Olive Schreiner Letters Online

Letter Reference	Lytton 01229/9
Archive	Lytton Family Papers, Knebworth
Epistolary Type	Letter
Letter Date	31 October 1893
Address From	Thomson’s Hotel, Middelburg, Eastern Cape
Address To
Who To	Elizabeth Loch nee Villiers
Other Versions

The manuscript of this letter by Olive Schreiner belongs to the Archive referenced above; its ownership of the original should be acknowledged by referencing the letter as indicated: Copyright transcription: © Olive Schreiner Letters Project. This transcription can be freely used as long as copyright is acknowledged and it is referenced using the following citation: ‘Olive Schreiner to Elizabeth Loch nee Villiers, 31 October 1893, Lytton Family Papers, Knebworth, Olive Schreiner Letters Project transcription’. Please also supply letter line numbers for specific quotations.

Legend
The Project is grateful to the Knebworth House Archive (www.knebworthhouse.com) for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter to Lady Loch, which is part of the Knebworth collections.

1:  Thomson’s Hotel
2:  Middelburg.
3:  Oct 31 / 93.
4: 
5:  Dearest Lady Loch
6: 
7:  Today you will get back to Cape Town. I wish so much I could have been
8:  there to welcome you, but my chest was so bad I had to leave. I have
9:  been in bed ever since I got here, but this fine air will soon make me
10:  all right.
11: 
12:  I saw Con & Adela the day I left London. It was a real sorrow to me
13:  that I could not get out into the country to see your sister. I think
14:  Adela is much stronger than when she was at the Cape. You would hardly
15:  recognize her for the same person!
16: 
17:  I am greatly concerned about affairs in the North. I wish to God Sir
18:  Henry had the power to carry out his own ideas in more matters than
19:  this. We should be a more just, & justly governed people. All men &
20:  parties seem under some hideous spell which no one seems to have the
21:  courage to break.
22: 
23:  Did you read a paper by no on Politics Ethics, ^& organization^ by my
24:  friend Cronwright lately in the Midland News? If not should like to
25:  send you a copy.
26: 
27:  I do hope the change to Kimberley has done you great good & that
28:  you’ve entirely got rid of this terrible influenza. The Dr here says
29:  it has been influenza & not asthma at all that I’ve had; & every one
30:  here has been having it.
31: 
32:  Please forgive this stupid s-cribble, but I couldn’t wait till I was
33:  well to write.
34: 
35:  I was so glad to get your note on board. Thank you so much for the
36:  lovely flowers.
37: 
38:  Yours ever lovingly,
39:  Olive Schreiner
40: 

Notation
Cronwright-Schreiner published numerous short pieces of journalism in local Eastern Cape newspapers; the particular article is: S.C. Cronwright 'Political Ethics and Political Organization' Midland News 7 October 1893 (pp.5, 6 & 7); it originated as an address he gave to the Cradock Farmers Association. Elizabeth Loch, in passing this letter on to Constance Lytton, has written on it as follows:

“?Fm Olive Schreiner

She has been very ill I fear - but her brother says much better now – I was so sorry to miss her – Does she tell Adela about Mr Fort do you think? I do hope unreadable ^not^ as he wd never never make her happy. Burn this.”