Margaret Says Good-bye

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 81, 10 January 1941, Page 5

Margaret Says Good-bye

HEN I was first asked to give these talks I felt very doubtful about it. What could I talk about, I wondered, that would interest listeners I had never seen, who knew nothing of me, and of whom I. knew nothing. I consulted my youngest sister, but she was most discouraging, a way sisters have, and told me that after having spent a wakeful night worrying about it she had come to the conclusion that I could never do it. One or at the

most two talks she thought I might manage, but any more would be out of the question. This cold douche made me quite determined to prove to her, if I could, that she was wrong. After all, I told myself, I'm a woman, so if I talk of the things that interest me I'll probablv find that they interest

other womenas well. That wasa long time ago. Since then Ihave talked to you over five hundred times. To be exact this is my five hundred and second talk and I feel sure that you will agree with me when I say that it is quite time for you to be given a rest. I’m rather looking forward to a rest myself, though I have enjoyed giving these talks immensely. So many listeners have written me kind and encouraging letters. They have sent me cuttings for my gardenmost of the cuttings have grown, too, and are named after the donors-they have told me about their children, they have consulted me about their worries and of course they have told me about their dogs and their cats. I hope I have answered all those letters that. were not anonymous, I think I have, but alas some of my answers came back to me because the addresses given were not sufficient. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone who wrote to me, and of saying how deeply I appreciated those letters and how much they have helped me in my work.-(" Margaret’s" final talk to women, 2YA, December 30.)