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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box3/Fold5/1906/28
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date22 November 1906
Address FromHotel Milner, Matjesfontein, Western Cape
Address To
Who ToFrances ('Fan') Schreiner nee Reitz
Other Versions
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. This letter is written on printed headed notepaper.
1 Hotel Milner
2 Matjesfontein
3 Nov 22nd 1906
4
5 My dear Fan
6
7 I was so glad of your letter. You write seldom, but when you do your
8letters are something worth having! You do tell a poor person a little
9of how the world is going with you all.
10
11 I am getting much better the last weeks it’s quite wonderful. My
12pulse was 105 when I came down, then when I’d been here ^a month^ 98,
13& now only 86. It used to be a little over 60 before my heart got bad,
14but if I could only get it 72 I’d be quite blissful.
15
16 It’s not very exciting here as I am still the only person in this
17big hotel; but I’m never lonely with the dear old mountains I love
18so much about me & sometimes I write a bit. Cron came down here to see
19me for two days last Sunday & we had a very happy time. You & Will
20ought to learn to play to golf. Cron is beginning, its a lovely game.
21I have some golf sticks, but can’t lift my left arm high enough for
22a good fling. I am a great believer in games that give exercise, but I
23dont quite so much believe in looking on at other people playing.
24
25 Isn’t it splendid the way the South African team are playing? It’s
26really most wonderful when you think from what a small population they
27come. I am waiting anxiously to hear the news of the Irish match
28tomorrow night.
29
30 Dear old Dr Brown came up to see me last week. He could only stay two
31hours & had to go back to his work in Worcester, where he’s taking
32Dr Hugo’s place for a few weeks.
33
34 We are just having a beautiful shower of rain here. Cron writes
35they’ve had fine rains at Hanover & de Aar, but there are such
36millions of locusts, they even climb up stairs in the Hotel & fill the
37bedrooms. I had intended to return to Hanover on the 10th of next
38month, to stay there till Cron has been able to get a little house at
39de Aar, or we have built one as it too hot in the Hotel. But today I
40got an unexpected £15 from my publisher which is just enough to pay
41for another month here, so perhaps I’ll stay. Its just as easy for
42Cron to come here once a fortnight to see me as to come to Hanover
43from de Aar.
44
45 For some years, since the war, the publisher has never sent me more
46than two or three pounds at most, so either his conscience is
47beginning to prick him or I am getting popular again! Just fancy, old
48Merriman being asked to lecture at Port Elizabeth! The world does turn
49round.
50
51 Good bye, dear old sister. You will think the rain has got into my
52head that I am running on so long this afternoon.
53
54 I wonder how our young ones are going to do at their exams? I suppose
55we shan’t know results till the end of January.
56
57 Good bye.
58 Thine ever
59 Ol.
60
61 I see you were one of the judges at the Fete & Cron’s sister won a
62prize.
63
64^Dear Fan, here’s a sheet of your letter which I didn’t put in.
65Love to all ^
66 Ol
67
68
69
Notation
The inserted final comment is written on one of the earlier sheers of the letter.