Letter from Frances Hodgkins to Rachel Hodgkins
Date
24 Aug 1895
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Object Detail
Date
24 Aug 1895
Transcript
Cranmore Lodge Sunday morning
My darling Mother
Father arrived safely home last night and you may guess how glad I was to see him and hear news of you. I had been very anxious all the week and his never turning up after telegraphing Willie twice to meet him made me think that you were ill. I am so glad you are going up with Uncle Sandie to Wellington. There is nothing to bring you home, Mother dear, for everything goes on splendidly. Mary is really a very nice girl and is so willing and trustworthy and is I am glad to say getting very methodical and clean about her work. Everybody says I keep everything in apple-pie order and even the boys don’t grumble. The first week I got into great difficulties over the boys undergarments, but by a superhuman effort I got them right and now everybody is at peace with each other. Yesterday morning Mrs Meeson turned up and is here now, but goes down to Port tonight. She is a funny little thing and makes great love to Father who I think rather likes it. She didn’t see him till this morning and she pranced down to breakfast and began gushing about the spring and the flowers and the sunshine etc when Father said, “Yes!, Yes! But don’t you think you had better eat your sausage before it gets cold,” and she did promptly. Yesterday afternoon May came in & I had an uncomfortable quarter of an hour while they exchanged civilities which ought to have been incivilities by the tones of their voices. I have had a great number of visitors who came to enquire after you and also many cards. I enclose the letters from Aunt Mary and Dolly. Poor Aunt Mary, it will be a dreadful shock to her. I wrote to her but did not post it as I thought the news ought to come from you first so have written to Dolly instead. I expect our letters will go by the Talune for I expect you are writing by that boat.
I had a letter from Miss Holmes on Saturday in which she sent her love and sympathy to you. She wants to buy my “Marguerite” picture and would I knock off a guinea! Rather hard lines isn’t it but I suppose I must. [Incomplete]
My darling Mother
Father arrived safely home last night and you may guess how glad I was to see him and hear news of you. I had been very anxious all the week and his never turning up after telegraphing Willie twice to meet him made me think that you were ill. I am so glad you are going up with Uncle Sandie to Wellington. There is nothing to bring you home, Mother dear, for everything goes on splendidly. Mary is really a very nice girl and is so willing and trustworthy and is I am glad to say getting very methodical and clean about her work. Everybody says I keep everything in apple-pie order and even the boys don’t grumble. The first week I got into great difficulties over the boys undergarments, but by a superhuman effort I got them right and now everybody is at peace with each other. Yesterday morning Mrs Meeson turned up and is here now, but goes down to Port tonight. She is a funny little thing and makes great love to Father who I think rather likes it. She didn’t see him till this morning and she pranced down to breakfast and began gushing about the spring and the flowers and the sunshine etc when Father said, “Yes!, Yes! But don’t you think you had better eat your sausage before it gets cold,” and she did promptly. Yesterday afternoon May came in & I had an uncomfortable quarter of an hour while they exchanged civilities which ought to have been incivilities by the tones of their voices. I have had a great number of visitors who came to enquire after you and also many cards. I enclose the letters from Aunt Mary and Dolly. Poor Aunt Mary, it will be a dreadful shock to her. I wrote to her but did not post it as I thought the news ought to come from you first so have written to Dolly instead. I expect our letters will go by the Talune for I expect you are writing by that boat.
I had a letter from Miss Holmes on Saturday in which she sent her love and sympathy to you. She wants to buy my “Marguerite” picture and would I knock off a guinea! Rather hard lines isn’t it but I suppose I must. [Incomplete]
Pages
4 pages
Sender's address
Cranmore Lodge
Institutional No.
MS-Papers-0085-04
Credit Line
Letters
from
Frances
Hodgkins.
Field,
Isabel
Jane,
1867-1950
:
Correspondence
of
Frances
Hodgkins
and
family
/
collected
by
Isabel
Field.
Ref:
MS-Papers-0085-04.
Alexander
Turnbull
Library,
Wellington,
New
Zealand.
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22310185
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22310185