"Don't come, Cron's dear old mother" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | HRC/CAT/OS/1a-xxx |
| Archive | Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | Friday 4 July 1884 |
| Address From | Aspley Guise, Woburn, Bedfordshire |
| Address To | 24 Thornsett Road, South Penge Park, London |
| Who To | Havelock Ellis |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 26-7; Draznin 1992: 79-80 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
The Project is grateful to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, the University of Texas at Austin, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscript Collections. This letter has been dated by reference to an associated envelope and its postmark, which also provides the address it was sent to.
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1Aspley Guise
2Friday
3
4Henry you are spoiling me by being so good to me.
5
6I can’t write because my bead is too bad. I have neuralgia which
7contracts my one eye. Will you tell me the name of a good head doctor,
8a specialist
9
10I have been lying all the afternoon talking to you in my mind I hope
11you will go in for the exam at the end of the month I should like it.
12I do not see that writing to me wil take much out of you if you say
13what comes first. Yes, it will be good for me that you write as much
14as you can. Your letters cool & strengthen me. Some day when you are
15in need of help I will help you. Send me that diary, please.
16
17I don’t think you are good in the common way when I say good I mean
18good to me. And by ‘good” generally I mean unselfish. I don’t
19know if I care for you much but somehow my m (no, I won't say that) I
20care so much about ach, I won’t say any thing of that.
21
22I shall prize being allowed to see that diary. I will show you my
23journal when I am with you some day. You wouldn’t be able to
24understand it alone. When I come to something wrong I put it into such
25words that one can’t understand. How close we are to each other.
26
27You would be sorry if you saw me because my head is very bad my eye is
28all drawn up, it has been for two day.
29
30Yes, it would spoil our relationship I feel like you do.
31
32I used always to be calculating. Now feeling comes in a flood &
33carries me away. You must help me to be calculating We must be strong.
34Tell me about what you feel physically & every whay way.
35
36Good night the other part of me.
37Olive
38
39^Henry I can’t look at my papers yet.^
40
2Friday
3
4Henry you are spoiling me by being so good to me.
5
6I can’t write because my bead is too bad. I have neuralgia which
7contracts my one eye. Will you tell me the name of a good head doctor,
8a specialist
9
10I have been lying all the afternoon talking to you in my mind I hope
11you will go in for the exam at the end of the month I should like it.
12I do not see that writing to me wil take much out of you if you say
13what comes first. Yes, it will be good for me that you write as much
14as you can. Your letters cool & strengthen me. Some day when you are
15in need of help I will help you. Send me that diary, please.
16
17I don’t think you are good in the common way when I say good I mean
18good to me. And by ‘good” generally I mean unselfish. I don’t
19know if I care for you much but somehow my m (no, I won't say that) I
20care so much about ach, I won’t say any thing of that.
21
22I shall prize being allowed to see that diary. I will show you my
23journal when I am with you some day. You wouldn’t be able to
24understand it alone. When I come to something wrong I put it into such
25words that one can’t understand. How close we are to each other.
26
27You would be sorry if you saw me because my head is very bad my eye is
28all drawn up, it has been for two day.
29
30Yes, it would spoil our relationship I feel like you do.
31
32I used always to be calculating. Now feeling comes in a flood &
33carries me away. You must help me to be calculating We must be strong.
34Tell me about what you feel physically & every whay way.
35
36Good night the other part of me.
37Olive
38
39^Henry I can’t look at my papers yet.^
40
Notation
Draznin's (1992) version of this letter is in some respects different from our transcription. Cronwright-Schreiner's (1924) extract includes material from a different letter and is also incorrect in other ways.
Draznin's (1992) version of this letter is in some respects different from our transcription. Cronwright-Schreiner's (1924) extract includes material from a different letter and is also incorrect in other ways.