September 10, 1863. Cape Town. To “My dearest Loui . . . [Lucy Lloyd] ”
Bleek wrote to Lucy Lloyd two days after the birth of their first child, Edith Bleek, on September 8, 1863. He goes over what took place before Edith was born, how Jemima is doing well and that the baby resembles him, commenting: “They declare that she is very much like me, so you know she is no beauty.” He then refers to concerns that Lucy and her sisters were having about a finding a suitable school to which to send their eldest half-brother, Willie. Bleek has heard from the Bishop of Natal who had recently visited North Wales before leaving for Holland and Germany and who sent Lucy “his very kind regards.” Edith’s birth “will be proclaimed to the world only in Saturday’s paper. If you like to ask Mr. Robinson to announce it to our Natal friends in his paper – of course you will do so.”