"Would put up two monuments, Doornkop & Slachter's Nek, pacifism" Read the full letter
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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner: Ruth Alexander MSC 26/2.1.6
ArchiveNational Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date18 June 1914
Address FromHotel Augusta Victoria, Bad Nauheim, Germany
Address ToHillbrow, Kalk Bay, Cape Town, Western Cape
Who ToRuth Alexander nee Schechter
Other Versions
PermissionsPlease 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 date of this letter is derived from the postmark on an attached envelope, which also provides the address it was sent to. The letter is written on hotel printed headed notepaper.
1 Hotel Augusta Victoria
2 Bes: J. P. Aletter
3 Bad Nauheim
4
5 Darling Ruth
6
7 It was just lovely to get your letter. Yesterday Will & I were talking
8about Jews with some people here, who like many Germans are not fond
9of Jews - & Will said Well the most gifted & perhaps the finest woman
10we have in South Africa is a Jewess" ^meaning you!^ - which delighted me.
11 I don't think your mother or sister could rejoice as much - I'm sure
12they couldn't rejoice more than I do when I see people appreciate you.
13And you are going to develop so much still, intellectually & in other
14ways. I think you will go on developing all your life. Quite the most
15refined & good looking people in this Hotel are Jews, & yet they talk
16about an Hotel "swarming with Jews," as they were a sort of evil. You
17meet a very fine type of Jew here. Polished, intellectual, handsome,
18all alive!
19
20 I am I have been here two weeks today The baths are delightful & seem
21to be benefiting me. I also get up at 6/ 6.30 in the morning to go &
22drink the water from the spring & have heart massage. I have seen 3
23doctors here: they are all agreed that the main thing is that the
24muscle of my heart is absolutely broken down & weak, & that the lungs
25are hardened & pressing on the heart. They want me to go to Frankfort
26next week to see another great heart specialist who lives there. Its
27good of them to take such an interest. They say they will tell me
28truthfully when I leave whether the treatment has been able to benefit me.
29
30 I hope the dear children flourish. I shall see Zangwill when I go back
31to London & will give him your message. His play "The Melting Pot" I
32thought very fine.
33
34 Oliver & Ursula are to arrive this afternoon for a few days Its
35splendid to have my old brother with me.
36
37 Olive
38
Notation
The play referred to is: Israel Zangwill (1914) The Melting Pot London: William Heinemann.