"Victoria Falls fill one with joy" Read the full letter
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Letter ReferenceSmuts A1/187/84
ArchiveNational Archives Repository, Pretoria
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date15 June 1902
Address FromHanover, Northern Cape
Address To
Who ToIsie Smuts nee Krige
Other Versions
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
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.
1 Hanover
2 June 15 / 02
3
4 Dearest Isie
5
6 How my heart aches to think that just now when you ought to be so well
7to go through all that has to be gone through & to go to meet your
8husband you should be ill. Please write & tell me how you are getting
9on if but a post card.
10
11 I wrote to our English officer at Hanover Rd & ask him if he would
12give me permission to go there or anywhere where your husband was just
13to see him for a few moments. He wrote & told my your husband had just
14left this part to go on to Cape Town & perhaps from there to Port
15Noloth, to get the commandos to surrender, so I could not see him, but
16he said he would send on the little note I wrote to him.
17
18 I don’t feel as if I ever wished to see Johannesburg or even dear
19old Pretoria again. But perhaps you will be moving down to the colony
20some time & then I shall see you, as you must pass at Hanover Rd & I
21know you will stop here & see us. Good bye dear my heart & my thoughts
22are with you. I am so thankful that your husband & brother are still
23alive.
24
25 Olive
26
27 I think I told you my husband is trying to get some work here as a
28general agent. Next month we shall move into a little cottage of our
29own. Its rather a tumble down place, but it will be so nice to have
30more than one room. We can’t get any servants here as the natives
31Boycott us, we have even to fetch the wall water & scrub floors
32ourselves so I can’t do any writing. I am sorry because there is so
33much I want to write & life is so short it will be over so soon. If
34only one could write one would feel there was still some reason for
35ones going on living.
36
37