Olive Schreiner Letters Online

Letter Reference	Smuts A1/202/99
Archive	National Archives Repository, Pretoria
Epistolary Type	Letter
Letter Date	23 April 1917
Address From	c/o Standard Bank, 10 Clements Lane, Lombard Street, London
Address To	Irene, Pretoria, Transvaal
Who To	Isie Smuts nee Krige
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 Isie Smuts nee Krige, 23 April 1917, National Archives Repository, Pretoria, Olive Schreiner Letters Project transcription’. Please also supply letter line numbers for specific quotations.

Legend
The Project is grateful to the National Archives Repository, Pretoria, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Special Collections. The address this letter was sent to is provided by an attached envelope.

1:  address
2:  c/o Standard Bank
3:  10 Clements Lane
4:  Lombard St
5:  London W
6:  April 23rd 1917
7: 
8:  Dear Isie
9: 
10:  How I wish you had come out with your husband, but I know that was
11:  impossible but how nice it would have been to see you
12: 
13:  Did you ever get the post card I sent you when I heard Louie was born?
14:  I nearly always write post cards now as they seem to go better than
15:  letters I have seen Jan since. The first time I saw him I thought him
16:  looking ill & a little changed, but when I saw him yesterday he was
17:  looking splendid & quite his old self. He was going to Cambridge &
18:  kindly motored me to my friends Miss Alice Greenes, who is living
19:  there with her sister, & he brought me back to London in the afternoon,
20:  so I had the chance of a little talk with him. It must be so hard for
21:  you & the children to have him so much away; but how all families are
22:  broken up now. My favourite nephew & godson Oliver is on his way to
23:  India: he was wounded at the Somme & his elbow blown away, but has
24:  gone out again. Lyndall & Ursula are both nursing at a Hospital in
25:  France & we have not seen them for a long time. Both have been ill but
26:  are well & at work again. Do write to me & tell me all about yourself
27:  & the children. Neef We are having very hard time here as far as
28:  foot goes food goes. Everything is so dear & difficult to get
29: 
30:  Jan says the children are doing so well at school. How is your dear
31:  mother? Give her my love when you write or see her. Good bye, dear
32:  Isie. Love to you all. I wonder if little John Jan still looks so
33:  sweet.
34: 
35:  Olive
36: 
37: 
38: