"Don't come, Cron's dear old mother" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Letters/265 |
| Archive | |
| Epistolary Type | |
| Letter Date | January 1888 |
| Address From | Alassio, Italy |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Isaline Philpot |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 130-1 |
| 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 Mrs. J. H. Philpot.
2Alassio, Jan.
3
4Please post the enclosed letter. I hope it's not rude, but I get so
5many letters that one doesn't know how to reply to. This lady says
6that she sees there are many things I am not able to grasp, but as I
7am young there is still hope; and she writes me an allegory to convert
8me. She says her Heavenly Father gives her whatever she asks him for,
9and if I would ask him he would give me too. What funny people there
10are in the world. She ends her letter by asking what colour my hair
11and eyes are. ... There is an old clergyman's wife come here and two
12old maids. They made for my clothes the other day and said I was
13shabby, which is quite true; so two days I've taken some bread and
14meat and an apple and gone up the mountain to have my lunch by a
15ruined chapel. It's much nicer.
16
2Alassio, Jan.
3
4Please post the enclosed letter. I hope it's not rude, but I get so
5many letters that one doesn't know how to reply to. This lady says
6that she sees there are many things I am not able to grasp, but as I
7am young there is still hope; and she writes me an allegory to convert
8me. She says her Heavenly Father gives her whatever she asks him for,
9and if I would ask him he would give me too. What funny people there
10are in the world. She ends her letter by asking what colour my hair
11and eyes are. ... There is an old clergyman's wife come here and two
12old maids. They made for my clothes the other day and said I was
13shabby, which is quite true; so two days I've taken some bread and
14meat and an apple and gone up the mountain to have my lunch by a
15ruined chapel. It's much nicer.
16