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Letter ReferenceSmuts A1/189/77
ArchiveNational Archives Repository, Pretoria
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date12 March 1906
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 March 12 / 06
3
4 My dear Isie
5
6 I was so sorry I was not able to go & meet Neef Jan at Hanover Rd when
7he passed. I should greatly have enjoyed a talk with him, but I
8wasn’t very fit & couldn’t go.
9
10 My husband has sold his business here, & we are going to live at de
11Aar. But we shall not move over till our house is built, & it cannot
12be ready to move in for another five or even six months, though it
13will be only small. Workmen always take so long. The great advantage
14to me of being there is that I shall be able now & then at least a
15glimpse of my friends faces as they pass at the station. Our little
16house will be about half a mile from the camp, out on the veld.
17
18 I hope the little daughters were very well & flourishing to greet
19their father on his return, & I do hope he’s feeling better for the
20change. I’ve no doubt he did good work for South Africa over there.
21
22 Isn’t this murder case in Cape Town terrible? The people even here
23seem able to think of little else. I expect your husband knows
24something of the Basson family as they come from his part. They say
25Toby Louw is own cousin to Adriaan Hofmeyr. It seems terrible to think
26we shall likely never really know the fate of the other men Basson
27murdered.
28
29 Next month on the 7th May my husband is going to visit his
30constituents at Beaufort West, Prince Albert, & Laingsberg & I am
31going with him, we shall be gone about two weeks.
32
33^I’m so sorry I didn’t see Daisy. Please send me her address so
34that when I go to Cape Town next I may be sure to see her. I am glad
35to see that Het Volk is working for the woman’s franchise. Now
36I’ve told you a lot of news about ourselves. Write & give me all
37your news. ^
38
39 With loving greetings
40 Olive
41
42
Notation
For the Basson murder case, see http://www.africacrime-mystery.co.za/books/fsac/chp1.htm