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18950323 See an image of this letter, https://doi.org/10.17613/1d2h-0z41

 

Pernambuco,   23rd March  1895

 

My dear Mother,

My last letter was from Ceará 12th inst.; since then I have returned to P’buco and here I received the missing letter of 21st Jan. and three later ones, 18th & 26th Feby., and 4th March, for all of which many thanks, as well as for the shamrock; it was withered but Mrs Latham is trying to see if she can revive the roots.[1] I was at sea on the 17th but I happened to find a little plant very like shamrock growing in a flower-box in the stern of the steamer and I decorated myself with a sprig of it.[2] An Englishman on board, whom I did not know, came up to speak to me and said how he had forgotten it was St. Patrick’s day till he saw my shamrock. I drank your good health and I hope my wishes were effectual and that you have shaken off that bad cold.

I am at Mrs Latham’s again. The house is full and meanwhile I am sharing a room with Youle.[3] To-night I go to the Gatises for dinner and whist and I have an invitation for Tuesday from Williams.[4] Mrs Williams is a sister of that Miss Boxwell.[5] Her uncle, Mr Boxwell, leaves for home to-day. I have just been on board the Roy. Mail steamer, “Magdalena”; several people I know are homeward-bound, and I had a friendly greeting from several officers with whom I have sailed on various occasions.

I shall likely go down to Bahia on the steamer with Bertie Weinberg.[6]

Keiller is all right but business is not going very well with him I think.[7]

Love to all.

Jack

 

Address

c/o Messrs Adolf Spann & Co[8]

Caixa 1

Rio de Janeiro


  1. Mrs Latham runs an English boarding house in Pernambuco. See Index to People.
  2. 17th March being St Patrick's Day.
  3. Frank Schwind Youle. See Index to People.
  4. Mr G C Gatis, Mrs Mary Fredina Gatis, and their seven children.
  5. Mrs Edith Ann Williams née Boxwell, sister of “that” Miss Boxwell (Ada Boxwell). See Index to People.
  6. Bertie Weinberg: Herbert James Weinberg),  died Perth, Scotland 1896 (the year after letter, aged 28). See Index to People.
  7. John Gibson Keiller (b 9th July 1865 Dundee, d 1897 Pernambuco). Fred Weinberg’s brother in law. See Index to People.
  8. Adolf Spann = Moore & Weinberg agent in Rio de Janeiro.

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John McCaldin Loewenthal: Letters Home from a Victorian Commercial Traveller, 1889 - 1895 Copyright © 2022 by Michelle Fink, Robert Boyd, Sarah Watkinson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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