"Spencer's First Principles, key books, we who have never been to school starved, you overfed" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Letters/174 |
| Archive | |
| Epistolary Type | |
| Letter Date | 10 April 1886 |
| Address From | St Dominic’s Convent, Mutrix Road, Kilburn, London |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Havelock Ellis |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 97 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
When Cronwright-Schreiner prepared The Letters of Olive Schreiner, with few exceptions he then destroyed her originals. However, some people gave him copies and kept the originals or demanded the return of these; and when actual Schreiner letters can be compared with his versions, his have omissions, distortions and bowdlerisations. Where Schreiner originals have survived, these will be found in the relevant collections across the OSLO website. There is however a residue of some 587 items in The Letters for which no originals are extant. They are included here for sake of completeness. However, their relationship to Schreiners actual letters cannot now be gauged, and so they should be read with caution for the reasons given.
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1To Havelock Ellis.
2Kilburn, 10th April.
3
4I went to see Holman Hunt's Exhibition this afternoon. You must go to
5see it, my darling. It is splendid. Whether it was my mood or the work,
6 I never have enjoyed pictures so much. You ought to go alone and be
7in a dreamy mood and dream over them. The streets fill me with such
8agony and sorrow now, I can't bear it. Oh, when will the time come
9when we shall love each other and realise that humanity is one! Remind
10me to tell you about a beautiful girl I saw; but it's not only the
11prostitutes make me sad, it's everything. I am so glad to get back to
12my little white quiet bedroom, but want to help those women. ... You
13say the MS. is splendid. Of course you would say so, whatever it was,
14to try and comfort me. You want so much to think so that you do think so.
15
2Kilburn, 10th April.
3
4I went to see Holman Hunt's Exhibition this afternoon. You must go to
5see it, my darling. It is splendid. Whether it was my mood or the work,
6 I never have enjoyed pictures so much. You ought to go alone and be
7in a dreamy mood and dream over them. The streets fill me with such
8agony and sorrow now, I can't bear it. Oh, when will the time come
9when we shall love each other and realise that humanity is one! Remind
10me to tell you about a beautiful girl I saw; but it's not only the
11prostitutes make me sad, it's everything. I am so glad to get back to
12my little white quiet bedroom, but want to help those women. ... You
13say the MS. is splendid. Of course you would say so, whatever it was,
14to try and comfort me. You want so much to think so that you do think so.
15
Notation
The manuscript referred to here is likely to be that of Undine.
The manuscript referred to here is likely to be that of Undine.