Olive Schreiner Letters Online

Letter Reference	Olive Schreiner BC16/Box5/Fold3/1914/62
Archive	University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary Type	Letter
Letter Date	Tuesday 15 September 1914
Address From	30 St Mary Abbotts Terrace, Kensington, London
Address To
Who To	William Philip ('Will') Schreiner
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 William Philip ('Will') Schreiner, 15 September 1914, UCT Manuscripts & Archives, Olive Schreiner Letters Project transcription’. Please also supply letter line numbers for specific quotations.

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 St Mary Abbotts Terrace for some weeks during August and September 1914.

1:  Tuesday
2: 
3:  Dear Laddie
4: 
5:  Curry said on Friday – “Merriman sails for Africa tomorrow.” I
6:  said “Are you going too?” He answered – “No, next week” &
7:  added laughing “If I do go I know the parliament will sit for only
8:  three days, & I might as well stay here – if I don’t it will sit
9:  for three months!” That was all he said.
10: 
11:  The heat here has been terrible.
12: 
13:  I hope you keep pretty fit, dear. & I do hope Ol manages to go on with
14:  his studies I’ve no news.
15: 
16:  I meant to try & go to see the monkey at the zoo to comfort me, but
17:  don’t feel up to it. ^I shall try tomorrow.^
18: 
19:  I don’t like to go up to Scotland, till one knows what may happen
20:  down here.
21: 
22:  I see there’s some report about the Germans in S West Africa
23:  fighting near Uppington - but the papers lie so one believes nothing.
24:  When I went to see Lloyd George & told him what the crime on the head
25:  of his Government would be if they tried to force South Africa into a
26:  war with German West I think I told you he answered angrily, “But
27:  you South Africans wish to take German West Africa don’t you?”
28: 
29:  I explained, “Not unless we are fools or scoundrels. We have more
30:  uninhabited land & niggers than we know what to do with now.” I
31:  added that the day would come when Asiatic ?pacts would attack the
32:  Southern land when we would be glad of the presence of every German
33:  whom we slaughtered now.”
34: 
35:  How short sighted these clever politicians are! Living only for the
36:  day & their own power. We are turning the Asiatic on the Teuton today,
37:  It’s not the last time he’s going to attack him!
38: 
39:  I’m afraid it’s not true about Liebnecht – but with the millions
40:  of Russians coming on to Berlin, its not a question of upholding the
41:  Kaizer, but of defending the life of the common people.
42: 
43:  I’ve no news. I’m still waiting on.
44: 
45:  Love to you all dear.
46:  Olive
47: 

Notation