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High Commissioner's Office, Johannesburg.
May: 29: 1903
My dear old Nan
Many thanks to you & Mother for your letter this week. I am glad you think Mother fairly well & cheerful: her letters made me fear the opposite. I am glad you enoyed your holiday. I see William's name in the 'Times' as having spoken at the Canning Dinner, but it does not give any
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of his speech. [ST - Sir Edward] Carson seems to have fluttered the dovecotes considerably by 'crabbing' George Wyndham's Land Bill. I had long letters from Boulter & Uncle Willie this week. Poor John Edgar has been ordered by the doctor to go into hospital at once & remain perfectly quiet for 5 weeks. It is rather a blow to him, as he will not be allowed
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to read or write, and it will interfere a good deal with work of his Chair. I really thought his health was going to be all right in S. Africa. It seems that he got a kind of chronic nerve trouble in Egypt, & when he saw a specialist in London, he was told that he must sooner or later take a complete rest cure. However, he kept putting it off & now the smash has come. I hope he may be well enough to come up
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here in July. Thank goodness my nerves are sound, and though I get overworked I never want rest cures. It is a great thing to have a sound constitution.
Last Monday the Caledonian Society gave Sports at which over 10,000 people attended. I was one of the judges, and the piping and dancing were very good. I tried my pony over some hurdles, but I find to my chagrin that,
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owing to S. African conditions which never give a chance of a high-jump, I jump now very badly.
I hope to go down to Heidelberg tomorrow till Thursday, to get a little exercise again. I still think I shall be able to get home, as I said last week, by the beginning of September. If Willie is to be in London in the early part of
