1Dear Friend
2
3The speeches at the Woman’s Congress seem to me better than any we
4have yet had. all were good but if one was better than another it was
5Mrs de Beers.
6
7I was so glad to see you spoke so splendidly, as it showed you were
8better.
9
10Olive
11
12Please post the enclosed
13
14^Cron will go down to the woman People Congress at Worcester on the 6th 1900^
15
16^1) I am numbering all my letters to you or Miss Molteno This is 1
17Number yours to me that I may know I get them.^
18

1Hanover
2Oct 17 / 00
3
4Dear Friend,
5
6The clouds are gathering thicker & thicker. God knows what will happen
7next if they keep on burning the houses in the Republics. I believe
8all will be lost if the people in the Colony rise now, & yet they are
9being so driven to despair that if the Republicans should cross the
10River & come South all may be lost. Oh, if England could even now,
11have one moment of sanity, & give the Republics their fr Independence
12freely instead of having it rung from her through the shedding of seas
13of blood ^in the course of long years^. If the Good Republicans cross
14into the Colony I believe they will get their independence only in 15
15years time, if they stay in their own territories I believe they will
16have it with in four.
17
18^I’m so tired. Why had one to be born in these days of blood & sin
19one is powerless to prevent^
20OS
21

1Hanover
2May 23rd 1902
3
4Dear Friend
5
6I’m so glad you are in such a lovely place. Nature has never seemed
7to me more infinitely sweet & touching & rest giving than lately. A
8bit of blue sky through one’s window seems sometimes to give one
9nearly as much happiness as one can bear.
10
11We are having such glorious dry sunny though cold weather, you would
12love it. When one looks up at the blue sky one forgets even about
13publishers not to mention other like evil persons & forces.
14
15Did I tell you of the American publisher who has just wrung £47 out
16of my, by threatening to publish in their ^unrevised^ incomplete arl
17form my articles stray thoughts which he, with out my consent has got
18hold of from another fe man? I have never had one farthing for them
19from America & now when I ?had am blackmail for this money. It
20depressed me so for a week that I couldn’t do anything its not the
21loss of the money, much as we need it, but it’s the thought people
22can be so curel & unjust, & merciless.- But there’s always the blue sky.
23
24Good bye dear.
25
26I like to think that perhaps some day you & Miss Molteno will come to
27Hanover & climb about in the koppjes. This is such a vast flat place,
28that when one climbs a koppje only a few feet high one gets the most
29marvellous & extended view – the Colesburg & Nauport Mountains to
30the North & East, & the Middleberg & Graafreinet Mountains, (Compass
31Berg towering up) & the Richmond Mountains away to the South West.
32There always comes into my mind that line in the Bible – “For the
33strength of the hills we bless theee!”
34
35Good night dear. Cron sends much love to you both.
36Olive
37
38My love to Miss Hester Smith, if she is still with you. I hope the
39rest is refreshing her.
40

1Hanover
2Oct 23 / 00
3
4Dear Friend
5
6Things seem growing darker & darker in this country. How dark I
7sometimes think you people down there don’t know. I wish I could have
8seen Robertson before he returned to England. He will do good work
9when he gets there.
10
11It’s strange I have written three letters to Mary Sauer, & one letter
12to Sauer himself ^about Rhodes^, but I have had no reply. You did not
13enclose Mary Sauers letter.
14
15If the Boers in this Colony were to rise now all would be lost. If
16they keep quiet unreadable the Republics may in another year have
17their independence.
18
19Good bye. I wish you were here so intensely. But the cold weather is
20over. It is not relaxing but it is not cool during the day; in the
21night it is beautiful & cool.
22
23Love to you both
24Olive
25

1Hanover
2Nov 14 / 01
3
4Darling Friend
5
6I was glad to see your handwriting again. I must be delightful having
7all those nice children about one.
8
9Did Miss Molteno get my letter thanking her for the cheque? I think I
10shall be able to sell my little house in Kimberly this week, I hope so
11I’ve had three offers, not for as much as it cost me, but then I
12will pay off all my debts & die with a good cons-cience!!!
13
14Are Mary & Mary & her husband & little Paul quite well.
15
16When Miss Molteno wrote some weeks ago saying she had seen Mrs R & her
17poor little babe, I wondered why she should call it poor. I have only
18just heard about her husband having had such a terrible fall from his
19horse. Is he better & able to get about again or is he ^still^ confined
20to his bed. We are allowed to get no news papers here so we know
21nothing of what is happening anywhere to our friends or the world at
22large. I have not seen an English newspaper for four months. One
23doesn’t mind about the political news because its generally lies,
24but one misses the literary & artistic news. I got such a beautiful
25photograph of Edward Carpenter last week.
26
27^Good bye dear one. Oh I long so to see you both sometimes its like a
28hunger^
29Olive
30

1Dear Friend
2
3I wonder if you are realy better Are you able to go long walks.
4
5We had a nice sharp frost here the night before last which killed the
6potatoes. But to-day is warm again. Compared to most places in Africa,
7this is very cool, but of course we must expect some hot weather for
8the next three months By the end of February they say its quite cool
9again.
10
11Please ask Miss Molteno Mrs Murray to send me the memorial if you are
12not coming soon. I have been to Mrs Watermayers & every place in the
13town, but cant get rooms for you anywhere. But I’m sure you could
14get rooms at the hotel, if you wrote some time before. The Hotel is
15pretty full of refugees from the Free State. I can’t make out what
16is going on. Il I’ve never been so at sea before since the war began.
17 The only reason I can think of (except one) why Butler & Roberts are
18going to England & all the troops are gathering on the line, is that
19they expect war in Europe. I can’t write & ask any one in Cape Town,
20or you, because all letters may be opened by our old friend Mr Censor.
21It’s very like Russia, this country, ^very.^
22
23Stead writes that he sent me a cable three weeks ago which I have
24never received.
25
26I’ve been too unfit to write a real letter for the woman’s
27congress I’ve only written a note. It’s not nice when you feel you
28are dragging one leg in the sand, & you want to work, but I expect I
29shall soon be going on all fours again
30
31Olive
32
33If you do come up there’s a little parcel for me at
34
35^my Sister in Laws, Mrs W P Schreiners that I want you to bring
36specially^
37Olive
38

1Dear Friend
2
3I’m so glad to hear you are better. Write & tell me all you can in a
4letter about the meeting. How much there is I would say if we could
5meet. Letters are no use. Write & let me know your plans. If you are
6not coming up then it might ?be ?be will you drop a line to my sister
7in law Mrs W P Schreiner to that effect, so that she may send me the
8parcel I asked her to ask you to bring with you.
9
10I am sending you registered by this post an MS of mine. The revised
11copy is destroyed with all my other MS at Johannesburg. Please send it
12to my sister-in-law I want to ask my brother to put it in his safe as
13I don’t want it destroyed. I love it so much its the Prelude to my
14big novel. The revised copy was the thing I love best of all I have
15ever written: You can read it if you like but its only the first rough
16draft dashed down, then I wrote it out carefully. I have only the
17rough first draft of the novel left but I could write it out again
18from memory if I had time. ^I would like to live to do it.^
19
20Good bye
21Olive
22

1Hanover
2July 8 / 04
3
4Dear dear Friend
5
6How often I am with you in thought you don’t know. I long so to hear
7that your sister is comeing out here. I know how you are longing to
8see one who can tell you all, not write about it. It is so different
9to talk & have all your questions answered. I think Houw Hoek must be
10very lovely & am so thankful Miss Molteno is really better there. I
11long so to see you dear. Oh I know so well all have gone through.
12
13I am feeling much better again too. The weather is still bitterly cold
14but not with that cutting wind which takes all the life out of one.
15
16Cron is very busy at as it is Nachtmaal Time.
17
18Dear Sweet little Miss Viljoen has come back to their farm, though not
19to live in Town. But she is in now for a couple of days.
20
21The little village quarrells & fights as ever: the missionary & the
22Parson are quarrelling now & the whole village is divided about it. I
23never go out to see any one, but I
24
25^hear about fo it when Cron comes in.^
26
27Good bye dear one
28Olive
29
30^I hope Miss Molteno had a good time with Barkley. I know it will have
31done her good & satisfied. The Jingoes here all try to be very nice to
32me: the other people I don’t mind about any more.^
33Olive
34