To: Jemima C Lloyd (19 February 1862)

To: Jemima C Lloyd (19 February 1862)

Correspondence

A letter from Wilhelm Bleek to Jemima Lloyd, sent from Cape Town and dated 19 February 1862. This letter primarily features Wilhelm's response to Jemima's "answer" letter. Despite Jemima's doubts and indecisiveness, it seems clear that the proposal was largely successful. Wilhelm explains his proposal letter (the wording of which caused her pain), as well as earlier letters in which he tried to persuade her of his "brotherly" feelings due to conflicted feelings and a misguided sense of duty: a result of his fears of permanent invalidism and unsuitability as husband. In addition to this main theme, Wilhelm discusses Jemima's painful family history and sister Lucy's mental disposition, his ideals/views on love and marriage, their prospective engagement and her possible visit to his mother and family in Bonn. He also describes his poor health and updates Jemima on his hoped-for position at the Grey Library.

19 February 1862

A Comparative Grammar of South African Languages, alter ego, acceptance of proposal, answer to proposal, appointment as Grey Librarian, Auguste Sethe, Bishop of Natal, Bleek family, boarding house, Bonn family doctor, Bonn visit, Cape, castle building, come to him sooner, confused by letter, dearest Jemmie, death, decision, dismissal from position, doubt, Dr Russell's advice, engagement, engagement secrecy, explanation of behaviour, family, father, father's family, farewell letter, fear of madness, fears, February 1862, feelings for Jemima Lloyd at boarding house, feelings explained, feigned feelings, finances, fitness for travel, foundation of Grey Library, George Woolley, Governor Philip E. Wodehouse, Grey Library appointment, health, husband, ideals of marriage, ill health, internal battles, invalidism and early death, Jemima Lloyd, Jemima Lloyd's answer to proposal letter, Jemima Lloyd's financial position, Jemima Lloyd's health, Jemima Lloyd's past, John Colenso, joint finances, letter/s, Lloyd family history in Natal, Lloyd sisters, loneliness and foreboding, love, Lucy Lloyd, madness, Mail, marriage, meeting at boarding house, meeting the family, mental sensitivity, money, morbid sensibility, mother, Mr Sanderson, Mrs Roesch, Mrs Sanderson, name, Natal, Natal family history, Natal friends, news, news of engagement, oneness, overstrained sensitiveness, past, personal history, planning return voyage, plans to leave England, poor Lucy, possessing right kind of love, prejudiced about Homeopathists, proposal accepted, prospects, publication at press, receives answer, responsibility of father, return to Cape, Rev. William Lloyd, sad history, Sandersons, secrecy of engagment, shocked and stunned Jemima Lloyd, Sir George Grey, sisters, struggle between duty and affection, suppressed feelings, telling people of engagement, told Lucy almost all, travel to Bonn, trials in marriage, true allsufficient love, understand sisters, visit mother in Bonn, wife, wifely, Wilhelm Bleek, William Lloyd, worldly position

1. Jemima Lloyd's "answer" letter is dated 4 January 1862 [See C8.10]. 2. Jemima can hardly be blamed for misunderstanding Wilhelm's proposal/declaration letter, as a lot of it expressed his doubts about their union. 3. There are photographs of George and Mr Woolley, Dr Russell and his family, and the Sandersons. See Photographs and Portraits on this website. 4. This section of the letter, concerning Wilhelm's appointment as Grey Librarian, appears in a short series of extracts all transcribed in pencil by Jemima Lloyd from letters written to her by Wilhelm between 19 January and 22 August 1862. [See JL's pencil transcriptions in C8.9.] 5. The meddling interference of "others" led to Lucy ending her engagement to George Woolley.