"Going with me to England, think it all over carefully" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner: Mary Sauer MSC 26/2.11.98 |
| Archive | National Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | 10 January 1896 |
| Address From | Commercial Hotel, Middelburg, Eastern Cape |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Mary Sauer nee Cloete |
| Other Versions | Rive 1987: 261 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
The Project is grateful to the National Library of South Africa (NLSA), Cape Town, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Special Collections. Schreiner has dated this letter 1895, although it is clearly meant to be 1896.
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1
Commercial Hotel
2 Middelburg
3 Jan 10 / 95
4
5 Dear Mary
6
7 Thank you so much for the papers & the wire. Here we get our
8newspapers regularly, but the they tell one little of what one wants
9to know. Is it true that Rhodes is drinking himself to death, &
10completely broken down? That is the report here, most probably one of
11the endless lies. Do tell me if it is untrue.
12
13 I do wish I were in Cape Town now. I have been asked to wire or write
14^my views^ to some English papers; but I can't do it now. I can't strike
15Rhodes if he is so utterly broken down. I have seen this fall coming
16for so many years but no one could save ^him^ it from it: he had to ride
17to it. The dear old Boers have come out well in all this.
18
19 Goodbye, dear.
20 Yours ever & ever
21 Olive
22
23 Address to Middelburg we shall be here for a month.
24
2 Middelburg
3 Jan 10 / 95
4
5 Dear Mary
6
7 Thank you so much for the papers & the wire. Here we get our
8newspapers regularly, but the they tell one little of what one wants
9to know. Is it true that Rhodes is drinking himself to death, &
10completely broken down? That is the report here, most probably one of
11the endless lies. Do tell me if it is untrue.
12
13 I do wish I were in Cape Town now. I have been asked to wire or write
14^my views^ to some English papers; but I can't do it now. I can't strike
15Rhodes if he is so utterly broken down. I have seen this fall coming
16for so many years but no one could save ^him^ it from it: he had to ride
17to it. The dear old Boers have come out well in all this.
18
19 Goodbye, dear.
20 Yours ever & ever
21 Olive
22
23 Address to Middelburg we shall be here for a month.
24
Notation
The wire referred to cannot be established. Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.
The wire referred to cannot be established. Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.