58 
IN MEMORIAM 
described in her letters to her mother — -the early morning market where there 
are “ enormous watermelons, green outside, and solid throughout inside, a 
lovely pink, like cocoa-nut ice for texture, and sprinkled with large black 
seeds. They are like half solid iced water, so refreshing. The marrows are 
funny shapes, like bad dreams, but very nice. I love to wander in the crowd.” 
Writing to her brother, the Hon. Mr Justice Page, about the same time, she 
describes the Free State as “a very hard land to its inhabitants, and for one 
who makes money, there are hundreds who don’t; but by living frugally 
(what in England would be called almost starvation) they scrape along and 
put by something, and add other bits to their farms, rescuing them from the 
veldt. Not much money passes hands there; the farmers bring their wool at 
shearing-times and exchange it for goods at the stores; and as they can’t 
afford to hold on to their wool, it all comes in at the same time, and so keeps 
down in price. This drought has meant a heavy loss, for, although the sheep 
have not died like the oxen and cows, there are no lambs. We had the worst 
earthquake known about here, last week, but I hardly realised its importance. 
The London underground is a good preparation, but when the rumble rose 
to deafening, and the whole place shook, and the floor waved about, it was 
very uncomfortable. I felt like a boat. Fortunately no harm was done 
beyond a few cracks and broken chimneys: these low houses seem to stand 
a lot. Someone said the Modder River was a sight — all the water dashing 
from side to side in waves, instead of in its usual course.” 
Bloemfontein and Grey College certainly meant hard work for Mary Page 
and required a good deal of pluck. But she was equal to the task and faced 
it squarely and cheerfully. “After breakfast it is as much as I can do to be 
ready for my 110 to eleven o’clock tea, with 25 platefuls of scones or bread 
and butter to cut ready ! But my fat remains a fixture in spite of it all and 
my spirits unabated. I certainly never was so young before. If only my 
enemy, rheumatism, will keep off ! ” When her time as locum expired she 
regrets leaving the many friends. “Everyone says such kind things and tells 
me how much I shall be missed, which is nice; and it has been sort of free 
and easy all the time.” 
In August 1912 she writes from Palapye in Bechuanaland, where she spent 
three months — “I am having a change of scene up here; from open rolling 
bare veldt to the bush, with nothing but trees everywhere, or rather, low 
bush, for there are very few big enough to be worthy of the name of tree. 
The colours are lovely, all gold and brown and red — mostly Mopane, whose 
leaves all grow in pairs, and are like butterflies on the branches. There ought 
to be high grass, 5 feet high, but last year’s drought killed it. There are lots 
of giant Euphorbias and lovely blooms like our red-hot-pokers. Amongst 
them are plenty of birds to get at the honey, yellow and green flashing as 
they skim along; and great glossy black insects with a noise of wings like 
