"Trying to help Will Schreiner politically; I want 'She wrote Peter Halket' on my grave; it's what it cost me" Read the full letter
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Letter ReferenceHRC/UNCAT/OS-6
ArchiveHarry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter DateFriday 16 January 1885
Address From4 Robertson Terrace, Hastings, East Sussex
Address To
Who ToHavelock Ellis
Other VersionsCronwright-Schreiner 1924: 56; Draznin 1992: 286-7
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
Legend
The Project is grateful to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, the University of Texas at Austin, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscript Collections. This letter has been dated by reference to information written onto it by Ellis. Schreiner was resident at two addresses in Hastings from the end of November 1884 to the end of April 1885.
1Friday
2
3I have found my little boy!!
4
5I have lit my lamp and hung up the things at the window.
6
7How is your cold do you feel very tired? I never seem^ed^ to my self so
8small & selfish before. You see I am so selfish to you too. I am think
9more of my self than you it seems.
10
11I long to sit down by the fire by your feet, & talk to you, & tell you
12all the thoughts in my heart. How wonder-ful you, & I should be like
13in each other it seems so wonderful to me. You know I don’t mind
14anything I said because I said it to you, it’s that could say such
15things aloud to myself & you know it wasn’t true. Oh Harry I want to
16be good, I want to be good, not good in the ordinary sense, good to my
17idea. Never mind telling me if you think I’m ever wrong, if you see
18the faults in me you must blame me, not praise me. We mustn’t forget
19that part of our sharing each other’s lives. We mustn’t little let
20passion come in, & divide the real union.
21
22Thou art mine Is Louie better, tell her I’m so sorry her cold is so
23bad. The has just brought my coffee in. I don’t like to drink my
24coffee alone.
25
26Olive
27
28I have read Pity She’s a Whore. Isn’t it splendid! I read it
29
30^in the middle of the night.^
31
Notation
The edition of John Ford's ?Tis A Pity She’s A Whore Schreiner read cannot be established; an edition by Ellis was published in 1888. Draznin's (1992) version of this letter is in some respects different from our transcription. Cronwright-Schreiner's (1924) extract is incorrect in various ways.