"About writing, Ellis's books v letters" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner: Ruth Alexander MSC 26/2.1.16 |
| Archive | National Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | Tuesday September 1920 |
| Address From | Cape Town, Western Cape |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Ruth Alexander nee Schechter |
| Other Versions | |
| 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. The month and year have been written on this letter in an unknown hand. Schreiner stayed with her niece Ursula Scott, her sister-in-law Fan Schreiner, and her friend Lucy Molteno, in Cape Town after her arrival from Britain on 30 August 1920, moving to a boarding-house in Wynberg in late October, where she was resident until her death on 11 December 1920.
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1
TTuesday
2
3 My darling Ruth
4
5 I hope you are having a lovely change & that your husband is rested.
6Give him my very kind regards.
7
8 I am missing seeing you so There are always a lot of people coming &
9going here, but when I go to my sister-in-law's one can have real nice
10long chats on her verandah. I want to have a real long talk with you
11about many things.
12
13 What was the name of the young man I met at your house. He seemed such
14a delightful person. A young m student was talking about him here
15yesterday. Says he is so remarkable. The students seem impressed by
16him.
17
18 Oliver's wife is ill in bed. The doctors thought it was appendicitis
19but she's getting better.
20
21 What is Mrs ?Mackewan's address? I don't feel I can do anything more
22for her or him in the way of finding work I could never find anything
23nearly as good as that post in the Standard Bank. I think the best
24thing they can do
25
26^is to go home to England. Life here is only good for people who have
27the strength to rough it for the first years. Are they still at Sea
28Point? I expect I shall have to go & live here in the end as I cant
29get rooms at Tamboer's Kloof
30
31 Much love,
32 Olive^
33
34^Do come & see me here as soon as you can spare time. OS^
35
36
37
2
3 My darling Ruth
4
5 I hope you are having a lovely change & that your husband is rested.
6Give him my very kind regards.
7
8 I am missing seeing you so There are always a lot of people coming &
9going here, but when I go to my sister-in-law's one can have real nice
10long chats on her verandah. I want to have a real long talk with you
11about many things.
12
13 What was the name of the young man I met at your house. He seemed such
14a delightful person. A young m student was talking about him here
15yesterday. Says he is so remarkable. The students seem impressed by
16him.
17
18 Oliver's wife is ill in bed. The doctors thought it was appendicitis
19but she's getting better.
20
21 What is Mrs ?Mackewan's address? I don't feel I can do anything more
22for her or him in the way of finding work I could never find anything
23nearly as good as that post in the Standard Bank. I think the best
24thing they can do
25
26^is to go home to England. Life here is only good for people who have
27the strength to rough it for the first years. Are they still at Sea
28Point? I expect I shall have to go & live here in the end as I cant
29get rooms at Tamboer's Kloof
30
31 Much love,
32 Olive^
33
34^Do come & see me here as soon as you can spare time. OS^
35
36
37