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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box1/Fold3/1896/29
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter DateWednesday 30 September 1896
Address FromThe Homestead, Kimberley, Northern Cape
Address To
Who ToBetty Molteno
Other VersionsRive 1987: 290
PermissionsPlease 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 written on this letter in an unknown hand. Schreiner was resident in Kimberley from early August 1894 to November 1898, with visits, sometimes extended, elsewhere over this period. The name of the addressee is indicated by content.
1 Wednesday
2
3 Thankyou so much for your letter. It is such a relief for to me to
4know you have Miss Knight’s address, because I feel sure it will be
5such a good thing for her to come out. I always feel so glad to women
6who are so alone in the world to any good. I am pretty sure you too
7will like her, but of course I don’t know her well.
8
9 Thank you both so much for wanting us to come. It would be very nice
10if it were possible. It’s curious what a wish I’ve had to go to
11Port Elizabeth the last weeks, it seemed as if you & Miss Greene would
12be doses & doses of iron & quinine to me. But we can’t do it.
13Cron’s mother & sister are starting next week or the f week after
14where they all spend some time months at the sea side, & if we go any
15where it must be next Jan to Cape Town where mee Cron can be with them.
16
17 I have been copying out a little bit of my Allegory story about
18Mashonaland. It’s curious but I would give hundreds of pounds if
19that story had never come to me, & yet now I feel I must publish it.
20It will make Rhodes & the Chartered Company very bitter against me &
21all conflict is so terrible.
22
23 Olive Schreiner
24
25
26
Notation
The 'allegory story' is Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland. Rive's (1987) version of this letter omits part of it.