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High Commissioner's Office, Johannesburg,
Feb:11::1902
My dearest Mother,
Many thanks for your last letter. I enclose a letter to my father which Anna forwarded. I have written a nice letter to the old man, and told him that I was afraid all such posts were filled up.
I had letters from Anna, Uncle Willie & the Bird, all in
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good spirits. We get our English mail letters on Friday at mid-day now, so that leaves time to answer anything pressing, as the post does not go till Saturday morning. I had a letter from Ernest Jones, who is a flourishing chemist at Eastbourne, and not drowned as the false John Edgar said he was.
I have been very busy as usual this week. I am annoyed by the
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number of people of whom I know nothing who write and ask me for jobs. On Sunday morning about 7, just as I was looking forward to a day's rest, I got an urgent note from H.E. asking me to ride out 15 miles and inspect some land, which we had a chance of buying. It was an eerie ride, for after the outposts I didn't meet a soul, & when I rode up to a farmhouse I found it always deserted. However by dint of my bump of locality I found my land and reported to H.E. in
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evening. I had a three hour financial talk with him; and I am now so sunburnt that it is quite painful. H.E. is gradually turning on to me all the heaviest things out here; I like it, for it is what I came for.
I hope you are all well & cheerful. Anna seems immensely relieved that she has at last heard from you.
With much love to all
Your affectionate son
John
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[this page is out of sequence - not part of this letter] prohibitive.
One of my clerks has found a collie in the street, which he has annexed, and the beast lies in below my office desk.
Nothing much is happening here. The mornings and evenings are perfectly delicious, but noon is still blazing hot. I hope you are all well at Peebles. Old Marshall of Rachan arrived
