"Johannesburg, lust for gold, moral decay" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner BC16/Box1/Fold3/1896/11 |
| Archive | University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | 11 April 1896 |
| Address From | The Homestead, Kimberley, Northern Cape |
| Address To | Stone Lodge, Rondebosch, Cape Town, Western Cape |
| Who To | Jessie Rose Innes nee Dods Pringle |
| Other Versions | Rive 1987: 272 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
The Project is grateful to Manuscripts and Archives, University of Cape Town, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscripts and Archives Collections. The date has been derived from the postmark on an attached envelope which also provides the address this letter was sent to. The address it was written from is provided by content; Schreiner returned to Kimberly at the start of April 1896 from a visit to Middelburg.
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1
Dear Jessie
2
3 Only yesterday I received a New Year’s wire that you sent me to Port
4Elizabeth? Thanks for it dear.
5
6 It was such a pleasure to see Mr Innes though he found me washing pots
7at the kitchen door!! I have all the housework & cooking, as I have
8only a little wild black boy of 14, whom we brought from the farm with
9us to help me.
10
11 I am very busy writing too, to get done so that we can go home in
12November. Is there any chance of your coming too? I forgot to ask your
13husband when he was here.
14
15 Oh I do long to see my friends in England so. Its not nearly so bad in
16England in ^Dec^ Jan & Feb as in October & November. We shall leave this
17so as to get there the second week in December if we can. The ships
18will be quite empty at that time of year – we shall have a whole
19steamer to ourselves. I often hear from Connie Lytton & Adela Villers
20& Lady Loch. I fancy the Lochs would like to come out again but I fear
21there is no chance of it. Now I must go & stir the stewed ox-tail or
22it will burn. Drop me a line. I’m very very well.
23
24 Olive
25
26
27
2
3 Only yesterday I received a New Year’s wire that you sent me to Port
4Elizabeth? Thanks for it dear.
5
6 It was such a pleasure to see Mr Innes though he found me washing pots
7at the kitchen door!! I have all the housework & cooking, as I have
8only a little wild black boy of 14, whom we brought from the farm with
9us to help me.
10
11 I am very busy writing too, to get done so that we can go home in
12November. Is there any chance of your coming too? I forgot to ask your
13husband when he was here.
14
15 Oh I do long to see my friends in England so. Its not nearly so bad in
16England in ^Dec^ Jan & Feb as in October & November. We shall leave this
17so as to get there the second week in December if we can. The ships
18will be quite empty at that time of year – we shall have a whole
19steamer to ourselves. I often hear from Connie Lytton & Adela Villers
20& Lady Loch. I fancy the Lochs would like to come out again but I fear
21there is no chance of it. Now I must go & stir the stewed ox-tail or
22it will burn. Drop me a line. I’m very very well.
23
24 Olive
25
26
27
Notation
Rive's (1987) version of this letter is in a number of respects incorrect.
Rive's (1987) version of this letter is in a number of respects incorrect.