To: Wilhelm HI Bleek (02 June 1862)
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To: Wilhelm HI Bleek (02 June 1862)
Correspondence
A letter from Jemima Lloyd to Wilhelm Bleek, written in Maidenhead (2 June 1862), continued in Berkshire (3 June) and London (5 June). She received his "homelike" letter in two parts. Addressing his concerns about losing teeth, she relates her own experience and insists his soul, not appearance, matters to her, and he must not call himself ugly. Elsewhere she discusses her own "plain" appearance. She reassures him of her love, happiness and trust, despite past doubts. Jemima reports receiving touching welcoming letters and messages from his mother and siblings and her growing affection for them. Amid travel and social obligations, she delays reading Lucy's March "chronicle" and worries she wronged Fan and July by not informing them of the engagement sooner. Enclosing a letter to her father, she seeks Wilhelm's opinion before sending it, explaining why she wrote it. Jemima weighs in on when and how to announce the engagement and how they will handle judgement and gossip. Writing again in London, she is exhausted from travel and describes the mental and physical toll of waiting alone in England, navigating social duties and weighing the "great questions" between them. After consulting Dr Russell, she decides to leave for Africa soon after August. Dr Russell diagnoses her spinal condition, warning marriage in poor health risks lifelong frailty, but acknowledges her belief that separation is just as harmful. Jemima is certain she is fit for marriage and joining Wilhelm "will be the going home". She outlines travel plans in England and her Bonn visit, as well as arrangements for leaving England for Africa. She also shares thoughts on their marriage and finances, with Wilhelm's Library appointment not yet confirmed.
02 June 1862
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