If we can manage it we are going to England in November for a year.
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