1 Hanover
2 Jan 11 / 05
3
4 My darling Friend
5
6 I got your beautiful long letter today, also the one from London.
7Isn’t it rather funny I got three such specially long & valuable
8letters today from England, yours & one from Isabella Ford & one from
9Con Lytton & they were all dated Sunday the 18th. You were all sitting
10to write to me the same afternoon. Con Lytton’s is the longest I
11have had from her for years: something seems to have moved you all to
12write to me that day.
13
14 I hope you have seen Isabella. She is such a noble woman. I feel as if
15you & she would be very great friends. Have you read Carpenter’s new
16book, "the art of creation." Get it; you will like parts of it much.
17If only you could get that money out of the Nell Poort farms, & I
18could get some writing done & earn a little money we could buy a farm
19together or two small farms close adjoining like upper & lower Lily
20Kloof. And then Cron could farm my farm for himself & he could help
21you look after yours, or might farm it on the half. But that’s all a
22day dream because I get such little little times of betterness. My
23heart is getting very large & it is not easy to do anything. Cron left
24today for Beaufort West to see his constituencies & will be back next
25Sunday. The meerkats are well & sweet, & Neta sick & sweet. I do hope
26Hellen Greene’s school at Norwich will turn out a great successes;
27then Miss Greene will feel her heart more free to return to
28
29^Africa. But till you have money enough to buy a farm you will both be
30happier in England. Unless you have a farm of your own, or some fixed
31home in the country not in a town, South Africa is the least desirable
32place in the world to live in. You know, its wonderful how near I feel
33you to me sometimes I almost feel you in the room with me. ^
34
35 Olive
36
37^If you go to the National Gallery again look at the picture by
38Signorelli. A Little Angel (on the right side I think) is trying so
39hard to raise the dead Christ. One day when I was so dispirited & sad
40I went there & that that dear little figure trying & trying to do what
41it couldn’t do, with such sweet infinite tenderness in its little
42face came to me with such wonderful meaning & comfort. No picture has
43ever meant so much to me. Perhaps you will wonder when you see it that
44it could have. There are times when we see a thing we have never seen
45before & never see again. ^
46
47 Good bye
48 Olive
49