WHITE HART HOTEL
New Plymouth N.Z
Saturday June 2nd 1906
My dear Kathleen
I must answer your letter of April 5th today and send it by the Italy mail. I was very much interested to hear all about your giving in your resignation and beginning to search of another post. I do wonder whether by this time you have hit upon anything or whether you are still using up your time - and stamps! answering letters. I have done it so many times – oh dear – I wonder how many more times I shall have to! It would be nice if you got something in London – you [?] which I shall have had by now in the ordinary course, will I expect give me news of the family and home, I hope Jack was all the better for his holiday, I was sorry he had not been well.
I see I haven’t written to you since just after we got back from Rissington. I had a very nice time in Napier after that – it was so jolly. Mr Hutchinson being in town the last few days we were there, although I was sorry for the reason, he had to have a very slight operation on his head and was staying at a private hospital on the parade quite close to the Masonic so we met a good many times and had some walks on the Wednesday and Thursday, he with his head bandaged up. He told me he meant to keep out of the way, but somehow he didn’t manage to escape us. Napier is not such a large place as all that! When he came and saw us off at the station the morning we left he had left off part of his bandage and looked quite himself again with his hat on.
We were counting up the other day how many Orontes people we have seen while in N.Z. I think it is seven, two since we have been at New Plymouth, then one Miss McKeller, Frances’ friend called on us the other day, but we were out.
We are having a quiet time here – it is nice being near Frances. She is so nice and we often go over to their house, or she comes here. On Tuesday evening Auntie is giving her and Lewie and me tickets for Andrew Black’s concert here, isn’t it nice of her and aren’t we lucky to come across him in two places. We might easily have missed him altogether. Aunt Bessie wrote to Aunt Lottie a day or two ago evidently wishing us to go back there soon and I think we shall leave here in a fortnight, have a week-end at Merton on the way and reach Petone about June 18th. Then perhaps we shall go to Westport for the beginning of July then of course spend the rest of our time at Petone. Here we pass our time very well in walks, visits to Lewie and Francie – mending – I am reading aloud to Auntie Mark Twain’s More Tramps Abroad – needle-work. I am in the midst of a flannel blouse also other things – writing letters and practising. It is so nice we have a sitting room practically to ourselves with a good piano in it. One window looks out over the sea and there is a French window opening on to a long balcony.
Aunt Lottie would like a little reading aloud now so I will just run with this to the post which is across the road.
Goodbye for the present. Best wishes for success in finding a good post.
Your loving sister
May E Sladden
