"Neta crushed under the wheels, the best friend I ever had" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Letters/516 |
| Archive | |
| Epistolary Type | |
| Letter Date | 12 May 1913 |
| Address From | De Aar, Northern Cape |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Havelock Ellis |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 325 |
| 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.
2De Aar, 12th May.
3
4I think I shall try to come to England if Cron goes. I shall try to
5borrow some money from Will, giving him my Prelude in exchange. But it
6will be very sad to see you all, I'm so changed; but perhaps the
7doctors will do me good. Don't mention to anyone, not even to Edith,
8I'm coming, unless you feel quite sure she'll remember not to mention
9it to anyone. I want, if I do come, to see no one but a couple of my
10dearest friends till I've undergone any cure I'm going to try. ...
11Thanks for the copy of the New Statesman. I have just had a letter
12from Beatrice Webb asking me to write for it. I don't think it nearly
13equal to the Nation. There is too much attempt at fine writing in it.
14Fancy Bernard Shaw as a political guide! He would give up any clear
15simple statement of fact for the sake of uttering a smart paradox!
16Fancy Hubert Bland writing the literary criticisms! Of course there is
17some tall writing in the Nation; there is a terrible man writes
18articles on "nature" and the weather. What I can't make out is how
19people read such stuff. It's the same thing as affectation in dress or
20manner, doing a thing for the sake of doing it!
21
2De Aar, 12th May.
3
4I think I shall try to come to England if Cron goes. I shall try to
5borrow some money from Will, giving him my Prelude in exchange. But it
6will be very sad to see you all, I'm so changed; but perhaps the
7doctors will do me good. Don't mention to anyone, not even to Edith,
8I'm coming, unless you feel quite sure she'll remember not to mention
9it to anyone. I want, if I do come, to see no one but a couple of my
10dearest friends till I've undergone any cure I'm going to try. ...
11Thanks for the copy of the New Statesman. I have just had a letter
12from Beatrice Webb asking me to write for it. I don't think it nearly
13equal to the Nation. There is too much attempt at fine writing in it.
14Fancy Bernard Shaw as a political guide! He would give up any clear
15simple statement of fact for the sake of uttering a smart paradox!
16Fancy Hubert Bland writing the literary criticisms! Of course there is
17some tall writing in the Nation; there is a terrible man writes
18articles on "nature" and the weather. What I can't make out is how
19people read such stuff. It's the same thing as affectation in dress or
20manner, doing a thing for the sake of doing it!
21
Notation
The ‘Prelude’ is to From Man to Man.
The ‘Prelude’ is to From Man to Man.