To: Jemima C Lloyd (09 April 1862)

To: Jemima C Lloyd (09 April 1862)

Correspondence

A letter from Wilhelm Bleek to Jemima Lloyd, sent from Cape Town and dated 9 April 1862. Wilhelm is focused on telling Jemima Lloyd all about his family and personal history, including his ill health and related physical imperfections - he describes himself as ugly and as a "poor desolate creature". The letter also outlines their "distant courtship" and how theirs must be a discreet engagement; there is much discussion of love and marriage. Wilhelm also updates Jemima on his prospective position at the Grey Library, the progress of his publication and his poorly paying employment options while waiting for appointment news. He also continues to plan for her return to him at the Cape. This is all in addition to the usual discussion of the Lloyd sisters' painful family history, his views on religion and reports of day-to-day matters and Cape news.

09 April 1862

A Comparative Grammar of the South African Languages, A Life for a Life, a little hideous thing, age, allays fears of madness, announcing engagement, anxiety, appearance, appointment as Grey Librarian, asks for history, Auguste Charlotte Marianne Sethe, beard, boarding house, Bonn, Bonn family, Bonn visit, book discussion, brothers, Buenos Aires, Cape, Cape weather, Captain Lowther, candid outpourings, childhood, cold affects her health, comments on Jemima Lloyd's appearance in photographs, consent, correspondence with Lucy Lloyd, daughter/s, delayed announcement until future settled, desolate creature, diet and health, distant courtship, doctor, Dr Russell, engagement, engagement announcement, England, English family and friends, English prudery, eruptions, family, family history, father, father's family particulars, father's treatment of daughters, fearful past, FF Fisher, feelings, feels hopeful and strong, finances, financial prospects, friends, friendship with Bishop of Natal, friendship with Lucy Lloyd, Grey Library appointment, Grey Library position, health, healthy stoutness, Hermann Bleek, history in Natal, history with father, humility, ill health, imperfect character and faults, inner life, Jemima Lloyd, Jemima Lloyd in England, Jemima Lloyd's appearance in photograph, Jemima Lloyd's health, Jemima Lloyd's personal history, Jemima Lloyd's travel plans, John Colenso, Julia Lloyd, language lessons, last saw Jemima Lloyd a year ago, leaving England, letter, literary work, Lloyd sisters, loss of teeth, love, Lucy Lloyd, Lucy Lloyd's afflictions, Lucy Lloyd's recovery from attack, Lucy Lloyd's fearful past, lungs, madness, marriage, meeting with Cape Governor, money, mother, Mr Maurice, Mrs Fisher, Mrs Roesch's boarding house, nasty disagreeable fellow, Natal, Natal family, Natal history, nervous vulnerability, novel, nursed to health in Sir George Grey's house, offered literary work, opinions on diet and health, opinions on marriage, opinions on religion and theology, past ill health, personal history, photograph, plain opinions, plans for Bonn visit, pride, poor desolate creature, poorly paying work, promised salary as Grey Librarian, rudeness, R Russell, reading recommendation, rebuked by Jemima Lloyd, recollection of Jemima Lloyd, religion, religious education of siblings, religious views, Rev. William Lloyd, Russells, sad history, scratching, secret engagement, self-image, sends photographs, sister/s, Sir George Grey, size of rooms, slow progress of publication, sources of income, spitting blood, stout and strong, subscriptions for publication, teeth, telling people, Theodor Bleek, told Lucy Lloyd almost all, tooth loss, travel escort, travel plans, travel to Bonn, travel to Cape, trust and openness, unflattering photograph, unfavourable opinion of doctors and homeopathy, wants to know Lucy Lloyd, weather, visiting mother in Bonn, when to announce engagement, writing letters, won't ask for consent, work

1.These two parts of the letter describing the process whereby Wilhelm was appointed as the Grey Librarian were transcribed 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.] 2. There are photographs of Dr Russell and his family. See Photographs and Portraits on this website. 3. Jemima recommended Wilhelm read a popular novel, "A life for a life" by Dinah "Mrs" Craik (1859) [see JL to WB 2 June 1862 C8.19].